Dovber Schneuri (13 November 1773 – 16 November 1827 OS) was the second Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic movement. Rabbi Dovber was the first Chabad rebbe to live in the town of Lyubavichi (in present-day Russia), the town for which this Hasidic dynasty is named. He is also known as the Mitteler Rebbe ("Middle Rebbe" in Yiddish), being the second of the first three generations of Chabad leaders. Biography Rabbi Schneuri was born in Liozna, modern day Belarus, on 9 Kislev 5534. His father, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, was Rebbe of the community there, and of many Chassidim in White Russia and Lithuania, and other parts of Russia. His father named him after his own teacher, Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch, a disciple and successor of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chassidic movement. The Yiddish first name דוב-בער Dov-Ber literally means "bear-bear", traceable back to the Hebrew word דב dov "bear" and the German word Bär "bear". It is thus an example of a bilingual tautological name. Schneuri was a prodigious student, and had begun to study Talmud at the age of seven. His father taught him Zohar, and transmitted to him the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov. Schneuri adopted the family name of "Schneuri," after his father, but succeeding generations changed it to "Schneersohn," or "Schneerson." In 1788 he married Rebbetzin Sheina, the daughter of a local rabbi. In 1790 Rabbi Dovber was appointed the Mashpia (spiritual guide) of the Hasidim who would come to visit his father. At the age of 39, while studying in the city of Kremenchug, his father died. He then moved to the small border-town of Lubavichi, from which the movement would take its name. His accession was disputed by one of his father's prime students, Rabbi Aharon HaLevi of Strashelye, however the majority of Rabbi Shneur Zalman's followers stayed with Schneuri, and moved to Lubavichi. Thus Chabad had now split into two branches, each taking the name of their location to differentiate themselves from each other. He established a yeshivah in Lubavitch, which attracted gifted young scholars. His son-in-law, who later became his successor, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, headed the Yeshivah. Like his father, Schneuri considered it his sacred task to help the Jews of Russia, whether they were Chassidim or not, not only spiritually but also economically. The position of the Jews under