Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History by Joseph Telushkin , Harper Wave
Joseph Teluskin's book provides much interesting information on the Rebbe's views and influence. It's organized by topic, much like Rabbi Telushkin's Jewish Literacy work. Here, he presents many first-hand anecdotes and summaries. A reader can learn a lot from this book. This book is highly recommended inspite of some shortfalls in content.
However, it is not a biography. There's little about the Rebbe's childhood or family life. Although there are some anecdotes about his college studies in Berlin and at the Sorbonne, the book offers no insight or speculation into why the young Schneerson chose to study what he did and what affect, if any, his university studies may have had on his mature thought. These are topics one would expect to find in a biography.
One glaring omission is in this book is the limited attention it gives to the Rebbe's torah and talmud commentaries. This work is a massive and important part of his accomplishment, along with the influential Chabad House program, if not as prone to interesting story-telling.
The book provides several accounts from Zalman Schachter-Shalomi of the early years of the Rebbe's leadership. These stories are interesting and seem to shed some light on the young Rebbe's personality. However, I am surprised that nowhere in the book does Rabbi Telushkin mention that Schachter-Shalomi eventually broke from Lubavitch and started his own movement.
This book is worth reading for anyone interested in learning about the life and unique, impressive accomplishments of the Rebbe. But it is a collection of stories more than a biography.
Menachem Mendel Schneerson (April 5, 1902 OS – June 12, 1994), known to many as the Rebbe,[3][4][5] was a Russian Empire-born American Orthodox Jewish rabbi, and the last Lubavitcher Rebbe. He is considered one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century.[6][7][8][9]
As leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, he "took an insular Hasidic group that almost came to an end with the Holocaust and turned it into one of the most influential and controversial forces in world Jewry,"[10] with an international network of over 3000 educational and social centers.[11][12] The institutions he established include kindergartens, schools, drug-rehabilitation centers, care-homes for the disabled and synagogues.[13]
Schneerson's published teachings fill more than 300 volumes and he is noted for his contributions to Jewish continuity and religious thought,[14] as well as his wide-ranging contributions to traditional Torah scholarship.[15] He is recognized as the pioneer of Jewish outreach.[16][17]
In 1978, the U.S. Congress asked President Carter to designate Schneerson's birthday as the national Education Day U.S.A..[18] It has been since commemorated as Education and Sharing Day.[19][20] In 1994, he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his "outstanding and lasting contributions toward improvements in world education, morality, and acts of charity."[21]
| Schneerson | |
|---|---|
| Lubavitcher Rebbe | |
Menachem Mendel Schneerson at the Lag BaOmer parade in Brooklyn, 1987.
| |
| Synagogue | 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY |
| Began | 10 Shevat 5711 / January 17, 1951 |
| Predecessor | Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 5, 1902 OS (11 Nissan5662)[1] Nikolaev, Kherson Governorate,Russian Empire (present-dayMykolaiv, Ukraine) |
| Died | June 12, 1994 (3 Tammuz5754) (aged 92)[2] Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Buried | Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Dynasty | Chabad Lubavitch |
| Parents | Levi Yitzchak Schneerson Chana Yanovski Schneerson |
| Spouse | Chaya Mushka Schneerson |
| Semicha | Rogatchover Gaon |
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