"The name Lubavitch — the city of brotherly love — expresses the essential quality of Chabad: love of G-d, love of Torah, and love of every Jew, without exception and without limit."— From a sicha of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, cited in Likkutei Sichos
The Rebbe and Lubavitch
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994) — the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe — maintained a profound and personal connection to Lubavitch throughout his life. He directed the restoration of the Ohel, established a permanent Jewish presence in the village, and spoke repeatedly about the obligation to honor and preserve this place.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe · 1902–1994
Son-in-law of the Frierdiker Rebbe. Led Chabad-Lubavitch from 1951 until his passing in 1994.
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0
His Connection to Lubavitch
Though he never lived in Lubavitch himself, the Rebbe's relationship with the village was among the most defining of his leadership. Lubavitch was not merely a historical name to him — it was a living obligation.
His father-in-law, the Frierdiker Rebbe, was born in Lubavitch. The Tzemach Tzedek and the Rebbe Maharash — whose Ohel stands in the village — were his direct spiritual ancestors. The name he bore, Menachem Mendel, was the name of the Tzemach Tzedek himself.
In 1989, when the Soviet Union began to open, the Rebbe immediately directed and personally funded the renovation of the Ohel in Lubavitch — the first modern restoration of the site. He instructed that it be completed with dignity and completed in time for the High Holidays. That same year, the Schneerson House was purchased and registered in his name — a deliberate statement that Lubavitch remains connected to the Rebbe.
He also directed the appointment of a permanent Chabad emissary to the village, ensuring that Jewish life and continuity would return to Lubavitch — not only as pilgrimage, but as presence.
In His Own Words
"Every Jew is connected to Lubavitch. The name is not just a geographic address — it is an expression of who we are and how we are meant to treat one another."— The Lubavitcher Rebbe, public address
"The Ohel in Lubavitch is not merely a burial site — it is a place where the connection between a Rebbe and his Chassidim is as alive as it has always been. One comes there to pray, to request, to feel that connection."— From teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe on visiting the Ohel
"The graves of tzadikim are holy ground. It is a mitzvah to restore them, to maintain them, to ensure they are honored — and it falls on all of us, in every generation, to fulfill this obligation."— The Lubavitcher Rebbe, regarding the restoration of Jewish cemeteries
"Lubavitch will yet see a new flourishing. The fires that were lit there — in the heart of the Mitteler Rebbe, in the court of the Tzemach Tzedek, in the yeshiva of Tomchei Temimim — were never extinguished. They are carried by every Chabad Chassid alive today."— Paraphrase of a sentiment expressed by the Rebbe in multiple public addresses
"When the Frierdiker Rebbe left Lubavitch, he took Lubavitch with him. Wherever Chabad is — that is Lubavitch. But the physical place is also sacred, and must be honored and restored."— From teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe on the meaning of Lubavitch
Key Actions — The Rebbe and Lubavitch
Ohel Renovation Directed
The Rebbe personally directed and funded the first modern renovation of the Ohel of the Tzemach Tzedek and Rebbe Maharash in Lubavitch, following the opening of the Soviet Union. He insisted it be completed with dignity before Rosh Hashana.
The Schneerson House
A building in Lubavitch was purchased and registered in the name of the Lubavitcher Rebbe — a deliberate statement of permanent connection between the Rebbe and the village. The house serves as a guest house and small museum to this day.
Permanent Chabad Presence Established
The Rebbe directed that a permanent Chabad emissary be appointed to Lubavitch — ensuring an ongoing Jewish presence in the village for the first time since the Holocaust. This was the foundation of all subsequent restoration work.
Ongoing Directives for Restoration
Throughout his final years, the Rebbe continued to receive reports from Lubavitch and to give guidance on the restoration work — the cemetery, the Chatzer, and the broader preservation of the village's Jewish heritage.
"The place called Lubavitch is not only a memory. It is a mission — to restore what was lost, to honor those who are buried there, and to ensure that the name Lubavitch continues to mean what it has always meant: love."
— From the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe on the meaning of LubavitchThe Seven Rebbeim of Chabad-Lubavitch
The Lubavitcher Rebbe was the seventh in an unbroken chain of Chabad leadership — each Rebbe rooted in Lubavitch. Their portraits are preserved in the archive.