Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch was born in Liozna, White Russia, in 1773, on the 9th of Kislev. His father was the founder of Chabad Chassidism, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi. Rabbi DovBer assumed the leadership of Chabad upon his father’s passing in 1812. In 1813 he settled in the town of Lubavitch, which was to serve as the movement’s headquarters for the next 102 years.
In 1826 he was arrested on charges that his teachings threatened the imperial authority of the Czar, but was subsequently exonerated. The day of his release—10 Kislev on the Jewish calendar—is celebrated by the Chabad Chassidic community as a “festival of liberation.”
Among the students and scholars of Chabad Chassidism, Rabbi DovBer is known for his unique style of “broadening rivers”—his teachings are the intellectual rivers to his father’s wellspring, lending breadth and depth to the principles set down by Rabbi Schneur Zalman.
Rabbi DovBer passed away on his 54th birthday in 1827, a day before the first anniversary of his liberation.
Stories about Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch:
The Rebbe’s Son and the Chassid
Two Against One
The Audience
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