Editing Menachem Mendel Schneerson (section)

===Early life and education===
{{Chabad (Rebbes and Chasidim)|Rebbes of Chabad}}
Menachem Mendel Schneerson was born on April 5, 1902 ([[Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe|OS]]) (11 [[Nisan]], 5662), in the [[Black Sea]] port of Nikolaev in the [[Russian Empire]] (now [[Mykolaiv]] in [[Ukraine]]).<ref name="Telushkin455">Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 455</ref> His father was rabbi [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]], a renowned [[Talmudic]] scholar and authority on [[Kabbalah]] and [[Jewish law]].<ref>Introduction to ''Likkutei Levi Yitzchak'', Kehot Publications 1970</ref> His mother was [[Rebbetzin]] [[Chana Schneerson]] ({{née|Yanovski}}). He was named after the third [[Chabad]] rebbe [[Menachem Mendel Schneersohn]], the ''Tzemach Tzedek'', from whom he was a direct patrilineal descendant.

In 1907, when Schneerson was five years old, the family moved to [[Dnipro|Yekatrinoslav]] (today, [[Dnipro]]), where Levi Yitzchak was appointed Chief Rabbi of the city. He served until 1939, when he was exiled by the [[Soviets]] to [[Kazakhstan]].<ref>Shmuel Marcus, [http://www.chabad.org/133640 Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson - A brief biography]</ref> Schneerson had two younger brothers: Dov Ber Schneerson, who was murdered in 1944 by [[Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy|Nazi collaborators]], and Yisroel Aryeh Leib Schneerson, who died in 1952 while completing doctoral studies at [[Liverpool University]].<ref name="Telushkin455"/>

During his youth, he received a private education and was tutored by Zalman Vilenkin from 1909 through 1913. When Schneerson was 11 years old, Vilenkin informed his father that he had nothing more to teach his son.<ref>Chana Vilenkin, Zalman's daughter on "The Early Years Vol I". Jewish Educational Media 2006, segment Nikolaev, Russia 1902. (UPC 874780 000525)</ref> At that point, Levi Yitzchak began teaching his son Talmud and [[rabbinic literature]], as well as Kabbalah. Schneerson proved gifted in both Talmudic and Kabbalistic study and also took exams as an external student of the local Soviet school.<ref name="Adin Steinsaltz page 24">Adin Steinsaltz, ''My Rebbe''. Maggid Books, page 24</ref> He was considered an ''[[illui]]'' and genius, and by the time he was 17, he had mastered the entire [[Talmud]], some 5,422 pages, as well as all [[Rishonim|its early commentaries]].<ref>Slater, Elinor, "Great Jewish Men", {{ISBN|0-8246-0381-8}}, page 277.</ref>

Throughout his childhood, Schneerson was involved in the affairs of his father's office. He was also said to have acted as an interpreter between the Jewish community and the Russian authorities on a number of occasions.<ref>Schneerson, Chana, ''A Mother in Israel'' Kehot Publications, 1983. {{ISBN|0-8266-0099-9}}, page 13.</ref> Levi Yitzchak's courage and principles guided his son for the rest of his life. Many years later, when he once reminisced about his youth, Schneerson said, "I have the education of the first-born son of the rabbi of Yekaterinoslav. When it comes to saving lives, I speak up whatever others may say."<ref>Adin Steinsaltz, ''My Rebbe''. Maggid Books, 2014. Page 25.</ref>

Schneerson went on to receive separate [[Semikhah|rabbinical ordination]]s from the Rogatchover [[Gaon (Hebrew)|Gaon]], [[Joseph Rosen]],<ref>Selegson, Michoel A. Introduction to ''From Day to Day'', English translation of the [[Hayom Yom]], {{ISBN|0-8266-0669-5}}, p. A20.</ref> and [[Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg]], author of ''Sridei Aish''.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/player_cdo/aid/1264762/jewish/Rabbinic-Ordination.htm |title= Rabbinic Ordination - Program Three Hundred Nine - Living Torah |publisher= Chabad.org |access-date= January 29, 2012 |archive-date= August 29, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120829142034/http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/player_cdo/aid/1264762/jewish/Rabbinic-Ordination.htm |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>Dovid Zaklikowsky, [http://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/2112908/ Details of the Rebbes Rabbinical Ordination Authenticated]. January 21, 2013.</ref>