Kapust

The Kopust branch of the Chabad dynasty of Hasidic Judaism was founded in 1866 by Yehuda Leib Schneersohn after the death of his father Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, the third Chabad rebbe. It is named after the town of Kopys in the Vitebsk Region of present-day Belarus, where Yehuda Leib Schneersohn settled after his father's death.

History

Kopust is an offshoot of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement which produced multiple offshoot groups through its over 200-year history. The death of the third Chabad rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneersohn led to a dispute over his succession leading to the founding of Kopust.

Founding

Following Schneersohn's death in 1866 a dispute arose among several of his seven sons over the succession. While the youngest son, Shmuel Schneersohn assumed the title of rebbe in the town of Lubavitch, another son, Yehuda Leib Schneersohn, assumed the title in the town of Kopys, but died less than a year later and was succeeded by his son Shlomo Zalman Schneersohn.Schneersohn, Yosef Yitzchak & Schneerson, Menachem Mendel. ''Hayom Yom''. Introduction. Kehot Publication Society. Brooklyn, NY. 1946.

Leadership

The Kopust dynasty had four rebbes:Loewenthal, Naftali.
''Communicating the Infinite: The Emergence of the Habad School''. University of Chicago Press. (1990): p. 244.
* Yehuda Leib Schneersohn (1808-1866), known as the Maharil of Kopust. He founded the movement after the death of his father, Menachem Mendel Scheersohn.
* Shlomo Zalman Schneersohn (1830–1900), oldest son of Yehuda Leib, assumed his father’s position in Kopust. He is the author of a work on Hasidism titled "Magen Avot" ("Shield of the Fathers").
* Shalom Dovber Schneersohn (1834-1908), known as the Rashab of Rechitsa. Succeeding his brother, Shlomo Zalman, Shalom Dovber served as the Kopuster movement's rebbe in the town of Rechitsa.
* Shmaryahu Noah Schneersohn (1842–1924), known as Shmaryahu Noah of Babruysk. Succeeding his brother, Shlomo Zalman, Shmaryahu Noah served as the Kopuster movement's rebbe in the town of Babruysk.Loewenthal, Naftali.
''Communicating the Infinite: The Emergence of the Habad School''. University of Chicago Press. (1990): p. 244.Lowenthal, Naftali. Schneersohn, Shmaryahu Noah. ''Encyclopedia of Hasidism''. Jason Aronson Publishers. London. 1996.Schneerson, Shmaryahu Noah. ''Shemen La'moar''. Vol. 1. Kfar Chabad, Israel. (1964): p. 1
Available at HebrewBooks.org
Schneerson, Shmaryahu Noah. ''Shemen La'moar''. Vol. 2. Kfar Chabad, Israel. (1967): p. 1
Available at HebrewBooks.org
He was rabbi of the chasidim in Babruysk from 1872, and founded a yeshiva there in 1901. He authored a two volume work on Hasidism, titled "Shemen LaMaor" ("Light for the Luminary").

Kopust today

After the death of the fourth rebbe of Kopust, the adherents of the Kopuster movement rejoined the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

The oldest extant Chabad synagogue in Israel, the ''Ohel Yitzchok'' (אהל יצחק) synagogue in the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem—also called the ''Baal HaTanya Shul'' (: ''" Baal HaTanya's synagogue"'')—active since 1900, was originally affiliated with Kopust.

Relationship with Chabad-Lubavitch

While the Kopust movement originally was at odds with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement over the successor to the third Chabad rebbe, the sixth Lubavitcher rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn referred to the Rebbes of Kopust as "Admorim", or rebbes.

Works

*''Magen Avos'' of Shlomo Zalman Schneerson
*''Shemen La'Maor'' of Shmaryahu Noah Schneersoh
vol. 1vol. 2

Notes

References

{{Hasidic dynasties

Chabad history
Hasidic dynasties
Chabad-Lubavitch related controversies
Religious organizations established in 1866