Dovber Schneuri
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| Dovber Schneuri | ||
|---|---|---|
| Lubavitcher Rebbe | ||
| Term | 1812-12-15 – 1827-11-16 OS | |
| Full name | Dovber Schneuri | |
| Main work | Imrei Binoh, Pokeach Ivrim | |
| Born | 1773-11-13 OS | |
| Liozna | ||
| Died | 1827-11-16 OS | |
| Nizhyn | ||
| Buried | Nizhyn | |
| Dynasty | Chabad Lubavitch | |
| Predecessor | Shneur Zalman of Liadi | |
| Successor | Menachem Mendel Schneersohn | |
| Father | Shneur Zalman of Liadi | |
| Mother | Sterna Segal | |
| Wife 1 | Sheine | |
| Issue 1 | Menachem-Nachum Boruch Sarah Beila Chaya Mushka (wife of Menachem Mendel Schneersohn) |
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Dovber Schneuri (1773-11-13 - 1827-11-16 OS) was an Orthodox rabbi and the second Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad Lubavitch chasidic movement. Rabbi Dovber was the first Chabad rebbe to live in the town of Lubavich (now in present-day Belarus), the town for which this Hasidic dynasty is named. He is also known as Der Mitteler Rebbe ("The Middle Rebbe" in Yiddish).
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[edit] Biography
Rabbi Dov Ber was born in Liozna, White Russia, on 9 Kislev 5534. His father, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, was Maggid (spiritual leader) of the community, and of many Chassidim in White Russia and Lithuania, and other parts of Russia. His father named him after his own teacher, Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch, the disciple and successor of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chassidic movement. Dov Ber was a prodigal student, and had begun to study Talmud at the age of seven. His father taught him Zohar, and transmitted to him the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov. Rabbi Dov Ber adopted the family name of "Schneuri," after his father, but succeeding generations changed it to "Schneersohn," or "Schneerson."[citation needed]
On the death of his father Dov Ber succeeded as Rebbe at age 39. Like his father, he was denounced by his enemies as a danger to the Russian government. He was arrested, but later released, and the day of his release, 10 Kislev 5587, is remembered to this day by Chabad Chassidim. He died a year later, on 9 Kislev 5588, in Nizhyn.[citation needed]
He established a Yeshivah in Lubavitch, which attracted gifted young scholars. His son-in-law, who later became also his successor, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, headed the Yeshivah. Rabbi Dov Ber began a campaign (in 1822, or 1823) to urge Jews to learn trades and skilled factory work. He urged communities to organize trade schools.[citation needed] He also encouraged the study of agriculture. Rabbi Dov Ber himself established colonies of Jewish farmers.[citation needed]
In Chabad, the learning of Kabbalah, as filtered through Kabbalists like R' Schneur Zalman himself, was encouraged strongly. Even relatively simple and illiterate Jews like farmers and artisans were encouraged to learn at least some Kabbalah. This approach was very controversial. After the death of his father, Dovber Schneuri consolidated this approach by further emphasizing the necessity of learning Chassidic-Kabbalah intellectually.[citation needed]
[edit] Works
Rabbi Dov Ber wrote many works on Chabad and Kabbalah, including a commentary on the Zohar. He was a brilliant thinker and a fast writer; his own Chassidic works tend to be very long and very complicated. It is said that when he finished writing the bottom line on a sheet of paper, the ink of the top line has not yet dried. About twenty of his works have been published, a good many of them during his lifetime.[citation needed]
One of his most famous works, entitled "Shar HaYichud" (The Gate of Unity), now translated to English [1], describes the creation and entire make-up of the world according to Kabbalah. The work begins with the "Essence of G-d," and traces the creation of the universe down to the physical world itself, using complicated parables to illustrate difficult points. The book also describes, in its first ten chapters, the proper way to meditate on these Kabbalistic ideas.
[edit] Succession controversy
When R' Schneur Zalman passed away, many of his followers flocked to one of his top students, R' Aharon HaLevi of Strashelye. While many more became followers of the Mittler Rebbe, the Strashelye school of Chassidic thought was the subject of many of the Mittler Rebbe's discourses. R' Aharon HaLevi emphasized the importance of basic emotions in divine service (especially the service of prayer). The Mittler Rebbe did not reject the role of emotion in prayer, but emphasized that if the emotion in prayer is to be genuine, it can only be a result of contemplation and understanding (hisbonenus) of the explanations of Chassidus, which in turn will lead to an attainment of "bittul" (self-nullification before the Divine). In his work entitled "Kuntres Hispaalus" (Tract on Ecstasy), the Mittler Rebbe argues that only through ridding oneself of what he considered disingeuous emotions could one attain the ultimate level in Chassidic worship (that is, bittul).[citation needed]
Perhaps in response to Shar HaYichud, and perhaps in an attempt to come up with his own systemitization of Kabbalah, R' Aharon HaLevi published a book entitled Sharei HaYichud v'HaEmuna (The Gates of Unity and Faith), which is also a top to bottom description of the universe according to Kabbalah, and which describes the importance of the Torah and Divine service in the world's existence.[citation needed]
After two generations, the Strashelye school dissolved, and many if not most of the Strashelye Chassidim became followers of the Tzemach Tzedek.
[edit] Time-line of Lubavitcher rebbes
| Preceded by Shneur Zalman of Liadi |
Rebbe of Lubavitch 1812—1827 |
Succeeded by Menachem Mendel Schneersohn |
