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Three hasidic works attributed to R. Dov Ber ben Schneur Zalman (Der Mitteler Rebbe), second rebbe of the Habad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. The works are Eyon be-Tefillah on the service of the heart (prayer); Bad Kodesh, made upo of several valuable parts; and Inyan hesthaveh al Kevrei Zaddikkim, on visiting the graves of the righteous. Between the second and third works is a commentery on Megillat Ruth by R. Rabbi Aharon HaLevi Horowitz, the founder of Habad Strashelye, a student of R. Schneur Zalman and rival to R. Dov Ber. At the end of the book is דבר נפלא from R. Jacob Isaac Rabbinowitz, the gaon Yehudi of Presshisa on Yom Kippur and Purim.
R. Dov Ber (1773 — 1827) was the second Rebbe of the Habad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. He was the first Habad rebbe to live in the town of Lubavich (now in present-day Belarus), the town for which this Hasidic dynasty is named. R. Dov Ber was the son of R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Habad, and the father-in-law of R. Menachem Mendel Schneersohn the third Rebbe of Chabad known as the Tzemach Tzedek. R. Dov Ber is commonly referred to as the "Mitteler Rebbe" (Middle Rebbe), meaning he was in the "middle" between the first and third rebbes. R. Dov Ber was born in Liozna, White Russia, where his father was Maggid (spiritual leader) of the community, and of many Hasidim in White Russia and Lithuania, and other parts of Russia. His father named him after his own teacher, R. Dov Ber of Mezeritch, the disciple and successor of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement. R. Dov Ber was a far advanced student, and had begun to study Talmud at the age of seven. His father taught him Zohar, and transmitted to him the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov. Rabbi Dov Ber adopted the family name of "Schneuri," after his father, but succeeding generations changed it to "Schneersohn," or "Schneerson."
On the death of his father during the Napoleonic wars, R. Dov Ber succeeded as Rebbe at age 39. R. Dov Ber was renowned for the breadth and depth of his Hasidic teachings and for his love and concern for every Jew. Like his father, he was denounced by his enemies as a danger to the Russian government. He was arrested, but later released, and the day of his release, the 10th of Kislev, is remembered to this day by Habad Hasidim. He established a Yeshiva in Lubavitch, which attracted gifted young scholars. His son-in-law, who later became also his successor, R. Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, headed the Yeshivah. R. Dov Ber began a campaign (in 1822, or 1823) to urge Jews to learn trades and skilled factory work. He urged communities to organize trade schools. He also encouraged the study of agriculture. R. Dov Ber himself established colonies of Jewish farmers.
R. Dov Ber wrote many works on Habad and Kabbalah, including a commentary on the Zohar. He was a brilliant thinker and a fast writer; his own Hasidic works tend to be very long and very complicated. It is said that when he finished writing the bottom line on a sheet of paper, the ink of the top line has not yet dried. About twenty of his works have been published, a good many of them during his lifetime. One of his most famous works, entitled "Shar HaYichud" (The Gate of Unity), describes the creation and entire make-up of the world according to Kabbalah. The work begins with the "Essence of G-d," and traces the creation of the universe down to the physical world itself, using complicated parables to illustrate difficult points. The book also describes, in its first ten chapters, the proper way to meditate on these Kabbalistic ideas. |
