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Rabbi
Yisroel Aryeh Leib Schneerson o.b.m.
Rabbi Yisroel Aryeh Leib Schneerson, the youngest brother of the Rebbe,
Melech HaMoshiach, who lives forever, was born in Nikolayev, Russia on 16
Sivan, 5669 (1909). That same year the family moved to Yikatrinislav where
his father, Kvod Kedushas Rabbi Levi Yitzchok assumed the position of Rav.
From his early youth, Rabbi Yisroel Aryeh Leib exhibited brilliance and
diligence in his learning. One time, during "the 9 days", he sat
through the night learning a tractate of Talmud to make a siyum
(completion). His mother, Rebbitzen Chana, wanted to show a visiting chosid
the extent of Rabbi Yisroel Aryeh Leib's diligence. She went over to her
son and called his name, "Leibel!" He did not hear her. She
called again "Leibel!" He still didn't hear her. She went over to
him and pulled on his sleeve and called "Leibel!" Rabbi Yisroel
Aryeh Leib was not aware that anyone was there. She then turnrd to the
chosid and, smiling with pride, she said, "Do you see the diligence of
my son Leibel!"
For several years Rabbi Yisroel Aryeh Leib was a member of the household of
the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe in Petersberg. He was very dear to the Rebbe
and very popular among the chasidim who would approach him with difficult
questions in Nigleh (Talmud and Jewish Law) and Chassidus (Chassidic
Philosophy) and engage in lively discussions. At this time he began
studying mathematics in the academies in Petersburg where he organized
groups of Jewish youth to learn Torah and observe Mitzvos. His main
preoccupation, however, remained the study of Torah which he continued to
do with great diligence.
In the early 1930's, when the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, and the Rebbitzen
Chaya Mushka were in Berlin, Rabbi Yisroel Aryeh Leib was there also. It is
assumed that it was at this time that he wrote his most famous paper in
mathematics, "The Location of Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors of Complex
Matricies", a topic which has applications to Quantum Mechanics.
Later, Rabbi Yisroel Aryeh Leib moved to Israel where he got married. He
continued his mathematical research and would spend long nights studying
the writings of Chassidus. Many times he would be the first chosid in
Israel to receive the newest publications of Chassidus from New York and
the other chassidim would get them from him.
In 1948 he accepted a position in the Department of Theoretical Physics of
the University of Liverpool, England. He consulted with the Previous Rebbe
regarding the position and in his reply the previous Rebbe wrote,
"What interests me is to bring - with Hashem's help - the beauty of
Shem [Torah and Mitzvot] into the tents of Yefes [the Universities] to show
the Jewish youth
who pride themselves in and long for secular knowledge - that it is nothing
compared to the deep wisdom of the Torah."
It was not until 1950 that Rabbi Yisroel Aryeh Leib was actually able to go
to England, and a short two years later, on 13 Iyar, 5712 (May 8, 1952) he
passed away. He is buried in Tzefas, Israel. He left several unpublished
manuscripts and about 20 years later, the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, gave
one of them to Professor Pesach (Paul) Rosenbloom, the famous Lubavitcher
mathematician to publish. It was published in The Journal of Approximation
Theory under the title "The Location of Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors
of Complex Matricies". It was found that some of the theorems proved
in this paper were identical to results obtained by some of the greatest
mathematicians of his time (Frobinius and Perron) but which Rabbi Yisroel
Aryeh Leib had discovered independently and had proved with his own proofs.
In 1992, to commemorate Rabbi Yisroel Aryeh Leib's 40th yartzeit (the day
of his passing), a conference was held in Minnesota on the theme "The
Role of Science in the Era of Moshiach". The following year a similar
conference, on the theme "Bringing Moshiach Into the World of
Science," was held in Brooklyn, New York, and the Rabbi Yisroel Aryeh
Leib Research Institute on Moshiach and the Sciences was established with
the approval and blessing of the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach. Every year since
then the Institute sponsors a conference on a theme related to Moshiach and
science on Rabbi Yisroel Aryeh Leib's yartzeit, 13 Iyar.
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