religion shemaryahu gurary
Rabbi Shemaryahu Gurary , also known by his Hebrew initials as Rashag , ( 1898 - 1989 ) was an Orthodox rabbi belonging to the Chabad - Lubavitch Hasidic movement . His father was Rabbi Menachem Mendel Gurary . He was the older son - in - law of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn ( 1880 - 1950 ) , known as Rebbe Rayatz , the sixth Rebbe of the Chabad - Lubavitch Hasidic movement , and the brother - in - law of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson , the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe . He worked with his father - in - law in communal service in both Russia and Poland and then arrived in the U . S . in 1940 , where he continued this work until his death . Gurary had a comprehensive knowledge of Chassidic philosophy and was a devoted follower of his father - in - law Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn , and later of his brother - in - law , Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson . In ___MASK30___ , a rabbi is a teacher of Torah . This title derives from the Hebrew word ' , meaning " My Master " ( irregular plural ' ), which is the way a student would address a master of Torah . The word " master " "" literally means " great one ". Rebbe or , is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word " rabbi ", which means " master , teacher , or mentor ". Like the title " rabbi " it refers to teachers of Torah or leaders of ___MASK30___ . ___MASK30___ ( from , derived from Greek , originally from Hebrew , " Yehudah ", " Judah "; in Hebrew : , " Yahadut ", the distinctive characteristics of the Judean ethnos ) encompasses the religion , philosophy , culture and way of life of the Jewish people . ___MASK30___ is an ancient monotheistic religion , with the Torah as its foundational text ( part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible ), and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash and the Talmud . ___MASK30___ is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship that God established with the Children of Israel . With between 14 . 5 and 17 . 4 million adherents worldwide , ___MASK30___ is the tenth - largest religion in the world . The Torah (" instruction , teaching "), or in ___MASK49___ , the Pentateuch (" five books "), is the central reference of the religious Judaic tradition . It has a range of meanings . It can most specifically mean the first five books of the twenty - four books of the Tanakh , and it usually includes the rabbinic commentaries ('). The term " Torah " means instruction and offers a way of life for those who follow it ; it can mean the continued narrative from Book of Genesis to the end of the Tanakh , and it can even mean the totality of Jewish teaching , culture and practice . Common to all these meanings , Torah consists of the foundational narrative of Jewish peoplehood : their call into being by God , their trials and tribulations , and their covenant with their God , which involves following a way of life embodied in a set of moral and religious obligations and civil laws (').