Shaul Shimon Deutsch
Encyclopedia
Rabbi Shaul Shimon Deutsch, the Liozna Rebbe (born 1966), is a rabbi and author from New York City
. He wrote and self-published a biography of the Chabad-Lubavitch
er Rebbe
, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
entitled Larger than Life, which proved extremely controversial in Chabad circles.
Deutsch is now the Rebbe of Anshei-Liozna, a Chasidic court that broke away from Chabad-Lubavitch and is centered in Boro Park, Brooklyn. He has been the Liozna Rebbe since 1995. The group appointed him their Rebbe at their synagogue on 45th Street in Brooklyn
.
He took the name of the town of Liozna
in Belorussia
(where the early Chabad movement was founded) with the intent of enticing Chabad followers away from the belief that their late leader was the Messiah. Deutsch's group has been viewed negatively by Chabad-Lubavitch since the founding of Anshei-Liozna.
In 1998 he was the victim of a campaign of character assassination via the Internet. A forged Jewish Telegraphic Agency
press release claimed that he had been arrested for "embezzlement" and the "counterfeiting" of "ten-dollar bills".
He installed bulletproof glass in the windows of his home and synagogue.
Deutsch is married to Pe'er Deutsch and they have five children.
Along with many other controversial books within Haredi Judaism
his book is rare and highly sought after, with used copies retailing at around $350 as of 200, due to it being out of print since its initial publishing in 1995.
-affiliated food charity that feeds more than 1,000 poor people each week, with dozens of volunteers. The charity distributes $5.5 million of food annually.
He presented a weekly radio show on Saturday night on Talkline Communications Network, however this was stopped after the company's director received repeated threatening and obscene calls at his home. The show has since recommenced. He has also been an executive director of the Manhattan landmark electronics store J&R Music World, and still works as a consultant. He writes a weekly column for Hamodia
.
His museum called the Living Torah Museum containing 979 archaeological objects that he says are worth nearly $15 million at his home in a building adjacent to his home and synagogue in Boro Park. The Museum was featured in the journal Biblical Archaeology Review
and archaeologist Hershel Shanks
, has declared that this was "the first museum that he knew of in the United States devoted to biblical archeology" adding that Deutch "has done what no one else in the United States (perhaps in the world outside of Israel) has done. ... All the big shots, all the people with access to the most sophisticated knowledge and current excavations, have not accomplished what Rabbi Deutsch has."
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He wrote and self-published a biography of the Chabad-Lubavitch
Chabad-Lubavitch
Chabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...
er Rebbe
Rebbe
Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
, 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...
entitled Larger than Life, which proved extremely controversial in Chabad circles.
Biography
Shaul Shimon Deutsch was ordained as a rabbi by Chabad and subsequently earned a business degree. In 1988 he won first place in a national entrepreneurial competition.Deutsch is now the Rebbe of Anshei-Liozna, a Chasidic court that broke away from Chabad-Lubavitch and is centered in Boro Park, Brooklyn. He has been the Liozna Rebbe since 1995. The group appointed him their Rebbe at their synagogue on 45th Street in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
.
He took the name of the town of Liozna
Liozna
Liozna is an urban type settlement in Vitsebsk Voblast, Belarus, the capital of Liozna Raion. It is located close to the border with Russia by the Vitsebsk-Smolensk railroad branch and highway, on the Moshna River...
in Belorussia
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
(where the early Chabad movement was founded) with the intent of enticing Chabad followers away from the belief that their late leader was the Messiah. Deutsch's group has been viewed negatively by Chabad-Lubavitch since the founding of Anshei-Liozna.
In 1998 he was the victim of a campaign of character assassination via the Internet. A forged Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency is an international news agency serving Jewish community newspapers and media around the world. The JTA was founded on February 6, 1917, by Jacob Landau as the Jewish Correspondence Bureau in The Hague with the mandate of collecting and disseminating news among and...
press release claimed that he had been arrested for "embezzlement" and the "counterfeiting" of "ten-dollar bills".
He installed bulletproof glass in the windows of his home and synagogue.
Deutsch is married to Pe'er Deutsch and they have five children.
Along with many other controversial books within Haredi Judaism
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
his book is rare and highly sought after, with used copies retailing at around $350 as of 200, due to it being out of print since its initial publishing in 1995.
Activities
He runs a City HarvestCity Harvest
City Harvest may refer to:*City Harvest, a Chicago Family Harvest Church ministry*City Harvest, a New York food rescue organization*City Harvest Church, Singapore*City Harvest Community Services Association...
-affiliated food charity that feeds more than 1,000 poor people each week, with dozens of volunteers. The charity distributes $5.5 million of food annually.
He presented a weekly radio show on Saturday night on Talkline Communications Network, however this was stopped after the company's director received repeated threatening and obscene calls at his home. The show has since recommenced. He has also been an executive director of the Manhattan landmark electronics store J&R Music World, and still works as a consultant. He writes a weekly column for Hamodia
Hamodia
Hamodia is a Hebrew language daily newspaper, published in Jerusalem, Israel. A daily English language edition is also published in the United States, and weekly English-language editions in England and Israel. A weekly edition for French readers debuted in 2008. The U.S. version is the first...
.
His museum called the Living Torah Museum containing 979 archaeological objects that he says are worth nearly $15 million at his home in a building adjacent to his home and synagogue in Boro Park. The Museum was featured in the journal Biblical Archaeology Review
Biblical Archaeology Review
Biblical Archaeology Review is a publication that seeks to connect the academic study of archaeology to a broad general audience seeking to understand the world of the Bible and the Near and Middle East . Covering both the Old and New Testaments, BAR presents the latest discoveries and...
and archaeologist Hershel Shanks
Hershel Shanks
Hershel Shanks is the founder of the Biblical Archaeology Society and the editor of the Biblical Archaeology Review and has written and edited numerous works on Biblical archaeology including the Dead Sea Scrolls....
, has declared that this was "the first museum that he knew of in the United States devoted to biblical archeology" adding that Deutch "has done what no one else in the United States (perhaps in the world outside of Israel) has done. ... All the big shots, all the people with access to the most sophisticated knowledge and current excavations, have not accomplished what Rabbi Deutsch has."