Early life and education Menachem Mendel Schneerson was born on April 5, 1902 (
OS) (11
Nisan, 5662), in the
Black Sea port of Nikolaev in the
Russian Empire (now
Mykolaiv in Ukraine). His father was rabbi
Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, a renowned
Talmudic scholar and authority on
Kabbalah and
Jewish law. His mother was
Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson (). 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
Yekatrinoslav, where Levi Yitzchak was appointed Chief Rabbi of the city. He served until 1939, when he was exiled by the
Soviets to
Kazakhstan. Schneerson had two younger brothers: Dov Ber Schneerson, who was murdered in 1944 by
Nazi collaborators, and Yisroel Aryeh Leib Schneerson, who died in 1952 while completing doctoral studies at
Liverpool University. 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. 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
its early commentaries. 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. 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." Schneerson went on to receive separate
rabbinical ordinations from the Rogatchover
Gaon,
Joseph Rosen, and
Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg, author of
Sridei Aish.
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, who was a distant cousin. Sometime later, they became engaged but were not married until 1928 in
Warsaw, Poland. 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 present at the wedding, such as
Meir Shapiro and
Menachem Ziemba. Menachem Mendel and Chaya Mushka were married for 60 years and were childless. Menachem Mendel and Yosef Yitzchak were both descendants of
Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, known as the
Tzemach Tzedek, the third Rebbe of Chabad. Schneerson later commented that the day of his marriage bound the community to him and him to the community. In 1947, Schneerson traveled to Paris to take his mother,
Chana Schneerson, back to New York City with him. Schneerson would visit her every day and twice each Friday to also prepare her tea. In 1964, Chana Schneerson died. On February 10, 1988, Schneerson's wife Chaya died. After the traditional year of
Jewish mourning had passed on her
Yahrzheit, the widowed Schneerson moved into his study above the
central Lubavitch synagogue on Eastern Parkway.
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
responsa (also known as
teshuvot) and various Hasidic discourses of the earlier Rebbes of Chabad-Lubavitch. Schneerson studied mathematics, physics, and philosophy at the
University of Berlin. He would later recall that he enjoyed
Erwin Schrödinger's lectures. 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. During his stay in Berlin, his father-in-law encouraged him to become more of a public figure. However, Schneerson described himself as an
introvert 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. He wrote hundreds of pages of his own original Torah discourses, and conducted a serious interchange of
halachic correspondence with many of Eastern Europe's leading rabbinic figures, including
Joseph Rosen. In 1933, he also met with
Chaim Elazar Spira, as well as with Talmudist
Shimon Shkop. 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.
Paris In 1933, after the
Nazis took over Germany, the Schneersons left Berlin and moved to Paris, where Menachem Mendel (known as "RaMash" before accepting the leadership of Chabad) 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. During that time, Yosef Yitzchak recommended that Professor
Alexander Vasilyevitch Barchenko consult with Schneerson regarding various religious and
mystical matters, and prominent rabbis, such as Yerachmiel Binyaminson and
Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, turned to Schneerson with their rabbinic and kabbalistic queries. On June 11, 1940, three days before
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.
New York In 1941, Schneerson escaped from Europe via
Lisbon, Portugal. On the eve of his departure, Schneerson penned a treatise where he revealed his vision for the future of world Jewry and humanity. He and his wife, Chaya Mushka, arrived in New York on June 23, 1941. 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 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. 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), and other classified military work. 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. In a letter to Israeli President
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 ..." In 1991, a car in convoy with Schneerson's motorcade accidentally struck two
Guyanese American children while running a red light. One of the children was killed. The incident triggered the
Crown Heights riot.
Seventh Chabad Rebbe Chief Rabbis of Israel,
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, citing his scholarship, piety, and dynasty. Schneerson was reluctant, and refused to accept leadership of the movement. He continued, however, with all the communal activities he had previously headed. It would take a full year for the elders to persuade him to join the movement in accepting the post. 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. In the maamar, known as "Bosi L'gani" (I have come into My garden), the Rebbe stated his mission: to bring
the Messiah ("Moshiach"). On the night of his acceptance, members of the Israeli Cabinet and the
Chief Rabbi of Israel,
Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, sent him congratulatory messages. 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: 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." When he spoke to
The 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." (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. 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. 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 people who had requested appointments months previously. and sometimes went for eight or nine hours without a break. During the talks, Schneerson demonstrated a unique approach to explaining seemingly different concepts by analyzing the fundamental principle common to the entire tractate. and referenced both classic and esoteric sources from all periods, citing entire sections by heart. 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".
International outreach drives around Paris promote interest in
Hanukkah services That same year, Schneerson sent his first emissary to
Morocco and established schools and a synagogue for the
Moroccan Jewish community. In 1958, Schneerson established schools and synagogues in Detroit, Michigan;
Milan, Italy; and London. Beginning in the 1960s, Schneerson instituted a system of
"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. 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. 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 delivered these sermons weekly until 1992.
Hanukkah campaign In 1973, Schneerson started a
Hanukkah 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 Hanukkah menorah was held at the
Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in the years that followed, menorah lightings on public grounds were held 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. Public lightings continue in thousands of cities today.
Lag BaOmer parade parade|225x225pxChabad established an annual
Lag BaOmer parade at '770', one of the largest celebrations of its kind, where thousands of Jews celebrate the holiday.
Iran youth immigration In 1979, during the
Iranian Revolution and
Iranian hostage crisis, Schneerson directed arrangements to
rescue Jewish youth and teenagers from Iran and bring them to safety in the United States. Schneerson saw the Iranian government's hostility towards the United States 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". As a result of Schneerson's efforts, several thousand Iranian Jewish children were flown from Iran to the safety of New York.
Noahidism and Jewish outreach with Jewish strangers on the street In 1983, Schneerson launched a global campaign to promote awareness of
Monotheism and observance of the
Noahide Laws among all people, arguing that this was the basis for human rights for all civilization. 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. In 1984, Schneerson initiated a campaign for the
daily study of
Maimonides's
Mishneh Torah. 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.
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. 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." 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". Schneerson's wife, Chaya Mushka Schneerson, died in 1988. 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."
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, 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".
Work habits During his decades of leadership, Schneerson worked over 18 hours a day and never took a day of vacation. 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. 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. The only other time he left Brooklyn was when he visited
Camp Gan Israel Parksville, New York in 1956, 1957 and 1960.
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. 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
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 became more widespread during this time. On the morning of June 12, 1994, Schneerson died at the
Beth Israel Medical Center and was buried at the Ohel next to his father-in-law, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, at
Montefiore Cemetery in Queens, New York. 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. next to his
father-in-law and predecessor in
Queens, New York Following age-old Jewish tradition that the
grave 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 United States president
Donald Trump visited the Ohel of the Rebbe in 2024.
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. Another will, no executed copies of which are known to be in existence, named three senior Chabad rabbis as directors of Agudas Chasidei Chabad. Schneerson's supporters have claimed that many Jews felt that if there was indeed a person worthy of such stature, it was Schneerson. Although Schneerson consistently rejected any claim that he was the Messiah, this notion sparked controversy, particularly among those unfamiliar with these traditional teachings. Detractors criticized a children's song with the words "We want
moshiach (the messiah) now / We don't want to wait", that Schneerson commended. ==Global positions==