A Serendipitous Tramway Encounter

It was during the time that the Rebbe Rayatz was in prison; the summer of 5687/1927. These were dark days for the Jews of the Soviet Union. The evil communist empire did all it could to eradicate Judaism. With an iron fist, they stamped out any attempt to regenerate Jewish life in the country. Through a process that was ongoing, hundreds of thousands of Jews were forced to abandon their traditions. Their children were born, raised and educated like gentiles.

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I’ve Never Seen Such a Picture!

This drawing of the Frierdiker Rebbe was sent by a Chassid to the Rebbe in the summer of 5751 (1991). In his letter, he wrote that he assumes that this picture is from around the year 5680.

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A Midnight Drama on the Streets of Leningrad

The first hours after the Frierdiker Rebbe’s arrest in the hands of the GPU thugs, 92 years ago.

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A “Staff Meeting“ with the Rebbe

Part 2 of the Rebbe Rayatz’s efforts to save America with Shabbos

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A TREATMENT REGIMEN FOR THE GALUS JEW

After the passing of the Rebbe Rashab in Rostov, and the continuous persecution by the communist regime, the Frierdike Rebbe opened a branch of Tomchei T’mimim in Poland.

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THE WHITE HOUSE HELPS GET THE REBBE RAYATZ OUT OF SOVIET RUSSIA

It is 90 years since the Rebbe Rayatz left Soviet Russia. * Historian R’ Shneur Zalman Berger uncovers the behind-the-scenes work of the president of the United States and the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in helping the Rebbe and his family. * An astonishing historic documentation, based on a variety of sources, along with a fascinating review of the fundraising efforts in the U.S. to help the Rebbe Rayatz leave Russia

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FIFTY … FIFTY-FIVE YEARS

The Ventimiglia stop, France – on the border of Italy. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn (later to be the Rebbe Rayatz) was on a long journey on behalf of his father, the Rebbe Rashab, which involved big projects on behalf of European Jewry. His schedule was packed. The following week he needed to visit Petersburg, Moscow, Smolensk, and Lubavitch in Russia, Kiev in the Ukraine, and meet with his father in the town of Menton in France.

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TZADDIK IN PRISON

The arrest – Twenty minutes after midnight, the secret agents banged on the door of the Rebbe Rayatz. That is how the saga of the arrest began

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THE WILD BOYS AND THE THIRD ARREST OF THE REBBE RAYATZ

It was a Friday, the first of Teves 5666/1905, the seventh day of Chanuka. It was market day in Lubavitch. Farmers and cattlemen from all the surrounding villages gathered in the main market to buy and sell calves and cows, horses and chickens, along with produce and general merchandise.

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THE REBBE’S CHAIR

Rabbi Rabinowitz, a rabbi in the Bronx, would sit in a corner of his shul and learn. Strangely enough, he did not sit at the head of the table. He sat on the right side. That is where R’ Michel Vishedsky found him. R’ Michel was even more surprised when he wanted to sit in the empty seat at the front of the shul and the rav stopped him, politely but firmly. “Nobody sits there,” he said.

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1928: Mivtza Taharas Ha’mishpacha

What do Slobodka, Skver, Kherson & Kopust have in common? * The Frierdiker Rebbe: “The situation of the ritual baths (Mikwoth) in Russia is very bad” * “This issue has been a burning issue” * In this week’s installment we present the Frierdiker Rebbe’s campaign to repair existing Mikvahs and build new Mikvahs across the Soviet Union.

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FIVE CHILDHOOD SNAPSHOTS

A soul descended into Lubavitch on 12 Tammuz 5640. A little boy, Yosef Yitzchok, was raised by his father while still benefiting from his grandfather’s input for his first three years. * Presented for Yud-Beis Tammuz.

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Clandestine Encounters Between The Frierdiker Rebbe and the Joint

In the summer 1929 the Frierdiker Rebbe embarked from Europe to Israel and then to the United States of America for the purpose of fundraising for the Jews in Russia * During the month of Elul 5689 and Tishrei 5690 (1929) the Frierdiker Rebbe and the Rashag met twice with representatives of the American Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) * In a series of documents and letters never published before, we present a short report on the first meeting from the point of view of the Frierdiker Rebbe, and a detailed report on the second meeting, from the point of view of the JDC officers

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