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	<title>Menachem Mendel Schneerson - Revision history</title>
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		<title>David: Created page with &quot;{{Chabad sidebar}} ''For the third Chabad Rebbe of the same name, see Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (Tzemach Tzedek).'' {{short description|'''Seventh Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavi...&quot;</title>
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		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Created page with &amp;quot;{{Chabad sidebar}} &amp;#039;&amp;#039;For the third Chabad Rebbe of the same name, see &lt;a href=&quot;/index.php?title=Menachem_Mendel_Schneersohn_(Tzemach_Tzedek)&amp;amp;action=edit&amp;amp;redlink=1&quot; class=&quot;new&quot; title=&quot;Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (Tzemach Tzedek) (page does not exist)&quot;&gt;Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (Tzemach Tzedek)&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;#039;&amp;#039; {{short description|&amp;#039;&amp;#039;&amp;#039;Seventh Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavi...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;New page&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;{{Chabad sidebar}}&lt;br /&gt;
''For the third Chabad Rebbe of the same name, see [[Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (Tzemach Tzedek)]].''&lt;br /&gt;
{{short description|'''Seventh Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch (1902–1994), who built the movement into a global network and became the focus of a messianic campaign'''}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{Infobox person&lt;br /&gt;
| name = Menachem Mendel Schneerson&lt;br /&gt;
| birth_date = 14 April 1902 (11 Nissan 5662)&lt;br /&gt;
| birth_place = Nikolaev, [[Russian Empire]]&lt;br /&gt;
| death_date = 12 June 1994 (3 Tammuz 5754)&lt;br /&gt;
| death_place = Beth Israel Medical Center, Manhattan, New York&lt;br /&gt;
| resting_place = Ohel, Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, New York&lt;br /&gt;
| nationality = American (formerly Russian)&lt;br /&gt;
| education = University of Berlin; Sorbonne, Paris&lt;br /&gt;
| known_for = Seventh Rebbe of [[Chabad-Lubavitch movement|Chabad-Lubavitch]], 1950/51–1994&lt;br /&gt;
| spouse = Chaya Mushka Schneerson (m. 1928; d. 1988)&lt;br /&gt;
| predecessor = [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
'''Menachem Mendel Schneerson''' (1902–1994), known to his followers as &amp;quot;the Rebbe&amp;quot;, was the seventh and last leader of the [[Chabad-Lubavitch movement|Chabad-Lubavitch]] Hasidic dynasty. He led it from his father-in-law's death in 1950 until his own in 1994.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;ChabadBio&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[Chabad.org]], [https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/244372/jewish/The-Rebbe-A-Brief-Biography.htm The Rebbe: A Brief Biography] ''Chabad.org'', accessed 14 October 2026.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; According to the ''[[New York Times]]'', he was a &amp;quot;Russian-born, Sorbonne-educated scholar who 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&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;NYTObit&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Ari L. Goldman, [https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/13/nyregion/rabbi-schneerson-led-a-small-hasidic-sect-to-world-prominence.html Rabbi Schneerson Led A Small Hasidic Sect To World Prominence] ''The New York Times'', 13 June 1994.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
From [[770 Eastern Parkway]] in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, he built a worldwide network of emissaries (''shluchim'') and Chabad Houses. He campaigned to promote the Seven Noahide Laws among non-Jews, which earned him repeated tributes from US presidents and a posthumous [[Congressional Gold Medal]].&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;PL103457&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[United States Congress]], [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-103hr4497enr/html/BILLS-103hr4497enr.htm H.R. 4497: An Act to award a congressional gold medal to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson] Public Law 103‑457, 2 November 1994, 108 Stat. 4799.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He never visited Israel, but he wielded considerable influence in Israeli politics, opposing territorial withdrawal and backing the &amp;quot;Who is a Jew&amp;quot; amendment.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;JTA1990&amp;quot;&amp;gt;''Jewish Telegraphic Agency'', [https://www.jta.org/archive/rebbes-influence-blamed-for-labors-failure-to-form-governing-coalition Rebbe's Influence Blamed for Labor's Failure to Form Governing Coalition] ''JTA'', 1990.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
His final years were dominated by an intense messianic campaign among his followers, many of whom proclaimed him the Messiah. Some still do, three decades after his death. The Orthodox historian [[David Berger]] called this &amp;quot;a revolutionary development&amp;quot; that had &amp;quot;thoroughly undermined&amp;quot; a pillar of Judaism.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;BergerComm&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[David Berger]], [https://www.commentary.org/articles/david-berger/the-rebbe-the-jews-and-the-messiah/ The Rebbe, the Jews, and the Messiah] ''Commentary'', September 2001.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Early life ==&lt;br /&gt;
Schneerson was born on 11 Nissan 1902 in Nikolaev in southern Russia (now Mykolaiv, Ukraine). His father was the kabbalist Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson and his mother Chana Schneerson. He was named after his ancestor, the third Rebbe, [[Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (Tzemach Tzedek)|Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch]].&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;ChabadBio&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; Chabad's official biography records that his father was later sent into internal exile &amp;quot;by the Soviets to a remote village in Asian Russia&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;ChabadBio&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; UPI gave his civil date of birth as 14 April 1902.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;UPI1994&amp;quot;&amp;gt;''United Press International'', [https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/06/12/Lubavitcher-leader-dead-at-age-92/4962771393600/ Lubavitcher leader dead at age 92] ''UPI Archives'', 12 June 1994.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Berlin and Paris ==&lt;br /&gt;
In 1928, in Warsaw, Schneerson married Chaya Mushka, daughter of the sixth Rebbe, [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]. In 1927 she had accompanied her father into his &amp;quot;forced exile to Kostroma&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;ChabadBio&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; He then &amp;quot;studied in the University of Berlin and then at the Sorbonne in Paris&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;ChabadBio&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;NYTObit&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; [[Samuel Heilman]] and [[Menachem Friedman]]'s academic biography covers these years in the chapters &amp;quot;Coming of Age in a Time of Transition&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Entering the Court of Lubavitch&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;HeilmanFriedman&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[Samuel C. Heilman]] and [[Menachem M. Friedman]], [https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691154428/the-rebbe The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson] Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;!-- Editor's note: the extent and nature of Schneerson's secular studies, and his years in Berlin/Paris, are contested between Heilman &amp;amp; Friedman and Chabad-aligned biographers (Miller, Telushkin). Add specific claims only with page references from those books. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Escape to the United States, 1941 ==&lt;br /&gt;
Schneerson and his wife escaped occupied France and arrived in New York on 23 June 1941.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;ChabadBio&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; The 1994 Act of Congress describes him as &amp;quot;a refugee first from Stalinist Russia and then from Nazi Germany&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;PL103457&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; After his arrival he was put in charge of three central Lubavitch organisations: [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]] (education), the [[Kehot Publication Society]] and the social-services agency Machne Israel.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;ChabadBio&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Succession, 1950–51 ==&lt;br /&gt;
Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn died in 1950. Chabad says his son-in-law then &amp;quot;reluctantly ascended to the leadership of the Lubavitch movement&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;ChabadBio&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; UPI dates his leadership from 1950, &amp;quot;nine years after coming to Brooklyn&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;UPI1994&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; He formally accepted the role in 1951.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;BergerComm&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;!-- Editor's note: Heilman &amp;amp; Friedman (ch. 4–5) discuss the succession contest with his brother-in-law Shemaryahu Gourary; add with page refs. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Outreach: ''shlichus'' and the ''mivtzoim'' ==&lt;br /&gt;
Under Schneerson, &amp;quot;Lubavitch centers and Chabad Houses were opened in dozens of cities and university campuses around the world&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;ChabadBio&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; Writing in 2001, Berger cited a journalist &amp;quot;basing himself on official sources&amp;quot; who reported &amp;quot;more than 2,600 institutions throughout the world, with 3,700 married couples serving as emissaries&amp;quot;. He added that &amp;quot;Even if the numbers are exaggerated, there is no question that the worldwide Chabad presence continues to grow at a stunning rate&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;BergerComm&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; Berger also reported claims that &amp;quot;Chabad rabbis constitute 50 percent of the rabbinate in England&amp;quot; and that 13 of Sydney's 26 synagogues were led by Chabad rabbis.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;BergerComm&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; Sue Fishkoff's ''The Rebbe's Army'' (2003) gives a journalistic account of the emissary system.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Fishkoff&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[Sue Fishkoff]], ''The Rebbe's Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch'', New York: Schocken Books, 2003.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; One of the most visible campaigns was the drive to print the ''[[Tanya]]'' in every place where Jews live, discussed on that page.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== The Noahide campaign and American politics ==&lt;br /&gt;
Schneerson urged non-Jews to observe the Seven Noahide Laws, and US presidents took up the theme. In Proclamation 4921 (3 April 1982), [[Ronald Reagan]] declared a &amp;quot;National Day of Reflection&amp;quot; for the Rebbe's 80th birthday. The proclamation praised the Lubavitch movement as &amp;quot;one shining example for people of all faiths of what education should be&amp;quot; and said the Rebbe &amp;quot;has provided a vivid example of the eternal validity of the Seven Noahide Laws&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Reagan1982&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[Ronald Reagan]], [https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/proclamation-4921-national-day-reflection Proclamation 4921 – National Day of Reflection] Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, 3 April 1982.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; In 1985 Congress (H.J.Res. 186) designated his birthday &amp;quot;Education Day, U.S.A.&amp;quot;. Reagan's proclamation stated that &amp;quot;Very few Americans have done more to promote these ethical values&amp;quot; and tied them to &amp;quot;their roots in the Seven Noahide Laws&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Reagan1985&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[Ronald Reagan]], [https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-5317-education-day-usa-1985 Proclamation 5317 – Education Day, U.S.A., 1985] ''The American Presidency Project'', 4 April 1985.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; By 1994 the Act of Congress noted that his birthday had been marked &amp;quot;in each of the last 16 years as 'Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A.'&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;PL103457&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;!-- Editor's note: Education Day proclamations continued under later presidents; cite individual proclamations from the American Presidency Project if listing them. Critics' view of the Noahide campaign (e.g. as proselytising or as linked to the Tanya's hierarchy of souls) is not yet sourced. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Israel ==&lt;br /&gt;
=== Territorial maximalism ===&lt;br /&gt;
Although he never visited Israel, Schneerson insisted that no territory captured in 1967 be given up. In correspondence with the British Chief Rabbi [[Immanuel Jakobovits]], he wrote:&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Jakobovits&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], [https://www.sichos-in-english.org/books/when-silence-is-a-sin/15.htm Extracts from Correspondence Between the Lubavitcher Rebbe… and Chief Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits Regarding the Halachic Position of the Areas Liberated after the Six-Day and Yom Kippur Wars] in ''When Silence is a Sin'', Appendix D, ''Sichos in English''.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;blockquote&amp;gt;&amp;quot;I am completely and unequivocally opposed to the surrender of any of the liberated areas currently under negotiation, such as Yehudah and Shomron, the Golan, etc., for the simple reason, and only reason, that surrendering any part of them would contravene a clear ruling found in Shulchan Aruch…&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/blockquote&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
He presented the position as a matter of ''pikuach nefesh'' (saving life), &amp;quot;not&amp;quot; of &amp;quot;the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael, or with days of Moshiach&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Jakobovits&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; A Chabad publication records that during the [[Camp David Accords|Camp David]] negotiations he &amp;quot;expressed the strongest protest&amp;quot;. It calls the return of Sinai to Egypt &amp;quot;a grave and tragic mistake&amp;quot; and attacks the &amp;quot;land for peace&amp;quot; concept as applied to &amp;quot;Yehudah and Shomron&amp;quot; (the West Bank).&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;PeaceLand&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[Chabad.org]], [https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/2511905/jewish/Peace-in-the-Land.htm Peace in the Land] ''Chabad.org'', accessed 14 October 2026.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; JTA reported that his &amp;quot;decades-long position has been that Israel should not surrender 'one inch' of territory&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;JTA1990&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Elections, coalitions and &amp;quot;Who is a Jew&amp;quot; ===&lt;br /&gt;
* '''1988.''' The ''Christian Science Monitor'' reported that in the last two weeks of the September 1988 campaign &amp;quot;a weakened Agudat Israel party turned to the rebbe for support. With his endorsement they won an unexpected five seats&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;CSM1990&amp;quot;&amp;gt;''Christian Science Monitor'', [https://www.csmonitor.com/1990/0503/alub.html How a Rabbi in US Influences Israeli Politics] ''CSMonitor.com'', 3 May 1990.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; JTA wrote that &amp;quot;The Chabad movement, headed by Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson… has effectively taken control of Agudat Yisrael in Israel&amp;quot;. Prime Minister [[Yitzhak Shamir]] had promised the ultra-Orthodox parties &amp;quot;swift passage&amp;quot; of the &amp;quot;Who is a Jew&amp;quot; amendment to the Law of Return, which would have refused recognition to non-Orthodox conversions.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;JTA1988&amp;quot;&amp;gt;''Jewish Telegraphic Agency'', [https://www.jta.org/archive/support-for-who-is-a-jew-wavering-in-likud-and-nrp Support for 'Who Is a Jew' Wavering in Likud and NRP] ''JTA'', 24 November 1988.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; The proposal provoked a mass lobbying effort by American Jewish leaders.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;NYT1988&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Ari L. Goldman, [https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/03/world/who-is-a-jew-debate-in-israel-attracts-leading-figures-of-us-judaism.html 'Who Is a Jew?' Debate in Israel Attracts Leading Figures of U.S. Judaism] ''The New York Times'', 3 December 1988.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* '''1990.''' Two Agudat Yisrael Knesset members withdrew from [[Shimon Peres]]'s planned Labor coalition &amp;quot;after learning he opposed Labor's stance favoring talks with the Palestinians to swap land for peace&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;CSM1990&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; Reform leader Rabbi Alexander Schindler said: &amp;quot;Rabbi Schneerson, sitting in his study on (Brooklyn's) Eastern Parkway, decided that Agudat Yisrael would not participate in the proposed government.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;JTA1990&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Israeli politicians ===&lt;br /&gt;
The Jewish News Syndicate notes that &amp;quot;Israeli leaders of all stripes continually sought out his advice and blessing&amp;quot;. These included [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], filmed receiving a blessing and political advice in 1988, and [[Ariel Sharon]], whom the Rebbe &amp;quot;convinced… to remain&amp;quot; in the army.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;JNS&amp;quot;&amp;gt;''Jewish News Syndicate'', [https://www.jns.org/feature/rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson-1902-1994 Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994)] ''JNS'', accessed 14 October 2026.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;!-- Editor's note: Chabad's role in settlements (Kfar Chabad, Hebron, Chabad in occupied Palestine) and the Rebbe's relationship with Gush Emunim need dedicated sourcing (e.g. Hirschhorn, Inbari, Kolb/Friedman). Link to [[Chabad in occupied Palestine]]. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Russia and the Soviet Union ==&lt;br /&gt;
Schneerson's family background, his father's Soviet exile and his father-in-law's 1927 exile all tied him to the Soviet experience.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;ChabadBio&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; Berger describes the Chabad underground's &amp;quot;heroic stand, fought for decades in lonely isolation… against a totalitarian Soviet regime&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;BergerComm&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== The library case ===&lt;br /&gt;
After his death, Chabad's legal arm, [[Agudas Chasidei Chabad]], sued Russia in the United States for the return of the &amp;quot;Schneerson Collection&amp;quot;. The collection consists of a library of &amp;quot;12,000 books and manuscripts the Soviets seized between 1917 and 1925&amp;quot; and an archive of &amp;quot;25,000 pages&amp;quot; seized by the Nazis and later by Soviet forces. On 16 January 2013 Chief Judge Royce Lamberth held Russia in civil contempt and imposed sanctions of &amp;quot;$50,000 per day&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Lamberth2013&amp;quot;&amp;gt;United States District Court for the District of Columbia, [http://www.dcoxfiles.com/chabadsanctionsopinion.pdf Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation, Civ. No. 05‑1548 (RCL), Memorandum Opinion] 16 January 2013 (915 F. Supp. 2d 148).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Interim2014&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States, [http://www.dcoxfiles.com/chabadmotinterimjudg.pdf Motion for Entry of Interim Judgment ($14,750,000)] US District Court for the District of Columbia, January 2014.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; See [[Agudas Chasidei Chabad v. Russian Federation]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== Post-Soviet legacy ===&lt;br /&gt;
Berger records that 17 of the most important Chabad emissaries in the former Soviet Union, among them the new chief rabbi [[Berel Lazar]], had signed a 1997 ruling that Jews must accept Schneerson's messiahship.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;BergerComm&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; On the Kremlin alliance of Lazar's [[Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia]], see Galina Zelenina.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Zelenina&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[Galina Zelenina]], [https://archive.jpr.org.uk/object-rus88 &amp;quot;Our Community is the Coolest in the World&amp;quot;: Chabad and Jewish Nation-Building in Contemporary Russia] ''Contemporary Jewry'', 2018, pp. 1–31.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Messianism ==&lt;br /&gt;
Berger gives a detailed account of how Schneerson presented the coming of the Messiah. According to Berger, he &amp;quot;unqualifiedly proclaimed the imminence of the redemption&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;encouraged the cry, 'We want moshiah now!'&amp;quot;. He &amp;quot;strongly implied that he would be the redeemer&amp;quot;, for example by teaching that &amp;quot;the messiah's name was Menachem&amp;quot; and that the Third Temple would first appear next to 770 Eastern Parkway.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;BergerComm&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; Berger adds that &amp;quot;the message was not unequivocal&amp;quot;. In his last years Schneerson &amp;quot;tolerated and even appears to have encouraged&amp;quot; the singing of ''Yechi Adoneinu'' (&amp;quot;May our Master, Teacher, and Rabbi the King Messiah live forever&amp;quot;), while at other times he criticised messianist publications.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;BergerComm&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; Heilman and Friedman title a chapter &amp;quot;From Resurrection to Death: We Want Moshiach Now&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;HeilmanFriedman&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; [[Elliot R. Wolfson]] calls him &amp;quot;a radical messianic visionary who promoted a conservative political agenda&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Wolfson&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[Elliot R. Wolfson]], [https://cup.columbia.edu/book/open-secret/9780231146302/ Open Secret: Postmessianic Messianism and the Mystical Revision of Menahem Mendel Schneerson] New York: Columbia University Press, 2009.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Crown Heights, 1991 ==&lt;br /&gt;
In August 1991 a car in the Rebbe's motorcade struck and killed seven-year-old Gavin Cato. Days of violence between Black and Jewish residents followed, during which the Australian Jewish student Yankel Rosenbaum was fatally stabbed.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;NYT1991&amp;quot;&amp;gt;''The New York Times'', [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/21/nyregion/a-boy-s-death-ignites-clashes-in-crown-heights.html A Boy's Death Ignites Clashes in Crown Heights] ''The New York Times'', 21 August 1991.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;JTA1991&amp;quot;&amp;gt;''Jewish Telegraphic Agency'', [https://www.jta.org/archive/fatal-brooklyn-traffic-accident-sparks-widespread-racial-violence Fatal Brooklyn Traffic Accident Sparks Widespread Racial Violence] ''JTA'', August 1991.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; A state inquiry led by Richard Girgenti, commissioned by Governor [[Mario Cuomo]], found Mayor [[David Dinkins]] and the police &amp;quot;at fault in letting unrest escalate&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;NYT1993&amp;quot;&amp;gt;''The New York Times'', [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/21/us/crown-heights-report-overview-crown-heights-study-finds-dinkins-police-fault.html Crown Heights Study Finds Dinkins and Police at Fault in Letting Unrest Escalate] ''The New York Times'', 21 July 1993.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Girgenti&amp;quot;&amp;gt;New York State, [https://ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/report-governor-disturbances-crown-heights-assessment-citys Report to the Governor on the Disturbances in Crown Heights] (Girgenti Report), Vols I–II, 1993, ''Office of Justice Programs'' abstract.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; See [[Crown Heights riot]].&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;!-- Editor's note: the motorcade/Cato details above rest on headline-level verification; read the NYT 21 Aug 1991 report in full before publishing and add the Rebbe's own response if documented. --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Illness and death ==&lt;br /&gt;
On 2 March 1992, while praying at his father-in-law's grave, Schneerson suffered a stroke that &amp;quot;paralyzed his right side&amp;quot; and left him unable to speak.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;ChabadBio&amp;quot; /&amp;gt; He had another stroke on 10 March 1994.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;LAT1994&amp;quot;&amp;gt;''Los Angeles Times'', [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-12-mn-3207-story.html Rabbi Schneerson, Lubavitcher Leader, Dies] ''Los Angeles Times'', 12 June 1994.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He died at 1:50 a.m. on 12 June 1994 at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan, aged 92.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;NYTFirestone&amp;quot;&amp;gt;David Firestone, [https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/13/nyregion/thousands-gather-in-crown-hts-to-grieve-for-their-grand-rabbi.html Thousands Gather in Crown Hts. To Grieve for Their Grand Rabbi] ''The New York Times'', 13 June 1994.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; He left no children and named no successor. The ''[[Washington Post]]'' reported that &amp;quot;Even as his pine coffin was placed in the hearse, a panicked crowd of Lubavitch faithful chanted prayers for Schneerson to rise and reveal himself to be the Messiah&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;WaPo1994&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[Laurie Goodstein]], [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/06/13/death-of-lubavitcher-leader-rabbi-schneerson-stuns-followers/d22c9af8-7510-4adc-b12e-52bac6946977/ Death of Lubavitcher Leader, Rabbi Schneerson, Stuns Followers] ''The Washington Post'', 13 June 1994.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Posthumous cult and honours ==&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Congressional Gold Medal.''' Public Law 103‑457 (2 November 1994) authorised a gold medal &amp;quot;in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions toward world education, morality, and acts of charity&amp;quot;. It credited him with making Chabad's New York headquarters &amp;quot;a center of over 2,000 educational, social, and rehabilitative institutions&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;PL103457&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* '''The Ohel.''' His grave in Queens, next to that of his father-in-law, has become a place of pilgrimage. The ''New York Times'' reported that tens of thousands came for the 20th anniversary of his death in 2014.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;NYT2014&amp;quot;&amp;gt;''The New York Times'', [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/02/nyregion/thousands-descend-on-queens-to-mourn-rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson.html Commemorating 20th Anniversary of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson's Death] ''The New York Times'', 2 July 2014.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Chabad reported more than 50,000 visitors in the week of the 32nd anniversary in 2026.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Ohel2026&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[Chabad.org]], [https://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/7402368/jewish/More-Than-50000-Visiting-Rebbes-Queens-Resting-Place-This-Week.htm More Than 50,000 Visiting Rebbe's Queens Resting Place This Week] ''Chabad.org'', 2026.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Continuing messianism.''' Berger reports that &amp;quot;a growing number of messianists began to assert that the Rebbe never died&amp;quot;. A 1997 ruling obliging Jews to accept his messiahship had 150 signatories by January 2000. Some messianist publications went further and spoke of him as divine, for example by substituting &amp;quot;Creator&amp;quot; for &amp;quot;Rabbi&amp;quot; in ''Yechi''.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;BergerComm&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Controversies and critics ==&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Messianism.''' Berger argued that by accepting messianists as Orthodox Jews in good standing, &amp;quot;We award victory to Christianity in a crucial aspect of its millennial debate with Judaism&amp;quot;. He won a 1996 [[Rabbinical Council of America]] resolution that &amp;quot;there is not and never has been a place in Judaism&amp;quot; for a messiah who dies before completing his mission.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;BergerComm&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;BergerBook&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[David Berger]], [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/rebbe-the-messiah-and-the-scandal-of-orthodox-indifference/1878298C11AC15172DFCE20F91C4F245 The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference] London: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2001.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Haredi opposition.''' Rabbi [[Elazar Menachem Man Shach|Elazar Shach]] of Bnei Brak, the leading Lithuanian (Litvish) authority, had long-standing theological and political conflicts with Schneerson. According to the 1988 Israeli election study, Shach's circle characterised the messianist position as &amp;quot;blasphemy&amp;quot;.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Arian1988&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[Asher Arian]] and Michal Shamir (eds), [https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781000244441_A37719612/preview-9781000244441_A37719612.pdf The Elections in Israel – 1988] Boulder: Westview (reissued Routledge), preview.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Berger also notes the &amp;quot;delegitimation of messianists&amp;quot; in Shach's community.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;BergerComm&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Interference in Israeli politics.''' Reform and secular Israeli critics accused him of &amp;quot;meddling&amp;quot;. Schindler asked: &amp;quot;How can a religious leader in good conscience reject the idea of moving toward peace when the young men in his own movement are exempted from military service…?&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;JTA1990&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Jews and non-Jews.''' On his letters and remarks about the ''[[Tanya]]'''s doctrine of non-Jewish souls, including his refusal to soften it in English translation, see [[Tanya#Teachings on non-Jews]]. [[Israel Shahak]] and [[Norton Mezvinsky]] discuss Chabad within Haredi fundamentalism.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;ShahakMez&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[Israel Shahak]] and [[Norton Mezvinsky]], [https://www.plutobooks.com/product/jewish-fundamentalism-in-israel/ Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel] London: Pluto Press, 1999 (new ed. 2004).&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* '''Crown Heights.''' See above.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Scholarship and biographies ==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Samuel C. Heilman]] and [[Menachem M. Friedman]], ''The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson'' (Princeton, 2010). The first academic biography, and controversial within Chabad.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;HeilmanFriedman&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Joseph Telushkin]], ''Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History'' (Harper, 2014). A popular biography sympathetic to the movement.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Telushkin&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[Jewish Book Council]], [https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/rebbe-the-life-and-teachings-of-menachem-m-schneerson-the-most-influential-rabbi-in-modern Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson] ''Jewish Book Council'', accessed 14 October 2026.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Chaim Miller]], ''Turning Judaism Outward: A Biography of the Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson'' (Kol Menachem, 2014). Draws on internal archives.&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Miller&amp;quot;&amp;gt;[[Jewish Book Council]], [https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/turning-judaism-outward-a-biography-of-the-rebbe-menachem-mendel-schneerson Turning Judaism Outward] ''Jewish Book Council'', accessed 14 October 2026.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* [[David Berger]], ''The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference'' (Littman, 2001).&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;BergerBook&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Elliot R. Wolfson]], ''Open Secret'' (Columbia, 2009).&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Wolfson&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* Avrum M. Ehrlich, ''The Messiah of Brooklyn'' (Ktav, 2004).&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Ehrlich&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Avrum M. Ehrlich, [https://ktav.com/products/the-messiah-of-brooklyn The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidism Past and Present] Jersey City: Ktav, 2004.&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Sue Fishkoff]], ''The Rebbe's Army'' (Schocken, 2003).&amp;lt;ref name=&amp;quot;Fishkoff&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== See also ==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Chabad-Lubavitch movement]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (Tzemach Tzedek)]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[770 Eastern Parkway]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Agudas Chasidei Chabad]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Tanya]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Chabad in occupied Palestine]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Failed Messiah]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External links ==&lt;br /&gt;
* [https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/ The Rebbe] – Chabad.org&lt;br /&gt;
* [https://www.congress.gov/public-laws/103rd-congress Public Law 103‑457] – Congress.gov&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Notes==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Chabad-Lubavitch|Schneerson, Menachem Mendel]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Chabad|Schneerson, Menachem Mendel]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Controversial rabbis|Schneerson, Menachem Mendel]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Zionist movement|Schneerson, Menachem Mendel]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>David</name></author>
	</entry>
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