Shneur Zalman of Liadi

From Free net encyclopedia

Shneur Zalman of Liadi (שניאור זלמן מלאדי) (or Shneur Zalman Baruchovitch of Liadi, or Reb Schneur Zalman or Baal HaTanya veShulchan Aruch or Alter Rebbe ("Old Rebbe" in Yiddish) or The Rav), (Liadi was a small town in imperial Russia), (1745-1812), was an Orthodox Rabbi and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad Lubavitch, a branch of Hasidic Judaism and the author of many books, best known for Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Tanya and his complied version of the Arizal's Siddur for normal usage.

1 Biography
2 Works
3 Rebbes of Lubavitch
4 External links
- 4.1 References
- 4.2 Resources

[edit]

Biography

Shneur Zalman of Liadi was a descendant of the mystic and philosopher Rabbi Judah Loew (known as the "Maharal of Prague"). He was a prominent and youngest disciple of Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch, the "Great Maggid" who was in turn a major disciple of the founder of Hasidism, Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer known as the Baal Shem Tov ("Master [of the] Good Name"). After the death of Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch, his students dispersed over Europe. Rabbi Shneur Zalman became the leader of Hasidism in Lithuania, and is accepted as one of the greatest Hasidic leaders because of his Hassidic books he authored, which are used by all Hassidic groups.

The movement he founded was moved to the town of Lubavitch in present-day Belarus by his son and successor Rabbi Dovber Schneuri and stayed there for the longest period in the movement's history. In 1940 the Chabad Lubavitch movement moved its headquarters to Brooklyn, New York in the United States with branches all over the world staffed by its own Lubavitch-trained, and ordained, rabbis with their wives and children.

He involved himself in opposing Napoleon's advance on Russia and supporting the Jewish settlements in the Land of Israel, then under the control of the Ottoman Empire. Due to false charges from his Misnagdim opponents in Vilna, he was imprisoned by the Czar on charges of supporting the Ottoman Empire, since he advocated sending charity to the Ottoman territory of Palestine. The day of his acquittal and release, 19 Kislev on the Hebrew calendar, is celebrated as the "Hasidic New Year" by Lubavitch Hasidim, who have a festive meal and communal pledges to learn the whole of the Talmud known as "Chalukat Ha'Shas."

Descendants of Rabbi Shneur Zalman adopted the names Schneersohn or Schneerson to accommodate Napoleonic edicts that required all subjects to take permanent surnames. (Prior to Napoleon's conquests and the winds of Enlightenment he brought in his wake, Jews only had their traditional names such as Shneur ben (son of) Boruch.) The last two Rebbes of Chabad Lubavitch, Rabbi Joseph Isaac Schneersohn (1880-1950) and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994), adhered strictly to their family surnames.

[edit]

Works

Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi is well known for his systematic exposition of Hasidic Jewish philosophy, entitled Likkutei Amarim, and more popularly known as the Tanya, first published in 1797. (The fuller and more authoritative version of this work dates from 1814.) Due to the popularity of this book, Hasidic Jews often refer to Shneur Zalman as the Baal HaTanya.

He is also well known for his work Shulchan Aruch HaRav, his version of the classic Shulkhan Arukh, an authoritative code of Jewish law and custom commissioned by the Dovber of Mezeritch. The work states the decided halakha, as well as the underlying reasoning. The Shulchan Aruch HaRav is considered authoritative by Hasidim. However, citations to this work are many times found in sources such as the Mishnah Berurah used by Lithuanian Jews and the Ben Ish Chai used by Sephardic Jews. Rabbi Shneur Zalman is one of three authorities on whom Shlomo Ganzfried based his Kitzur Shulkhan Arukh.