Nissan Neminov, known familiarly as Reb

Reb

Reb is a Yiddish honorific traditionally used for Orthodox Jewish men. It is not a rabbinic title; it is the equivalent of the English "mister"...

 Nissan (1903 – 1984), was an Orthodox

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

 rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

. Specifically, he served as a Mashpia

Mashpia

Mashpia lit. "person of influence", pl. Mashpi'im is the title of a rabbi or rebbetzin who serves as a spiritual mentor in Tomchei Temimim , in a girls' seminary belonging to the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, or in a Chabad community.-Definition:Although counterparts to the mashpia exist in...

, Hasidic mentor, in the Yeshiva

Yeshiva

Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...

 of Tomchei Temimim

Tomchei Temimim

Tomchei Temimim is the central Yeshiva of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement...

 in Brunoy

Brunoy

Brunoy is a commune in the south-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Inhabitants of Brunoy are known as Brunoyens....

, near Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. He taught many thousands of students during his lifetime, and was renowned for his piety and abstinence. He was buried in the Mount of Olives

Mount of Olives

The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem with three peaks running from north to south. The highest, at-Tur, rises to 818 meters . It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes...

 in Jerusalem, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

.

Life

Neminov was born in Zhlobin

Zhlobin

Zhlobin is a city in the Homiel Voblast of Belarus, on the Dnieper river. As of 2005, the population is 75.866. The town was first mentioned in writing in 1492....

 in 1903, and noted as exceptional in his fear of sin and love of God from childhood. He studied in the Yeshivos of the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom Dov Ber Schneersohn (the Rebbe Rashab). The sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn (the Rebbe Rayatz) appointed him the Rosh Yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...

 and Mashpia in various Yeshivos in cities of Russia, and he was appointed at the head of struggles against the Soviet regime, who incarcerated him several times and tortured him for spreading Torah

Torah

Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...

 and delivering classes in Chassidus

Hasidic philosophy

Hasidic philosophy or Hasidus , alternatively transliterated as Hassidism, Chassidism, Chassidut etc. is the teachings, interpretations of Judaism, and mysticism articulated by the modern Hasidic movement...

. In 1947 he reached Paris and established a large Yeshiva in Brunoy.

Refinement of character

He would pray at great length according to the custom of Chabad prayer. In Neminov's thirties, the Rayatz testified that Neminov had reached the level of Beinoni discussed in Tanya

Tanya

The Tanya is an early work of Hasidic philosophy, by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Hasidism, first published in 1797. Its formal title is Likkutei Amarim , but is more commonly known by its opening word, Tanya, which means "it was taught in a beraita"...

, one whose every thought, speech, and action is consistent with the Code of Jewish Law. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...

 sent many of his followers to Neminov to receive guidance in their divine service.

Distinguished Colleagues

When Rabbi Yisrael Abuchatzeira (also known as the Baba Sali

Baba Sali

After this incident, the Jewish population of Tafilalt fled to the nearby city of Arfoud, and then to the city of Boudnib. In Bodniv, Rabbi Yisrael was asked to succeed his brother as rav, but he refused. He wanted to travel to Palestine to print his brother's sefarim...

) lived in France, he would spend the Hebrew month of Elul

Elul

Elul is the twelfth month of the Jewish civil year and the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a summer month of 29 days...

as Neminov’s guest.