View source for Menachem Mendel Schneerson

{{Short description|Seventh Chabad Rebbe (1902–1994)}}
{{For|the 19th century, third Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch dynasty|Menachem Mendel Schneersohn}}
{{Other people|Schneerson (or Schneersohn)|Schneersohn}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox Jewish leader
| honorific-prefix = [[Rebbe]]
| name = Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
| honorific-suffix = 
| title = Lubavitcher Rebbe
| image = Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson2 crop.jpg
| caption = Schneerson in 1987
| synagogue = [[770 Eastern Parkway]], Brooklyn, New York City
| yeshiva = 
| yeshivaposition = 
| organisation = 
| began = January 17, 1951<br>(10 Shevat 5711)
| predecessor = [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
| rabbi = 
| rebbe = 
| kohan = 
| hazzan = 
| rank = 
| other_post = 
| birth_name = Menachem Mendel Schneerson
| birth_date = {{OldStyleDateDY|April 18,|1902|April 5, 1902}}<br>([[11 Nissan]] 5662)
| birth_place = Nikolaev, [[Kherson Governorate]], Russian Empire<!-- DO NOT LINK, see [[MOS:GEOLINK]] for further guidance --> (now [[Ukraine]])
| death_date = June 12, 1994<br>([[3 Tammuz]] 5754) (aged 92)
| death_place = [[Manhattan]], New York City<!-- DO NOT LINK, see [[MOS:GEOLINK]] for further guidance -->, U.S.<!-- DO NOT LINK, see [[MOS:GEOLINK]] for further guidance -->
| buried = [[Queens]], New York City<!-- DO NOT LINK, see [[MOS:GEOLINK]] for further guidance -->, U.S.
| residence = Brooklyn, New York City
| dynasty = [[Chabad|Chabad Lubavitch]]
| father = [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]]
| mother = [[Chana Schneerson|Chana Yanovski Schneerson]]
| spouse = [[Chaya Mushka Schneerson]]
| children = 
| occupation = 
| profession = 
| alma_mater = 
| semicha = [[Rogatchover Gaon]]; [[Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg]]; [[Shmuel Schneerson]]
| signature = Signature of the Rebbe - Menachem M. Schneerson.png
| synagogueposition = 
| organisationposition = 
| denomination = 
}}
'''Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson'''{{efn|[[Yiddish]]: מנחם מענדל שניאורסאָהן; {{langx|ru|Менахем-Мендл Шнеерсон|{{transliteration|ru|Menakhem-Mendl Shneyerson}}}}; [[Modern Hebrew]]: מנחם מנדל שניאורסון}} ({{OldStyleDateDY|April 18,|1902|April 5, 1902}} – June 12, 1994; [[Anno Mundi|AM]] [[11 Nissan]] 5662 – [[3 Tammuz]] 5754), known to adherents of the [[Chabad-Lubavitch]] movement as '''the Lubavitcher Rebbe''' or simply '''the Rebbe''',<ref>Noah Feldman, June 25, 2014 [http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-06-25/remembering-a-force-in-jewish-history "Remembering a Force in Jewish History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908201757/http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-06-25/remembering-a-force-in-jewish-history |date=September 8, 2014 }}, BloombergView</ref><ref>Shmuly Yanklowitz, ''[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-shmuly-yanklowitz/rabbi-telushkins-newest-b_b_5407578.html Rabbi Telushkin's Newest Book on the Lubavitcher Rebbe: A Testament to Greatness] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907165246/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-shmuly-yanklowitz/rabbi-telushkins-newest-b_b_5407578.html |date=September 7, 2017 }}'' Huffington Post, May 30, 2014.</ref> was an Orthodox [[rabbi]] and the [[Rebbe]] of the [[Chabad|Lubavitch]] [[List of Hasidic dynasties and groups|Hasidic dynasty]]. He is considered one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century.<ref name="nytimes.com">Matt Flegenheimer, [https://nytimes.com/2014/07/02/nyregion/thousands-descend-on-queens-to-mourn-rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson.html "Thousands Descend on Queens on 20th Anniversary of Grand Rebbe’s Death"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227091351/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/02/nyregion/thousands-descend-on-queens-to-mourn-rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson.html |date=February 27, 2021 }}, ''The New York Times''</ref><ref>Steve Langford, [http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/07/01/crowds-flock-to-queens-to-remember-influential-rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson/ "Crowds Flock To Queens To Remember Influential Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209170332/https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/07/01/crowds-flock-to-queens-to-remember-influential-rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson/ |date=December 9, 2019 }}, CBS New York</ref>

As leader of the [[Chabad-Lubavitch]] movement, he took an insular Hasidic group that almost came to an end with the [[Holocaust]] and transformed it into one of the most influential movements in religious Jewry,<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/13/nyregion/rabbi-schneerson-led-a-small-hasidic-sect-to-world-prominence.htmlRabbi Schneerson Led a Small Hasidic Sect to World Prominence] ''The New York Times'' June 13, 1994</ref> with an international network of over 5,000 educational and social centers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0602/feature4/index.html |title=A Faith Grows in Brooklyn; / A movement embracing old-world Orthodox Judaism is alive and thriving in New York City |work=February 2006 issue of National Geographic Magazine |publisher=[[National Geographic]] |access-date=May 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227154109/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0602/feature4/index.html |archive-date=December 27, 2010 |url-status=dead |author=Drake, Carolyn |date=Feb 2006}}</ref><ref name="jns.org">{{Cite web |author=Maayan Jaffe |url=http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2014/6/8/20-years-after-rebbes-death-jewish-movements-increasingly-emulate-chabad |title=20 Years After Rebbe's Death Jewish Movements Increasingly Emulate Chabad |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011010729/http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2014/6/8/20-years-after-rebbes-death-jewish-movements-increasingly-emulate-chabad |archive-date=October 11, 2014 |date=June 8, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Annual International Conference of Chabad Shluchim Opens Today |url=https://www.lubavitch.com/annual-international-conference-of-chabad-shluchim-opens-today/ |website=Lubavitch |date=November 12, 2020 |access-date=March 3, 2021 |archive-date=March 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324034320/https://www.lubavitch.com/annual-international-conference-of-chabad-shluchim-opens-today/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The institutions he established include kindergartens, schools, drug-rehabilitation centers, care homes for the disabled, and synagogues.<ref name="observer.com">Editorial, 07/08/14. [http://observer.com/2014/07/rebbe-to-the-city-and-the-world/ "Rebbe to the city and Rebbe to the world"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125224433/https://observer.com/2014/07/rebbe-to-the-city-and-the-world/ |date=January 25, 2022 }}. ''The New York Observer''.</ref>

Schneerson's published teachings fill more than 400 volumes, and he is noted for his contributions to Jewish continuity and religious thought,<ref>The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidim Past and Present, M. Avrum Ehrlich, p. 106. [[KTAV Publishing]], {{ISBN|0-88125-836-9}}</ref> as well as his wide-ranging contributions to traditional [[Torah]] scholarship.<ref name="ou.org">[[Tzvi Hersh Weinreb|Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb]], Vice President of the [[Orthodox Union]]. [http://www.ou.org/jewish_action/06/2014/contributions-lubavitcher-rebbe-torah-scholarship/ "The Contributions of the Lubavitcher Rebbe to Torah Scholarship"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701021317/http://www.ou.org/jewish_action/06/2014/contributions-lubavitcher-rebbe-torah-scholarship/ |date=July 1, 2014 }}. [[Jewish Action|Jewish Action Magazine]]</ref> He is recognized as the pioneer of [[Jewish outreach]].<ref name="jewishfederations.org">{{Cite web|author=Sue Fishkoff |url=http://www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=67432.|title=10 Years After His Death, Reach of Lubavitcher Rebbe Continues To Grow |publisher=[[Jewish Federations of North America]] |access-date=November 13, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112224715/http://www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=67432 |archive-date=November 12, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="Susan">Susan Handelman, [http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/177352/lubavitcher-rebbe#undefined The Lubavitcher Rebbe Died 20 Years Ago Today. Who Was He?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211012249/https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/177352/lubavitcher-rebbe#undefined |date=December 11, 2021 }}, Tablet Magazine</ref> During his lifetime, [[Chabad messianism|many of his adherents]] believed that he was the [[Messiah in Judaism|Messiah]]. His own attitude to the subject, and whether he openly encouraged this, is hotly debated among academics. During Schneerson's lifetime, the messianic controversy and other issues elicited fierce criticism from many quarters in the Orthodox world, especially earning him the enmity of [[Elazar Shach]].

In 1978, the [[U.S. Congress]] asked President [[Jimmy Carter]] to designate Schneerson's birthday as the national [[Education and Sharing Day|Education Day in the U.S.]]<ref name="Wikisource">{{Cite web |url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:United_States_Statutes_at_Large_Volume_92_Part_1.djvu/254 |title=Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 92 Part 1.djvu/254 |publisher=[[Wikisource]] |access-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113112558/http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:United_States_Statutes_at_Large_Volume_92_Part_1.djvu/254 |url-status=live }}</ref> It has been since commemorated as Education and Sharing Day.<ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. pp.30-36.</ref><ref>Fishkoff, Sue. The Rebbe's Army, Schoken, 2003 (08052 11381). Page 192.</ref> In 1994, Schneerson was posthumously awarded the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] for his "outstanding and lasting contributions toward improvements in world education, morality, and acts of charity".<ref name="Public Law 103-457">{{Cite web |url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d103:HR04497:%7CTOM:/bss/d103query.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714203733/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d103:HR04497:%7CTOM:/bss/d103query.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 14, 2012 |title=Public Law 103-457 |publisher=Thomas.loc.gov |access-date=May 12, 2010 }}</ref> [[Ohel (Chabad-Lubavitch)|Schneerson's resting place]] attracts Jews for prayer.<ref name="Sarah Maslin Nir 2013">Sarah Maslin Nir, [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/14/nyregion/jews-make-a-pilgrimage-to-a-grand-rebbes-grave.html Jews Make a Pilgrimage to a Grand Rebbe's Grave] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824005652/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/14/nyregion/jews-make-a-pilgrimage-to-a-grand-rebbes-grave.html |date=August 24, 2017 }}. September 13, 2013, ''The New York Times''.</ref><ref>Matt Flegenheimer, [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/02/nyregion/thousands-descend-on-queens-to-mourn-rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson.html Thousands Beat Path to Queens Cemetery to Remember a Jewish Leader] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908112330/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/02/nyregion/thousands-descend-on-queens-to-mourn-rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson.html |date=September 8, 2017 }}. July 1, 2014. ''The New York Times''.</ref><ref name="observer.com"/><ref name="tabletmag.com">Menachem Butler, [http://tabletmag.com/scroll/178077/visiting-the-lubavitcher-rebbes-grave-in-queens Visiting the Lubavitcher Rebbe's Grave in Queens, N.Y.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811052618/http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/178077/visiting-the-lubavitcher-rebbes-grave-in-queens |date=August 11, 2014 }} ''Tablet Magazine'', July 2, 2014.</ref>

{{toc limit|3}}

==Biography==
===Early life and education===
{{Chabad (Rebbes and Chasidim)|Rebbes of Chabad}}
Menachem Mendel Schneerson was born on April 5, 1902 ([[Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe|OS]]) (11 [[Nisan]], 5662), in the [[Black Sea]] port of Nikolaev in the [[Russian Empire]] (now [[Mykolaiv]] in [[Ukraine]]).<ref name="Telushkin455">Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 455</ref> His father was rabbi [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]], a renowned [[Talmudic]] scholar and authority on [[Kabbalah]] and [[Jewish law]].<ref>Introduction to ''Likkutei Levi Yitzchak'', Kehot Publications 1970</ref> His mother was [[Rebbetzin]] [[Chana Schneerson]] ({{née|Yanovski}}). He was named after the third [[Chabad]] rebbe [[Menachem Mendel Schneersohn]], the ''Tzemach Tzedek'', from whom he was a direct patrilineal descendant.

In 1907, when Schneerson was five years old, the family moved to [[Dnipro|Yekatrinoslav]] (today, [[Dnipro]]), where Levi Yitzchak was appointed Chief Rabbi of the city. He served until 1939, when he was exiled by the [[Soviets]] to [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakhstan]].<ref>Shmuel Marcus, [http://www.chabad.org/133640 Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson - A brief biography]</ref> Schneerson had two younger brothers: Dov Ber Schneerson, who was murdered in 1944 by [[Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy|Nazi collaborators]], and Yisroel Aryeh Leib Schneerson, who died in 1952 while completing doctoral studies at [[Liverpool University]].<ref name="Telushkin455"/>

During his youth, he received a private education and was tutored by Zalman Vilenkin from 1909 through 1913. When Schneerson was 11 years old, Vilenkin informed his father that he had nothing more to teach his son.<ref>Chana Vilenkin, Zalman's daughter on "The Early Years Vol I". Jewish Educational Media 2006, segment Nikolaev, Russia 1902. (UPC 874780 000525)</ref> At that point, Levi Yitzchak began teaching his son Talmud and [[rabbinic literature]], as well as Kabbalah. Schneerson proved gifted in both Talmudic and Kabbalistic study and also took exams as an external student of the local Soviet school.<ref name="Adin Steinsaltz page 24">Adin Steinsaltz, ''My Rebbe''. Maggid Books, page 24</ref> He was considered an ''[[illui]]'' and genius, and by the time he was 17, he had mastered the entire [[Talmud]], some 5,422 pages, as well as all [[Rishonim|its early commentaries]].<ref>Slater, Elinor, "Great Jewish Men", {{ISBN|0-8246-0381-8}}, page 277.</ref>

Throughout his childhood, Schneerson was involved in the affairs of his father's office. He was also said to have acted as an interpreter between the Jewish community and the Russian authorities on a number of occasions.<ref>Schneerson, Chana, ''A Mother in Israel'' Kehot Publications, 1983. {{ISBN|0-8266-0099-9}}, page 13.</ref> Levi Yitzchak's courage and principles guided his son for the rest of his life. Many years later, when he once reminisced about his youth, Schneerson said, "I have the education of the first-born son of the rabbi of Yekaterinoslav. When it comes to saving lives, I speak up whatever others may say."<ref>Adin Steinsaltz, ''My Rebbe''. Maggid Books, 2014. Page 25.</ref>

Schneerson went on to receive separate [[Semikhah|rabbinical ordination]]s from the Rogatchover [[Gaon (Hebrew)|Gaon]], [[Joseph Rosen]],<ref>Selegson, Michoel A. Introduction to ''From Day to Day'', English translation of the [[Hayom Yom]], {{ISBN|0-8266-0669-5}}, p. A20.</ref> and [[Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg]], author of ''Sridei Aish''.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/player_cdo/aid/1264762/jewish/Rabbinic-Ordination.htm |title= Rabbinic Ordination - Program Three Hundred Nine - Living Torah |publisher= Chabad.org |access-date= January 29, 2012 |archive-date= August 29, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120829142034/http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/player_cdo/aid/1264762/jewish/Rabbinic-Ordination.htm |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>Dovid Zaklikowsky, [http://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/2112908/ Details of the Rebbes Rabbinical Ordination Authenticated]. January 21, 2013.</ref>

===Marriage and family life===
In 1923, Schneerson visited the sixth Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]], for the first time. He met the rabbi's middle daughter [[Chaya Mushka Schneerson|Chaya Mushka]]—they were distant cousins. Sometime later, they became engaged but were not married until 1928 in [[Warsaw]], Poland.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ehrlich |first=Avrum M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SZR6ZOS0-KsC&q=%22Chaya+Mousia%22&pg=PA35 |title=The Messiah of Brooklyn: understanding Lubavitch Hasidism past and present |publisher=KTAV Publishing House, Inc. |year=2004 |isbn=9780881257809 |page=35}}</ref> Taking great pride in his son-in-law's outstanding scholarship, Yosef Yitzchak asked him to engage in learned conversation with the great Torah scholars that were present at the wedding, such as [[Meir Shapiro]] and [[Menachem Ziemba]].<ref>Chaim Rapoport ''The Afterlife of Scholarship: A Critical Review of 'The Rebbe' by Samuel Heilman and Menachem Friedman'', Oporto Press, 2011, {{ISBN|9780615538976}}, p. 77.</ref> Menachem Mendel and Chaya Mushka were married for 60 years and were childless.<ref name="Wall Street Journal">Dara Horn, June 13, 2014 [https://online.wsj.com/articles/book-review-rebbe-by-joseph-telushkin-and-my-rebbe-by-adin-steinsaltz-1402696458 "Rebbe of Rebbe's"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026163324/http://online.wsj.com/articles/book-review-rebbe-by-joseph-telushkin-and-my-rebbe-by-adin-steinsaltz-1402696458 |date=October 26, 2014 }}. ''Book Review 'Rebbe' by Joseph Telushkin and 'My Rebbe' by Adin Steinsaltz'', The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 28, 2014.</ref>

Menachem Mendel and Yosef Yitzchak were both descendants of [[Menachem Mendel Schneersohn]], known as the ''Tzemach Tzedek'', the third Rebbe of Chabad.<ref>Chana Schneerson, [http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1881290/jewish/Memoirs-of-Rebbetzin-Chana-Part-34.htm "Memoirs of Rebbetzin Chana - Part 34"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704233204/http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1881290/jewish/Memoirs-of-Rebbetzin-Chana-Part-34.htm |date=July 4, 2012 }} Kehot, 2011.</ref> Schneerson later commented that the day of his marriage bound the community to him and him to the community.<ref name="chabad.org">Eli Rubin, [http://www.chabad.org/2619803 "High Holidays in Riga: Self and Community"]</ref>

In 1947, Schneerson traveled to Paris to take his mother, [[Chana Schneerson]], back to New York City with him.<ref name="Rebbe 2014. Page 475">''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 475</ref> Schneerson would visit her every day and twice each Friday and prepare her tea.<ref>Chana Schneerson, [http://www.chabad.org/1881290 My Son Visits Every Day].</ref> In 1964, Chana Schneerson died.<ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 488.</ref>

On February 10, 1988, Schneerson's wife Chaya died.<ref name="Chaya Schneerson">''The New York Times'' [https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/11/obituaries/chaya-schneerson-wife-of-the-leader-of-the-lubavitchers.html "Chaya Schneerson"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306062305/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/11/obituaries/chaya-schneerson-wife-of-the-leader-of-the-lubavitchers.html |date=March 6, 2016 }}, February 11, 1988</ref> A year after the death of his wife, when the traditional year of [[Jewish mourning]] had passed, Schneerson moved into his study above the [[770 Eastern Parkway|central Lubavitch synagogue]] on Eastern Parkway.<ref>Alan Feuer, January 14, 2009 [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/nyregion/15rooms.html "No One There, but This Place Is Far From Empty"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230085840/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/nyregion/15rooms.html |date=December 30, 2016 }} ''The New York Times''</ref>

===Berlin===
[[File:Gedenktafel Hansa-Ufer 7 (Moabi) Menachem Mendel Schneerson.jpg|alt=|thumb|403x403px|A monument for Schneerson in Berlin]]
After his wedding to Chaya Mushka in 1928, Schneerson and his wife moved to [[Berlin]] in the [[Weimar Republic]] (now part of [[Germany]]), where he was assigned specific communal tasks by his father-in-law, who also requested that he write scholarly annotations to the ''[[History of responsa in Judaism|responsa]]'' and various Hasidic discourses of the earlier Rebbes of Chabad-Lubavitch. Schneerson studied mathematics, physics, and philosophy at the [[Humboldt University of Berlin|University of Berlin]].<ref name="Volume II 1938 PC">"The Early Years Volume II (1931–1938)" Jewish Educational Media, 2006 (UPC 74780 00058)</ref> He would later recall that he enjoyed [[Erwin Schrödinger]]'s lectures.<ref>Eli Rubin, [http://www.chabad.org/2619782 "Studies in Berlin: Science, Torah & Quantum Theory"]</ref> His father-in-law took great pride in his son-in-law's scholarly attainments and paid for all the tuition expenses and helped facilitate his studies throughout.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Heilman |first1=Samuel |last2=Friedman |first2=Menachem |title=The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2010 |pages=94, 106 |isbn=978-0-691-13888-6}}</ref>

During his stay in Berlin, his father-in-law encouraged him to become more of a public figure, but Schneerson described himself as an introvert,<ref name="chabad.org"/> and was known to have pleaded with acquaintances not to make a fuss over the fact that he was the son-in-law of Yosef Yitzchak.<ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 465.</ref>

While in Berlin, Schneerson met [[Joseph B. Soloveitchik]] and the two formed a friendship that remained between them years later when they emigrated to America.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.uchicagohillel.org/news/blog.aspx?id=428514&blogid=13574 |title=Of God and Man: Some thoughts on the Rebbe |date=June 25, 2014 |publisher=JUF News |access-date=December 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018013842/http://www.uchicagohillel.org/news/blog.aspx?id=428514&blogid=13574 |archive-date=October 18, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Rebbe-Rav">
{{Cite web
| url = http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article.htm/aid/529444/jewish/The-Rebbe-and-the-Rav.html
| title = The Rebbe and the Rav
| access-date = October 10, 2007
| last = Kowalsky
| first = Sholem B.
| publisher = [[Chabad.org]]
}}</ref><ref>
{{Cite video
| title      = A Relationship from Berlin to New York
| url        = http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article.htm/aid/527750/jewish/A-Relationship-from-Berlin-to-New-York.html
| format     = [[Windows Media Video]]
| medium     = Documentary
| publisher  = [[Chabad.org]]
| location   = [[Brooklyn, NY]]
| access-date = October 10, 2007
}}</ref><ref name="RebbeInBerlin">{{Cite video
 |title        = The Rebbe in Berlin, Germany
 |url          = http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article.htm/aid/527752/jewish/The-Rebbe-in-Berlin-Germany.html
 |format       = [[Windows Media Video]]
 |medium       = Documentary
 |publisher    = [[Chabad.org]]
 |location     = [[Brooklyn, NY]]
 |access-date  = October 10, 2007
|archive-date = October 11, 2007
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20071011104830/http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article.htm/aid/527752/jewish/The-Rebbe-in-Berlin-Germany.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> He wrote hundreds of pages of his own original Torah discourses,<ref>Menachem. M. Schneerson, ''Reshimot''. Kehot Publication Society, 1994–2003</ref> and conducted a serious interchange of ''halachic'' correspondence with many of Eastern Europe's leading rabbinic figures, including the [[Rogachover Gaon]].<ref>Likkutei Levi Yitzchak Igrot Kodesh, Kehot Publication Society, 1972</ref> In 1933, he also met with [[Chaim Elazar Shapiro]], as well as with Talmudist [[Shimon Shkop]].<ref>{{Cite book | title=The Educational Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson |author=Aryeh Solomon |page=310 |date=May 2000 |isbn=0-7657-6092-4 |publisher=Jason Aronson Inc}}</ref> During this time, he kept a diary in which he would carefully document his private conversations with his father-in-law, as well as his kabbalistic correspondence with his father, Levi Yitzchak.<ref>The Rebbe's Early Years Ch. 5, Pg. 326 (Oberlander, 2012)</ref>

===Paris===
In 1933, after the [[Adolf Hitler's rise to power|Nazis took over]] [[Weimar Republic|Germany]], the Schneersons left Berlin and moved to Paris, where Menachem Mendel (known as "RaMash" before accepting the leadership of Chabad)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rubin |first=Mordechai |title=A Year of Uncertainty: 10 Images That Tell the Story of the Rebbe's Reluctant Path to Leadership |url=https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/4254749/jewish/A-Year-of-Uncertainty-10-Images-That-Tell-the-Story-of-the-Rebbes-Reluctant-Path-to-Leadership.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116115040/https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/4254749/jewish/A-Year-of-Uncertainty-10-Images-That-Tell-the-Story-of-the-Rebbes-Reluctant-Path-to-Leadership.htm |archive-date=January 16, 2019 |access-date=October 21, 2024 |website=Chabad.org}}</ref> continued his religious and communal activities on behalf of his father-in-law.

While in Paris, he took a two-year course in engineering at a vocational college.<ref>https://www.haaretz.com/2007-02-11/ty-article/the-lubavitcher-rebbe-as-a-god/0000017f-dc1a-df9c-a17f-fe1aa9c40000 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102041753/https://www.haaretz.com/2007-02-11/ty-article/the-lubavitcher-rebbe-as-a-god/0000017f-dc1a-df9c-a17f-fe1aa9c40000?_amp=true |date=January 2, 2023 }} "While in Paris he acquired his only formal education: he took a two year vocational course in electrical engineering at a Montparnase Vocational College where he achieved mediocre grades."</ref>

During that time, Yosef Yitzchak recommended that Professor [[Alexander Barchenko|Alexander Vasilyevitch Barchenko]] consult with Schneerson regarding various religious and mystical matters,<ref>''The Afterlife of Scholarship'' Pg. 76, Fn. 196</ref> and prominent rabbis, such as Yerachmiel Binyaminson and [[Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler]], turned to Schneerson with their rabbinic and kabbalistic queries.<ref>''The Afterlife of Scholarship''. Page 143. {{ISBN|978-0-615-53897-6}}</ref><ref>Schneerson, Menachem M. ''Igrot Kodesh'', vol 1, p 19–23.</ref>

On June 11, 1940, three days before [[German occupation of France during World War II|Paris fell to the Nazis]], the Schneersons fled to [[Vichy]] and later to [[Nice]], where they stayed until their final escape from Europe in 1941.<ref>The Early Years Volume IV, JEM 2008 (ASIN: B001M1Z62I)</ref>

===New York===
[[File:Schneerson kiddushin.jpg|thumb|237x237px|Menachem Mendel Schneerson officiating at a wedding ceremony.]]
In 1941, Schneerson escaped from Europe via [[Lisbon]], Portugal.<ref>''Last Sea Route From Lisbon to U.S. Stops Ticket Sale to Refugees'', ''The New York Times'', March 15, 1941</ref> On the eve of his departure, Schneerson penned a treatise where he revealed his vision for the future of world Jewry and humanity.<ref>Eli Rubin, [http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2236391/jewish/Lisbon-1941-The-Messiah-the-Invalid-and-the-Fish.htm Lisbon, 1941: The Messiah the Invalid and the Fish] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702194635/http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2236391/jewish/Lisbon-1941-The-Messiah-the-Invalid-and-the-Fish.htm |date=July 2, 2014 }}, Caption: An article that appeared in ''The Argus'' (Melbourne, Australia), Tuesday, May 6, 1941.</ref> He and his wife, Chaya Mushka, arrived in New York on June 23, 1941.<ref>Jewish Educational Media, [http://www.chabad.org/1558408 The Rebbe and Rebbetzin Arrive in America] ''The Early Years'', vol 4.</ref>

Shortly after his arrival, his father-in-law appointed him director and chairman of the three Chabad central organizations, [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]], [[Machneh Israel (Chabad)|Machneh Israel]] and [[Kehot Publication Society]], placing him at the helm of the movement's Jewish educational, social services, and publishing networks. Over the next decade, Yosef Yitzchak referred many of the scholarly questions that had been inquired of him to his son-in-law. He became increasingly known as a personal representative of Yosef Yitzchak.<ref name=rapaport>Rapoport, Chaim. ''The Afterlife of Scholarship''. Page 144. {{ISBN|978-0-615-53897-6}}</ref>

During the 1940s, Schneerson became a naturalized US citizen, and seeking to contribute to the war effort, he volunteered at the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]], using his electrical engineering background to draw wiring diagrams for the battleship [[USS Missouri (BB-63)|USS ''Missouri'' (BB-63)]],<ref name="army">Fishkoff, Sue. ''The Rebbe's Army'', Schoken, 2003 (08052 11381). Page 73.</ref><ref>Milton Fechtor, [http://www.chabad.org/141185 Wiring the Missouri] ''Jewish Educational Media''.</ref><ref>Yaakov Hardof, [http://www.chabad.org/724789 Rabbi Engineer] ''Jewish Educational Media''</ref> and other classified military work.<ref name=farfromempty/>

In 1942, Schneerson launched the [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch#Roving Rabbis|Merkos Shlichus]] program, where he would send pairs of yeshiva students to remote locations across the country during their summer vacations to teach Jews in isolated communities about their heritage and offer education to their children.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
[[File:הרב שמריהו גוראריה לצד חותנו הרייצ.jpg|left|thumb|262x262px|A dinner for the [[Tomchei Tmimim|Tomchei Tmimim Yeshiva network]] in 1943, from right to left: Menachem Mendel Schneerson, his father-in-law [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]], and his brother-in-law [[Shemaryahu Gurary]].]]
As chairman and editor-in-chief of [[Kehot Publication Society|Kehot]], Schneerson published the works of the earlier Rebbes of Chabad. He also published his own works, including the [[Hayom Yom]] in 1943 and Hagadda in 1946.<ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 472.</ref>

On a visit to Paris in 1947, Schneerson established a school for girls and worked with local organizations to assist with housing for refugees and [[Displaced persons camps in post–World War II Europe|displaced persons]].<ref name="Rebbe 2014. Page 475"/> He often explained that his goal was to "make the world a better place" and to do what he could to eliminate all suffering.<ref>Schneerson, Rabbi Menachem Mendel, ''Sefer Hama'amorim Melukot Al Seder Chodshei Hashana Volume 2'' Kehot Publications, 2002. {{ISBN|978-1-56211-602-6}}. page 271.</ref> In a letter to Israeli President [[Yitzhak Ben-Zvi|Yitzchak Ben Tzvi]], Schneerson wrote that when he was a child the vision of the future redemption began to take form in his imagination "a redemption of such magnitude and grandeur through which the purpose of the suffering, the harsh decrees and annihilation of exile will be understood ..."<ref>Menachem M. Schneerson, ''Igrot Kodesh''. Kehot Publications, 1989. {{ISBN|0-8266-5812-1}}. Volume 12, page 404.</ref>

In 1991, a car in convoy with Schneerson's motorcade accidentally struck two [[Guyanese Americans|Guyanese American]] children while running a red light. One of the children was killed. The incident triggered the [[Crown Heights riot]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06EFDF1E3AF930A25755C0A962958260&scp=4&sq=schneerson&st=nyt|work=The New York Times|title=Rabbi Schneerson Led A Small Hasidic Sect To World Prominence|first=Ari L.|last=Goldman|date=June 13, 1994|access-date=April 30, 2010|archive-date=January 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111075234/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/13/nyregion/rabbi-schneerson-led-a-small-hasidic-sect-to-world-prominence.html?scp=4&sq=schneerson&st=nyt|url-status=live}}</ref> <!-- these sentences added as a result of an Rfc over the question of where to mention the Crown Heights riot in the article. please do not move this content or turn it into a subsection without discussion on the Talk page -->

===Seventh Chabad Rebbe===
[[File:יב-1הרבי מחבד יחד עם הרב שפירא.jpg|thumb|244x244px|The [[Ashkenazi]] [[Chief Rabbi of Israel|Chief Rabbis of Israel]], [[Avraham Shapira|Avraham Elkana Kahana Shapira]] and [[Mordechai Eliyahu]] at the Lubavitcher rebbe on the 11th of Iyar 5749 (May 16, 1989)]]
After the death of Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn in 1950, [[Chabad]] followers began persuading Schneerson to succeed his father-in-law as Rebbe based on his scholarship, piety, and dynasty.<ref name=":0">Adin Steinsaltz, ''My Rebbe''. Maggid Books, 2014. Page 106.</ref><ref name="chabad">Shenker, Israel. ''The New York Times'', Monday, March 27, 1972, reprinted on [http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/1170653/jewish/Lubavitch-Rabbi-Marks-His-70th-Year-With-Call-for-Kindness.htm Chabad.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130207035910/http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/1170653/jewish/Lubavitch-Rabbi-Marks-His-70th-Year-With-Call-for-Kindness.htm |date=February 7, 2013 }}</ref> Schneerson was reluctant, and refused to accept leadership of the movement. He continued, however, all the communal activities he had previously headed. It would take a full year until the elders persuaded him of the movement to accept the post.<ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 161</ref>

On the first anniversary of his father-in-law's passing, 10 [[Shevat]] 1951, in a ceremony attended by several hundred rabbis and Jewish leaders from all parts of the United States and Canada, Schneerson delivered a Hasidic discourse ''(Ma'amar)'', the equivalent to a President-elect taking the oath of office, and formally became the Rebbe.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=108303 |title= Shevat 10: A Day of Two Rebbes |publisher= Chabad.org |access-date= May 12, 2010 |archive-date= February 11, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070211092539/http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=108303 |url-status= live }}</ref> In the maamar, known as "Bosi L'gani" (I have come into My garden), the Rebbe stated his mission: to bring [[Moshiach]]. On the night of his acceptance, members of the Israeli Cabinet and Israel's Chief Rabbi [[Yitzhak Herzog]] sent him congratulatory messages.<ref>JTA, [https://www.jta.org/1951/01/23/archive/new-lubavitcher-rebbe-installed-rabbis-and-orthodox-leaders-attend-ceremony "New Rebbe Installed"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140928080350/http://www.jta.org/1951/01/23/archive/new-lubavitcher-rebbe-installed-rabbis-and-orthodox-leaders-attend-ceremony |date=September 28, 2014 }}. January 23, 1951</ref>

Reiterating a longstanding core Chabad principle at his inaugural talk, he demanded that each individual exert themselves in advancing spiritually and ''not'' rely on the Rebbe to do it for them, saying:<ref>Toras Menachem, Hisva'aduyos vol.2 p.212-213</ref> "Now listen, Jews. Generally, in Chabad it has been demanded that each individual work on themselves, and not rely on the Rebbes. One must, ''on their own'', transform the folly of materialism and the passion of the 'animal soul' to holiness. I do not, God Forbid, recuse myself from assisting as much as possible, however; if one does not work on ''themselves'', what good will submitting notes, singing songs, and saying lechayim do?" At the same talk, Schneerson said, "one must go to a place where nothing is known of Godliness, nothing is known of Judaism, nothing is even known of the Hebrew alphabet, and while there to put oneself aside and ensure that the other calls out to God."<ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 39.</ref> When he spoke to ''[[The Forward|Forward]]'' journalist Asher Penn that year, he said, "...we must stop insisting that Judaism is in danger, an assertion that does little but place Jewry on the defensive. We need to go on the offensive."<ref>Kranzler, Gershon, ''Jewish Life'', Sept.–Oct. 1951.</ref>
[[File:Ahron Daum Schneerson.jpg|left|thumb|246x246px|[[Ahron Daum|Aharon Daum]] (center) talks with the Rebbe (right) during the distribution of dollars for charity.]]
As Rebbe, Schneerson would receive visitors for private meetings, known as ''yechidus'', on Sunday and Thursday evenings. Those meetings would begin at 8 pm and often continue until 5 or 6 in the morning and were open to everyone.<ref name="chabad" /><ref name="Weiner, Herbert page 158">Weiner, Herbert. Nine and 1/2 Mystics, page 158</ref> Schneerson, who spoke several languages including English, Yiddish, Hebrew, Aramaic, French, Russian, German, and Italian, would converse with people on all issues and offer his advice on both spiritual and mundane matters.<ref name="worldof237">{{Cite book |title=The World of Hasidism |author=H. Rabinowicz |page=237 |year=1970 |isbn=978-0-85303-035-5 |publisher=Hartmore House}}</ref> Politicians and leaders from across the globe came to meet him, but Schneerson showed no preference for one person over another. His secretary once even declined to admit [[John F. Kennedy]] because Schneerson was already meeting 'ordinary' people who had requested appointments months previously.<ref name="observer.com" /> Those meetings were discontinued in 1982 when it became impossible to accommodate many people. Meetings were then held only for those who had a special occasion, such as a bride and groom for their wedding or a boy and his family on the occasion of a bar mitzvah.<ref name="worldof237" />

During his four decades as Rebbe, Schneerson would deliver regular addresses centered on the weekly Torah portion and on various tractates of the Talmud. These talks, delivered without text or notes, would last for several hours,<ref name="The Depth p.201">"Out of The Depth's", [[Israel Meir Lau]], p.201</ref><ref>{{Cite book | title=Despite All Odds: The Story of Lubavitch |author=Edward Hoffman |page=32 |date=May 1991 |isbn=0-671-67703-9 |publisher=Simon & Schuster}}</ref> and sometimes went for eight or nine hours without a break. During the talks, Schneerson demonstrated a unique approach in explaining seemingly different concepts by analysis of the fundamental principle common to the entire tractate,<ref>Jonathan Sacks, [http://www.chabad.org/110249 Introduction]. ''Torah Studies''. Kehot Publication Society, 1986.</ref><ref>"Hamodia" newspaper Vol.12944, June 13, 1994,</ref> and referenced both classic and esoteric sources from all periods, citing entire sections by heart.<ref name="The Depth p.201" />

===Outreach, spiritual campaigns===

====Women and girls====
In 1951, Schneerson established a Chabad women's and girl's organization and a youth organization in Israel. Their mission was to engage in outreach exclusively directed at women and teens. In 1953, he opened branches of these organizations in New York, London, and Toronto. Schneerson equally addressed his teachings to both genders in a marked departure from an entrenched tendency to limit high-level Torah education to men and boys.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Heilman |first1=Samuel |last2=Friedman |first2=Menachem |title=The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2010 |page=176 |isbn=978-0-691-13888-6}}</ref> He addressed meetings of the organizations and led gatherings exclusively for women. Schneerson would describe the increase in Torah study by women as one of the "positive innovations of the later generations".<ref>Susan Handelman, [http://www.chabad.org/161694 The Rebbe's Views on Women Today]</ref>

====International outreach====
[[File:Electric_hanukkah_menora_van.jpg|right|thumb|215x215px|Local [[Chabad house]] drives around [[Paris France]] promote interest in [[Hanukkah]] services]]
That same year, Schneerson sent his first emissary to [[Morocco]] and established schools and a synagogue for the [[Moroccan Jews|Moroccan Jewish community]]. In 1958, Schneerson established schools and synagogues in [[Detroit, Michigan]], in [[Milan, Italy]], and in London. Beginning in the 1960s, Schneerson instituted a system of [[Chabad mitzvah campaigns|"mitzvah campaigns"]] to encourage the observance of ten basic Jewish practices, such as [[tefillin]] for men, [[Shabbat candles]] for women, and loving your fellow for all people.<ref name="commentarymagazine.com">{{Citation |author=Ruth R. Wisse |url=http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/the-rebbe-twenty-years-after/ |title=The Rebbe, Twenty Years After |journal=Commentary Magazine |date=June 1, 2014 |access-date=October 15, 2014 |archive-date=October 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019205850/http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/the-rebbe-twenty-years-after/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Schneersohn's campaign brought the concept of tefillin to Jewish men everywhere, and he has been referred to as "the great modern popularizer of tefillin". Until his campaign, tefillin was largely the domain of the meticulously observant.<ref>Liel Leibovitz, [http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/196231/tefillin-the-love Tefillin The Love.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205091505/http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/196231/tefillin-the-love |date=February 5, 2016 }} Tablet Magazine. December 30, 2015.</ref>

Following the death of his mother Chana Schneerson in 1964, Schneerson began to offer an additional weekly sermon in her memory. These sermons consisted of original insights and unprecedented analysis of Rashi's Torah commentary, delivered at regular public gatherings. Schneerson gave these sermons each week until 1992.<ref>Chaim Miller, [http://www.chabad.org/476620 Rashi's Method of Biblical Commentary].</ref>

==== Chanukah campaign ====
[[File:The Israeli pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai.jpg|left|thumb|216x216px|Public Menorah lighting in [[Dubai]]]]
In 1973, Schneerson started a [[Hanukkah|Chanukah]] campaign to encourage all Jews worldwide to light their own menorah. After all-tin menorahs were given out that year, a military manufacturer was commissioned to distribute tens of thousands of additional menorahs. In 1974, a public lighting of a Chanukah menorah was held by the [[Liberty Bell]] in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in years following, menorah lightings on public grounds were conducted in cities worldwide. Legal challenges to the lighting on public grounds reached the [[Supreme Court of the United States]], and it was ruled that public lighting did not violate the [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]]. Public lightings continue in thousands of cities today.<ref>Joseph Telushkin, Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 498</ref>

====Lag BaOmer parade====
[[File:Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson3.jpg|thumb|The Rebbe waving to children at a [[Lag BaOmer]] parade|225x225px]]Chabad established an annual [[Lag BaOmer]] parade at '770', one of the largest celebrations of its kind, where thousands of Jews celebrate the holiday.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.chabadneworleans.com/templates/blog/post.asp?aid=1203266&PostID=54258&p=1 |title=The Little Drummer Boy |publisher=CHABAD-LUBAVITCH OF LOUISIANA |access-date=July 5, 2020 |quote=Over the years (mostly when Lag B’omer fell on a Sunday) big parades were staged on Eastern Parkway (a major Brooklyn thoroughfare on which Chabad HQ – 770 – is located). Thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of Jewish children and their parents, teachers etc. would rally and then march in honor of Lag B’omer. |archive-date=July 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706165054/https://www.chabadneworleans.com/templates/blog/post.asp?aid=1203266&PostID=54258&p=1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehebrewacademy.org/news-events/itemlist/tag/Lag+Baomer.html|title=The Hebrew Academy - A Yeshiva Day School serving Toddler through Eighth Grade - Lag Baomer|website=thehebrewacademy.org|access-date=February 20, 2021|archive-date=May 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509005239/https://www.thehebrewacademy.org/news-events/itemlist/tag/Lag+Baomer.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=July 2020}}

====Iran youth immigration====
In 1979, during the [[Iranian Revolution]] and [[Iran hostage crisis|Iranian hostage crisis]], Schneerson directed arrangements to rescue Jewish youth and teenagers from Iran and bring them to safety in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chabadnews.us/Old%20Aricles/AT%2000009.htm |title="Exodus" from Iran |publisher=Lubavitch Archives |access-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-date=July 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725050546/http://www.chabadnews.us/Old%20Aricles/AT%2000009.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Iranian government's hostility towards the United States was seen by Schneerson as behavior that could threaten the country's status as an "untouchable" superpower, and that would cause it to try to appease Arab countries, thus "endanger[ing] the security of Israel".<ref>Shlomo Shamir, August 24, 2013 [http://www.chabad.org/2320574 "The Israeli Journalist, Iran and the Rebbes Vision"]</ref> As a result of Schneerson's efforts, several thousand Iranian children were flown from Iran to the safety of New York.<ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Pages 289–290</ref>

====Noahidism and Jewish outreach====
[[File:Chabad5.jpg|left|thumb|Chabad followers wrapping [[Tefillin|Teffilin]] with Jewish strangers on the street]]
In 1983, Schneerson launched a global campaign to promote awareness of the Supreme Being and observance of the [[Noahide Laws]] among all people,<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/62221 Universal Morality - The Seven Noahide Laws], chabad.org, 2006.</ref> arguing that this was the basis for human rights for all civilization.<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/62180 1983: Mankind - Life & Times], chabad.org</ref> Several times each year his addresses were broadcast on national television. On these occasions, Schneerson would address the public on general communal affairs and issues relating to world peace, such as a [[moment of silence]] in U.S. public schools, increased government funding for solar energy research, U.S. foreign aid to developing countries, and nuclear disarmament.<ref>Shmuley Boteach, April 13, 2014. [http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/rebbe-to-the-non-jews/ Rebbe to the non-Jews] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910195801/http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/rebbe-to-the-non-jews/ |date=September 10, 2014 }}, ''The Times of Israel''.</ref>

In 1984, Schneerson initiated a campaign for the [[Daily Rambam Study|daily study]] of [[Maimonides]]'s [[Mishneh Torah]].<ref>Torat Menachem Hitvaduyot 5744 [http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=16056&st=&pgnum=160 vol.3 pg. 1544] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429230720/http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=16056&st=&pgnum=160 |date=April 29, 2014 }}</ref> Each year after the learning cycle there is Siyum celebration marking the end of the cycle and beginning of the new one. Many Jewish leaders have attended these events.<ref>Tekufat Limud HaRambam, Merkos L'Inyonei Chunuch, Brooklyn, 1987</ref>

====Sunday office hours for charity====
In 1986, Schneerson began a custom where, each Sunday, he would stand outside his office, greet people briefly, give them a dollar bill, and encourage them to donate to the charity of their choice.<ref name="Hoff47">Hoffman 1991, p. 47</ref> Explaining his reason for encouraging charitable giving among all people, Schneerson quoted his father-in-law, who said that "when two people meet, it should bring benefit to a third."<ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Pages 506–507.</ref> People in line would often take this opportunity to ask Schneerson for advice or request a blessing. Thousands of people attended this event each week, which lasted up to six hours, and is often referred to as "Sunday Dollars".<ref>Eliezer Zalmanov, [http://www.chabad.org/1714766 What Does A Dollar from the Rebbe Represent]</ref>

Schneerson's wife, Chaya Mushka Schneerson, died in 1988.<ref name="Chaya Schneerson" /> During the week of [[Shiva (Judaism)|shiva]], Schneerson wrote a will in which he bequeathed his entire estate to [[Agudas Chasidei Chabad]], the Chabad umbrella organization.<ref>The Baltimore Sun, June 15, 1994 [https://www.baltimoresun.com/1994/06/15/rabbi-schneerson-names-no-successor-in-will/ "Rabbi Schneerson names no successor in will"] </ref>

During a talk in 1991, Schneerson spoke passionately about Moshiach (the [[Messiah]]) and told his followers that he had done all that he could bring world peace and redemption but that it was now up to them to continue this task: "I have done my part, from now on you do all that you can." A few months later, when a reporter from [[CNN]] came to meet him at Dollars, he said, "Moshiach is ready to come now; it is only on our part to do something additional in the realm of goodness and kindness."<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/132931 "CNN with the Rebbe."] (October 20, 1991) ''Eye to Eye: Acts of Goodness and Kindness''. Jewish Educational Media (JEM). Retrieved December 28, 2014 ([http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/MediaPlayer/play.asp?id=1245197 Media Player w/captions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228114252/http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/MediaPlayer/play.asp?id=1245197 |date=December 28, 2014 }}) [[Gary Tuchman]] and his CNN crew were also given dollars.</ref>

====His message: become righteous====
On Sunday, March 1, 1992, Gabriel Erem, the editor of ''Lifestyles Magazine'', told Schneerson that on his ninetieth birthday, they would be publishing a special issue and wanted to know his message to the world. Schneerson replied that "'Ninety', in [[Hebrew Language|Hebrew]], is '[[tzaddik]]'; which means 'righteous.' And that is a direct indication for every person to become a real tzaddik—a righteous person, and to do so for many years, until 120. "This message", Schneerson added, "applies equally to Jews and non-Jews".<ref>Eli Rubin [http://www.chabad.org/2619824 "Everyone A Tzaddik: Miracles, Transmission and Ascent"]</ref>

===Work habits===
During his decades of leadership, Schneerson worked over 18 hours a day and never took a day of vacation.<ref>Shmully Hecht, 2014/06/29. [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/29/opinion/sunday/remembering-rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson.html "Remembering Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125030222/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/29/opinion/sunday/remembering-rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson.html |date=November 25, 2020 }}. ''The New York Times''.</ref> He rarely left Brooklyn except for visits to his father-in-law's gravesite in [[Queens]], New York. Schneerson opposed retirement, seeing it as a waste of precious years.<ref>Shmuley Boteach, ''Judaism for Everyone''. Page 209. {{ISBN|0-465-00794-5}}</ref> In 1972, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, instead of announcing a retirement plan, Schneerson proposed the establishment of 71 new institutions to mark the beginning of the 71st year of his life.<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/372585/ 70 Years, 71 New Institutions], The Living Archive, March 26, 1972. Jewish Educational Media (JEM).</ref> The only other time he left Brooklyn was when he visited [[Camp Gan Israel]] [[Parksville, New York]] in 1956, 1957 and 1960.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=August 2019 |title=Third Visit to Gan Yisroel |url=https://derher.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Derher-Tammuz-5779.pdf |url-status=live |journal=A Chassidishe Derher |issue=83 |pages=6–10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618021956/https://derher.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Derher-Tammuz-5779.pdf |archive-date=June 18, 2023}}</ref>

=== Illness and death ===

In 1977, during the ''[[hakafot]]'' ceremony on [[Shemini Atzeret]], Schneerson suffered a [[heart attack]]. At his request, rather than transporting him to a hospital, the doctors set up a mini-hospital at his office where he was treated for the next four weeks by doctors [[Bernard Lown]], Ira Weiss, and Larry Resnick.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/default.asp?searchword=weiss&LocalSearchImg.x=0&LocalSearchImg.y=0 |title=Living Torah Archive - Living Torah |publisher=Chabad.org |access-date=September 9, 2012 |archive-date=October 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013065528/http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/default.asp?searchword=weiss&LocalSearchImg.x=0&LocalSearchImg.y=0 |url-status=live }}</ref>
He made a full recovery from the heart attack with few, if any, noticeable lasting effects or changes to his work habits. 
Fifteen years later, Schneerson suffered a serious [[stroke]] while praying at the [[Ohel (Chabad-Lubavitch)|grave of his father-in-law]]. The stroke left him unable to speak and paralyzed on the right side of his body. The hope that Schneerson could be revealed as the Messiah (Moshiach) became more widespread during this time.<ref name="wp06201999">''[[The Washington Post]]'', June 20, 1999. 5 Years After Death, Messiah Question Divides Lubavitchers. Leyden, Liz.</ref><ref name="Gonzalez">{{Cite web |last=Gonzalez |first=David |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E0D6133EF93BA35752C1A962958260 |title=Lubavitchers Learn to Sustain Themselves Without the Rebbe |work=The New York Times |date=November 8, 1994 |access-date=May 12, 2010 |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111075740/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/08/nyregion/lubavitchers-learn-to-sustain-themselves-without-the-rebbe.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
On the morning of June 12, 1994 ([[3 Tammuz]] 5754), Schneerson died at the [[Beth Israel Medical Center]] and was buried at the [[Ohel (Chabad-Lubavitch)|Ohel]] next to his father-in-law, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, at [[Montefiore Cemetery]] in Queens, New York.<ref>The Encyclopedia of Hasidism, by Tzvi Rabinowicz p. 432 {{ISBN|1-56821-123-6}}.</ref><ref name="NYT19940613A1">{{cite news |last1=Firestone |first1=David |title=Thousands Gather in Crown Hts. To Grieve for Their Grand Rabbi |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/13/nyregion/thousands-gather-in-crown-hts-to-grieve-for-their-grand-rabbi.html |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=June 13, 1994}}</ref> Shortly after Schneerson's death, the executors of his will discovered several notebooks in a drawer in his office, in which Schneerson had written his scholarly thoughts and religious musings from his earliest years.<ref name="Gonzalez" /> The majority of entries in these journals date between 1928 and 1950 and were subsequently published.<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/1210901/jewish/The-Rebbes-Notebook.htm The Rebbe's Notebook - The Reshimot] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924045031/http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/1210901/jewish/The-Rebbes-Notebook.htm |date=September 24, 2014 }}, chabad.org</ref>
[[File:פתקים בתוך אוהל הרבי מליובאוויטש.jpg|thumb|The Rebbe's Tomb: Schneerson's [[Ohel (Chabad-Lubavitch)|burial place]] next to his [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn|father-in-law]] and predecessor in [[Queens]], New York]]
Following age-old Jewish tradition that the resting place of a [[tzadik]] is holy, Schneerson's gravesite is viewed by many as a sacred site. It has been described by ''[[Yedioth Ahronoth]]'' as "the American Western Wall", where thousands of Jews<ref name="observer.com" /> go to pray each week.<ref name="tabletmag.com" /><ref>{{Cite book |author=David M. Gitlitz & Linda Kay Davidson |title=Pilgrimage and the Jews |publisher=Praeger |year=2005 |pages=118–120 |isbn=978-0-275-98763-3}}</ref><ref name="Sarah Maslin Nir 2013" /> Many more send faxes and e-mails with requests for prayers to be read at the gravesite.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ohelchabad.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/78446/jewish/Sending-a-letter.htm |title=How to Send a letter - Ohel Chabad-Lubavitch |publisher=Ohelchabad.org |access-date=September 9, 2012 |archive-date=August 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100814142240/http://www.ohelchabad.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/78446/jewish/Sending-a-letter.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

U.S. President [[Donald Trump]] visited the Ohel of the Rebbe in 2024.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx4pexT6pks “Trump visits grave of Chabad Lubavitch rebbe to mark anniversary of October 7 attack on Israel” (New York Post Official Channel - YouTube)]</ref>

==== Wills ====
Schneerson died without naming a successor as leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, causing controversy within Chabad about Schneerson's will. He did, however, write one legal will, which was signed before witnesses, whereby he transferred stewardship of all the major Chabad institutions as well as all his possessions to [[Agudas Chasidei Chabad]].<ref name="willis">''The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidim Past and Present'', M. Avrum Ehrlich, Chapter 20, KTAV Publishing, {{ISBN|0-88125-836-9}}</ref>

Another will, no executed copies of which are known to be in existence, named three senior Chabad rabbis as directors of Agudas Chasidei Chabad.<ref name="willis" />

==== Messianism ====
{{Main|Chabad messianism}}

Schneerson had a passion and desire to raise awareness of the coming of the Messiah. Many of his admirers hoped he would be revealed as the Messiah during his life.<ref name="Susan" /><ref name="commentarymagazine.com" /> They pointed to traditional Jewish theology, which teaches that in every generation, there is one person who is worthy of being the Messiah, and if God deems the time right, he will be revealed by God as such.<ref>J. Immanuel Schochet, [http://www.chabad.org/101679 The Personality of Mashiach]. 1991.</ref><ref name="JTMessiah">Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 431</ref><ref>Aharon Lichtenstein, [https://www.scribd.com/doc/111005773/Rav-Aharon-Lichtenstein-s-Hesped-for-the-Lubavitcher-Rebbe-English Eulogy for the Rebbe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307065113/https://www.scribd.com/doc/111005773/Rav-Aharon-Lichtenstein-s-Hesped-for-the-Lubavitcher-Rebbe-English |date=March 7, 2016 }}. June 16, 1994.</ref>
Schneerson's supporters have claimed that many Jews felt that if there was indeed a person worthy of such stature, it was Schneerson.<ref name="Susan" /><ref>The Rebbe's Army. Page 320.</ref> Although Schneerson constantly objected to any talk that he could be the Messiah, this notion sparked controversy, particularly among those unfamiliar with these traditional teachings.<ref name="Susan" /><ref name="Wall Street Journal" /><ref name="Adin Steinsaltz page 24" /> Detractors criticized a children's song with the words "We want ''moshiach'' (the messiah) now / We don't want to wait", that Schneerson commended.<ref name="JTMessiah" /> Since Schneerson's passing, the Messianic movement has largely shrunk, although some followers still believe him to be the Messiah.<ref name="JTMessiah" /> The Chabad umbrella organization, [[Agudas Chasidei Chabad]], has condemned Messianic behavior, stating that it defies the expressed wishes of Schneerson.<ref>{{cite news |title=Statement by Agudas Chassidei Chabad-Lubavitch |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1996/02/09/issue.html |access-date=March 16, 2025 |work=The New York Times |volume=CXLV |issue=50332 |location=New York |date=February 9, 1996 |language=English}}</ref>

==Global positions==

=== United States ===
Schneerson spoke of the position of the United States as a world superpower, and would praise what he considered its foundational values of '"[[E pluribus unum]]'—from many one", and "[[In God We Trust]]".<ref>Menachem M. Schneerson, [http://www.chabad.org/1180692 The Difference Between Faith and Trust]. January 15, 1981.</ref> He called on the government to develop independent energy, and not need to rely on totalitarian regimes whose countries national interests greatly differed from the U.S.<ref>Yosef Abramowitz, [https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Better-Energy-The-Rebbes-energy-361147 "Better Energy, The Rebbe's Energy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008195423/http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Better-Energy-The-Rebbes-energy-361147 |date=October 8, 2014 }}. ''The Jerusalem Post'', January 7, 2014.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=America's Mandate: Energy Independence – Part 1 |url=https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/player_cdo/aid/394468/jewish/Americas-Mandate-Energy-Independence-Part-1.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/player_cdo/aid/394468/jewish/Americas-Mandate-Energy-Independence-Part-1.htm |archive-date=May 22, 2011 |access-date=October 21, 2024 |website=Chabad.org}}</ref> Schneerson also called for the U.S. government to use its influence on countries who were receiving its foreign aid to do more for the educational and cultural needs of their deprived citizens.<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/816546 The Start of "Education Day USA"], compiled by Dovid Zaklikowski.</ref><ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 162.</ref>

Schneerson placed a strong emphasis on education and often spoke of the need of a moral educational system for all people. He was an advocate of a [[United States Department of Education|Department of Education]] as a separate cabinet position from the [[United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare|Department of Health, Education and Welfare]].<ref>Sue Fishkoff, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=4R7zbndjTRgC&dq=schneerson+department+of+education&pg=PA192 The Rebbe's Army]''. Random House, 2003. Pages 192-193.</ref> Schneerson proclaimed 1977 as a "Year of Education" and urged Congress to do the same. He stated that education "must think in terms of a 'better living' not only for the individual, but also for the society as a whole. The educational system must, therefore, pay more attention to the building of character, with emphasis on moral and ethical values. Education must put greater emphasis on the promotion of fundamental human rights and obligations of justice and morality, which are the basis of any human society".<ref>Menachem M. Schneerson, [http://www.chabad.org/1167634 "Education is the Cornerstone of Humanity"]. April 18, 1978.</ref>
[[File:Reagan_receives_menorah_1986.jpg|right|thumb|259x259px|President [[Ronald Reagan]] receives menorah from the "American Friends of Lubavitch", White House, 1984]]
The Ninety-Fifth Congress of the United States issued a Joint Resolution proclaiming 1978 as a Year of Education and designating April 18, 1978, as "Education Day, U.S.A.".<ref>95th Congress, [[s:Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 92 Part 1.djvu/254|Public Law 95-262]]. Apr. 17. 1978.</ref> Each year since, the President of the United States has proclaimed Schneerson's birthday as "Education Day, U.S.A." in his honor.<ref>Ron Kampeas, [https://www.jta.org/2009/04/05/news-opinion/united-states/obama-marks-schneersons-education-day Obama: Schneerson’s legacy is ‘brighter future’] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031004730/http://www.jta.org/2009/04/05/news-opinion/united-states/obama-marks-schneersons-education-day |date=October 31, 2014 }}. April 15, 2011, Jewish Telegraphic Agency.</ref>

During his life, Schneerson had great influence on numerous political leaders from across the aisle, many of whom would seek his advice. He was visited by presidents, prime ministers, governors, senators, congressmen and mayors. Notable among them are John F. Kennedy, [[Robert Kennedy]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr.]], [[Ronald Reagan]], [[Jimmy Carter]], [[Jacob Javits]], [[Ed Koch]], [[Rudy Giuliani]], [[David Dinkins]] and [[Joe Lieberman]].<ref name="farfromempty">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/nyregion/15rooms.html |title=No One There, But This Place Is Far From Empty |work=The New York Times |date=January 14, 2009 |access-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-date=April 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419033456/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/nyregion/15rooms.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Ehrlich, M. Avrum, The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidim Past and Present, (KTAV Publishing, January 2005) p. 109. {{ISBN|0-88125-836-9}}</ref>

According to Howard Mortman's book,  ''When Rabbis Bless Congress'', Schneerson was the rabbi most mentioned in Congress.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Jewish prayers on Capitol Hill: From Lincoln to Roosevelt to Biden|url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/jewish-prayers-on-capitol-hill-from-lincoln-to-roosevelt-to-biden-668102|access-date=May 13, 2021|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post &#124; Jpost.com|language=en-US|archive-date=May 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513153652/https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/jewish-prayers-on-capitol-hill-from-lincoln-to-roosevelt-to-biden-668102|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Israel===
Schneerson took great interest in the affairs of the state of Israel, and did whatever was in his power to support the infrastructure of the state and advance its success.<ref name="commentarymagazine.com" /><ref>The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidim Past and Present, M. Avrum Ehrlich, p. 105. KTAV Publishing, {{ISBN|0-88125-836-9}}</ref> He was concerned with the nation's agricultural,<ref>The Letter and the Spirit, pages 251-252</ref> industrial and overall economic welfare,<ref>The Letter and the Spirit, page 324</ref> and sought to promote its scientific achievements, and enhance its standing in the international community.<ref>Letters from the Lubavitcher Rebbe vol. 5, page 234</ref> Schneerson consistently recognized the role of the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF) and stated that those who serve in the Israeli army perform a great ''[[mitzvah]]''.<ref>The Afterlife of Scholarship Page 106 (Oporto Press, 2011)</ref>

In 1950, Schneerson encouraged the establishment of Israel's first automobile company, [[Autocars Co.]] (Hebrew: אוטוקרס) of Haifa. By 1956, the company was responsible for 28% of Israel's exports. Schneerson established a network of trade schools in Israel to train Israeli youth, new immigrants and Holocaust survivors. In 1954, Schneerson established a school for carpentry and woodwork. In 1955, he established a school for agriculture. In 1956, he established a school for printing and publishing and, in 1957, a school for textiles.<ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 478.</ref> Although he never visited Israel, many of Israel's top leadership made it a point to visit him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chabad.org/1038748 |title= Faithful and Fortified |publisher=Jewish Educational Media}}</ref> Israeli President [[Zalman Shazar]] would visit Schneerson whenever he came to New York and corresponded extensively with him, as would Prime Minister [[Menachem Begin]] who visited Schneerson numerous times, including a famous visit before going to Washington to meet President Carter.<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/132942 Begin with the Rebbe] ''Jewish Educational Media''</ref> [[Ariel Sharon]], who had a close relationship with Schneerson,<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/2451287 Sharon and the Rebbe]. ''Jewish Educational Media''</ref> often quoted his views on military matters and sought his advice when he considered retiring from the military. Schneerson advised the general to remain at his post.<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/2458367 The Rebbe to Sharon: Don't Leave the IDF], letter to Ariel Sharon, translated from the original Hebrew.</ref> [[Yitzhak Rabin]],<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/2684113 Rabin with the Rebbe]. ''Jewish Educational Media''</ref> [[Shimon Peres]] and [[Benjamin Netanyahu]]<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/1001699 Dont Be Intimidated] ''Jewish Educational Media''</ref> also visited and sought Schneerson's advice. Israeli politicians and military experts who came to consult with him were surprised by his detailed knowledge of their country's local affairs and international situation.<ref name="commentarymagazine.com"/> Despite his advisory meetings with American and Israeli political notables, Schneerson stated his nonpartisan policy many times, warning of his non-involvement in politics.<ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 563.</ref><ref>Menacehm M. Schneerson, [http://www.chabad.org/498519 "I don't interfere in politics"]. April 1, 1990.</ref>

Schneerson publicly expressed his view that the safety and stability of Israel were in the best interests of the United States, calling Israel the front line against those who want the anti-Western nations to succeed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB_khjit9ns  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/TB_khjit9ns| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=The Lubavitcher Rebbe On Syria and Iran |via=YouTube |date=July 14, 2009 |access-date=November 13, 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He was opposed to [[land for peace]], which he called an "illusion of peace," saying that it would not save lives, but harm lives. Schneerson stated that this position was not based on nationalistic or other religious reasons, but purely out of concern for human life.<ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Pages 271-290.</ref> Benjamin Netanyahu said that, while he was serving as [[Israel's ambassador to the United Nations]] in 1984, Schneerson told him: "You will be serving in a house of darkness, but remember that even in the darkest place, the light of a single candle can be seen far and wide ..." Netanyahu later retold this episode in a speech at the [[United Nations General Assembly|General Assembly]], on September 23, 2011.<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/1632210 The Light of Truth at the UN], (video) Excerpt: Prime Minister Netanyahu at the General Assembly, September 23, 2011.</ref>

Just before the outbreak of the [[Six-Day War]], Schneerson called for a global [[Tefillin]] campaign to see that Jews observe the [[Mitzvah]] of wearing Tefillin as a means of ensuring divine protection against Israel's enemies.<ref>Challenge, page 144, Jerrold & Sons</ref> Speaking to a crowd of thousands of people on May 28, 1967, only a few days before the outbreak of the war, he assured the world that Israel would be victorious.<ref>Menachem M. Schneerson, [http://www.chabad.org/1515871 G-d is Guarding His Children; You Can Help], ''Jewish Educational Media''</ref> He said Israel had no need to fear as God was with them, quoting the verse, "the Guardian of Israel neither sleeps nor slumbers".<ref>Collier, Bernard L. (May 27, 1968). "Hassidic Jews Confront Hippies to Press a Joyous Occasion". The New York Times. pp. 49</ref> Within the [[Haredi]] community, criticism of the campaign was voiced at the [[Agudat Yisrael|Agudat Israel]] convention of 1968. However, following the incident, [[Yitzchok Hutner]], a prominent Orthodox rabbi who had corresponded with Schneersohn in the past,<ref>Igros Kodesh, M.M. Schneerson, Kehot 1998 Vol. 7, pp. 2, 49, 192, 215; Vol. 12, pp. 28, 193; Vol. 14, pp. 167, 266; Vol. 18, p. 251; Vol. 25, pp. 18-20; and Vol. 26, p. 485.</ref> wrote to Schneerson privately, distancing himself from the convention. Hutner wrote that he had not been at the convention and asked forgiveness for any pain his earlier letters (discussing halachic issues regarding the tefillin campaign) may have caused.<ref>Mibeis Hagenozim, B. Levin, Kehot 2009, p.89.</ref>

After the [[Operation Entebbe]] rescue, in a public talk on August 16, 1976, Schneerson applauded the courage and selflessness of the IDF, "who flew thousands of miles, putting their lives in danger for the sole purpose of possibly saving the lives of tens of Jews." He said: "their portion in the Hereafter is guaranteed."<ref>Rapoport, Chaim. ''The Afterlife of Scholarship''. p. 88 {{ISBN|9780615538976}}</ref><ref>Sichot Kodesh 5736, vol. 2, page 625</ref> He was later vilified by ultra-[[Haredi]] rabbis for publicly praising the courage of the IDF and suggesting that God chose them as a medium through which he would send deliverance to the Jewish people.<ref>Mintz, Jerome. Hasidic People: A Place in the New World, page 52. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 1992</ref> Schneerson protested vehemently against those elements within the ultra-Haredi society who sought to undermine the motivations and actions of the soldiers.<ref>Harris, Ben. ''"Chassidic Sects Battle Each Other"'', Canadian Jewish News, April 1, 1977</ref><ref>Sichot Kodesh 5736, vol. 2, pages 626-627</ref>

Schneerson opposed Israel returning any territory captured in the Six Day War.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peace in the Land |url=https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/2511905/jewish/Peace-in-the-Land.htm |website=[[Chabad.org]] |quote=Since the Six Day War in 1967, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Shlita, has unceasingly expressed his opposition to surrendering any of the liberated territories.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Nadler |first=Allan |author-link=Allan Nadler |date=April 14, 1990 |title=From Zion, Not From Brooklyn |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/14/opinion/from-zion-not-from-brooklyn.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231006123652/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/14/opinion/from-zion-not-from-brooklyn.html |archive-date=6 Oct 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]] |quote=Menachem Mendel Schneerson's latest intervention in the politics of the sovereign Jewish state is based on his conviction that the return of so much as one inch of ''holy territory'' to ''heathens'' violates rabbinic law.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Saidov |first=Yossi |date=Jul 7, 2022 |title=Messiah? Missionary? The Lubavitcher Rebbe Was First and Foremost a Trailblazing Social Entrepreneur |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-07-07/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/messiah-missionary-the-rebbe-was-first-and-foremost-a-social-entrepreneur/00000181-da06-d19b-a3bb-de963d9d0000 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230622114254/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-07-07/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/messiah-missionary-the-rebbe-was-first-and-foremost-a-social-entrepreneur/00000181-da06-d19b-a3bb-de963d9d0000 |archive-date=22 Jun 2023 |work=[[Haaretz]] |quote=He opposed the peace treaty with Egypt and objected to the idea of Israel handing over any territory at all.}}</ref>

===Soviet Jewry===
Schneerson greatly encouraged the Jews who lived in Communist states. He sent many emissaries on covert missions to sustain Judaism under Communist regimes and to provide them with their religious and material needs.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Hyam Maccoby |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-rabbi-menachem-schneerson-1422311.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-rabbi-menachem-schneerson-1422311.html |archive-date=May 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Obituary: Rabbi Menachem Schneerson - People  |work=[[The Independent]] |date=June 13, 1994 |access-date=November 13, 2013}}</ref> Many Jews from behind the Iron Curtain corresponded with Schneerson, sending their letters to him via secret messenger and addressing Schneerson in code name as 'Grandfather'.<ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 299.</ref>

Schneerson opposed demonstrations on behalf of Soviet Jews, stating that he had evidence that they were harming Russia's Jews. Instead, he advocated quiet diplomacy, which he said would be more effective.<ref>Telushkin, Pp. 291-292.</ref><ref>JTA, [https://archive.jta.org/article/1970/12/31/2955421/lubavitcher-hassidim-oppose-public-demonstrations-on-behalf-of-soviet-jews Lubavitcher Hassidim Oppose Public Demonstrations on Behalf of Soviet Jews] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114014636/http://www.jta.org/1970/12/31/archive/lubavitcher-hassidim-oppose-public-demonstrations-on-behalf-of-soviet-jews |date=November 14, 2013 }} December 31, 1970.</ref> Schneerson did whatever was in his power to push for the release of Jews from the former Soviet Union and established schools, communities and other humanitarian resources to assist with their absorption into Israel. On one known occasion he instructed Senator [[Chic Hecht]] to provide President Ronald Reagan with contact information of people who wished to leave so that he could lobby their release.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.chabad.org/523711 |date=May 15, 2006 |title=Obituary: Senator Jacob ("Chic") Hecht (1929-2006)}}</ref>

Following the [[Chernobyl disaster]] in 1986, Schneerson called for efforts to rescue Ukrainian Jewish children from Chernobyl and founded a special organization for this purpose.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ccoc.net/who-we-are/our-story |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130703053727/http://www.ccoc.net/who-we-are/our-story |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 3, 2013 |title=Our Story - Who We Are |publisher=Chabad's Children of Chernobyl |access-date=November 13, 2013 }}</ref> The first rescue flight occurred on August 3, 1990, when 196 Jewish children were flown to Israel and brought to a shelter campus. Since then, thousands of children have been rescued and brought to Israel, where they receive housing, education, and medical care in a supportive environment.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eglash |first=Ruth |url=https://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Chabads-Children-of-Chernobyl-project-as-vital-as-ever |title=Chabad's Children of Chernobyl project 'as vital as ever' |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=April 26, 2011 |access-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113112746/http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Chabads-Children-of-Chernobyl-project-as-vital-as-ever |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Natan Sharansky]], the Chairman of the Jewish Agency, said that Chabad Lubavitch was an essential connector to Soviet Jewry during the Cold War,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lightstone |first=Mordechai |url=http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2033157/Trending-Topics-Natan-Sharansky-Praises-Work-of-Chabad-at-Federation-General-Assembly.html |title=Natan Sharansky Praises Work of Chabad at Federation General Assembly |publisher=Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters |date=November 7, 2011 |access-date=November 13, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113112941/http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2033157/Trending-Topics-Natan-Sharansky-Praises-Work-of-Chabad-at-Federation-General-Assembly.html |archive-date=November 13, 2013 }}</ref> while Shimon Peres has stated that it's to Schneerson's credit that "Judaism in the Soviet Union has been preserved".<ref>Telushkin, page 566</ref>

== Legacy ==
===Impact===
Schneerson initiated [[Jewish outreach]] in the post-[[Holocaust]] era. He believed that world Jewry was seeking to learn more about its heritage, and sought to bring Judaism to Jews wherever they were.<ref name="jewishfederations.org"/> British Chief Rabbi [[Jonathan Sacks]] said of Schneerson "that if the Nazis searched out every Jew in hate, the Rebbe wished to search out every Jew in love".<ref>
The Jewish Week, [http://www.thejewishweek.com/free-book-excerpt-rebbe "Free Book Excerpt From "Rebbe""] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903140845/http://www.thejewishweek.com/free-book-excerpt-rebbe |date=September 3, 2014 }}</ref> He oversaw the building of schools, community centers, and youth camps and created a global network of emissaries, known as ''shluchim''.
[[File:KinusChabadJerufi.jpg|thumb|264x264px|Thousands of ''shluchim'' gatherered in front of 770 Eastern Parkway on November 20, 2022]]
Today there are ''shluchim'' in all of the 50 US states, in over 100 countries and 1,000 cities around the world, totaling more than 3,600 institutions including some 300 in Israel.<ref>"Jewish Literacy", Telushkin, William Morrow 2001, p.470</ref><ref>[http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/country/Israel/jewish/Chabad-Lubavitch.htm List of Chabad Centers in Israel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811135709/http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/country/Israel/jewish/Chabad-Lubavitch.htm |date=August 11, 2014 }}, chabad.org</ref> Chabad is very often the only Jewish presence in a given town or city and it has become the face of Jewish Orthodoxy for the Jewish and general world.<ref>Fishkoff, Sue. The Rebbe's Army, page 14</ref>

Schneerson's model of Jewish outreach has been imitated by all Jewish movements including the [[Reform Judaism|Reform]], [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]], [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and Haredi.<ref name="jns.org"/><ref>
Eric Yoffie, [http://urj.org/about/union/leadership/yoffie/biennialsermon03/ The Chabad Challenge] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010220335/http://urj.org/about/union/leadership/yoffie/biennialsermon03/ |date=October 10, 2014 }} . Union for Reform Judaism, 2002.</ref> His published works fill more than 200 volumes and are often used as source text for sermons of both Chabad and non-Chabad rabbis.<ref name="ou.org"/> Beyond the Jewish world, [[Peggy Noonan]] has written that moral issues would be better addressed by leaders such as Schneerson than by politicians,<ref>Peggy Noonan, ''What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era''. Random House, 1990. Page 346.</ref> and since his death, Schneerson has been referred to as the Rebbe for all people.<ref name="observer.com"/>

===Recognition===
Schneerson's work was recognized by every US president from [[Richard Nixon]] to [[Joe Biden]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 20, 2015 |title=Carter Lauds Lubavitcher Rebbe's Work |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/carter-lauds-lubavitcher-rebbes-work |access-date=August 1, 2023 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US |archive-date=August 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801173914/https://www.jta.org/archive/carter-lauds-lubavitcher-rebbes-work |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ford |first=Gerald |date=May 18, 1975 |title=RECEPTION HONORING SENATOR HUGH SCOTT |url=https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0122/1252322.pdf |access-date=August 1, 2023 |website=[[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library]] |archive-date=June 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606015116/https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0122/1252322.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=NEWS IN BRIEF |language=en-US |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1995/09/16/news-in-brief/1c98a515-9839-4c2c-97a8-890607bfcfb3/ |access-date=August 1, 2023 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Proclamation 5956—Education Day, U.S.A., 1989 and 1990 {{!}} The American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-5956-education-day-usa-1989-and-1990 |access-date=August 1, 2023 |website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107231218/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=23514 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Obama Declares Lubavitcher Rebbe's Birthday 'Education and Sharing Day' |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2013-03-23/ty-article/obama-declares-lubavitcher-rebbes-birthday-education-and-sharing-day/0000017f-dc35-d3a5-af7f-febf29780000 |access-date=August 1, 2023 |archive-date=December 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224110251/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2013-03-23/ty-article/obama-declares-lubavitcher-rebbes-birthday-education-and-sharing-day/0000017f-dc35-d3a5-af7f-febf29780000 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Proclamation on Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A., 2020 – The White House |url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-education-sharing-day-u-s-2020/ |access-date=August 1, 2023 |website=trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov |archive-date=August 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801173927/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-education-sharing-day-u-s-2020/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=House |first1=The White |title=A Proclamation on Education And Sharing Day, USA, 2023 |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/03/31/a-proclamation-on-education-and-sharing-day-usa-2023/ |website=The White House |access-date=November 5, 2023 |date=March 31, 2023 |archive-date=September 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230916022431/https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/03/31/a-proclamation-on-education-and-sharing-day-usa-2023/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1978, Schneerson became the first rabbi to have a U.S. national day proclaimed in his honor, when the [[U.S. Congress]] and President Jimmy Carter designated Schneerson's birthdate as "[[Education and Sharing Day|Education Day USA]]". Each year since, the President has called on all Americans to focus on education in honor of Schneerson. In 1982, Ronald Reagan proclaimed Schneerson's birthday as a "National Day of Reflection" and presented the "National Scroll of Honor" that was signed by the President, Vice-President and every member of Congress.<ref name="presidency.ucsb.edu">{{Cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=42362 |title=Ronald Reagan: Proclamation 4921 - National Day of Reflection |publisher=[[American Presidency Project]] |access-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113112044/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=42362 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 4.</ref>

Many officials attended Schneerson's funeral, including New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Benjamin Netanyahu and the entire staff of the Israeli embassy in Washington.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://archive.jta.org/article/1994/06/13/2880621/tens-of-thousands-mourn-the-death-of-rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson |title=Tens of Thousands Mourn the Death of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=June 13, 1994 |access-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-date=November 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114021643/http://www.jta.org/1994/06/13/archive/tens-of-thousands-mourn-the-death-of-rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson |url-status=live }}</ref>

President [[Bill Clinton]] penned a condolence letter "to the Chabad-Lubavitch community and to world Jewry" and spoke of Schneerson as "a monumental man who as much as any other individual, was responsible over the last half a century for advancing the instruction of ethics and morality to our young people". Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin cited Schneerson's great scholarship and contribution to the entire Jewish people and proclaimed, "The Rebbe's loss is a loss for all the Jewish people." Foreign Minister Shimon Peres cited words from the prophet [[Malachi]] as applying with particular force to Schneerson: "He brought back many from iniquity. For a priest's lips shall guard knowledge, and teaching should be sought from his mouth. For he is a messenger of the Lord."<ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 514.</ref>

Shortly after his death, Schneerson was posthumously awarded the [[Congressional Gold Medal]], honoring Schneerson for his "outstanding and enduring contributions toward world education, morality, and acts of charity".<ref name="Public Law 103-457"/> President Bill Clinton spoke these words at the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony:

{{blockquote|The late Rebbe's eminence as a moral leader for our country was recognized by every president since Richard Nixon. For over two decades, the Rabbi's movement now has some 2000 institutions; educational, social, medical, all across the globe. We (the United States Government) recognize the profound role that Rabbi Schneerson had in the expansion of those institutions.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Behind the Headlines: Remembering the Rebbe As Washington Bestows Honors |url=https://www.jta.org/1995/07/03/archive/behind-the-headlines-remembering-the-rebbe-as-washington-bestows-honors/ |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=1995-07-03 |access-date=2021-05-12 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109034630/https://www.jta.org/1995/07/03/archive/behind-the-headlines-remembering-the-rebbe-as-washington-bestows-honors |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

In 2009, the National Museum of American Jewish History selected Schneerson as one of eighteen [[American Jews]] to be included in their [[National Museum of American Jewish History|"Only in America" Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nmajh.org/ |title=nmajh.org |publisher=nmajh.org |access-date=January 29, 2012 |archive-date=January 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128054734/http://nmajh.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Schneerson's contribution with respect to comprehension of human emotion is considered by many to be unparalleled; as [[Elie Wiesel]] said of the Rebbe, "When the Rebbe was alone with anyone, it was an opening. He opened doors for his visitor, or his student or Chasid—secret doors that we all have. It wasn’t a break-in. It was just an invitation. And that was really the greatness of the Rebbe. I think the Rebbe had a great talent for that—one of the greatest and the best that Judaism has ever seen."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lubavitch|first=Chabad|title=Chabad Lubavitch Brooklyn New York NY World Headquarters|url=http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2030937/In-Conversation-with-Nobel-Prize-Winner-Elie-Wiesel.html|access-date=June 2, 2020|website=lubavitch.com|date=July 2019|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806213224/http://www2.lubavitch.com/news/article/2030937/In-Conversation-with-Nobel-Prize-Winner-Elie-Wiesel.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Schneerson is often considered to be one of the most, if not the most, influential rabbis of the twentieth century.

=== Apotheosis ===
While considered the messiah by most of his followers following his death in 1994, one group has deified him.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sadka |first=Saul |title=The Lubavitcher Rebbe as a god |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2007-02-11/ty-article/the-lubavitcher-rebbe-as-a-god/0000017f-dc1a-df9c-a17f-fe1aa9c40000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102041753/https://www.haaretz.com/2007-02-11/ty-article/the-lubavitcher-rebbe-as-a-god/0000017f-dc1a-df9c-a17f-fe1aa9c40000 |archive-date=January 2, 2023 |access-date=April 16, 2025 |work=Haaretz.com |language=en}}</ref> In the book ''[[The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference]]'', it is mentioned that the small fringe group consider him the creator of the universe.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference |pages=84–95}}</ref>

==Criticism==
From the 1970s onwards, [[Elazar Shach]] of the [[Ponevezh Yeshiva]] in [[Bnei Brak]] was publicly critical of Schneerson,<ref>See ''Mechtavim v'Ma'amorim'' [Letters and Speeches of Rabbi Shach in Hebrew. Bnei Brak, Israel. 03-574-5006]: Volume 1, Letter 6 (page 15), Letter 8 (page 19). Volume 3, Statements on pages 100–101, Letter on page 102. Volume 4, letter 349(page 69), letter 351 (page 71). Volume 5, letter 533 (page 137), letter 535 (page 139), speech 569 (page 173), statement 570 (page 174). See also here: {{cite web|url=http://hamercaz.com/hamercaz/pics/database/aoi/223_myFile.pdf |title=על המסיתים להתגרות באומות ועל לשונות העוקרים את ה"אני מאמין" בביאת המשיח |language=Hebrew |access-date=March 5, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305072110/http://hamercaz.com/hamercaz/pics/database/aoi/223_myFile.pdf |archive-date=March 5, 2009 }}</ref> accusing him of creating a cult of crypto-messianism around himself.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20011110/ai_n14431755|title=Independent, The (London), November 10, 2001 by David Landau.}}</ref><ref name="Hadden1992">{{cite magazine|author=Lisa Beyer|magazine=Time|url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,975127,00.html|title=Expecting The Messiah|volume=139|date=March 23, 1992|page=42|quote=Eliezer Schach, one of Israel's leading ultra-Orthodox rabbis, has publicly called Schneerson "insane," an "infidel" and "a false Messiah." The local papers carried Schach's outrageous charge that Schneerson's followers are "eaters of trayf," food such as pork that is forbidden to Jews.|access-date=November 19, 2021|archive-date=November 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119173317/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,975127,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Shach objected to Schneerson’s calling upon the Messiah to appear and eventually called for a boycott of Chabad and its institutions.<ref name="Fate pg. 340">Faith and Fate: The Story of the Jewish People in the 20th century, Berel Wein, 2001 by Shaar Press, p. 340</ref> Though Schneerson never responded publicly to Shach's attacks, he did rebuke those who disparaged (religious and non-religious) Jews and for bringing division among them in apparent response to Shach, explaining that "every Jew, regardless of differences and levels of observances, is part of Am Echad", the unified Jewish people.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Lubavitcher Rebbe Speaks out Against Rabbi Schach's Message |url=https://www.jta.org/1990/04/04/archive/lubavitcher-rebbe-speaks-out-against-rabbi-schachs-message |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=April 4, 1990 |access-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512234156/https://www.jta.org/1990/04/04/archive/lubavitcher-rebbe-speaks-out-against-rabbi-schachs-message |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Scholarship and works==
[[File:סדרת תורת מנחם.jpg|thumb|Set of ''Torat Menachem'']]
Schneerson is recognized for his scholarship and contributions to Talmudic, Halachic, Kabalistic and Chasidic teachings.<ref name="ou.org"/><ref>Yehiel Poupko, [http://www.uchicagohillel.org/news/blog.aspx?id=428514&blogid=13574 Of God and Man: Some thoughts on the Rebbe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018013842/http://www.uchicagohillel.org/news/blog.aspx?id=428514&blogid=13574 |date=October 18, 2014 }}. June 25, 2014, ''JUF News''.</ref> Joseph B. Soloveitchik, who knew Schneerson from their days in Berlin, and remained in contact once the two men came to America, told his students after visiting Schneerson "the Rebbe has a {{lang|yi-Latn|gewaldiger}} [awesome] comprehension of the Torah",<ref>Kowalsky, S.B. ''From My Zaidy's House'', page 274-275</ref> and "He is a ''[[Gaon (Hebrew)|gaon]]'', he is a great one, he is a leader of Israel."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0uF44xLM-k&feature=relmfu  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/U0uF44xLM-k| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Excerpt: The Rebbe and the Rav |via=YouTube |date=February 5, 2007 |access-date=January 29, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

According to [[Mordechai Eliyahu]], former [[Chief Rabbi of Israel]], his meeting with Schneerson "covered all sections of the Torah". Eliyahu said, "The Rebbe jumped effortlessly from one Talmudic tractate to another, and from there to Kabbalah and then to Jewish law ... It was as if he had just finished studying these very topics from the holy books. The whole Torah was an open book in front of him".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mordechai |first=Rabbi |url=http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/694406/jewish/Teacher-and-Leader-for-All-Jews.htm |title=Teacher and Leader for All Jews - Life |publisher=Chabad.org |access-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113112143/http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/694406/jewish/Teacher-and-Leader-for-All-Jews.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Following his attendance at one such talk, Yitzchak Yedidya Frankel said "I have witnessed the magnificence of Polish Jewry ... and I have known most of the great scholars of recent generations. But I have never seen such command of the material. That is genius." ''Out of the Depths'' [[Israel Meir Lau]], Sterling Publishing, 2011 p.202.</ref>

Schneerson's teachings have been published in more than two hundred volumes. Schneerson also penned tens of thousands of letters in reply to requests for blessings and advice. These detailed and personal letters offer advice and explanation on a wide variety of subjects, including spiritual matters as well as all aspects of life.<ref name="Hamodia Vol 1994, pg.2">"Hamodia" Vol.12944, June 13, 1994, pg.2</ref>

===Books in Hebrew and Yiddish===
* 1943: ''[[Hayom Yom]]'' – An anthology of [[Chabad Lubavitch|Chabad]] aphorisms and customs arranged according to the days of the year
* 1944: ''Sefer HaToldot – Admor Moharash'' – Biography of the fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe, [[Shmuel Schneersohn]]
* 1946: ''Haggadah Im Likkutei Ta'amim U'minhagim'' – The [[Haggadah]] with a commentary written by Schneerson
* 1951–1992: ''Sefer HaMa'amarim Melukot'' – edited chassidic discourses (6 volumes, 4 volumes in the new print)
* 1951–2025: ''Sefer HaMa'amarim'' Hasidic discourses including 1951–1980 with plans to complete the rest (29 volumes)
* 1962–1992: ''[[Likkutei Sichot]]'' – Schneerson's edited talks on the weekly [[Torah]] portions, [[Jewish Holidays]], and other issues (39 volumes)
* 1981–1992: ''Torat Menachem Hitvaduyot'' – transcripts of talks in Hebrew, 1982–1992 (63 volumes)
* 1985: ''Chidushim UBiurim B'Shas'' – [[Chidush|novellae]] on the Talmud (3 volumes)
* 1985–1987: ''Sichot Kodesh'' – transcripts of talks in Yiddish from 1950 to 1981 (50 volumes)
* 1985–2010: ''[[Igrot Kodesh]]'' – Schneerson's Hebrew and Yiddish letters (33 volumes)
* 1987–1992: ''Sefer HaSichot'' – Schneerson's edited talks from 1987 to 1992. (12 volumes)
* 1988: ''Hilchot Beit Habechira LeHaRambam Im Chiddushim U'Beurim'' – Talks on the Laws of the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Holy Temple]] of the [[Mishneh Torah]]
* 1989: ''Biurim LePirkei Avot'' – talks on the [[Mishna]]ic tractate of "[[Pirkei Avot|Ethics of the Fathers]]" (2 volumes)
* 1990–2010: ''Heichal Menachem – Shaarei'' – talks arranged by topic and holiday (34 volumes)
* 1991: ''Biurim LePeirush Rashi'' – talks on the commentary of Rashi to Torah (5 volume)
* 1991: ''Yein Malchut'' – talks on the [[Mishneh Torah]] (2 volumes).
* 1992: ''Torat Menachem – Tiferet Levi Yitzchok'' – talks on the works of his father, [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] on the [[Zohar]] (3 volumes)
* 1993–2025: ''Torat Menachem'' transcripts of talks in Hebrew, 1950–1976. Planned to encompass 1950–1992 (83 volumes)
* 1994–2001: ''Reshimot'' – Schneerson's personal journal discovered after his death. Includes notes for his public talks before 1950, letters to Jewish scholars, notes on the Tanya, and thoughts on a wide range of Jewish subjects penned between 1928 and 1950 (10 volumes)

===Books in English (original and translated)===
* ''The Teachings of The Rebbe'' - The Chassidic Discourses of The Rebbe in English
* ''Letters from the Rebbe'' – eight volume set of Schneerson's English letters
* ''Path to Selflessness'' – work discussing the bond between the individual soul and God<ref>{{Cite book |title=Path to Selflessness - Maamar Yehuda Ata (מאמר יהודה אתה תשל"ח) |author1=Coauthor Avraham Vaisfiche |author2=Translated by Shmuel Simpson |publisher=Kehot Publication Society |year=2009 |isbn=9780826607508 }}</ref>
* ''Garments of the Soul'' – discussing the sublime importance of mundane activities, and their effect on the soul<ref>{{Cite book |title=Garments of the Soul: A Chasidic Discourse |author=Translated by Yosef B. Marcus |publisher=Kehot Publication Society |year=2001 |isbn=9780826605528 }}</ref>
* ''The Letter and the Spirit'' – six volumes so far published of the Rebbe's English letters<ref>*{{Cite book |title=The Letter & the Spirit. Letters By the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Volume I |author=Coauthor Nissan Mindel |isbn=9780826600059 |publisher=Kehot Publication Society |location=Brooklyn, NY |year=1998 }}
* ''[http://nissanmindelpublications.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=68 The Letter and the Spirit Volume II] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218234002/http://nissanmindelpublications.com/index.php?route=product%2Fproduct&product_id=68 |date=December 18, 2019 }}'', Nissan Mindel Publications 2013</ref>
* ''Sichos in English'' – fifty-one volumes published of the Rebbe's talks in English<ref>*{{Cite book |title=Sichos In English: Excerpts of Sichos delivered by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, Volume I |isbn=1456349805 |publisher=Sichos in English |location=Brooklyn, NY |year=1979 }}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==
* Ehrlich, Avrum M. ''The Messiah of Brooklyn: understanding Lubavitch Hasidism past and present.'' Jersey City: KTAV Publishing, 2004. {{ISBN|0-88125-836-9}}.
* Fishkoff, Sue. ''The Rebbe's Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch.'' Schocken, 2005. {{ISBN|978-0805211382}}
* Heilman, Samuel C.; Friedman, Menachem M. ''The Rebbe. The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson.'' Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-691-13888-6}}
* Hoffman, Edward. ''Despite all odds: the story of Lubavitch''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991. {{ISBN|0-671-67703-9}}
* Rapoport, Chaim. The Afterlife of Scholarship. Oporto Press, 2011. {{ISBN|0615538975}}
* Steinsaltz, Adin. ''My Rebbe.'' Maggid Books, 2014. {{ISBN|978-159-264-381-3}}
* Telushkin, Joseph. ''Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History.'' HarperWave, 2014. {{ISBN|978-0062318985}}

==Further reading==
* Asnin, Marc. ''The Oracle: Portraits of Rebbe Mendel Schneerson'' Redux Pictures, 2024. {{ISBN|978-1944875213}}
* Deutsch, Shaul Shimon. ''Larger than Life: The life and times of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Volumes 1-2'' Chasidic Historical Productions, Volume 1- 1995, Volume 2- 1997. {{ISBN|978-0964724303}} (Volume 1), {{ISBN|978-0964724310}} (Volume 2).
* Elior, Rachel. "The Lubavitch Messianic Resurgence: The Historical and Mystical Background 1939–1996", in: ''Toward the Millennium – Messianic Expectations from the Bible to Waco'' (eds. P. Schafer and M. Cohen), Leiden: Brill 1998: 383–408. {{ISBN|978-9004110373}}.
* Miller, Chaim. ''Turning Judaism Outwards: A Biography of the Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson.'' Kol Menachem, 2014. {{ISBN|978-1934152362}}.
* Wolfson, Elliot R. ''Open Secret: Postmessianic Messianism and the Mystical Revision of Menahem Mendel Schneerson''. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-231-14630-2}}.
* Telushkin, Joseph "Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, The Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History." HarperCollins, 2014
* Eliezrie, David. ''The Secret of Chabad: Inside the World's Most Successful Jewish Movement.'' Toby Press LLC, 2015, {{ISBN|9781592643707}}
* {{Cite book|title = Dershowitz Family Saga|isbn = 9781510770232|last1 = Dor-Shav (Dershowitz)|first1 = Zecharia|year=2022|chapter=Personal Experiences with Great Rabbis of My Generation| publisher=Skyhorse }}

== External links ==
* [http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/default.asp Biography of Menachem Mendel Schneerson]
* [http://www.truekabbalah.com/ The Teachings of The Rebbe - Chassidic Discourses] (English)
* [http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=36247 The Ohel], about Schneersons burial site

{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}



{{S-start}}
{{Succession box| before = [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] |title=[[Rebbe]] of [[Chabad Lubavitch|Lubavitch]] | years = 1951–1994 | after = N/A}}
{{S-end}}

{{Rabbinical eras timeline|1900|1994|Rebbe_Menachem_Mendel_of_Lubavitch}}
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[[Category:Menachem Mendel Schneerson| ]]
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