Shmuel Schneersohn

Not to be confused with Shmuel Schneurson.

"Maharash" redirects here. For the 17th-century Polish rabbi, see Meir Wahl.

Shmuel Schneersohn
File:Stamp of Rabbi Shmuel Schneerson.jpg Stamp of Shmuel Schneerson
Title	Lubavitcher Rebbe
Personal life
Born	Shmuel Schneersohn 29 April 1834 OS Lyubavichi, Russian Empire
Died	14 September 1882 OS Lyubavichi, Russian Empire
Buried	Lyubavichi
Spouse	Sterna (daughter of his brother Chaim Shneur Zalman), Rivkah (granddaughter of Dovber Schneuri)
Parents	Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (father) Chaya Mushka (daughter of Dovber Schneuri) (mother)
Dynasty	Chabad Lubavitch
Religious life
Religion	Judaism
Jewish leader
Predecessor	Menachem Mendel Schneersohn
Successor	Sholom Dovber Schneersohn
Began	17 March 1866
Ended	14 September 1882 OS
Main work	Likutei Torah - Toras Shmuel
Dynasty	Chabad Lubavitch

File:Shmuel Schneersohn.png

Death of Shmuel Schneersohn. Ha-Melits. 1882-10-10. P8.

Shmuel Schneersohn (29 April 1834 – 14 September 1882 OS), otherwise known as Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch or Maharash, was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and the fourth Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Hasidic movement of Chabad Lubavitch.

Biography

Shmuel Schneersohn was born in Lyubavichi, on 2 Iyar 5594 (1834), the seventh son of Menachem Mendel Schneersohn. He faced competition from three of his brothers, primarily from Yehuda Leib Schneersohn who established a dynasty in Kapust upon their father's death. Other brothers also established dynasties in Lyady, Nizhyn, and Ovruch.

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.

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 5643 (1882), leaving three sons and two daughters, and was succeeded by his son Sholom Dovber.

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.

Works

• "Likkutei Torah L'Sholosh Parshiyos" - Discourses based on the first three parshiyos in Torah Ohr of the Alter Rebbe
• "Likkutei Torah - Toras Shmuel 5626-5642" 35 volumes - discourses in order of the parshiyos and festivals
• "Sefer hasichos Toras Shmuel"
• "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.'"

"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."

"because better is better, is good not good? rather good is good, and better is better!"

"Why are you demanding of me? 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!"

External links

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

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Schneersohn family tree
Shneur Zalman (1745–1812) Shterna Shalom Shachna Devorah Leah (d. 1792) Dovber (1773–1827) Sheina Menachem Mendel (1789–1866) Chaya Mushka (d. 1860) Baruch Shalom (1805–1869) Shmuel (1834–1882) Yosef Yizchak (1822–1876) Yisroel Noah (1815–1883) Chaim Schneur Zalman (d. 1879) Yehuda Leib (1811–1866) Levi Yitzchak (1834–1878) Shalom Dovber (1860–1920) Shterna Sara (1860–1942) Avraham (1860–1937) Yitzchak Dovber (1833–1910) Shlomo Zalman (1830–1900) Shalom Dovber (d. 1908) Shmaryahu Noah (1842–1924) Baruch Schneur (d. 1926) Yosef Yitzchak (1880–1950) Nechama Dina (1881–1971) Levi Yitzchak (d. 1904) Levi Yitzchak (1878–1944) Chana (1880–1964) Menachem Mendel (1902–1994) Chaya Mushka (1901–1988)
Light green indicates a Hasidic Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty   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
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