|To begin telling the story of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi
Menachem Mendel Schneerson, we must go back to the origins of
contemporary Chassidism and the life of its founder, Rabbi
Israel Baal Shem Tov (also known by the acronym "Besht,"
1698-1760). The Besht was an extraordinary tzaddik who possessed
miraculous powers. Tales about him and his teachings spread
through Eastern Europe during the fifth and sixth decades of the
eighteenth century. Hundreds, and later thousands of people in
cities, towns, and remote villages became his enthusiastic
followers. Many of the rabbinical authorities were suspicious of
the new movement, and followed its progress with considerable
alarm. They were puzzled and frightened by the movement's
unorthodox approach to a number of traditional Jewish issues. In
addition, the Besht challenged the arrogant attitude of some
rabbis and Torah experts, who tended to treat the simple,
uninformed Jewish masses with disdain and ridicule. At that time
the Jews, dispersed throughout the vastn