Editing Debate (section)

==== Shklov Debate ====
Among the places that the Alter Rebbe visited to spread Chassidic teachings was the town of Shklov, which he visited several times.

During his first visit, the misnagdim (opponents) agreed to debate and accept the Chassidic approach if they were defeated. When the debate began and the misnagdim saw they were going to lose, they seized the Alter Rebbe and his companion and locked them in a cellar.

During his second visit, which took place between the years 5538-5540 (1778-1780), after defeating them in Torah study, he told them: "When one knows the concepts of Torah as they exist in the higher worlds above, one automatically knows their interpretation below in this world." Following this debate, about ten talented young married men were drawn to Chassidic teachings and became Chabad Chassidim (among them R' Pinchas Reizes, son of the town rabbi). This enraged the misnagdim, and as a result of this debate, the Minsk debate was arranged.