Death of Shmuel Schneersohn. Ha-Melits. 1882-10-10. P8.
Shmuel Schneersohn (or Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch or The Rebbe Maharash) (29 April 1834 – 14 September 1882 OS) was an Orthodoxrabbi and the fourth Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad LubavitchChasidic movement.
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.[citation needed]
Schneersohn was said to have had chariots on call for the evacuation of books in time of fire.[2]
Besides his communal activism, he had wide intellectual interests. He spoke several languages, including Latin.[3] 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.[3] 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.[3]
He died in Lyubavichi, on 13 Tishrei 5643 (1882), leaving three sons and two daughters, and was succeeded by his son Sholom Dovber.[3]
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.[4]
Works
"Likkutei Torah L'Sholosh Parshiyos" - Discourses based on the first three parshiyos in Torah Ohr of the Alter Rebbe
"Igros Kodesh" A collection of over 70 surviving letters and Halachik responsa
Aphorisms
"The world says, 'If you can't crawl under, climb over.' But I say, Lechatchilah Ariber--'At the outset, one should climb over.'"[5]
"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."[6]
"because better is better, is good not good? rather good is good, and better is better!"[7]
"Why are you demanding of me?[8] 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!"[9]
References
^Sefer HaToldot Rav Shmuel, Admor Maharash, Glitzenstein, A. H.
^The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidim Past and Present, M. Avrum Ehrlich, ch.16 note.12, KTAV Publishing, ISBN0-88125-836-9
^ abcdEncyclopedia of Hasidism, entry: Schneersohn, Shmuel. Naftali Lowenthal. Aronson, London 1996. ISBN1-56821-123-6
Light purple indicates a Hasidic Rebbe of the Chabad-Kapust dynasty
Light orange indicates a Hasidic Rebbe of the Chabad-Niezhin dynasty
Light blue indicates a Hasidic Rebbe of the Chabad-Liadi dynasty
Light yellow indicates a Hasidic Rebbe of Avrutch dynasty
Solid lines indicate parents/children, dashed lines show marriages, dotted lines show in-laws. Additional members of Schneersohn family are not listed here
Notes:
^Founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, known as Shneur Zalman of Liady
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