Kislev 9 is both the birthday and day of passing of Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch, son of and successor to the founder of Chabad Chassidism, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi.
Rabbi DovBer was known for his unique style of “broadening rivers” — his teachings were the intellectual rivers to his father’s wellspring, lending breadth and depth to the principles set down by Rabbi Schneur Zalman.
Born in Li’ozna, White Russia in 1773, he was named after the Alter Rebbe’s mentor and teacher, Rabbi DovBer – the Maggid of Mezeritch.
The Mitteler Rebbe assumed the leadership of Chabad in 1812 and then settled in the town of Lubavitch, which was to serve as the movement’s headquarters for the next 102 years.
In 1826, he was arrested on charges that his teachings threatened the imperial authority of the Czar, but was subsequently exonerated.
He passed away on his 54th birthday in 1827, a day before the first anniversary of his liberation, Kislev 10.
As COLlive.com reported in July 2011, the Ohel gravesite of the Mitteler Rebbe in the northern Ukrainian city of Nezhin was repaired by Agudas Oholei Tzadikim, headed by R’ Yisroel Meir Gabbai.
Gabbai, a Breslaver chossid widely recognized for upkeeping Jewish graves around Eastern Europe, opened a Hachnosas Orchim guest house in Nezhin a few years ago, making the Ohel more accessible for visitors and prayers.
Visitors on Kislev 9, the Mitteler Rebbe’s birthday and yahrtzeit, or any other date of the year can enjoy a warm drink or rest in the nearby house.
VIDEO: The Mitteler Rebbe’s Kapelye Niggun
To learn more about the Mitteler Rebbe, visit Chabad.org
in may of 1992 …………………
this is Ukraine we’re talking about here: if only you’d know what their bathrooms look like!
Only because of YTT do i find this day so special to me!
I was there this summer with Swerdlov Program its the most uplifting experience one can dream of!!!!
glad i was there before they “fixed it up” to look like a bathroom