Shmuel Schneersohn - Biography

Shmuel Schneersohn (or Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch or The Rebbe Maharash) (17 March 1834 – 14 September 1882 OS) was an Orthodox rabbi and the fourth Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad Lubavitch chasidic movement.

Biography

Schneersohn was born in Lyubavichi, on 2 Iyar 1834, the seventh son of the Tzemach Tzedek. He faced competition from three of his brothers, primarily from Rabbi Yehuda Leib Schneersohn who established a dynasty in Kapust upon their father's death. Other brothers also established dynasties in Lyady, Babruysk, and Nizhyn.

In 1848 Schneersohn was married to the daughter of his brother, Rabbi Chaim Shneur Zalman Schneersohn. After several months she died, and he then married the Rebetzin Rivkah, a granddaughter of Rabbi Dovber Schneuri, the Mitteler Rebbe.

Schneersohn was said to have had chariots on call for the evacuation of books in time of fire.

Besides his communal activism, he had wide intellectual interests. He spoke several languages, including Latin. 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. 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.

He died in Lyubavichi, on 13 Tishrei 1882, leaving four sons and two daughters, and was succeeded by his son Sholom Dovber.

Schneersohn urged the study of kabbala as a prerequisite for one's humanity:

A person who is capable of comprehending the Seder hishtalshelus (kabbalistic secrets concerning the higher spiritual spheres) - 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.

Aphorisms

• "The world says, 'If you can't crawl under, climb over.' But I say, Lechatchilah Ariber--'At the outset, one should climb over.'"

• "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."

External links

• A biography of The Rebbe Maharash - Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn
• Family Tree
• Sefer Toras Shmuel by Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn