[[Rabbi]] '''Menachem Mendel Schneerson''' ([[April 18]], [[1902]] – [[June 12]], [[1994]]), referred to by his followers as '''The Rebbe''', was a prominent [[Haredi Judaism|Charedi (traditional Orthodox)]] [[Jew]]ish [[Jewish rabbi]] who was the seventh ''[[Rebbe]]'' (spiritual leader) of the [[Chabad Lubavitch|Chabad/Lubavitch]] branch of [[Chassidic Judaism]]. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad/Lubavitch ''Rebbe,'' Rabbi [[Menachem Mendel Schneersohn]] (known as the ''Tzemach Tzedek''), his namesake.
In [[1950]], upon the death of his predecessor, father-in-law and cousin Rabbi [[Joseph Isaac Schneersohn]] (Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn), known as the "Previous Rebbe" or ''Rebbe Rayat"z'' (an acronym of his name), Rabbi Menachem Mendel assumed the leadership of ''Chabad/Lubavitch''. He led the movement until his passing in 1994, greatly expanding its worldwide activities and founding a network of institutions of Jewish study and [[Torah]] outreach. He raised the issue of Jewish messianism to the forefront of the Jewish world, and was hailed by some Lubavitchers during his lifetime as the long awaited [[mashiach]] (messiah). He had no children, but his legacy remains with over 2,600 institutions he initiated throughout his lifetime.
