By COLlive reporter
Rabbi Shia Deitsch is used to welcoming visitors to the Shaarey Tzedek Chesed Center which he directs in Moscow as a source of humanitarian and social assistance.
So when a 50-year-old man walked in the other week, Rabbi Deitsch was quick to greet him and offer help from the array of services the center offers such as their medical treatment, food distribution and financial aid.
As the conversation continued, the man commented he has never put on Tefillin.
Rabbi Deitsch invited him to the Tefilla L’Dovid synagogue in the center and offered him on the spot to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah and put on Tefillin.
The man agreed and began praying, saying Shema Yisroel with great concentration.
Following the prayer, the man was asked for his name and his response sent chills down the Chabad Shliach’s back.
My name is Artium Schneerson, he said.
Like the famous Schneersons? the rabbi inquired, referring to the family name of the Chassidic Rebbes of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
Yes, the person answered. “I heard about the Rebbe and I have a photo of him in my house.”
Artium Schneerson said his father is Leonid, the son of Yisroel, the son of Boruch, the son of Zalman.
Rabbi Deitsch concluded that the man is a fifth generation of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of Chabad known as the Alter Rebbe and author of the Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch.
The emotional encounter ended with Rabbi Deitsch giving Schneerson a copy of the Tanya translated to Russian, as well as a copy of the Tehillim in Russian.
“I will stay in touch and will be learning from these cherished books,” the man said.
Details are important.
The focus is not on 5th or 7th but on the accuracy of the story and the facts of who this man is actually descended from.
Focusing on details doesn’t take away from the positivity of the story.
5TH GENERATION???!!! That’s very far fetched. That means he’s 3 generations above the Rebbe. The Rebbe was 8. And I’m 10 generations. But it’s still likely he’s a descendant, although possibly through the Tzemach Tzedek, which is where Schneersohn came from, although there are other descendants who also use the name. Maybe he can be traced using sefer hatze’etzoim
What a Zechus
i wish i could have come from such and honorable and amazing family
Details are important.
The focus is not on 5th or 7th but on the accuracy of the story and the facts of who this man is actually descended from.
Focusing on details doesn’t take away from the positivity of the story.
The son of R Chaim Shneir Zalmen Was R yitzchok Dovber and his son was R Boruch. Read hayom yom again
“Once a schneerson always a schneerson”!
Next, make sùre he gets a bris…
The son of R Chaim Shneir Zalmen Was R yitzchok Dovber and his son was R Boruch. Read hayom yom again
Why the need to focus on the detail 5th or 10th generation? There is so much positive in this story and such a valuable lesson to take.
wow! we have to give him a hebrew name!
Yes the son of the Tzemach Tzedek, Chaim Schneur Zalman’s youngest son was Baruch. In the Hayom Yom he is called the Socher (merchant) of Smolensk, a city not far from Liadi and Lubavitch.
The tzemach tzedek was the first rebbe with the last name schneersohn, so he has to be a descendent of the tzemach tzedek
Most likely a 5th gen of the the Tzemach Tzedek’s son, R. Chaim SZ of Liadi who had a son Boruch. See intro to Hayom Yom
This is a modern day miracle! Right in time for RH.
Alter Rebbe did not have son Boruch. By age does not come up well either.
The grandson of r.Yehuda Leib of Kopust was r.Zalman of Starodub. Maybe his son was Boruch.
What a touching story…!
I don’t see how someone alive today could possible be 5th generation from the Alter Rebbe. Besides, the Alter Rebbe did not have a son Boruch.
May he connect deeply with his ancestors.
Can anyone explain how he is a descendent of the Alter Rebbe? The Alter Rebbe did not have a son named Baruch…
doesn’t make sense that he is fifth generation from alter rebbe
Zalman is and was a common name in the Schneerson family. More likely he is 5th generation from the Rebbe Maharash’s Brother “Chaim Schneur Zalman” of Liadi.
More like 7 or 8 if at all
Incredible!
May he continue to grow in Yiddishkeit with the help of the Rebbe’s Shluchim!!
oh wow, Moshiach now
The Alter Rebbe did not have a son Boruch…. as far as I know.
5th generation of the Alter Rebbe? Maybe 5th generation of another Zalman Schneersohn? There were quite a few.
Considering that the Alter Rebbe did not have a son named Boruch, the Zalman in his ancestry is an ainikel of the Alter Rebbe not the Alter Rebbe himself. That’s aside from the fact that it’s extremely unlikely for a 50 year old man to be a fifth generation from the Alter Rebbe. In all likelihood he’s a fifth generation of an ainikel of the Tzemach Tzedek, who was the first with the last name Schneersohn.
The alter rebbe had a son Baruch?
If you look very closely, he has a VERY Unusual Eidelkait and Lichtigkait.