Shmuel Schneersohn
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Shmuel Schneersohn (or Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch or The Rebbe Maharash) (29 April 1834 – 14 September 1882 OS) was an Orthodox rabbi and the fourth Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic movement.
Biography
[edit]Template:Chabad sidebar Shmuel Schneersohn was born in Lyubavichi, on 2 Iyar 5594 (1834), the seventh son of Menachem Mendel Schneersohn. He faced competition from three of his brothers, primarily from Yehuda Leib Schneersohn who established a dynasty in Kapust upon their father's death. Other brothers also established dynasties in Lyady, Nizhyn, and Ovruch.<ref>Sefer HaToldot Rav Shmuel, Admor Maharash, Glitzenstein, A. H.</ref>
In 1848, Schneersohn was married to the daughter of his brother, Chaim Shneur Zalman Schneersohn. After several months she died, and he then married Rivkah, a granddaughter of his own grandfather Dovber Schneuri. He had three sons, Zalman Aharon, Shalom Dovber, and Menachem Mendel, as well as one daughter, Devorah Leah.Template:Fact
Schneersohn was said to have had chariots on call for the evacuation of books in time of fire.<ref>The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidim Past and Present, M. Avrum Ehrlich, ch.16 note.12, KTAV Publishing, Template:ISBN</ref>
Besides his communal activism, he had wide intellectual interests. He spoke several languages, including Latin.<ref name="ilo">Encyclopedia of Hasidism, entry: Schneersohn, Shmuel. Naftali Lowenthal. Aronson, London 1996. Template:ISBN</ref> He wrote widely on a range of religious and secular topics, and much of his writing has never been published and remains in manuscript form alone.<ref name="ilo"/> His discourses began to be published for the first time under the title Likkutei Torat Shmuel in 1945 by Kehot, and 12 volumes have so far been printed.<ref name="ilo"/>
He died in Lyubavichi, on 13 Tishrei 5643 (1882), leaving three sons and two daughters, and was succeeded by his son Sholom Dovber.<ref name="ilo"/>
Schneersohn urged the study of Kabbalah as a prerequisite for one's humanity:
A person who is capable of comprehending the seder hishtalshelus (kabbalistic secrets concerning the coming-into-being of all existence every moment) - and fails to do so - cannot be considered a human being. At every moment and time one must know where his soul stands. It is a mitzvah (commandment) and an obligation to know the seder hishtalshelus.<ref>Sefer HaToldos Admur Maharash Template:Webarchive</ref>
Works
[edit]- "Likkutei Torah L'Sholosh Parshiyos" - Discourses based on the first three parshiyos in Torah Ohr of the Alter Rebbe
- "Likkutei Torah - Toras Shmuel 5626-5642" 35 volumes - discourses in order of the parshiyos and festivals
- "Sefer hasichos Toras Shmuel"
- "Igros Kodesh" A collection of over 70 surviving letters and Halachik responsa
Aphorisms
[edit]"The world says, 'If you can't crawl under, climb over.' But I say, Lechatchilah Ariber--'At the outset, one should climb over.'"<ref>See footnote number "[58]", of Template:Cite web</ref>
"You cannot fool God; ultimately, you cannot fool others either. The only one you can fool is yourself. And to fool a fool is no great achievement."<ref>The Nechama Greisman Anthology Template:Webarchive</ref>
"because better is better, is good not good? rather good is good, and better is better!"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
"Why are you demanding of me?<ref>To rid you of evil thoughts</ref> Demand of yourself! If you toil and fill your mind with Torah there won't be any space for foreign thoughts! break your desires and you will feel great pleasure in prayer!"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
References
[edit]External links
[edit]- A biography of The Rebbe Maharash - Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn
- Family Tree
- Sefer Toras Shmuel by Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn
Template:Rabbinical eras timeline Template:S-start Template:Succession box Template:S-end Template:Chabad Template:Schneersohn family tree Template:Authority control