Chana Schneerson (née Yanovsky; 1880–1964) was the wife of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, a

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

in Yekatrinoslav,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and the mother of the seventh

Chabad-Lubavitch Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...

Rebbe A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritua ...

, Rabbi

Menachem Mendel Schneerson Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Modern Hebrew: מנחם מענדל שניאורסון; old-fashioned spelling: מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן; April 5, 1902 OS – June 12, 1994; AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to man ...

. Chana Schneerson grandfather is Abraham David Lavut, a marked composer of Jewish literature upon which Chabadic prayer books are based (i.e. the Siddur Im Dach).

Early life

She was born Chana Yanovsky in 1880, on the 28th of Tevet in the city of

Nikolayev, Ukraine Mykolaiv ( uk, Миколаїв, ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Southern Ukraine, the Administrative centre, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv city, which provides U ...

to Rabbi and Rachel Yanovsky. She was the eldest of four children, having two sisters, Gittel and Ettel, and a younger brother, Yisrael Leib, who died as a youth. Rabbi Meir Shlomo was chief rabbi of Nikolayev. As a teenager, she was educated by her father, and when an article (a 'maamar'-i.e.

Chasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

discourse) would arrive from Lubavitch, she would meticulously and faithfully transcribe it, making it available for other Chasidim.

Marriage to Levi Yitzchak

In 1900, she married Levi Yitzchak, a great-great-grandson of the third Rebbe of Lubavitch, Rabbi

Menachem Mendel Schneersohn Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (September 9, 1789 – March 17, 1866) also known as the Tzemach Tzedek (Hebrew: "Righteous Sprout" or "Righteous Scion") was an Orthodox rebbe, leading 19th-century posek, and the third rebbe (spiritual leader) of th ...

, also known as the ''Tzemach Tzedek''. The wedding took place on the 13th of Sivan, in Nikolayev. The couple produced three sons, Menachem Mendel, Dovber, and Yisroel Aryeh Leib. Their eldest son,

Menachem Mendel Menachem Mendel (Menahem Mendl) is a masculine Jewish first name. The name is sometimes used as either just Menachem or just Mendel. Menachem means to console or comfort, Mendel is a diminutive of Menachem. In 2005, Menachem was the 79th most pop ...

was later to become the seventh Rebbe of Lubavitch. Levi Yitzchak was arrested in 1939, and exiled in 1940 for his religious practice. Schneerson joined him in exile. Levi Yitzchak died in 1944.

Later years

Widowed, Schneerson left the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in 1947. She transported Levi Yitzchak's religious writings, considered illegal contraband under the communist soviet regime, focused around the

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

, upon moving. That year she went to

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, where she met with her son, Menachem Mendel. They both immigrated to the United States living in Brooklyn, New York. She held extensive interviews with journalist Nissan Gordon, which have been published in Di Yiddishe Heim. She died on September 12, 1964 (6 Tishrei 5725). In 2012, her memoirs, which she penned during the years 1947 until 1963, were published by

Kehot Publication Society Kehot Publication Society is the publishing division of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. History Kehot was established in 1941 by the sixth Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. In 1942, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak appointed his son ...

References

External links

Memoirs of Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schneerson, Chana 1880 births 1964 deaths Chabad-Lubavitch (Hasidic dynasty) Schneersohn family People from Mykolaiv Rebbetzins of Lubavitch

Early life

Marriage to Levi Yitzchak

Later years

References

Further reading

External links