Shalom Shachna Altshuler
Rabbi Shalom Shachna Altshuler was the son-in-law of the Alter Rebbe (Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of Chabad Chassidus), the husband of Devorah Leah, and the father of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, the third Rebbe of Chabad.
Biography edit
Shalom Shachna was born on 20 Elul (September 6, 1772) to his father, the chassid Rabbi Noach Altshuler, a devoted follower of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, and to his mother Ruchamah, a sister of the Maggid of Mezeritch. When his father passed away while he was still a child, the Alter Rebbe took him into his own home, where he was raised and educated.
The Alter Rebbe gave him in marriage to his daughter, the righteous Rebbetzin Devorah Leah, who passed away not long afterward.
The chassidim once asked the Alter Rebbe why he had gone to such lengths to arrange this match with a son of Rabbi Noach, when there were so many distinguished students of the Maggid of Mezeritch available. The Alter Rebbe replied: "Er iz gut oyf plad" — "He is good for [producing] descendants." (In Russian, plad means offspring.)[1]
From this marriage was born Rabbi Menachem Mendel, who later became the third Rebbe of Chabad and is known by the title of his landmark halachic work, the Tzemach Tzedek.
When the Alter Rebbe published the Tanya for the first time, Shalom Shachna was involved in overseeing its publication.
After the passing (histalkus — the term used in Chabad tradition for the death of a tzaddik, a righteous person) of Rebbetzin Devorah Leah — mother of the Tzemach Tzedek — the Alter Rebbe arranged a second marriage for Shalom Shachna, to Rebbetzin Rivkah, a daughter of Rabbi Aaron of Karlin (a student of the Maggid of Mezeritch).[2] From this marriage were born two daughters, Devorah and Esther Hadas.
He passed away in the summer of 1807.[3]
Family edit
- Father — Rabbi Noach Altshuler
- Brother — Rabbi Yehoshua Altshuler, a mashpia (Chassidic mentor and teacher) and one of the leading figures of the Chassidic community in Tiberias
- Brother — Rabbi Yitzchak Altshuler
- First wife — Rebbetzin Devorah Leah, daughter of the Alter Rebbe
- Son — Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, the third Rebbe of Chabad
- Second wife — Rebbetzin Rivkah (also known as Rivaleh[4]), daughter of Rabbi Aaron of Karlin
- Daughter — Devorah
- Daughter — Esther Hadas, who married Rabbi Yehoshua Falik; their children included Asher Chernobiler (whose daughter was Leah Altshuler) and another child (whose name is unknown, and whose son was Shaul)
Lineage edit
Some hold that his father, Rabbi Noach Altshuler, was a descendant of Rabbi Yechiel Hillel Altshuler[5] of Yabrów — the author of the well-known biblical commentaries Metzudas David and Metzudas Tzion (which are drawn largely from his father's teachings and are therefore named for him). In any case, it is certain that he belonged to the Metzudos family, which is famous for its lineage tracing back to King David of Israel.
Notes edit
- ↑ Reshimos Devarim by Rabbi Y. Chitrik, in his entry, citing the Rashag.
- ↑ Kuntres Tzaddik LeMelech, vol. 7, p. 363.
- ↑ Igros Kodesh of the Alter Rebbe, p. 133; see also Toldos Chabad b'Russia HaTzarit, p. 168.
- ↑ So written by the Rebbe in a manuscript cited in Kuntres Tzaddik LeMelech, vol. 7, p. 363; similarly in the book Eden Tzion, p. 112, where she is called "Rivkah, known as Rivla."
- ↑ See the entry on Yechiel Hillel Altshuler for an extended discussion of the claim that he was Shalom Shachna's grandfather.