A new book by the longtime rabbi in Riga and Head Shliach to Latvia Rabbi Mordechai Glazman, explored the unique history of Latvian rabbinic leadership, including many prominent Chabad chassidim who lived in the country.
By Anash.org reporter
A new book by the longtime rabbi in Riga and Head Shliach to Latvia Rabbi Mordechai Glazman, explored the unique history of Latvian rabbinic leadership, including many prominent Chabad chassidim who lived in the country.
The new book sheds light on the lives and leadership of hundreds of Latvia’s rabbonim over a period of 200 years, from 5500 until the start of WWII in 5700. The rabbonim’s biographies are arranged according to the city they served in, and each biography contains information about their time in rabbanus, the seforim they wrote, and other pertinent details.
Prominent in the book is many Chabad chassidim who served as rabbonim and communal figures throughout the country from the days of the Alter Rebbe. In fact, chassidim lived in Latvia from the days of the Baal Shem Tov, and in many cities the chassidim were the majority.
Rabbi Glazman told Anash.org that he was inspired to write the book after arriving in Latvia as a shliach and discovering the rich Jewish history of the country.
“By nature, I am a history buff, so naturally when I came on shlichus to Latvia, I immediately took interest in its rich Lubavitch history and through that to its general Jewish history,” he said.
“The connection of Chabad and Latvia is a strong one. There are documented visits of every Chabad Rebbe besides the Tzemach Tzedek. The Frierdiker Rebbe even lived in Riga, Latvia, for a period of time after leaving Soviet Russia,” he said.
The information in the book was gathered from archives, books, magazines and publications, including from the small surviving part of the archives of the famed chossid Rabbi Mordechai Dubin hy”d.
Rabbi Glazman says the one who pushed him to compete the work was the renowned Chabad historian Rabbi Yehoshua Mondshine, who strongly encouraged him to continue gathering information about the chassidim and rabbonim in his country.
The final product is a book of over 440 pages and includes an index of locations and of names where one can search for specific information on an individual or city. The book will be arriving in the USA in the near future and will be available at all Crown Heights bookstores.
To order online: https://www.chabad.lv/LatvianRabbis
PDF: Introduction and Table of Contents
To download click here
Where can it be purchased?