Chana Schneerson's grandfather was Abraham David Lavut, a composer of Jewish literature upon which Chabadic prayer books are based (including the Siddur Im Dach).
She was born Chana Yanovsky in 1880, on the 28th of Tevet in the city of Nikolayev, Ukraine to Rabbi Meir Shlomo Yanovsky and Rachel Yanovsky.[1] She was the eldest of four children, having two sisters, Gittel and Ettel, and a younger brother, Yisrael Leib, who died in his youth. Rabbi Meir Shlomo was the chief rabbi of Nikolayev.[2]
As a teenager, she was educated by her father,[1] and when an article (a 'maamar'-i.e. Chasidic discourse) would arrive from Lubavitch, she would meticulously and faithfully transcribe it, making it available for other Chasidim.
In 1900, she married Levi Yitzchak, a great-great-grandson of the third Rebbe of Lubavitch, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, also known as the Tzemach Tzedek. The wedding took place on the 13th of Sivan, in Nikolayev. The couple produced three sons, Menachem Mendel, Dov-Ber, and Yisroel Aryeh Leib. Their eldest son, Menachem Mendel, was later to become the seventh Rebbe of Lubavitch.
Levi Yitzchak was arrested in 1939, and exiled in 1940 for his religious practice. Schneerson joined him in exile. Levi Yitzchak died in 1944.[3]
Widowed, Schneerson left the Soviet Union in 1947. She transported Levi Yitzchak's religious writings, considered illegal contraband under the communist soviet regime, focused around the Kabbalah, upon moving. That year she went to Paris, France, where she met with her son, Menachem Mendel. They both immigrated to the United States, and lived in Brooklyn, New York.[1]
She held extensive interviews with journalist Nissan Gordon, which have been published in Di Yiddishe Heim.[4]
She died on September 12, 1964 (6 Tishrei 5725).[5]
In 2012, her memoirs, which she penned during the years 1947 until 1963, were published by the Kehot Publication Society.
Gottlieb, Naftali Tzvi. Trans. Lesches, Elchonon. "Rabbi, Mystic and Leader - the Life and Times of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson" (Kehot Publication Society; 2008) 253 pages
Marcus, Shmuel M. and Avraham D. Vaisfiche. Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson: A Brief Biography. Brooklyn: Kehot Publication Society. (2004). ISBN0826601022
Strength and Majesty: A Biography of the Rebbetzins Chana Schneerson and Chaya Mushka Schneerson. Brooklyn: Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch (2004). ISBN0826601030
Tilles, Yerachmiel. "A Mother in Israel - the Life and Memoirs of Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson" (Kehot Publication Society; 1985, 2003) 226 pages
Light purple indicates a Hasidic Rebbe of the Chabad-Kapust dynasty
Light orange indicates a Hasidic Rebbe of the Chabad-Niezhin dynasty
Light blue indicates a Hasidic Rebbe of the Chabad-Liadi dynasty
Light yellow indicates a Hasidic Rebbe of Avrutch dynasty
Solid lines indicate parents/children, dashed lines show marriages, dotted lines show in-laws. Additional members of Schneersohn family are not listed here
Notes:
^Founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, known as Shneur Zalman of Liady
