Kopust

This article is about a branch of a Hasidic dynasty. For kopūst, the Lithuanian sour fermented cabbage, see Sauerkraut.

The Kopust branch of the Chabad dynasty of Hasidic Judaism was founded in 1866 by Yehuda Leib Schneersohn after the death of his father Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, the third Chabad rebbe. It is named after the town of Kopys in the Vitebsk Region of present-day Belarus, where Yehuda Leib Schneersohn settled after his father's death.

Chasidim of Kapust (Chabad) in HaMelitz. 25 May 1880. P9.

History

Kopust is an offshoot of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement which produced multiple offshoot groups through its over 200-year history. The death of the third Chabad rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneersohn led to a dispute over his succession leading to the founding of Kopust.

Founding

Following Schneersohn's death in 1866 a dispute arose among several of his seven sons over the succession. While the youngest son, Shmuel Schneersohn assumed the title of rebbe in the town of Lubavitch, another son, Yehuda Leib Schneersohn, assumed the title in the town of Kopys, but died less than a year later and was succeeded by his son Shlomo Zalman Schneersohn.^[1]

Leadership

The Kopust dynasty had four rebbes:^[2]

• Yehuda Leib Schneersohn (1808-1866), known as the Maharil^{[lower-alpha 1]} of Kopust. He founded the movement after the death of his father, Menachem Mendel Scheersohn.
• Shlomo Zalman Schneersohn (1830–1900), oldest son of Yehuda Leib, assumed his father’s position in Kopust. He is the author of a work on Hasidism titled "Magen Avot" ("Shield of the Fathers").
• Shalom Dovber Schneersohn (1834-1908), known as the Rashab of Rechitsa.^{[lower-alpha 2]} Succeeding his brother, Shlomo Zalman, Shalom Dovber served as the Kopuster movement's rebbe in the town of Rechitsa.^[3]
• Shmaryahu Noah Schneersohn (1842–1924), known as Shmaryahu Noah of Babruysk. Succeeding his brother, Shlomo Zalman, Shmaryahu Noah served as the Kopuster movement's rebbe in the town of Babruysk.^{[4][2][5][6][7]} He was rabbi of the chasidim in Babruysk from 1872, and founded a yeshiva there in 1901.^[8] He authored a two volume work on Hasidism, titled "Shemen LaMaor" ("Light for the Luminary").^[5][6][7]

Kopust today

After the death of the fourth rebbe of Kopust, the adherents of the Kopuster movement rejoined the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.^[5]

The oldest extant Chabad synagogue in Israel, the Ohel Yitzchok (אהל יצחק) synagogue in the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem—also called the Baal HaTanya Shul (Yiddish: בעל התניא שול: "Baal HaTanya's synagogue")—active since 1900, was originally affiliated with Kopust.^[9]

Relationship with Chabad-Lubavitch

While the Kopust movement originally was at odds with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement over the successor to the third Chabad rebbe, the sixth Lubavitcher rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn referred to the Rebbes of Kopust as "Admorim",^{[lower-alpha 3]} or rebbes.^[1]

Works

• Magen Avos of Shlomo Zalman Schneerson
• Shemen La'Maor of Shmaryahu Noah Schneersohn vol. 1 vol. 2

Notes

1. a Hebrew acronym for "Moreinu HaRav Yehuda Leib"
2. a Hebrew acronym for "Rav Shalom Ber"
3. Hebrew acronym for Adoneinu Moreinu v'Rabeinu, a term for a Chassidic rebbe or Grand Rabbi

References

1. Schneersohn, Yosef Yitzchak & Schneerson, Menachem Mendel. Hayom Yom. Introduction. Kehot Publication Society. Brooklyn, NY. 1946.
2. Loewenthal, Naftali. Communicating the Infinite: The Emergence of the Habad School. University of Chicago Press. (1990): p. 244.
3. Kaminetzky, Yosef. Y. Days in Chabad. Kehot Publication Society. Brooklyn, NY. (2005): p. 19.
4. Kaminetzky, Yosef. Y. Days in Chabad. Kehot Publication Society. Brooklyn, NY. (2005): p. 99.
5. Lowenthal, Naftali. Schneersohn, Shmaryahu Noah. Encyclopedia of Hasidism. Jason Aronson Publishers. London. 1996.
6. Schneerson, Shmaryahu Noah. Shemen La'moar. Vol. 1. Kfar Chabad, Israel. (1964): p. 1. Available at HebrewBooks.org Archived October 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
7. Schneerson, Shmaryahu Noah. Shemen La'moar. Vol. 2. Kfar Chabad, Israel. (1967): p. 1. Available at HebrewBooks.org Archived October 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
8. Kaminetzky, Yosef. Y. Days in Chabad. Kehot Publication Society. Brooklyn, NY. (2005): p. 99.
9. Baharan, David (3 January 2012). המבשר קהילות | בית חסידים הראשונים. המבשר (in Hebrew). Beitar Illit. pp. 12–13. OCLC 646840447. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.

v t e Schneersohn family tree
Shneur Zalman[lower-roman 1] (1745–1812) Shterna Shalom Shachna[lower-roman 2] Devorah Leah (d. 1792) Dovber[lower-roman 3] (1773–1827) Sheina Menachem Mendel[lower-roman 4] (1789–1866) Chaya Mushka (d. 1860) Baruch Shalom (1805–1869) Shmuel[lower-roman 5] (1834–1882) Yosef Yizchak[lower-roman 6] (1822–1876) Yisroel Noah[lower-roman 7] (1815–1883) Chaim Schneur Zalman[lower-roman 8] (d. 1879) Yehuda Leib[lower-roman 9] (1811–1866) Levi Yitzchak (1834–1878) Shalom Dovber[lower-roman 10] (1860–1920) Shterna Sara (1860–1942) Avraham (1860–1937) Yitzchak Dovber[lower-roman 11] (1833–1910) Shlomo Zalman[lower-roman 12] (1830–1900) Shalom Dovber[lower-roman 13] (d. 1908) Shmaryahu Noah[lower-roman 14] (1842–1924) Baruch Schneur (d. 1926) Yosef Yitzchak[lower-roman 15] (1880–1950) Nechama Dina (1881–1971) Levi Yitzchak[lower-roman 16] (d. 1904) Levi Yitzchak (1878–1944) Chana (1880–1964) Menachem Mendel[lower-roman 17] (1902–1994) Chaya Mushka (1901–1988)
Light green indicates a Hasidic Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty   Light purple indicates a Hasidic Rebbe of the Chabad-Kapust dynasty   Light orange indicates a Hasidic Rebbe of the Chabad-Niezhin dynasty   Light blue indicates a Hasidic Rebbe of the Chabad-Liadi dynasty   Light yellow indicates a Hasidic Rebbe of Avrutch dynasty Solid lines indicate parents/children, dashed lines show marriages, dotted lines show in-laws. Additional members of Schneersohn family are not listed here
Notes: Founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, known as Shneur Zalman of Liady Surname Altschuler 2nd Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, known as Dovber Schneuri and the Middle Rebbe 3rd Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, known as Tzemach Tzedek, first to assume the surname "Schneersohn" 4th Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, known as Maharash Rebbe in Avrutch 1st Rebbe of Chabad-Niezhin 1st Rebbe of Chabad-Liadi 1st Rebbe of Chabad-Kapust, known as Maharil of Kapust 5th Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, known as Rashab 2nd Rebbe of Chabad-Liadi, known as Maharid 2rd Rebbe of Chabad-Kapust 3rd Rebbe of Chabad-Kapust, known as Rashab of Rechitsa 4th Rebbe of Chabad-Kapust 6th Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, known as Rayatz 3rd Rebbe of Chabad-Liadi, Levi Yitzchak Guterman, son-in-law of Chaim Schneur Zalman Schneersohn 7th Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, uses the spelling of "Schneerson"
References: Schneersohn, Yosef Yitzchak; Schneerson, Menachem Mendel (2005). Hayom Yom: Bilingual Edition. Brooklyn, NY: Kehot Publication Society. ISBN 0-8266-0669-5.