Little is known of the Rebbe's early life for the simple reason that in those formative years, the bulk of his days and nights were spent in private study.

Recognized by his teachers as a child prodigy, the Rebbe outgrew formal cheder in his early childhood and was taught by private tutors; soon he was studying on his own, under the guidance of his father. In his teens, he was already corresponding with noted Torah scholars several decades his senior.

As world leader of Chabad-Lubavitch, the Rebbe founded dozens of yeshivot, including centers for higher Torah learning in Morocco (1950), Australia (1952), Montreal (1957), Miami (1974), Seattle (1976), Caracas (1977), Los Angeles (1978), Buenos Aries (1980), and Johannesburg (1984).

The Rebbe on Learning

"Our Sages state that G‑d created the world because he desired 'a dwelling in the material realm.' As a rule, a person fulfills his or her purpose in life not by secluding himself in a room and praying and learning all day, but by going out into the world and laboring to transform it into a holy and G‑dly place. But to properly achieve this goal, our involvement with the material should be preceded by a period of total immersion in the spiritual. So it was in the history of our people: Israel's entry into the Land was preceded by 40 years in the desert. So it is on the individual level: the first years of life are marked by freedom from material cares, so as to fully devote oneself to learning. And so it is on the daily level: each day begins with time set aside for prayer and Torah study."

From an address by the Rebbe, Spring 1962 (free translation)