We are in the twenty-first lesson in the chain of lineage in the life history of the Rebbe, author of the Tzemach Tzedek, in the seventh part. We have concluded the family, the sons, the daughters, and the books. Now, in its final part, the heading reads "his sons," but the intention is to the sons and grandsons of the Rebbe, author of the Tzemach Tzedek.
Let us begin with the first. Alef. The honorable holy Rabbi, the chassid Rabbi Baruch Shalom. We have already spoken earlier about each of the sons, when we mentioned the two sons, but here we come mainly to speak of the continuation, of their sons. The first son of the Rabbi, the author of the Tzemach Tzedek, Rabbi Baruch Shalom, had two sons, and he brings here also the grandchildren, of the second son at any rate.
The first son, the great Rabbi, Rabbi Mordechai, rabbi in Vitebsk. It is told about him that he passed away at the age of seventy-two on the 5th of Tishrei 5698. He was a rabbi in Vitebsk, as appears here. When he was appointed as rabbi he was very young, and it is told about the power of his conduct in the rabbinate. At the beginning of his rabbinate he saw regarding one of the shochtim in the city that he was unfit to be a shochet, and was feeding people forbidden things. But he was a very veteran shochet with much power in the city. Rabbi Mordechai decided to stop his shechita without fear, and issued a ruling that he was forbidden to slaughter. But this did not help, because the shochet was insolent, and he had many supporters, and he was not willing to accept it.
At that time there were still synagogues of particular groups; there was a synagogue of the butchers, and this shochet prayed there. On Shabbos, Rav Mordechai decided to come and pray in the synagogue of the butchers. The butchers were angry with him because he had come out against the great shochet, but nevertheless they honored him and decided to give him an aliyah to the Torah. As soon as he approached the Sefer Torah, he held the "Etz Chaim," did not recite the blessing, and suddenly cried out: "By the power of the Torah, by the power of my holy ancestors, I forbid the shochet from slaughtering." He finished, went out, and left the synagogue. This uproar helped, and the shochet was forced to leave his position, and he accepted the authority of the rav. He had strength; a very strong Jew. This is Mordechai, the first son of Rabbi Baruch Shalom.
The second son of Rav Baruch Shalom was called the great Rabbi, the Gaon Rabbi Levi Yitzchak. In "Sefer Toldot Levi Yitzchak" it is told about him that he had a daughter named Rivka, whose husband was called Rav Shalom Shilem Reich, of the lineage of the tzaddikim of Poland, but this is not mentioned here.
After mentioning the two sons of Rav Baruch Shalom, regarding the second son, Rav Levi Yitzchak, he also brings his son and grandson. The son of Rav Levi Yitzchak, who is a grandson of Rav Baruch Shalom, and a great-grandson of the Rebbe, the author of the Tzemach Tzedek, was the Rav, the chassid, Rav Baruch Shneur. Rav Baruch Shneur himself was among the chassidim of the Rebbe Maharash. A Jew, an immense Torah scholar, who knew Shas by heart, possessing an immense and wondrous memory. He was married to the Rebbetzin Zelda Rachel, daughter of Rav Zalman Chaikin, a chassid of the Tzemach Tzedek and the Rebbe Maharash. This is the son of Rav Levi Yitzchak.
And the son of Rav Baruch Shneur, his son the great and pious rabbi, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak. This already refers to the father of the Rebbe, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak. Books have been published about the Rebbe's father, and one could tell many things about him. So, only in brief, we will bring an interesting point that the Rebbe wrote about him. There is a note that, after he passed away, the Rebbe wrote about him, who he was, in a few short pages. At the time, no one knew at all who wrote it—it was, as it were, a note in the third person, without a signature indicating who wrote it, and afterward it became clear that the Rebbe wrote it about him.
He wrote thus, that first of all he was an immense gaon in the revealed Torah, a wondrous expert in Kabbalah, a deep scholar in Chabad chassidus, an outstanding God-fearing man, and a man of good character traits, among the renowned chassidim of the Rebbe Rashab, whom the Rebbe Rashab drew very, very close. One can see this at length in the book "Toldot Levi Yitzchak." And his rebbetzin, the mother of the Rebbe, Rebbetzin Chana, was the daughter of the rav of Nikolaev, Rav Shlomo Yanovsky. There are also books about her, and in the book "Toldot Levi Yitzchak" there is much, and her diaries were published, and so on. This is the Rebbe Levi Yitzchak, who is the grandson of Rav Baruch Shalom. This is the first son of the Rav the Tzemach Tzedek and his descendants, Rav Baruch Shalom.
Let us also look at the second son of Rabbi the Tzemach Tzedek. Regarding the second son, one can notice that a title is already written—not as with the first son, where it is written "the Rabbi the Chassid," but rather it is written "his honorable holiness the Admur." It is known that the sons of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek, apart from the first son and the sixth son—we have already told that the sixth son passed away during his father's lifetime—but apart from the first son, all the sons conducted themselves in the Admur role after the passing of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek. The first among them, who is the second son, was called "his honorable holiness the Admur Rabbi Yehuda Leib of Kopust."
About him himself we have already told earlier, when we spoke about the sons of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek. Now he brings his descendants. He had three sons, and here they mention the sons and grandsons. His first son also succeeded his father in the position of Rebbe. A. His Holy Honor the Rebbe Rabbi Shlomo Zalman of Kopust. Rabbi Shlomo Zalman was born in the year 5590. His sandak was the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek. Until the age of twelve he studied only the revealed part of Torah, with great diligence. From the age of twelve his father, Rabbi Yehuda Leib, began to educate him in the study of Torah in Chassidus.
It is told about him that he married on the 19th of Teves, apparently on Motzaei Shabbos, in 5616 (1856), in Lubavitch. The Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek was present at the wedding of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman. After the wedding, for a certain period he lived with his father-in-law, and there he studied Torah diligently and so on; he lived there for ten years. After ten years he returned to Lubavitch, around 5617 (1857), while the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek was still in this world, for he passed away in 5626 (1866). So he lived in Lubavitch with the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek.
After the passing, as we recounted, his father left Lubavitch and moved to Kapust, and he moved together with his father to Kapust. About his father we already recounted that he did not live long — half a year after the Tzemach Tzedek, his father passed away in Kapust, and then he filled his father's place, and was rav in Kapust for thirty-four years. The son, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman, passed away on the 27th of Iyar 5660.
His books: the book of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman, Magen Avot. The book Magen Avot on the chassidic discourses of the Rabbi, the Tzemach Tzedek, which Rabbi Shlomo Zalman wrote, the son of Rabbi Yehuda Leib. He wrote them in Kapost, when he was a rabbi there. It is based on the teachings of the Tzemach Tzedek. Why is this book called Magen Avot? Because Magen Avot in gematria equals Shlomo Zalman. As is known, rabbis would hint at the gematria of their name in their book, therefore this is called the book Magen Avot.
His son, the son of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman of Kopust, was Rabbi Yehuda Leib, called Rabbi Yehuda Leib Schneersohn. He lived in Moscow, and he was the one who printed the book Magen Avot. The one who wrote the book was his father, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman, but the one who published it and dealt with the publication was Rabbi Yehuda Leib. Rabbi Shlomo Zalman had three daughters, but they are not mentioned here. Up to here regarding the first son of Rabbi Yehuda Leib, who was called Shlomo Zalman, and his son who was mentioned.
Now we will mention the second son of Rabbi Yehuda Leib, who also conducted himself in the manner of an admor, the honorable holy admor Rabbi Shalom Dov Ber of Retzitza. As long as the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek was in this world, he lived in Lubavitch. After the passing of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek, he too moved to Kopust, at first together with his father and with his brother, Shlomo Zalman, and he was among those connected to his brother, Shlomo Zalman, in Kopust. After this he was accepted as a rav in the city of Retzitza, and it appears that he also conducted himself there in the manner of an admor, therefore they call him admor. He passed away on the 16th of Tishrei, 5669.
His sons — who were the sons of Rav Shalom Dov Ber? He brings some of his sons. The Rav, the chassid, Rav Zalman of Stradov. His full name was Rav Shmuel Zalman of Stradov. He was a rav in several places, Stradov being only one of them, and he served as rav in Homel and in Rivka. He passed away in 5688 (1928) on the 23rd of Adar. The second son, the Rav, the chassid, Rav Chaim. His full name was Rav Chaim Yeshaya. He was a rav in Paritch and in Romanov. He passed away on the 15th of Kislev 5681 (1920). Here only Romanov is mentioned, one of the places, but he was a rav in Paritch as well.
The third son is Rabbi Moshe. It is only related about him that they called him Rabbi Zalman Chodorov in Berditchev. Not much is told about him. The fourth son is Rabbi Yehuda Leib, who was also a rabbi in Retzitza. He apparently filled the place of his father, Rabbi Shalom Dov Ber, who was a rabbi in Retzitza, and afterward he too was a rabbi there in Retzitza.
Now the third son of Rabbi Yehuda Leib, the third [son], the holy honorable Admor Rabbi Shmarya Noach in Bobruisk. He was the youngest son of his father, Rabbi Yehuda Leib, and his father cherished him greatly. He merited to still hear Chassidus from the Tzemach Tzedek. The Rebbe Maharash sent him at the age of twenty-three to be a rav in Bobruisk, and at first the chassidim did not want to accept him as rav, they thought he was too young, and that another rav should be sent to them. The Rebbe Maharash sharply wanted them to accept him as rav, and he said to the householders there: "If you do not accept him as rav, then I will make it so that you will not be householders." That is, he forcefully pressed them to accept him as rav. And indeed, in the end, he was accepted as rav, and all the people of the city came to receive his counsel. He also established a very magnificent yeshiva there, a beis midrash, and he had many students and so on.
And his son, the son of Shmarya Noach of Bobruisk, his son the chassid Rabbi Menachem Mendel. Rabbi Menachem Mendel was killed for the sanctification of God's name, it is told, on the fifteenth of Menachem Av 5679, in Slinukava. He also had a sister, her name was Musya. During the civil war he was killed for the sanctification of God's name. This is the son of Rabbi Shmarya Noach. This is somewhere in Ukraine.