Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Born on 11 Nissan, 1902 in Nikolaev, Ukraine, to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson and Rebbetzin Chana. From his earliest years he displayed a remarkable depth of scholarship and a profound love for every human being.

He studied in the great Torah academies of Europe and pursued secular studies in Berlin and Paris — a rare combination of Torah mastery and broad worldly knowledge. In 1928 he married Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, the daughter of the previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson.

In 1941, he escaped Nazi-occupied Europe and arrived in New York, where he threw himself into rebuilding Jewish life devastated by the Holocaust. He served as the head of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, Machne Israel, and Kehot Publication Society — the educational, social, and publishing arms of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

On 10 Shvat, 1950, following the passing of his father-in-law, he reluctantly accepted the mantle of leadership and became the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe. What followed was one of the most remarkable chapters in modern Jewish history.

The Rebbe transformed Chabad from a movement of survivors into a global force for Jewish renewal. He established the concept of the Shliach — the emissary — dispatching couples to every corner of the earth with a single mission: to love every Jew and bring the warmth of Torah into their lives. No city was too small, no community too remote.

He launched sweeping campaigns to revitalise Jewish practice — the Tefillin Campaign, Shabbat candles, mezuzah, Jewish education, and more. He wrote thousands of letters to individuals from all walks of life, offering guidance, encouragement, and love. He held farbrengens — Torah gatherings — that were broadcast around the world and inspired hundreds of thousands.

By 1992, the Rebbe's network of shluchim had grown to span dozens of countries across six continents — a living testament to his vision that every Jew everywhere deserves a Jewish home.