View source for Sholom Dovber Schneersohn

{{short description|Fifth Chabad Rebbe}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox rebbe
| title       = Lubavitcher Rebbe
| image       = Image-RebbeRashab.jpg
| caption     = Sholom Dovber Schneersohn
| began = 10 September 1892 [[Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe|OS]] 
| ended =  21 March 1920 NS
| main_work   = ''[[Yom Tov Shel Rosh Hashana 5666|Yom Tov Shel Rosh Hashana]]'', 5666, ''[[Ayin Beis|Sefer HaMaamarim]]'', 5672
| predecessor = [[Shmuel Schneersohn]]
| successor   = [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
| spouse     = Sterna Sarah (daughter of Yosef Yitzchok of [[Ovruch]])
| children      = [[Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn]]
| dynasty     = [[Chabad Lubavitch]]
| father      = [[Shmuel Schneersohn]]
| mother      = Rivkah (granddaughter of [[Dovber Schneuri]])
| birth_date  = 5 November 1860 OS
| birth_place = [[Lyubavichi, Rudnyansky District, Smolensk Oblast|Lyubavichi]]
| death_date  = 21 March 1920 NS
| death_place = [[Rostov-on-Don]]
}}
'''Sholom Dovber Schneersohn''' ({{langx|he|שלום דובער שניאורסאהן}}; 1860–1920) was the fifth [[rebbe]] (spiritual leader) of the [[Chabad]]-Lubavitch [[Hasidic Judaism|chasidic]] movement. He is known as "'''the Rebbe Rashab'''" (for '''R'''eb '''Sh'''olom '''B'''er). His teachings that encouraged outreach were further developed later.<ref>''The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidim Past and Present'', M. Avrum Ehrlich, Chapter 7</ref>

== Life ==
{{Chabad sidebar}}

===Early life===
Schneersohn was born in [[Lyubavichi, Rudnyansky District, Smolensk Oblast|Lubavitch]], on 20 Cheshvan 5621 (5 November, 1860), the second son of [[Shmuel Schneersohn]], the fourth [[Chabad]] ''Rebbe''.<ref name="sad">''Encyclopedia of Hasidim, entry: Schneersohn, Shalom Dovber''. Naftali Lowenthal. Aronson, London 1996. {{ISBN|1-56821-123-6}}</ref> In 1882, when his father died, he was not quite 22 years old, and his brother Reb Zalman Aharon was not much older. A period followed, during which both brothers fulfilled some of the tasks of a [[rebbe]], but neither felt ready to take on the title and responsibilities. Over this period he gradually took on more responsibilities, particularly in dealing with the impact of the [[May Laws]] regarding the Jews, and on [[Rosh Hashanah]] 5643 (10 September 1892 OS) he accepted the leadership of the Lubavitch movement.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Hayom Yom |last=Shneerson |first=M. M. |publisher=Kehot Publication Society |year=2003 |location=Brooklyn NY |pages=16}}</ref>

Schneersohn married his cousin, Shterna Sara Schneersohn. She was the daughter of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn of Avorutch, a son of the [[Tzemach Tzedek]]. They had one son whom they named [[Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn|Yosef Yitzchok]] after Shterna Sara's father. Yosef Yitzchok later succeeded his father as Rebbe<ref>{{Cite web | title=17 Facts About Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch - Jewish History | url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/5163570/jewish/17-Facts-About-Rabbi-Yosef-Yitzchak-of-Lubavitch.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927173908/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/5163570/jewish/17-Facts-About-Rabbi-Yosef-Yitzchak-of-Lubavitch.htm | access-date=2025-01-12 | archive-date=2021-09-27}}</ref>



=== Later life ===
In late 1915, as the fighting in [[World War I]] neared Lubavitch, Schneersohn deported to [[Rostov-on-Don]]. As [[Bolshevik]] forces approached Rostov he considered moving to [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]],<ref>{{Cite book |title=Toras Menachem Hisva'aduyos vol.1 |last=Shneerson |first=M. M. |publisher=Lahak Hanochos |year=1992 |location=Israel |pages=4 |quote=החליט לנסוע לארץ ישראל}}</ref> which was part of the [[Ottoman Empire]] at the time, and prepared all the necessary paperwork; his only extant picture comes from his Turkish visa since he usually refused to be photographed. But eventually, he decided to stay in Rostov, where he died on 21 March 1920 (2 Nisan 5680).<ref name="הדף לא נמצא">{{Cite web|url=http://www.tog.co.il/|title=עמוד הבית|date=March 17, 2024}}</ref>

During the construction of the "Rostov Palace of Sport" on top of the Old Jewish Cemetery in 1940, his remains were secretly moved by a religious group of Chassidim to a different burial site where they are located to this day in the "Rostov Jewish Cemetery." His grave is visited daily by followers of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, who come from all over the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fjc.ru/news/newsArticle.asp?aid=1040102|title=Rostov Celebrates Schneersohn's Birthday|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203002010/http://fjc.ru/news/newsArticle.asp?aid=1040102|archive-date=2013-12-03}}</ref>

== Leadership ==
{{Chabad (Rebbes and Chasidim)|Rebbes of Chabad}}
Schneersohn established the first Chabad [[yeshiva]], [[Tomchei Temimim]], in 1897. In 1911 he established another yeshivah, [[:he: ישיבת תורת אמת (חב"ד) |Toras Emes]], in Israel, and in 1916 he established a yeshivah in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]. Avrum Erlich has argued that it was these institutions that made Lubavitch the dominant of the various Chabad Hasidic movements.<ref name="sholom"/>

He maintained a lengthy correspondence, not only with Chabad Chasidim in other countries, but also with non-Chabad chasidim and members of other groups who wrote to him for advice. He also met with other Jewish and Hasidic leaders, working with them on issues such as education, unity, policy, and strategy.<ref name="sholom">''The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidim Past and Present'', M. Avrum Ehrlich, Chapter 3</ref> He was held in high esteem by the [[Yisrael Meir Kagan|Chofetz Chaim]], so much so that the Chofetz Chaim declared of him, "the words of the [Lubavitcher] Rebbe are holy, and anyone who argues [or] disagrees with him [should know that] it is as if he is disagreeing with [[Moses]]."<ref>''Shemu'os Vesippurim'', Refoel Kahn, vol. 1, pp. 144-145</ref>

Schneersohn promoted Jewish agricultural settlement, and the creation of employment for Jews, particularly those displaced by the [[May Laws]]. 

He was a prominent opponent of [[Zionism]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 20, 2025 |title=Kuntres Umaayon Mbeis Hashem of Rabbi Sholem Dov Ber Schneersohn zi"a |url=http://www.yhe.center/single-post/kuntres-umaayon-mbeis-hashem-of-rabbi-sholem-dov-ber-schneersohn-zi-a |website=Yalkut Heshvati Etchem}}</ref> both in its secular and religious versions<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 February 2025 |title=Lubavitcher Rebbe, Grand Rabbi Sholem Dov Ber Schneersohn zi"a |url=http://www.yhe.center/single-post/lubavitcher-rebbe-grand-rabbi-sholem-dov-ber-schneersohn-zi-a |website=Yalkut Heshvati Etchem}}</ref> and a staunch ally of [[Chaim Soloveitchik|Reb Chaim Brisker]]. In 1903 he published ''Kuntres Uma'ayan'', which contained a strong polemic against Zionism. He was deeply concerned that secular nationalism would replace Judaism as the foundation of Jewish identity.<ref name="Goldman2009">{{cite book|author=Shalom Goldman|title=Zeal for Zion: Christians, Jews, and the Idea of the Promised Land|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ibbL2ow7gYoC&pg=PA272|access-date=9 May 2013|year=2009|publisher=UNC Press Books|isbn=978-0-8078-3344-5|pages=272–73|quote=The most eminent Orthodox rabbis of the first decade of the twentieth century, among them the Lubavitcher rebbe Sholom Dov Ber Schneersohn, issued powerful condemnations of political Zionism. Schneersohn, in 1903, warned that the Zionists "have made nationalism a substitute for the Torah and the commandments… After this assumption is accepted, anyone who enters the movement regards himself as no longer obliged to keep the commandments of the Torah, nor is there any hope consequently that at some time or another he will return, because, according to his own reckoning, he is a proper Jew in that he is a loyal nationalist.}}</ref> Together with Reb Chaim he joined and supported [[Machazikei Hadas]] - a union of Eastern European [[haredim]] and the forerunner of [[World Agudath Israel|the Agudah]]<ref name="הדף לא נמצא" /> - but in 1912, when the Agudah was formed in [[Katowice]], Reb Chaim raised 18 objections to its constitution, and Schneersohn kept Lubavitch out of the Agudah.<ref>[http://www.shmais.com/pages.cfm?page=chabaddetail&ID=425] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204101537/http://www.shmais.com/pages.cfm?page=chabaddetail&ID=425|date=February 4, 2010}}</ref>

After the [[February Revolution]], elections were called for Jewish city councils and a General Jewish Assembly. Schneersohn worked tirelessly to organize a religious front with a center and a special office to deal with it all. For this reason, he called a unique conference of all the [[Torah]] giants throughout [[Russia]]. This conference was held in 1917 in [[Moscow]], and was preceded by a meeting of the leading Rabbis, to decide the matters to be discussed there. This smaller meeting was held in [[Petrograd]]. However, because the participants in this meeting were few and in a hurry to return home, the Moscow conference failed to yield proper results. Thus, it was necessary to convene once again in [[Kharkiv]] in 1918, to discuss the elections for the General Jewish Assembly.<ref name="four">The Four Worlds, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, Kehot, 2006, pp. 87-90. {{ISBN|0-8266-0462-5}}</ref>

His worries about the [[Mountain Jews]] led him to send a famous ''[[Mashpia]]'', Rabbi Shmuel Levitin of [[Rakshik]], to the [[Caucasus]] to set up institutions to bring them closer to Orthodox observance,<ref name="sad"/> setting a precedent for his two successors, who conducted similar activities.

Notable disciples of Schneersohn include R. [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]], R. [[Itche Der Masmid]], and R. [[Zalman Moishe HaYitzchaki]].<ref>''Yiras Hashem Otzaro'', Yisroel Alfenbein, Israel, 2005, p. 95.</ref> The [[Chaim Avraham Dov Ber Levine HaCohen|Malach]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP5KNUAFh0C&q=jerome+mintz|first=Jerome R. |last=Mintz |title=Hasidic people: A place in the new world |year=1992|isbn=0-674-38115-7 |publisher=Harvard University Press |page=21|quote="Such a man was Rabbi Chaim Avraham Dov Ber Levine HaCohen, a respected Lubavitcher rabbi and sage who was known as the ''Malach'' (Angel). In 1923 he had emigrated to the United States where he received the respect and honor accorded a distinguished Talmudic scholar. In Europe the Malach had been held in high esteem by Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneersohn (1860-1920)"}}</ref>

== Published works ==
{{external links|date=January 2024}}
Schneersohn was a prolific writer on Chabad theology. Much of his work has been published in Hebrew, and some of it has been translated into English and is available online.{{fact|date=March 2021}}
* ''Sefer HaMa'amarim'' - a 31-volume set of Chasidic discourses, according to the years set. The most important of these include two three-year-long cycle of discourses beginning "[[Samech Vov|Yom Tov Shel Rosh Hashanah 5666]]" ("Samech-Vov") and "B'shaah Shehikdimu 5672 (Ayin-Beis)". They serve today as major in-depth encyclopedic introductory works into "oral" Chabad Chassidism (as opposed to the "written" one, i.e., [[Tanya (Judaism)|Tanya]]) studied in Chabad [[yeshiva]]s.
* ''Igros Kodesh'' - six volume set of letters
* ''Toras Sholom'' - compilation of public addresses
* ''Kuntres Uma'ayan'' - basic Chasidic text on self-transformation (as opposed to self-nullification as taught in [[Mussar movement|Musar]] philosophy) and battling evil desires in an intellectual, Kabbalah-based way
* [http://chabadlibrarybooks.com/15701 ''Kuntres HaTefillah''] - explanation of Chabad Chasidic prayer
* [http://chabadlibrarybooks.com/15712 ''Kuntres HoAvodah''] - even more in-depth analysis of Chabad Chasidic prayer
* [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=85424 ''Maamar Veyadaata'' - To know G-d], explanation of the unity of G-d with the created Universe and how to reach the understanding and appreciation of it
* [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=83594 ''Maamar Heichaltzu'' - On Ahavas Yisroel], mystical aspects, sources and reasons for a love to a fellow Jew (and explanation of how exactly the dictum of loving one's fellow as oneself is the basis of all the Torah, including seemingly not related areas of it)
* [http://www.chabad.org/library/archive/LibraryArchive2.asp?AID=144473 ''Kuntres Eitz HaChayim'' - The Tree of Life]—essay on the importance of learning (how learning of Judaism can transform a Jew's life and personality and change his perception on his purpose in life), order of learning (for Chabad yeshivah students), and focus of Jewish learning.
* [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=149881 ''Chanoch Lana'ar'' - The Ethical Will]
* "Hagaos" Scholarly glosses on [[Tanya (Judaism)|Tanya]],<ref>printed in the back of "Kitzurim V'Haoros al HaTanya"</ref> The [[Siddur]],<ref>Printed in Siddur Torah Ohr and Siddur im Dach</ref> Torah Ohr and [[Likkutei Torah]]
* [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=57388 ''Issa B'Midrash Tehillim'' - Bar Mitzvah Maamar]—mystical aspects of the commandment of [[tefillin]]; a Chasidic discourse usually recited by a Chabad boy at his [[bar mitzvah]]
* [http://chabadlibrary.org/books/maharshab/index.htm Some of his published works in Hebrew]

=== Publication gallery ===
<gallery class="center" heights="200px">
File:המשך תרס"ו.png|1906 collection of essays
File:Publication of Tomchei Tmimim (1909).png|Publication of Rashab's Yeshiva (1909)
File:Huh-Ukh 1911.jpg|''Huh-Ukh'', a newspaper by Rashab's yeshiva (1911)
File:Damen farain.png|Women's Auxiliary Group led by wife of Rashab (1912)
File:מכתב של אדמור הרשב.jpg|Letter from Rashab
</gallery>

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.neirot.com/category/mysticism/chassidus/samech-vav An ongoing translation of Hemshech Samech Vav - one of the most foundational works of the "Schneersohn"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151220060435/http://www.neirot.com/category/mysticism/chassidus/samech-vav |date=2015-12-20 }}
* [http://www.meaningfullife.com/spiritual/mystics/The_Rebbe_Rashab.php Life timeline and published works]
* [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=110470 A brief biography of Rabbi Sholom Dovber, the "Schneersohn"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110713104811/http://www.jhberke.com/articles/Freud_Lub_Rebbe.html Schneersohn with Sigmund Freud]
* [https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Visual_Culture_of_Chabad.html?id=OeIuE1tE36QC ''The visual Culture of Chabad'']

{{Rabbinical eras timeline|1860|1920|Rebbe_Rashab_of_Lubavitch}}
{{s-start}}
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{{succession box | before = [[Shmuel Schneersohn]] | title = [[Rebbe]] of [[Chabad Lubavitch|Lubavitch]] | years = 1892–1920 | after = [[Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Chabad}}
{{Schneersohn family tree}}
{{Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schneersohn, Sholom Dovber}}
[[Category:1860 births]]
[[Category:1920 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Rudnyansky District, Smolensk Oblast]]
[[Category:People from Orshansky Uyezd]]
[[Category:Schneersohn family]]
[[Category:Rebbes of Lubavitch]]
[[Category:Russian Hasidic rabbis]]
[[Category:Kabbalists]]
[[Category:Philosophers of Judaism]]
[[Category:Hasidic rabbis in Europe]]
[[Category:Anti-Zionist Hasidic rabbis]]
[[Category:Hasidic writers]]