In an auspicious and favorable hour, we are beginning the section called "The Chain of Lineage: An Outline of the History of the House of Our Rebbe." In the calendar known as "HaYom Yom," in the first edition that the Rebbe printed in the year 5703, there was first published what is called the "Chain of Lineage." This is a list containing an outline, very concise, of everything that the Rebbeim of Chabad accomplished throughout all the generations. The books that they wrote, about their family members, and everything is arranged according to the order of times and years.
There are very clear sources indicating that the first edition of the "Chain of Lineage" (Shalsheles HaYachas), at least the first edition, which was printed in 5703 (1943), was written by the Rebbe Rayatz, or it was at least taken from his diaries, and the one who edited it in preparation for printing was the Rebbe. In the first edition in which "HaYom Yom" was published, in the year 5703, the "Chain of Lineage" included, of course, our Rebbeim, our leaders, up to the Rebbe Rayatz, up to the year 5703, and there it concluded.
Over the years, as additional editions of "HaYom Yom" were published — for example, the next edition, which already included an addition to the "Shalsheles HaYachas" (the chain of lineage), this was in the edition of the year 5717 (1957), already during the Rebbe's leadership. There, for the first time, the "Shalsheles HaYachas" was printed with a completion of the entire life story of the previous Rebbe, and also the beginning of an outline of the Rebbe's own biography, up until that year, until 5717. And so it continued for years; there was nothing beyond that.
The first time the sequence of years was filled in with the events, stories, and matters connected to the Rebbe from 5717 onward, was in 5742 — that's when it began. In 5742, the Jew who began to compile the "HaYom Yom" anew — his name is Rabbi Zeliksohn, may he be well — he wrote out the entire continuation of events from 5717, submitted it to the Rebbe, the Rebbe edited it, the Rebbe added things, omitted things, and then the record was printed at the Rebbe's up until 5742. And this is how it was added to each time there was another edition — the Rebbe would come and complete more.
In 5751, on the 28th of Sivan, which was a very special date—fifty years since the Rebbe and the Rebbetzin arrived in the United States—a compilation was published then called "The Compilation of the 28th of Sivan, Fifty-Year Jubilee." There, in that compilation, was printed in a focused manner only the story of the Rebbe's life up until 5751. And this compilation the Rebbe distributed himself to each and every person. That is to say, from everything we see in this introduction, all the account that we will study with God's help, little by little, is all very precise, and very, very important.
And perhaps one could say that this is an introduction before one enters into the day-to-day, into the palace of the everyday, that one must know what and how a chassid lives. There is a passage in the language of the Mishnah which says: "Know from where you came," and afterward, where you are going. One could also say that the very beginning of the chain of lineage is, first of all, "Know from where you came." Let us know the root, the sources, the order of the unfolding of our Rebbes, may their merit protect us. After we know from where you came, then we will know where we are going. We will be able to enter into the daily schedule and to study the entire course of it. This is merely as an opening.
Now we will read the opening section of the chain of lineage, which appears before the detailed account of the Alter Rebbe. There are a few brief lines about the great-grandfather of the Alter Rebbe, who was the Maharal of Prague. It begins here from the Maharal of Prague up to the Alter Rebbe—the order of the generations. Let us read it, and elaborate a bit on the details connected to the sections we will read. It is a very short section.
He opens and says as follows: "The Gaon, our teacher and our master," like Moreinu and Rabbeinu, "Yehuda Loew, may the memory of the righteous be for a blessing," which was the personal name of the Maharal of Prague, or as we call him, the Maharal. Maharal is an acronym for Moreinu HaRav Levi. That was his family name, the Maharal of Prague. The famous Maharal of Prague, his passing was on the 18th of Elul, in the year 5369. He was ninety-seven years old at his passing.
The teaching of the Maharal of Prague, one could say, is the root of the teaching of Chassidut. For example, we know that when the Alter Rebbe writes on the title page of the Tanya that the book is compiled "from the mouth of books" — this is the wording of the Alter Rebbe on the title page — there is a tradition among Chassidim regarding what is meant by "books." The intention is, among others, also to the Maharal of Prague. It is known that the Maharal of Prague was a very great kabbalist, and he was also a kabbalist in practical Kabbalah. And the most famous story about the Maharal of Prague is that he created a golem. The creation of a golem is in practical Kabbalah — this was the Maharal of Prague.
He continues on, and says: Who was the Maharal of Prague? He was of the lineage of the geniuses who trace their ancestry to David ben Yishai. The Maharal of Prague is a descendant of King David. There is a lineage from King David down to the Maharal of Prague. This phrase is taken from the gravestone of the Maharal of Prague. It is engraved on the gravestone of the Maharal of Prague, these words, that he is of the lineage of the geniuses who trace their ancestry to David ben Yishai. And in the case of the Maharal of Prague, this was taken from the gravestone of the great-grandfather of the Maharal of Prague, who was called by the same name as the Maharal. He was called Rabbi Yehuda Levi, and he is referred to as Rabbi Yehuda Levi the Elder, who is the great-grandfather of the Maharal of Prague. Also in his case, on the gravestone, it is already written that he is of the lineage of the geniuses who trace their ancestry to David ben Yishai. This is actually the first one who appears here in the chain of lineage, the Maharal of Prague, who is in fact the root of all the continuation of the generations of our Rebbes, may their memory protect us.
Now we will briefly examine the chain of seven generations, from the Maharal of Prague until the seventh generation that came afterward, which was the Alter Rebbe, upon whom we will begin to elaborate, God willing, in what follows. First he brings the son of the Maharal of Prague. And in general, what is recounted here and mentioned here — the son, the grandson, the great-grandson, and so on — what we know a little about them is from the book of memoirs of the Rebbe Rayatz. There, details about each of them are elaborated. We will bring things very briefly, some point about each one.
The first is his son, alef, his son. The son of the Maharal of Prague, Rabbi Betzalel. In the book of memoirs it is told that he had a nickname, they called him Rabbi Betzalel Charif [the sharp one]. He was very talented, and his special talent in particular was giving a lesson to the students, so it is told there. He passed away in Germany when he was sixty-four years old. This is the son of the Maharal of Prague. This is alef.
Beit, his son, the son of Rabbi Betzalel, that is, the grandson of the Maharal of Prague. This was Rabbi Shmuel. It is told of him that he was very, very talented with very beautiful handwriting, a craft in his hands that was very, very special. And one of the special things told of him is that when he was sixteen years old, he wrote a Torah scroll on truly tiny parchment. There is an actual description there of an extremely miniature size. He wrote the entire Torah scroll and brought it as a gift to his grandfather. His grandfather is in fact the Maharal of Prague. And his grandfather, it is written, greatly, greatly enjoyed and delighted in the special gift he received from his grandson. A Torah scroll written in very miniature script. The interesting story told about him, about Rabbi Shmuel, is that when he passed away he passed away in Prague, and they wanted to bury him next to his grandfather, but there was no room. The cemetery in Prague is very crowded, and there was no room. It is told in the book of memoirs that a supernatural miracle occurred, and suddenly the ground expanded and simply created a place to dig a grave for the grandson, for Rabbi Shmuel, right next to his grandfather, the Maharal of Prague. This is a miraculous wonder that happened with him, with the grandson.
Afterward, the letter gimmel, we speak of the great-grandson, the son of Rav Shmuel. He was his son, Rav Yehuda Leib. It is told of him that he was very gifted, a great scholar. He composed a book called "Kol Yehuda" on Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim.
Afterwards, the letter dalet, his son, the son of Rabbi Yehuda Leib—this is already the descendant, Reb Moshe. He is referred to in the memoirs as Reb Moshe of Poznań. This Reb Moshe took part in the bar mitzvah of the Alter Rebbe. When he was ninety-one years old, he merited to be at the bar mitzvah of his great-grandson, the Alter Rebbe.
Heh, the coming generation, the fifth generation, his son Rabbi Schneur Zalman. Rabbi Schneur Zalman is the son of Rabbi Moshe. He is called Schneur Zalman, and he is the first in the lineage with this name, named after his maternal grandfather. His maternal grandfather was called Schneur Zalman, and he too was called by this name. It is told that he was involved in the diamond trade, Rabbi Schneur Zalman.
Afterwards comes the letter vav, his son Reb Baruch. This is already the father of the Alter Rebbe; he was called Reb Baruch. There is an opinion — there is a whole discussion about this, but I will bring it for the sake of completeness — there is an opinion that his full name was Reb Yisrael Baruch, and there is a certain gravestone that some say is his, and there the name Yisrael Baruch is engraved. But in practice he is known to us by the name Baruch alone. Why is he not known to us by his first name, Yisrael? It is told thus, that from the time he became close to the Baal Shem Tov, he did not want to call himself by his master's name. His master, the Baal Shem Tov, his name was of course Yisrael. So from the time he became close to the Baal Shem Tov, he stopped using the name Yisrael, and therefore he is known to us only by the name Baruch.
And the last on the list, which is actually from our perspective the first in the dynasty of the Chabad Rebbes, the seventh, is his son, the son of Rabbi Baruch, His Honorable Holiness the Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman. This is the Alter Rebbe, who is seven generations from the son of the Maharal of Prague. And here begins the dynasty of the Chabad Rebbes, about which, with God's help, in the coming lessons we will continue to tell more and more details about each one of our Rebbes, our leaders.