Chassidus, Music and Puppets. "and the world will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem". Kollel Eretz Hatzvi is a community learning program in Pittsburgh in memory of Rabbi Tzvi "Hershel" Pfeffer, shliach of the Rebbe in Pittsburgh for over 75 years. Brought to you by Great Gizmos Laces and Locks. Link to store: https://rb.gy/pbbdw

Bunim and Mendel yell at each other about the greatness and infiniteness of the Creator. Part 3 of Torah Nun Vav (56) in Likutei Moharan Kollel Eretz Hatzvi is a community learning program in Pittsburgh in memory of Rabbi Tzvi "Hershel" Pfeffer, shliach of the Rebbe in Pittsburgh for over 75 years. Brought to you by Great Gizmos Laces and Locks. Link to store: https://rb.gy/pbbdw

Chassidus, Music and Puppets. "and the world will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem". Kollel Eretz Hatzvi is a community learning program in Pittsburgh in memory of Rabbi Tzvi "Hershel" Pfeffer, shliach of the Rebbe in Pittsburgh for over 75 years. Brought to you by Great Gizmos Laces and Locks. Link to store: https://rb.gy/pbbdw

Bunim and Mendel yell at each other about the greatness and infiniteness of the Creator. Part 3 of Torah Nun Vav (56) in Likutei Moharan Brought to you by Great Gizmos Laces and Locks. Link to store: https://rb.gy/pbbdw

21 Av 5784. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson was born in 1878, on the 18th of Nissan, in the town of Podrovnah (near Gomel), to Rabbi Baruch Schneur and Rebbetzin Zelda Rachel Schneerson. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was the oldest of four children: two brothers, Rabbi Shmuel and Rabbi Shalom Shlomo, and one sister, Rebbetzin Rada Sima. His father, Rabbi Baruch Schneur, was a great-grandson of the third Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known as the Tzemach Tzedek. Early Years As a small child, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak showed signs of being a prodigy, as the Rebbe Rayatz, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, would later write, “Already from a young age, his extraordinary talents were discovered.” He mastered Kabbalah, Talmud, and Chassidic philosophy and was ordained by the leading Torah authorities of his time, Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk and Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim Meizel of Lodz. Marriage In 1900, at the age of 22, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak, who had already become renowned as a Kabbalistic and halachic scholar, married Rebbetzin Chana Yanovsky. The daughter of Rabbi Meir Shlomo Yanovsky, the Rabbi of Nikolayev and chassid of the Rebbe Maharash, the fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe, young Rebbetzin Chana was known as a scholar in her own right. Rabbi Shalom DovBer Schneerson, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, had suggested the match. The wedding took place on the 11th of Sivan, in Nikolayev, where Rabbi Levi Yitzchak and Rebbetzin Chana would remain for almost a decade. Children The Rebbe at the age of two The Rebbe at the age of two Rabbi Levi Yitzchak and Rebbetzin Chana gave birth to three sons: Menachem Mendel, DovBer and Yisrael Aryeh Leib. The eldest, Menachem Mendel, was born on the 11th of Nissan 1902 and would grow up to become the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, known as the Rebbe. Rabbi of Yekatrinoslav In 1909, at age 31, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was called upon to serve as rabbi of the Ukrainian city of Yekatrinoslav (known today as Dnepropetrovsk). The fifth Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneerson, was instrumental in securing the position, and he sent letters to various community leaders, including Sergei Pavlov Fallei, one of the city’s most respected members of the Zionist movement. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak also met with Menachem Ussishkin, a community activist who had served as secretary of the First Zionist Congress. Following his appointment as Rabbi, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak eventually assumed the position of chief rabbi and served the community until 1939. Besides for a small Chassidic constituency, the Jewish community of Yekatrinoslav included many non-religious professionals, who also held Rabbi Levi Yitzchak in great esteem. His wife, Rebbetzin Chana, who was fluent in several languages, contributed to her husband’s success and influence as a communal leader. Avraham Menachem Mendel Usishkin (left) Avraham Menachem Mendel Usishkin (left) During his years of leadership, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak resolutely engaged in religious activism, never giving in to the ever-growing pressure from Soviets. He oversaw the building of a new mikveh and clandestinely officiated at weddings and circumcisions. One area of particular note was his involvement in the production of kosher-for-Passover matzahs. As all factories in Russia were owned by the government, it was their policy that set the standard for the matzah production. Yet, even the Soviets knew that for the Jews to purchase their matzahs, they would require a rabbinic authority to provide halachic certification. When they turned to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak, who was renowned as the chief rabbi of a prominent city, he demanded that he be allowed to install his own rabbinic supervisors, otherwise he could not offer certification. When they refused, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak remained steadfast. He traveled to Moscow and met with Mikhail Kalinin to explain his position. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak’s efforts bore fruit and the Soviets relented. The Passover matzahs would be produced under the proper rabbinic standards. Arrest and Trial On 9 Nissan 5699 (March 28, 1939), at three o’clock in the morning, four agents of the NKVD arrived at the Schneerson home on 13 Barikadna Street. Rabbi Shalom Dovber of Lubavitch (1860 -1920) Rabbi Shalom Dovber of Lubavitch (1860 -1920) Stationing guards at each of the doors, they began to search the house. Rifling through the thousands of folios of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak’s written works on Kabbalah, halachah, and rabbinic correspondence, they confiscated his rabbinic ordination certificates and a petition from the community of Jaffa that he emigrate and serve as chief rabbi, along with visas for the entire family. Finally, at six o’clock in the morning, after they had ended their search, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was arrested for his activities on behalf of Judaism in the Soviet Union. After more than a year of torture and interrogations in Stalin…

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Chassidus, Music and Puppets. "and the world will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem". Kollel Eretz Hatzvi is a community learning program in Pittsburgh in memory of Rabbi Tzvi "Hershel" Pfeffer, shliach of the Rebbe in Pittsburgh for over 75 years. Brought to you by Great Gizmos Laces and Locks. Link to store: https://rb.gy/pbbdw

Bunim and Mendel yell at each other about the greatness and infiniteness of the Creator. Part 3 of Torah Nun Vav (56) in Likutei Moharan Brought to you by Great Gizmos Laces and Locks. Link to store: https://rb.gy/pbbdw

A project of Kollel Eretz Hatzvi of Pittsburgh. Brought to you by Great Gizmos Laces and Locks. Link to store: https://rb.gy/pbbdw