The third Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn of Lubavitch, was born on the 29th of Elul, 5549. Orphaned from his mother, Rebetzin Devora Leah, at age 3, he was raised by his maternal grandfather, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, known as the Alter Rebbe.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel assumed the leadership of Chabad in 5587, upon the passing of his father-in-law and uncle, Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch. Extremely active in communal affairs, he established and funded Jewish farming colonies which provided a livelihood for thousands of families. He also stood at the forefront of the battle against the "Enlightenment Movement" which, with the support of the Czarist regime, sought to destroy traditional Jewish life -- a battle which earned him no less than 22 (!) imprisonments and arrests.

In the course of his lifetime, Rabbi Menachem Mendel penned more than 48,000 pages of Chassidic teachings and Halachic exegesis. He is known as the "Tzemach Tzedek" ("a sprouting of righteousness") after his work of Halachic responsa by that name.

The following is a story that happened in the Rebbe's childhood:

Looking out the window one day, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi noticed his young grandchild, the seven-year-old Menachem Mendel,1 playing in the yard with his friends. The children had leaned a tall pole against a building and were competing with each other as to who could climb the highest. The Rebbe noticed that the young Mendel was the only one to succeed in reaching the top of the pole, while all the others retreated well before the halfway mark.

Later, he asked his grandson: ''Tell me, Mendeleh, how did you succeed in climbing higher than all your friends?''

The child replied: ''Everyone kept on looking down to see how high they have climbed, and fell back in fright. But I looked only up, concentrating on how much higher I still have to go.''