By Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper (Faculty) – “Rabbi Nehemia Halevi Ginsburg (1788-1852) was the son of a disciple of the founder of Chabad Hassidism, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (ca. 1745-1812). He married the daughter of Zalman Welkes of Dubrovno (today in Belarus), also a Chabad hassid. After Nehemia’s wife met an untimely death, the widower married Gitta Rochel, daughter of Rabbi Hayim Avraham, who was the son of the aforementioned Shneur Zalman of Liadi. Thus Nehemia was embedded in the early Chabad Hassidic community.
Nehemia’s livelihood came from a tallit-producing factory that he inherited from his first father-in-law. In addition to his successful business, Nehemia was also a man of learning, though he did not serve in an official rabbinic capacity. He never published his Torah writings, but his correspondence was published posthumously in three volumes under the title Divrei Nehemia (Vilna 1866; Vilna 1869; Warsaw 1887). These volumes show Nehemia communicating with leading authorities, in particular those associated with Chabad Hassidism.”