Chaya Mushka (Moussia) Schneerson (March 16, 1901 – February 10, 1988), referred to by Lubavitchers as ''The
Rebbetzin
Rebbetzin ( yi, רביצין) or Rabbanit ( he, רַבָּנִית) is the title used for the wife of a rabbi—typically among Orthodox, Haredi, and Hasidic Jews—or for a female Torah scholar or teacher.
Etymology
The Yiddish word has ...
'', was the wife of Rabbi
Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh and last
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 Spiritu ...
(spiritual leader) of the
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 ...
branch of
Hasidic Judaism
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 ...
. She was the second of three daughters of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi
Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn. She was named after the wife of the third Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi
Menachem Mendel Schneersohn.
Biography
Early life
She was born in
Babinovitch, near the Russian city of
Lubavitch on Shabbat, the 25th of
Adar of the year 5661 (March 16, 1901; or March 3, 1901 by the
Old Style calendar). At the request of her grandfather, Rabbi
Sholom Dovber Schneersohn, she was named Chaya Mushka after her great great grandmother, the wife of Menachem Mendel Schneersohn. She lived in Lubavitch until the autumn of 1915 when due to World War I, she and her family fled to
Rostov
Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:
While ...
. In 1920, on the death of her grandfather, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi
Sholom Dovber Schneersohn, her father became the sixth Rebbe of Lubavitch. In the spring of 1924, due to increasing dangers for the Jews in Rostov, she and her family moved to
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. In the autumn of 1927, her father was imprisoned for disseminating Torah observance, and she participated in successful efforts to have him released. His sentence was first commuted to exile, and Chaya Mushka accompanied her father to
Kostroma
Kostroma ( rus, Кострома́, p=kəstrɐˈma) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. Popul ...
. After his release, the Schneersohn family left the Soviet Union and moved to
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the B ...
,
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
.
Marriage
In 1928 she married Rabbi
Menachem Mendel Schneerson in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...
, and they went to live in Berlin, where he studied in a local university. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, they fled to Paris. When Germany invaded France in 1940 they escaped from France on the ''
Serpa Pinto'', the last passenger ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean before the
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
blockade began. They settled in the
Crown Heights section of
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...
, where many Lubavitcher Hasidim had already settled. However, her younger sister
Shaina Horenstein and Shaina's husband, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Horenstein, were trapped in Poland and murdered by the
Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
at
Treblinka
Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the Treblinka, Masovian Voivodeship, vi ...
.
In 1950 her father died and her husband was formally appointed as the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe.
She saw her role as wholly subordinate to her husband's mission of Jewish leadership. In public, she always referred to him as "the Rebbe." When she relayed an answer from him to those seeking his guidance, she always repeated his exact wording, refusing either to interpret or elaborate upon his advice. She resisted efforts among the Lubavitchers to bestow public honors on her.
In the
court case over ownership of the Chabad Library, Chaya Mushka testified saying, "My father, along with all his books, belong to the Chassidim."
Death
She died on February 10, 1988,
22nd of Shevat, 5748.
Soon after her death, her husband founded a charitable organization, ''Keren Ha'Chomesh'' (Chomesh is an acronym of Chaya Mushka Schneerson), primarily working in women's religious, social and educational programs. A campus of the
Bais Rivka girls' school ("Campus Chomesh") was also named after her.
References
Bibliography
* ''The Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneersohn. A Brief Biography.'' Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch: New York, 1999, 2004.
External links
Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson: The Life and Legacy of the Rebbe's Wife
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schneerson, Chaya Mushka
1901 births
1988 deaths
Soviet Jews
American Hasidim
Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidim
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Rebbetzins of Lubavitch
Schneersohn family
Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn
Soviet expatriates in Germany
Soviet expatriates in France
Soviet emigrants to the United States