Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson (1878-1944) was born on the 18th of Nissan in the town of Podrovnah (near Gomel) to his parents, Rabbi Baruch Schneur and Rebbetzin Zelda Rachel Schneerson; his great-great-grandfather was the 3rd Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch.
In 1900, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak married Rebbetzin Chanah Yanovski, whose father, Rabbi Meir Shlomo, was the rabbi of the Russian city of Nikolaiyev.
In 1902, their eldest son, Menachem Mendel, later to be known as The Lubavitcher Rebbe, was born.
Rabbi Levi Yitzchak lived in Nokolaiyev until 1909, when he was appointed to serve as the Rabbi of Yekatrinoslav (today, Dnepropetrovsk or Dnipro in Ukraine).
In 1939, he was arrested by the communist regime for his fearless stance against the Party’s efforts to eradicate Jewish learning and practice in the Soviet Union.
After more than a year of torture and interrogations in Stalin’s notorious prisons, he was sentenced to exile to the interior of Russia, where he passed away on Chof Av in 1944.
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This day also marks the Bris Milah ceremony of the Rebbe, 8 days after his birth on the 11th of Nissan.
