THE REBBES OF CHABAD CHASSIDUS

The Baal Shem Tov (lit., "Master of the Good Name"): R. Yisrael ben R. Eliezer (5458-
5520), founder of Chassidism. Major concept is “The Master Plan of Creation - Unique
Conception of Divine Providence.” Nothing that happens in our lives is mere circumstance
or coincidence. We have reasons for what we do and there are reasons of which we are
unaware, deeper patterns whose scope and purpose extend far beyond our individual lives...

The Maggid of Mezritch (lit., "the preacher of Mezritch"): R. Dov Ber (d. 5532), disciple and successor
of the Baal Shem Tov and mentor of the Alter Rebbe. One difference between the ways of
the Baal Shem Tov and of the Maggid was that the Baal Shem Tov went on all sorts of
journeys, while the Maggid stayed home. While the Maggid was Rebbe, Chassidus became
widely known, even in distant places. Many average laymen had thus become devoted to
Chassidus and used to make pilgrimages to Mezritch.

The Alter Rebbe (lit., "the Old Rebbe": Yid.): R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi (5505-5572), also known as
"the Rav" and as Baal HaTanya; founder of the Chabad-Lubavitch trend within the
Chassidic Movement; disciple and successor of the Maggid of Mezritch, and father of the
Mitteler Rebbe. He defined the direction of his movement through his two most famous
works the Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch HaRav. Major concept that the Torah and
Mitzvoth, is itself "elevated" thereby from its earthly domain into the sphere of holiness,
while at the same time serving as a vehicle to draw the Torah and Mitzvoth, from above
downward, to those who read and understand this language.
The Mitteler Rebbe (lit., "the Middle Rebbe": Yid.): R. Dov Ber Schneuri of Lubavitch
(5533-5587), son and successor of the Alter Rebbe, and uncle and father-in-law of the
Tzemach Tzedek. He was the first Rebbe to reside in the city of Lubavitch. He authored
many works, which aimed to categorize and render accessible mystical pursuits,
particularly the various states of meditation in prayer. His magnum opus Sha'ar HaYichud
aims to systematically explain the concept of God's unity with the universe. The Mitteler
Rebbe (binah) expanded Chassidus from the base provided by the Alter Rebbe (chochmah).
The Tzemach Tzedek, R. Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (5549-5626), the third Lubavitcher Rebbe;
known by the title of his Halachic responsa as nephew and son-in-law of the Mitteler
Rebbe and father of the Rebbe Maharash. The Rebbe "Tzemach Tzedek" wrote more
profusely than all the Rebbeim. He did not publish his books himself. In the Alter Rebbe's
Likutei Torah, the Tzemach Tzedek added numerous comments and annotations, but he
never released his own discourses and responsa to be printed. Chassidim used to copy his
writings by hand, and these comprise the majority of the manuscripts of Chassidic
discourses extant today.
The Rebbe Maharash (acronym for Moreinu ("our master") HaRav Shmuel): R. Shmuel Schneersohn of
Lubavitch (5594-5642), the fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe; youngest son of the Tzemach
Tzedek and father of the Rebbe Rashab. He was politically active in defending Jewish
interests against antisemitic elements in the Tsar’s government. Major innovation was the
concept of "L'Chatchila Ariber". The approach of L'chatchila Ariber teaches that if we
come upon an obstacle to a task we are involved in, or an obstacle to a mitzva or project or
good deed which comes our way (or we pursue), we should overcome the obstacle in the
most direct manner. The Rebbe Maharash explained that while some people propose that when confronted
with an obstacle the best route is to go around, or under it -- and the Rebbe Maharash says: "And I say one
has to go l'chatchila ariber [from the start, go over it]."
The Rebbe Rashab (acronym for Rabbi Shalom Ber): R. Shalom Dov Ber Schneersohn of
Lubavitch (5620-5680), the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe; second son of the Rebbe Maharash
and father of the Rebbe Rayatz. On the occasion of the fiftieth jubilee of the foundation of
the Tomchei Temimim Yeshivah in Lubavitch, the Rebbe Rashab delivered the Maamar Heichaltzu. This
keynote discourse, with its insistence on the essential brotherhood of all Jews, was presented as a
foundation stone for the Yeshivah which was destined to educate and inspire generations of Lubavitcher
chassidim toward the sublime ideal of Ahavas Yisrael. Known as the “Rambam” of Chassidus, his long
essays on Chasidus (Ma'amorim) are studied in all Chabad yeshivas as central to a proper understanding
of Chasidus.
The Rebbe Rayatz (acronym for Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak; also known as der Frierdiker Rebbe "the
Previous Rebbe": Yid): R. Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (5640-5710), the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe; only
son of the Rebbe Rashab, and father-in-law of the Rebbe. Following the tradition of his predecessors, he
wrote lengthy complex ma'amorim, but also dedicated much time to more basic ma'amorim
suitable for beginners. He kept a diary in which he recorded Hasidic stories he had heard;
many excerpts of this diary have been published, and these are a major source of knowledge
about both general Hasidic history as well as Chabad history in particular. He was the first
Lubavitcher Rebbe to visit and later settle in the United States.Immediately upon his arrival
to settle in 1940, the Rebbe publicized that it was not for his own safety that he had came to
the United States, but that he had an important mission to fulfill in this free and blessed country. This
mission was to make America a Torah center to take the place of the ruined Jewish communities of
Europe. The Rebbe’s entire life was based self-sacrifice for the Jewish people.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known simply and lovingly as "The
Rebbe," R. Menachem Mendel Schneerson (5664-5754), the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe;
eldest son of the saintly kabbalist, R. Levi Yitzchak, rav of Yekaterinoslav; fifth in direct
paternal line from the Tzemach Tzedek; son-in-law of the Rebbe Rayatzh. He cast the warm
glow of his sanctified existence, his Solomonic wisdom, his vision for a world perfected,
and his sensitivity and love for humanity, over the lives of millions, to the farthest reaches
of the world.
Educated by private tutor as a child, and then at the University of Berlin and the Sorbonne, the Rebbe
exhibited an extraordinary breadth and depth of knowledge, was gifted in the sciences, and had a
remarkable fluency in many languages. But it was in the Torah, the Talmud, in both the exoteric and
esoteric realms of Torah and Judaism, that the Rebbe's erudition and brilliance provided fundamental and
original insights to Jewish scholarship. Indeed, more than 200 major volumes of the Rebbe's prolific
writing and discourses have already been published; more are on the way.
In all his talks, as well as in his innovative, worldwide mitzva campaigns, one discerns a unifying system
which binds the physical to the spiritual, and empowers every individual to actualize their potential to
impact their immediate surroundings, their community, and ultimately, the world, through their even
small acts of kindness.
It is truly impossible to gauge the scope of this great leader of the entire Jewish nation. He never took a
day off in 42 years. He rarely slept. He fasted most days while praying for the hundreds of thousands of
people who beseeched him to intervene on their behalf. He also inspired us all with his incredible
activism, devotion, foresight and leadership. He always saw what others did not and did what others saw
not.