Shaul Shimon Deutsch (born 1966) is a rabbi and author from Brooklyn, New York. Originally associated with the Chabad Hasidic community, during the mid-1990s, Deutsch attempted to form a breakaway sect and named himself the Liozna Rebbe. The attempt did not gain popular support and remains a marginal phenomenon in the Chabad Hasidic community. Following his attempt to establish a Hasidic following, Deutsch opened and operated the Living Torah Museum in Boro Park, Brooklyn. Deutsch also runs a food charity called Oneg Shabbos.

Biography

Shaul Shimon Deutsch was ordained as a rabbi in a Lubavitch institution and married to Pe'er Deutsch. They have five children. Deutsch is the Rebbe of Anshei-Liozna, a Chasidic court that 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 Belarus (where the early Chabad movement was founded). The cause for Deutsch's break from Chabad is also attributed to a biography he wrote covering the early life of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Seventh Rebbe of Chabad. Deutsch's work, despite its lack of professional editing was viewed as groundbreaking for dispelling myths held by Chabad community members concerning the Seventh Rebbe's life. Deutsch's communal activities include:

Allegations of theft and fraud

Deutsch has been involved in several claims of impropriety regarding his dealings with historical artifacts. Allegations concern potential theft, fraud and forgery involving items purchased by Deutsch or items he put up for auction.

Books