Books & Manuscripts

Chabad Lubavitcher Rebbe Schneerson – A Spiritual Legend

Hasidism’ is an arm of the Orthodox Jewish spiritual belief system that endorses spiritual advancement through the spread and incorporation of the mysticism of Judaism as the principal facet of the Jewish faith. Chabad Lubavitch is a movement with such Hasidic roots and Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson was the person responsible for spearheading the Chabad Lubavitch movement and enabling it to become so popularly widespread among the global orthodox Jewish community. No narrative can exhaust the greatness of this exceptional leader of the Chabad, nonetheless we will try to give a précis of his life and teachings.

’Chabad’ is coined from the combination of the first letters of Chochmah(Wisdom), Binah(Understanding), and Da’at(Knowledge) which are three attributes from the Kabbalah Sephiroth. Lubavitch was a Chabad group based in Lyubavichi, Russia until the late 1900’s. The sixth leader of the Chabad Lubavitch movement – Yitzchok Schneersohn, came to New York in 1940, where he established the Chabad sect’s synagogue. Menachem Mendel Schneerson, his son-in-law, took the reins of the Chabad movement into his hands after his father-in-law’s death and turned it into a powerful global spiritual force.

Ukraine-born Rebbe Schneerson, had two younger siblings. He was born in April 1902. At a young age, Schneerson was already introduced to Jewish law and the Kabbalah as his father, Levi Yitzchak, was a Rabbi hence, was an expert in these doctrines. Receiving tutelage from his father, he became quite adept and enamored with the Rabbinic doctrines, the Talmud and Jewish mysticism. A man of words, the would-be-leader of the Chabad movement wrote numerous essays on the fundamental teachings of the Torah during his five-year stay in Berlin around mid-1920s. He then moved to France in 1933 and learned spoken French, which was useful when promoting the Chabad movement there after the war. This French Chabad movement drew in Jews from France, Algeria, and Tunisia. In 1942, he was elected as the director of the Chabad organization’s central institution and one year after his father-in-law passed away, Schneerson was officially appointed as Rebbe of the Chabad organization. 

’Outreach’ became a core strategy during Chabad Schneerson’s leadership. He was a champion of both Torah-observant Judaism and the Baal Teshuva. One of his many activities was training hundreds of Chabad rabbis and directing them to spread the Chabad word, all over the world. The proliferation of Chabad schools, community centers, youth camps and ‘Chabad Houses’ during his leadership is a testament to his advocacy for education. Schneerson also reintroduced Torah doctrines, adherence to kosher traditions, and practices like the use of Shabbat candles through Chabad mitzvah campaigns. 

Right up until his death in 1994, Schneersom worked tirelessly for the Chabad movement, often even getting involved in the politics of Israel and Iran. His erudition for the Torah, the Talmud and his novel interpretations of the Rashi commentary made the 7th Chabad Rebbe legendary. Even today, many of his avid followers believe that he will return as the Messiah. Messiah or not, one thing is for certain, through the Chabad movement his life and his teachings will continue to inspire millions of people for millennia.

As we learn, the  simple look at the face of a Tzadik is an enormous sourcr of blessings and who would be better than The Chabad Rebbe, so we urge you to chose your prints and portraits from the large collection of rare pictures of the Rebbe at ChabadKing.com, bring blessings and peace to your home. Just click now the word Chabad and you’ll discover all the beautiful Pictures of  the Rebbe.

Chabad Lubavitch Takes Over California State Senate April 23, 2007

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