Reb DovBer (Berel) Schneerson

Reb DovBer (Berel) Schneerson (HY"D) was the second son of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak and Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson, and the brother of the Rebbe.

Life History

Born on 3 Kislev 1904 in Nikolayev, and at his bris was named after the Mitteler Rebbe, as his bris fell on the day of the Mitteler Rebbe's liberation.

In 1909, he moved with his family to Yekaterinoslav (Dnepropetrovsk).

He suffered from a chronic illness and because of this, there were periods when he was treated in a hospital. The Rebbe's father said that with three talented sons, they were affected by ayin hara. In the summer of 1922, his brother the Rebbe traveled to Kharkov to speak with doctors regarding his medical condition (during that same occasion, he also visited Tomchei Tmimim Kharkov).

In late 1941, he was staying in a hospital in the town of Igren near Dnepropetrovsk. During that period, the Nazi army conquered the city and executed all the patients hospitalized in the hospital. They especially tortured the Jewish patients, who were severely tormented before being brutally executed. The murdered were buried in a mass grave in the hospital courtyard in a huge pit. R' DovBer was also murdered, at only 38 years old.

In 1993, the mass grave was found, and about a year later, a matzeiva was erected on the mass grave. In 2008, a new matzeiva was erected on his grave, and a ceremony was held for the matzeiva's dedication, with the participation of the city's rav and shliach Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki and the Jewish community leaders. During the event, the participants recited "Keil Malei Rachamim" and lit candles in his memory.

References from the Rebbe

To parents who were unsure whether to name their son DovBer after the Rebbe's brother, the Rebbe responded "DovBer Shlita, I will mention at the tziyun."

The Rebbe wrote: "I too lost very dear and close family members in the Holocaust - grandmother, brother, cousins, and others."

Date of His Murder

In the calendar of 1947 where the Rebbe recorded family yahrtzeit dates - which he apparently verified with his mother Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson - he wrote next to 24 Tishrei "Berel", and next to 25 Elul wrote another name but this part was torn in the handwritten document. Years later, in a talk on 24 Tishrei 1990, the Rebbe gave a discourse explaining the Mishnayos recited on a yahrtzeit. When the transcribers submitted the talk for editing, they asked in a note whose yahrtzeit it was, and the Rebbe deigned to answer that it was the yahrtzeit of his grandmother (his mother's mother) Rebbetzin Rachel Yanovsky, without mentioning it was for his brother.

Therefore (and for other reasons noted in the footnote) - apparently - this was initially set for 24 Tishrei, but later the date was established as 25 Elul.

Regarding the year of the murder - the city of Dnipro was captured by the Germans on Rosh Chodesh Menachem Av 1941, and there are conflicting testimonies about when the murder in the hospital took place, whether it was already in late 1941 or in winter 1942. However, considering that in all locations the Nazis would first murder those in hospitals and only afterwards in the rest of the city, it seems more likely to accept the testimony describing late 1941 (especially since the date was set for 25 Elul).

In Yad Vashem's Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names, it is recorded that R' DovBer was murdered on June 25, 1941, which is 30 Sivan 1941.

Place of Burial

His burial place near Dnipropetrovsk was first published in Beis Moshiach magazine issue 11, by Chassidic researcher Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Kaminetzky.

Initially, a first matzeivah was erected, and in 2008 a magnificent matzeivah was established.

His Family

• His father: Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson
• His mother: Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson
• His brother: The Rebbe
• His brother: R' Yisroel Aryeh Leib Schneerson