Editing Shlomo Zalman Schneerson (section)

== Rebbe of Kopust Chassidim ==
Rabbi Shlomo Zalman was the grandson of the Rebbe Tzemach Tzedek. Five of the Tzemach Tzedek's sons served as Rebbes. When most of the Tzemach Tzedek's Chassidim became followers of his second son, Rabbi Yehuda Leib (the Maharil), who established the "Chabad-Kopust" court south of Vitebsk (today in Belarus) after his father's passing. The Maharil was the oldest son who served as Rebbe and had even acted as Rebbe during his father's lifetime, and had known his great-grandfather, the Baal HaTanya, founder of Chabad Chassidus, which is why most Chassidim flocked to him. However, a beis din established to determine the Tzemach Tzedek's successor ruled that the Rebbe Maharash, Rabbi Shmuel Schneerson, should fill his father's position.

The Maharil passed away half a year after his father, but his sons continued to lead the court, primarily his son Rabbi Shlomo Zalman. In a letter written after his father's passing, he expressed regret that Chabad Chassidus had deviated at the end of the Baal HaTanya's days from its original path, which combined avodah shebalev and Chassidic fervor with intellectual contemplation of Godliness, and related that his father had restored the crown to its former glory, and he intended to continue this path. Rabbi Shlomo Zalman served as Rebbe for thirty-four years and conducted himself with great humility and modesty, becoming filled with shame and embarrassment when addressed as "Rebbe." Many Chabad Chassidim were among his followers.