The Torah Atlas

person · P0248

Shneur Zalman of Liadi רבי שניאור זלמן מליאדי

Founder of Chabad chasidut, author of the Tanya and of the Shulchan Aruch HaRav — the youngest of the Maggid of Mezritch's inner circle, entrusted at twenty-five with recasting the Shulchan Aruch. Twice imprisoned in Petersburg on informers' charges (his release on 19 Kislev is Chabad's "Rosh Hashanah of chasidut"), he died fleeing Napoleon's army. One requested endpoint of this atlas's chain: BeShT → Maggid → Alter Rebbe, every link personal and attested.

I. Who

Hebrew
רבי שניאור זלמן מליאדי
Also known as
The Alter Rebbe, Baal HaTanya, the Rav
Era
acharonim
Received the mesorah from
The Maggid of Mezritch
Teachers
The Maggid of Mezritch

II. When

Traditional
5505–5573 AM (died 24 Tevet 5573)
Academic
1745–1812 CE
Lifespan (traditional)
≈68 years
Precision
exact

III. Where

Places
Liadi

V. How do we know

ClaimEvidenceConfidenceSources
He joined the Maggid's academy at Mezritch c. 1764 as its youngest member and remained his disciple until the Maggid's death; the Maggid assigned him the re-edition of the Shulchan Aruch (the Shulchan Aruch HaRav) while still in his twenties. tradition ★★★★☆
The Tanya (Likkutei Amarim, 1796) opens from the oath administered to every soul — "be righteous and do not be wicked" — and builds from it the Chabad anatomy of the benoni: chasidut become a system, in a printed book, for every student to receive. tradition ★★★★★
Shneur Zalman was born in 1745 into a prominent Jewish family in Liozna and joined Dov Ber's circle at Mezhirich at approximately age twenty.
The cited source does not name his parents.
external ★★★★☆
After Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk emigrated in 1777, Shneur Zalman became the principal Hasidic leader in Belarus; in 1788 he was formally appointed head of Kolel Reisin, which administered regional support for the Hasidic community in Eretz Yisrael.
This was a financial and communal office as well as a mark of leadership.
external ★★★★★
Russian authorities arrested and imprisoned him in Saint Petersburg in 1798 following accusations of disloyalty and leadership of a suspect sect. He was released on 19 Kislev and imprisoned a second time in 1801 before again being cleared.
Later Hasidic narratives add details not independently present in the government record.
external ★★★★★
After his second release he settled in Liadi in 1801, which became the principal institutional center of his followers.
He is therefore commonly known as Shneur Zalman of Liadi despite being born in Liozna.
external ★★★★★
During Napoleon's invasion of Russia he fled eastward with members of his family and followers, died at Piena on 24 Tevet 5573, and was buried in the Jewish cemetery at Hadiach, where an ohel continues to mark his grave.
The current burial structure has undergone restoration; the underlying grave identification is a continuous Chabad tradition. The chabad.org URLs in the research input block automated access; the link points to an overview covering the flight, death at Pena, and Hadiach burial.
external tradition ★★★★☆