Chof Cheshvan — Birthday of the Rashab
Hebrew: כ׳ חשון | When: 20 Cheshvan | Year of birth: 5621 / 1860
The Rashab
Rabbi Shalom Dovber Schneersohn — known as the Rashab — was the fifth Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, born on 20 Cheshvan, 5621 (1860) in Lubavitch, Russia. He led the movement from 5643/1882 until his passing on 2 Nissan, 5680/1920. He is buried in Rostov-on-Don, where he had relocated the Chabad center.
His Role in Chabad
The Rashab is best known for founding Tomchei Temimim — the Chabad yeshiva — in Lubavitch in 5657/1897. This was a revolutionary act: a yeshiva where both nigleh (revealed Torah: Talmud and halacha) and Chassidus were studied with equal seriousness and structure. The Rebbe Rashab formalized the integration of head and heart, creating a generation of temimim (complete ones) who would become the backbone of Chabad through the Soviet era and beyond.
He also began the monumental work Hemshech Ayin Beis (also called Samech-Vav) — a ma’amar that spans hundreds of pages and is considered among the most profound and comprehensive expositions of Kabbalistic-Chassidic thought ever written. The Rebbe often referred to it as having been received from heaven.
The Cheshvan Context
Cheshvan is notable in the Jewish calendar as the only month with no major holidays or fast days. The Rebbe once noted that Cheshvan’s “emptiness” makes it a month of pure avodah — work without the scaffolding of Yom Tov. The Rashab’s birthday in Cheshvan reflects something about his character: a Rebbe of depth and structure, not of external glamour.
How the Day Is Observed
Chof Cheshvan is observed with a farbrengen and learning from the Rashab’s maamarim. The Hemshech Ayin Beis is particularly studied, as is the Kuntres HaAvodah — a practical guide to Chassidic avodah that the Rashab wrote as a personal letter to his Chassidim.