Editing Chabad (section)

===Succession disputes and offshoot groups===
{{Main|Chabad offshoot groups}}
A number of groups have split from the Chabad movement, forming their own Hasidic groups, and at times positioning themselves as possible successors of previous Chabad rebbes. Following the deaths of the first and third rebbes of Chabad, disputes arose over their succession.

Following the death of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Chabad rebbe, a dispute over his succession led to a break within the movement. While the recognized successor was his oldest son, Rabbi [[Dovber Schneuri]], a student of Rabbi [[Schneur Zalman of Liadi|Schneur Zalman]], Rabbi [[Aaron HaLevi ben Moses of Staroselye|Aaron HaLevi]] assumed the title of rebbe and led a number of followers from the town of Strashelye (forming the [[Strashelye (Hasidic dynasty)|Strashelye dynasty]]). The new group had two rebbes, Rabbi Aaron and his son Rabbi [[Haim Rephael of Strashelye|Haim Rephael]]. The new group eventually disbanded following Rabbi Haim Rephael's death.<ref name=beck>{{cite web |last=Beck|first=Atara|title=Is Chabad Lubavitch|work=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|date=16 August 2012|url=http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Judaism/Is-Chabad-Lubavitch}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2RcRAQAAIAAJ&q=leadership+in+the+habad|title=Leadership in the HaBaD Movement: A critical evaluation of HaBaD leadership, history, and succession|first1=Avrum M. |last1=Ehrlich |first2=Mark Avrum |last2=Ehrlich |publisher=Jason Aronson|year=2000|isbn=978-0765760555 |chapter=11: The Leadership of Dov Ber}}{{page needed|date=January 2015}}</ref> One of the main points the two rabbis disagreed on was the place of [[Religious ecstasy|spiritual ecstasy]] in prayer. R' Aaron supported the idea while Rabbi Dovber emphasized genuine ecstasy can only be a result of meditative contemplation ([[hisbonenus]]). Rabbi Dovber published his arguments on the subject in a compilation titled {{Lang|he|Kuntres Hispa'alus}} ("Tract on Ecstasy").<ref>Ehrlich, Leadership in the HaBaD Movement, pp. 160–192, esp. pp. 167–172.</ref>

Following the death of the third Chabad rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (the {{Lang|he|Tzemach Tzedek}}), a dispute over his succession led to the formation of several Chabad groups. While Rabbi [[Shmuel Schneersohn]] was recognized as the heir to the Chabad-Lubavitch line, several of his brothers formed groups of their own in the towns of [[Kopys]] (forming the [[Kapust|Kapust dynasty]]), [[Nezhin]] (forming the [[Niezhin (Hasidic dynasty)|Niezhin dynasty]]), [[Lyady, Vitebsk Region|Lyady]] (forming the [[Liadi (Hasidic dynasty)|Liadi dynasty]]), and [[Ovruch]] (forming the [[Avrutch (Hasidic dynasty)|Avrutch dynasty]]). The lifespan of these groups varied; Niezhin and Avrutch had one rebbe each, Liadi had three rebbes, and Kapust had four. Following the deaths of their last rebbes, these groups eventually disbanded.<ref name="pop">''Encyclopedia of Hasidism, entry: Schneersohn, Shmaryahu Noah''. Naftali Lowenthal. Aronson, London 1996. {{ISBN|1-56821-123-6}}</ref><ref name="kam">{{cite book |last=Kaminetzky |first=Yosef Y. |title=Days in Chabad |publisher=Kehot Publication Society |location=Brooklyn |year=2005 |page=19 |isbn=978-0826604897}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Rabbi Chaim Schneur Zalman of Liadi|journal=L'Maan Yishmeu|issue=128|year=2012|url=http://www.lmaanyishmeu.com/pdf/128%20-%20Revering%20the%20Torah%20-2.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Zevin|first1=Shelomoh Yosef |first2=Uri|last2=Kaploun|title=A Treasury of Chassidic Tales on the Torah: A Collection of Inspirational Chassidic Stories Relevant to the Weekly Torah Readings|volume=1|page=115|publisher=[[ArtScroll|Mesorah Publications]]|year=1980|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NnyuhrzRDCMC&q=kopust|isbn=978-0899069005}}</ref><ref name=dalfin_seven>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lTgAAQAAQBAJ&q=dalfin+chaim|last=Dalfin|first=Chaim|title=The Seven Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbes|publisher=Jason Aronson|year=1998|isbn=978-1461710134}}</ref>

Two other minor offshoot groups were formed by Chabad Hasidim. The [[Malachim (Hasidic group)|Malachim]] were formed as a quasi-Hasidic group. The group claims to recognize the teachings of the first four rebbes of Chabad, thus rivaling the later Chabad rebbes. The Malachim's first and only rebbe, Rabbi [[Chaim Avraham Dov Ber Levine haCohen]] (1859/1860–1938), also known as "The Malach" (lit. "the angel"), was a follower of the fourth and fifth rebbes of Chabad.<ref>B. Sobel, ''The M'lochim''</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Ehrlich|first=M. Avrum|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39633846|title=Leadership in the HaBaD movement : a critical evaluation of HaBaD leadership, history, and succession|date=2000|publisher=J. Aronson|isbn=0-7657-6055-X|location=Northvale, N.J.|pages=269–271|oclc=39633846}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP5KNUAFh0C&pg=PA21|first=Jerome R.|last=Mintz|title=Hasidic People: A Place in the New World|pages=21–26|year=1992|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0674041097}}</ref> While Levine's son chose not to succeed him, the Malachim group continues to maintain a yeshiva and [[minyan]] in [[Williamsburg, Brooklyn]].

Following the death of the seventh Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, an attempt by [[Shaul Shimon Deutsch]] to form a breakaway Chabad movement, with Deutsch as "Liozna Rebbe", failed to gain popular support.<ref name="rebbe">"Dissidents Name 'Rebbe'," ''The Forward'', December 6, 1996</ref><ref>Heinon, Herb, "Bigger than Death," ''The Jerusalem Post'', August 15, 1997</ref><ref>Segall, Rebecca, "Holy Daze The problems of young Lubavitcher Hasidim in a world without the Rebbe," ''The Village Voice'', September 30, 2000</ref><ref>Eisenberg, Charles. ''The Book of Daniel: A Well Kept Secret''. Xulon Press. 2007. Page 103.</ref>