Sholom Dov Ber Schneerson

Born in Lubavitch, Russian Empire (Lyubavici, Russia), to Shmuel Schneerson, fourth rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic dynasty, Sholom Dov Ber Schneerson received his heder education in the besmedresh established by his grandfather Menachem Mendel, also known as the Tsemaḥ Tsedek. Around 1880, Schneerson began to be groomed as successor to his father, taking on responsibilities involving communal leadership and interface with the tsarist government. He officially took over the mantle as rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch in 1892. In 1897 he founded the Tomkhei Temimim yeshiva, the primary Chabad-Lubavitch yeshiva, and in his writings and teachings, he originated many of the ideas concerning outreach to non-Chabad Jews that were later popularized in Chabad. In 1903, Schneerson visited Vienna for two months, consulting with Sigmund Freud during his time there about mental health issues he was confronting. An extreme antimodernist, he strongly opposed the modern political and cultural movements of his time. Antagonistic to Zionism, Schneerson wrote a number of polemics against the nationalist movement, siding with views of several other prominent ultra-Orthodox leaders of the time. He died in Rostov-on-Don, having moved there from Lubavitch during World War I.