Editing The Alter Rebbe (section)

==== In Mezeritch ====
Although the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, did not meet [[the Baal Shem Tov]] except at his upsherin at the age of three, he referred to the Baal Shem Tov as his spiritual grandfather. He remarked, "Reb Boruch of Medzhybizh is the Baal Shem Tov's physical grandson, and I am his spiritual grandson." This statement can be explained in two ways: either through his first teacher, Rabbi Yissachar Ber of Lubavitch, a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, or through his primary teacher, the Maggid of Mezeritch, who was one of the foremost students of the Baal Shem Tov.

After Pesach in the year 5524 (1764), with his wife's consent, he embarked on fulfilling the teaching "Exile yourself to a place of Torah."

After deliberation, he chose to travel to Mezeritch to study under Rabbi Dovber, the Maggid of Mezeritch. His primary reasoning was that while in Vilna, they teach how to learn, something he already mastered, in Mezeritch, they teach how to daven, a skill he had yet to acquire.

When the Alter Rebbe decided to remain in Mezeritch, the Maggid revealed to him the words of the Baal Shem Tov: that he was a new soul (neshama chadasha) of Atzilus revealed in a physical body. His mission was to reveal and explain the Baal Shem Tov's teachings concerning the love of Hashem, love of Israel, and the path of Chabad Chassidus, emphasizing that one must love a fellow Jew simply because they are a Jew. The Alter Rebbe would later say that in Mezeritch, he learned what Hashem is, what Yisroel is, and the power of a niggun.

In Mezeritch, the Alter Rebbe learned b’chavrusa (in partnership) with Rabbi Avraham the Malach, the son of the Maggid.

After spending a year and a half in Mezeritch, he returned to his home in Vitebsk and began spreading the teachings of Chassidus, as established by the Baal Shem Tov. The Alter Rebbe revolutionized Vitebsk; even its great scholars were astounded by his profound genius. When his father-in-law, Reb Yehuda Leib Segal, observed that his son-in-law had become a "chassid," he began to make his life difficult, even pressuring his daughter to divorce him. When she refused, her father expelled her from his home.
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