By Chabad.org
Chof Av marks the anniversary of the passing of the saintly Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, the father of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, of righteous memory, father of the Rebbe, of righteous memory, was considered one of the greatest Talmudic and Kabbalistic scholars of his generation. He served as the chief rabbi of the city of Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, during the bloody Bolshevik revolution and the subsequent Communist oppression. Despite terrible persecution directed at religious leaders in those days, he remained fearlessly defiant in strengthening Jewish learning and practice in his city and throughout the Soviet Union. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was eventually arrested, tortured, and subsequently banished to exile in a remote village in Kazakhstan. His spirit, however, was not extinguished, even while his body was broken and eventually gave way to his early passing.
His selfless efforts for Jews and Judaism even in the face of a sadistic superpower regime determined to leave no trace of them were later tenderly nurtured by his son and disciple, the Rebbe. The Rebbe conducted Soviet Jewry’s affairs clandestinely from afar, and eventually saw the decades of his father’s effort blossom into full bloom upon the fall of the Iron Curtain and the public resurgence of Jewish life there.
Soviet Jewry, however, is not alone in the debt of gratitude it owes to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak. His personal example, demonstrating how Judaism will survive against all odds and how we must adhere steadfastly and proudly to its ideals, serves as a shining beacon of inspiration for all of us today, and for all generations to come.
We are likewise collectively indebted to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak and his life’s partner, Rebbetzin Chana, of righteous memory, for giving us the Rebbe, whose application of their teachings and way of life to all the rest of us changed the very course of world Jewry.
For more on R’ Levi Yitzchok’s life, click here.
THE KEREN LEVI YITZCHAK FUND
Established by the Rebbe in honor of his father, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, to provide short term loans to school teachers.
DONATE HERE:
CC: https://www.magbis.org/keren-levi-yitzchak/donate
CashApp: https://cash.app/$MagbisKeren
PayPal: https://www.PayPal.me/MagbisKeren
Learn Rabbi Levik’s Letter
A new journal on Chof Av has recently been published. The journal was authored by Shlomo Mordechai Hamburger, a lawyer and a board member of Chabad on Campus International.
The new publication, made up of four parts, includes a history of Reb Levik’s letter to the Rebbe, dated Erev Pesach, 1928, a synopsis of the letter, translation and commentary, and an essay.
R’ Levik Schneerson Recount of Prison
The memories written by Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Schneerson, father of the Rebbe and the great mekubal, of his prison and exile by the Soviets were now republished.
The 98 pages are accompanied by a collection of the Rebbe’s explanations culled from sichos printed in the Toras Menachem series.
They were added with notes and explanations by Rabbi Dovid Dubov, Director of Chabad in Princeton, NJ, who is dedicated to publishing the Torah of the Rebbe’s father.
The free download is available thanks to the Kehot Publication Society.
Download: Mishnayos to be recited on the Yartzeit
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Video: Reb Levik’s Niggun
A lively Niggun that was a favorite of the Rebbe’s father, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson.
SICHA AFTER MINCHA – 20 AV 5749
After the Rebbe stopped holding Farbrengens during the weekdays, the Rebbe would deliver a Sicha after Mincha and/or Maariv on Chof Av. Drawing lessons from the nature of the day, the Rebbe brought to the forefront Horav Levi Yitzchok’sdedication toward Jewish education.
The Rebbe encouraged that resolutions be taken in his memory, to strengthen matters relating to Jewish education
