Shneur Zalman of Liady

1745–1812

Shneur Zalman of Liady, born in Liozno, present-day Belarus, was the founder of Ḥabad (Chabad) Hasidism. He was first a disciple of Dov Ber, the Magid of Mezritsh, and then of Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk. Shneur Zalman was involved in conflicts with the Vilna Gaon and other Misnagdim, leading to his arrest and brief imprisonments in 1798 and in 1801. After his second release, he moved his court to Liady, also in presentday Belarus. Characteristic of his leadership was his establishment of a court that attracted thousands, with satellite sites in other Eastern European locations; he also listened personally to individual sorrows and requests. His Hasidic philosophy expressed Kabbalah and Hasidism in terms of the rational and intellectual sphere, as reflected in his magnum opus, Tanya.

Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator

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Tanya

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Now, aside from the fact that it is altogether impossible to interpret the matter of tzimtzum literally, for that would attribute corporeal events to the…

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Igrot ha-kodesh (Holy Epistles)

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It is written: All the men of Israel . . . knit together as one man (Judg. 20:11). Just as one man is composed of many limbs, and when they become separated it affects the heart…

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Niggun of Four Stanzas

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A notated version of a wordless Hasidic niggun, melody, attributed to Shneur Zalman of Liady, the founder of Chabad Hasidism.