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Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn

2026-10-15T17:29:45Z

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{{short description|'''Sixth Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch (1880–1950), imprisoned by the Soviet secret police in 1927, rescued from Nazi-occupied Warsaw in 1939 and founder of the movement's American base'''}}

{{Infobox person
| name = Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn
| image = [[File:Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn passport photo.jpg|250px]]
| caption = Passport photograph
| other_names = Joseph Isaac Schneersohn; the Rayatz; the Frierdiker (Previous) Rebbe
| birth_date = 21 June 1880 (12 Tammuz 5640)
| birth_place = Lubavitch (Lyubavichi), [[Russian Empire]]
| death_date = 28 January 1950 (10 Shevat 5710)
| death_place = [[770 Eastern Parkway]], Brooklyn, New York
| resting_place = Ohel, Old Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, New York
| known_for = Sixth Rebbe of [[Chabad-Lubavitch movement|Chabad-Lubavitch]], 1920–1950
| spouse = Nechama Dina Schneersohn (m. 1897)
| children = Chana Gourary; Chaya Mushka Schneerson; Sheina Horensztajn
| predecessor = [[Shalom Dovber Schneersohn]]
| successor = [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
}}

'''Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn''' (1880–1950), known by the acronym '''the Rayatz''' and to later Lubavitchers as the "Frierdiker" (Previous) Rebbe, was the sixth leader of the [[Chabad-Lubavitch movement|Chabad-Lubavitch]] Hasidic dynasty. He succeeded his father, [[Shalom Dovber Schneersohn]], in 1920. He ran a clandestine religious network in the early Soviet Union, was arrested by the OGPU in 1927 and expelled, and led the movement from Riga and then Poland until he was rescued from German-occupied Warsaw in 1939–40 with the help of the US State Department and German military intelligence. In New York he built the institutions on which his son-in-law and successor, [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], would found Chabad's global expansion.<ref name="ChabadBrief">[[Chabad.org]], [https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/425/jewish/The-Previous-Rebbe.htm Rabbi Joseph Isaac Schneersohn, the "Rebbe Rayatz" (1880-1950): A brief biography of the sixth Chabad Rebbe] ''Chabad.org'', accessed 15 October 2026.</ref>

His wartime preaching that the Holocaust was the "birth pangs" of the Messiah, and that redemption depended on immediate repentance by American Jews, made him controversial in his lifetime; according to [[Samuel C. Heilman]] and [[Menachem M. Friedman]], "In the eyes of many Jews, he was blaming the victim."<ref name="HFp36">[[Samuel C. Heilman]] and [[Menachem M. Friedman]], ''The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson'', Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010 (paperback 2012), p. 36.</ref> He died without a will, and the library he had assembled became the object of two lawsuits: a family case decided in 1987, and a case against the [[Russian Federation]] that remains unresolved.

== Early life and Tomchei Temimim ==
Schneersohn was born in Lubavitch on 12 Tammuz 5640 (1880), the only son of Shalom Dovber Schneersohn. According to the official Chabad biography, at fifteen his father made him his personal secretary, and in 1895 and 1896 he attended rabbinical conferences in Kovno and Vilna.<ref name="ChabadBrief" /> On 13 Elul 5657 (1897) he married Nechama Dina, a great-granddaughter of the [[Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (Tzemach Tzedek)|Tzemach Tzedek]].<ref name="ChabadBrief" />

During the wedding celebrations his father announced the founding of the yeshiva '''Tomchei Temimim''' and "the following year appointed his son to be its executive director".<ref name="ChabadBrief" /> Heilman and Friedman likewise describe it as "the Tomekhei Temimim yeshiva, which his father had set up and which he had appointed his only son to head".<ref name="HFp76">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 76.</ref> Its graduates later formed the cadre he sent across the Soviet Union.

Chabad sources credit him with organising a textile factory in Dubrovna employing "some 2,000 Jewish employees" (1901), sending matzot to Jewish soldiers in the Russo-Japanese War, and lobbying in Germany and Holland against pogroms. They also state that "Between the years 5662 and 5671 (1902-1911), Rabbi Schneersohn was arrested in Moscow and St Petersburg on four occasions."<ref name="ChabadBrief" />


Kaminetzky reprints a Yiddish memoir by Yitzchak Schneersohn, the government-appointed rabbi of Chernigov and a relative of the family. The memoir describes the 1910 rabbinical conference in St Petersburg called by the Russian Interior Ministry, at which Shalom Dovber led the Orthodox camp. It also records that Shalom Dovber came to Chernigov for the elections "accompanied by his son the Rayatz" (Hebrew: בליווית בנו הריי"צ) and sent him to visit the memoirist.<ref name="Kaminetzky6">Kaminetzky, ''HaRebbe ve-ha-Mossad'' (1998), ch. 6, pp. 113–121.</ref>

In 1915 the court fled the German advance from Lubavitch to Rostov-on-Don, where Shalom Dovber spent his last five years.<ref name="HFp76" />

== Succession, 1920 ==
Shalom Dovber died on 2 Nissan 5680 (1920). According to Chabad, his son "was requested by the entire Chabad world to accept the leadership of the movement".<ref name="ChabadBrief" /> Heilman and Friedman write: "When Yosef Yitzchak became the sixth Lubavitcher rebbe in 1920 at the age of forty, it was a difficult time for any religious leader." By then, they add, the movement "had become a court on the move—some might say on the run."<ref name="HFp75">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 75.</ref>

Heilman and Friedman trace his messianism to his father, who had read secularisation and Zionism as signs of the end. For the son, "the Bolshevik revolution, which had forced him into 'exile' from Russia and trapped his many Hasidim and other Jews in its godless regime, was a sign of the pangs that preceded the birth of the Messiah."<ref name="HFp143">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 143.</ref>

== Soviet Russia, 1920–1927 ==
=== The underground network ===
In 1924 he moved the court from Rostov to Leningrad. Chabad attributes the move to "libelous accusations".<ref name="ChabadBrief" /> [[Chaim Miller]] calls it a watershed: "'After Petersburg' 1924, the Chabad courts would always be found in significant cities: Riga, Otwock (near Warsaw) and, finally, New York."<ref name="Millerch9">[[Chaim Miller]], ''Turning Judaism Outward: A Biography of the Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson'', Brooklyn: Kol Menachem, 2014, ch. 9 ("Life in America, 1941–1949") (Kindle edition; no print page numbers).</ref>

Unlike most Orthodox leaders, who emigrated, he "stayed in Russia as a matter of principle, prohibiting his Hasidim from emigrating, particularly to the United States or Palestine". He sent graduates of Tomchei Temimim to the main Jewish centres, "Often they came in the role of shokhtim, ritual slaughterers", which gave them an income. In time they set up "a network of schools for the teaching of Torah and ChaBaD Hasidism".<ref name="HFp76" /> Chabad describes "a silent army of idealistic chassidim whom he deployed in a unique countrywide underground educational network".<ref name="ChabadOutline">[[Chabad.org]], [https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/6279516/jewish/The-Rebbe-Yosef-Yitzchak-A-Biographical-Outline.htm The Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak: A Biographical Outline] ''Chabad.org'', accessed 15 October 2026.</ref> Chabad also states that he founded a yeshiva in Warsaw in 1921 as a reserve centre, and one in Uzbekistan in 1927.<ref name="ChabadBrief" />

The American [[Joint Distribution Committee]] (JDC) chose him to distribute relief to Soviet Jews, since "there seemed no one better positioned to reach large numbers of Jews". In Heilman and Friedman's account, this control "made him even more powerful, but it also made him a potential target for the communist authorities", and it angered local Jewish leaders who resented the Lubavitchers' control of the money.<ref name="HFp78">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 78.</ref>

=== Emissaries and the 1929 Zemba letter ===
One of the men he sent east was R. Simcha Gorodetzky, whom he directed first to outlying Lubavitch settlements and then, in 1926, to Samarkand to work among Bukharian Jews.<ref name="ZaltzGorod">Hillel Zaltzman, ''The Jewish Underground of Samarkand: How Faith Defied Soviet Rule'', Mandel Vilar Press, 2023, Kindle pp. 159–165 of 406. Chabad-side memoir (abridged from the 2016 Chamah edition).</ref> In January 1929, after his own expulsion, the Rayatz wrote about Gorodetzky to the Gerrer scholar [[Menachem Zemba]] while fundraising for schools still operating inside the USSR. The letter is quoted at length in Zaltzman's Chabad-side memoir:<ref name="ZaltzLetter">Zaltzman, ''The Jewish Underground of Samarkand'' (2023), Kindle pp. 163–165 of 406 (section "A Letter from the Rebbe Rayatz").</ref>

<blockquote>
Who is the one who put his life in substantial danger by traveling to Bukharia; who, with the help of Hashem, founded schools in Samarkand, and for three months brought together some 800 young children studying under the tutelage of 45 teachers; who generated such enthusiasm on the parents' part that they committed to contribute to their children's tuition, and to establish a special community committee to pay for the rest; and who founded Tiferes Bachurim, where young businessmen, factory managers and laborers—eventually around 150 students—gathered to learn Torah?

R. Simcha worked tirelessly for an entire year. His work was performed entirely in secret, until, when it became known who had been directing all of this activity, the NKVD came to arrest him. Because someone had come from Tashkent requesting that R. Simcha travel back with him to found schools there, as he had in Samarkand, he left that night and was saved.

For three months the Yevsektzia worked to destroy what R. Simcha planted with the blood of his heart, with the sweat of his brow, with trembling and awful fear. Twenty teachers were deported to prison where they were tortured terribly and put on trial. About eight teachers fled and escaped, and the rest remained until, after much effort and expense, the detainees were released from their confinement, thank G-d.

R. Simcha stayed for four months in those outlying cities and labored with blood and heart setting up schools, and, thank G-d, he was successful. Until today, about eight months since he was forced to leave that region altogether—his image had been circulated amongst the regional GPU offices, along with orders that left his fate in no doubt, should he be caught—the sound of Torah can, thank G-d, still be heard ringing in Samarkand from the 400 students still there, may they live and increase. Dozens upon dozens of students in other towns are also learning, although unfortunately there is no money to support them, may Hashem have mercy.

R. Simcha did not let up from his work, Heaven forbid. He traveled to the ends of the Caucasus region, where our brethren the Mountain Jews dwell, may G-d be with them. He then journeyed to the city of Derbent, where he found some thirty young students learning under the guidance of a teacher; now, through his tremendous work efforts and with Hashem's help, 360 students learn there today. After four months of continued labor, the secret committee that he established there informs us that they are able to increase the number of those learning to 500. However, in order to pursue this, they need outside assistance; not much aid, merely 150 rubles a month. How painful it is that their meager request cannot be met. The conditions of the place require great care and R. Simcha is in much danger, so he plans to travel on to Kuba, a large city full of G-d-fearing Jews and those who know Torah.
</blockquote>


The same mission is summarised in the Rayatz's own Hebrew letter of 2 Shevat 5689, printed as ''Igrot Kodesh'' vol. 2, letter 423, and quoted by Levin in his chapter on Gorodetzky's mission:

<blockquote>
העמיר עצמו בסבנה ממש, ובא לבובארא, ובעזה״י בעיר סמרקנד יסד חדרים ובמשך בשלשה חדשים אסף וקיבץ בשמונה מאות תלמידים שי׳ קטנים אצל ארבעים וחמשה מלמדים שי׳
</blockquote>

("He put himself in real danger, and came to Bukhara, and with the help of Heaven in the city of Samarkand he founded schools, and within about three months he gathered some eight hundred young students under forty-five teachers.")<ref name="LevinUSSR423">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad b'Russia HaSovietit'' (1989), printed p. ע (70) [= PDF p. 88], quoting Igrot Kodesh vol. 2, letter תכג (423), of 2 Shevat 5689. Chabad-side Kehot history.</ref>

Levin's quotation matches the figures in the English text of the Zemba letter as given by Zaltzman (about 800 children and 45 teachers), which suggests that Zaltzman is drawing on the same letter or on a closely related fundraising letter of the same period.

=== The Yevsektsiya ===
His chief adversary was the [[Yevsektsiya]], the Jewish section of the Bolshevik party. It was led for most of its existence by Semion Dimanstein, "a former student at the Lubavitch yeshiva who had received rabbinical ordination". To the Yevsektsiya, the Rebbe's activities "were anathema".<ref name="HFp78" /> He was "denounced by the Yevsektsiya and marked by the OGPU as a 'foreign agent' running a 'counterrevolutionary network' that imperiled the Soviet state."<ref name="HFp79">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 79.</ref>

Chabad hagiography records a confrontation in which an agent pointed a gun at him and said, "This little toy has made many a man change his mind". The Rebbe replied: "That little toy can intimidate only the kind of man who has many gods-passions, and but one world-this world. Because I have only one G‑d and two worlds, I am not impressed by your little toy."<ref name="ChabadBrief" />


Chabad tradition also records protectors inside the security apparatus. Yosef Yitzchak Kaminetzky tells the story of a senior OGPU officer named Bashkov. According to this account, Bashkov was the son of one of the Rebbe's underground teachers. In 1927 he visited the Rebbe at his Moscow hotel, and while he was there, armed Yevsektsiya men from Moscow burst in to arrest the Rebbe. Bashkov produced his OGPU headquarters identity card and sent them away.<ref name="Kaminetzky">Yosef Yitzchak Kaminetzky, ''HaRebbe ve-ha-Mossad: Perakim alumim ba-historiya shel Chabad'' (The Rebbe and the Mossad: Little-known episodes in Chabad history), Kfar Chabad, 1998 (Hebrew), ch. 5, pp. 103–111.</ref>


=== Arrest, sentence and release, 1927 ===
"Near midnight of June 14, 1927," an OGPU detail "headed by two former Lubavitchers" searched his Leningrad flat and arrested him. He was taken to what Lubavitchers called "Shpalerka Prison", probably the Spalernaya prison.<ref name="HFp79" /> His secretary, Chaim Lieberman, burned papers before he too was arrested.<ref name="Millerch4">[[Chaim Miller]], ''Turning Judaism Outward'', Brooklyn: Kol Menachem, 2014, ch. 4 ("Leaving Home, 1927") (Kindle edition).</ref> Miller writes that "Lieberman's Soviet interrogation files state that no incriminatory documents were found."<ref name="Millerch4" /> As he was led away, the Rebbe blessed his infant grandson, Shalom Dovber (Barry) Gourary, "that this child grow to be the greatest of his brothers". Heilman and Friedman read this as a signal about the succession.<ref name="HFp80">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 80.</ref>

Whether he was sentenced to death is disputed:
* '''Chabad account.''' He was "sentenced to death, but the timely intervention of leading foreign statesmen saved his life".<ref name="ChabadBrief" />
* '''Miller.''' The death sentence "was abated—Rayatz himself later saw his file with the command for execution crossed out". He was then convicted under articles "no. 14 and 58 ('Acts of Sabotage against the Revolution') and no. 122 ('Teaching Religion to Minors')" and sentenced to ten years on the Solovki Islands, later commuted to three years' exile.<ref name="Millerch4" />
* '''Heilman and Friedman.''' They write that he was sentenced to death "according to Lubavitcher versions of the events" and that the condemnation was "if in fact it occurred".<ref name="HFp80" />
* '''Rapoport's reply.''' [[Chaim Rapoport]] answers: "There is only one account of the arrest, and that is the one that Rayatz himself penned (and subsequently published) in his own personal diary. See Likuttei Dibburim vol. 4, page 1218ff. There are no other 'versions' of this story."<ref name="Rap149">[[Chaim Rapoport]], ''The Afterlife of Scholarship: A Critical Review of 'The Rebbe' by Samuel Heilman and Menachem Friedman'', Oporto Press, 2011, Kindle p. 149 of 197.</ref>



* '''Levin (Kehot).''' In a Hebrew précis of the committee founded after the Rayatz's release—the material Levin prints as background to the "Vaad Magen uMachseh" for Russian Jewry—he states without qualification that a death sentence was passed and then exchanged for exile:

<blockquote>
וביולי 1927 נעצר מר שניאורסאהן, נשלח למאסר ונגזר דינו למוות. פסק־דין זה הוחלף לאח״ז, ובסופו של דבר נקנס בעונש גלות.
</blockquote>

("And in July 1927 Mr Schneersohn was arrested, sent to prison, and his sentence was decreed as death. This judgement was later exchanged, and in the end he was assessed the punishment of exile.") The same précis adds that through the intercession of various notables with the Soviet ambassador he was freed and permitted to leave Russia for Riga.<ref name="LevinUSSRDeath">[[Shalom Dovber Levin]], ''Toldot Chabad b'Russia HaSovietit'' (History of Chabad in the USSR), 1917–1950, Brooklyn: Kehot / Otzar HaChassidim, 1989 (5749), ISBN 0-8266-5331-6, printed p. קיד (214) [= PDF p. 132]; Chabad-side Kehot history, compiled from letters, documents and oral memoirs.</ref>

Levin also prints contemporary letters about the Kostroma exile that followed the commutation. A Hasidic letter of 5 Tammuz, written two days after the Rayatz was released from prison and sent into exile at Kostroma, explains the government's charges in coded Hasidic language (the "claim of Laban against Jacob") and treats the exile itself as the result of American relief money crossing the "curtain" between the worlds.<ref name="LevinUSSRKostromaFeigin">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad b'Russia HaSovietit'' (1989), printed p. קג (203) [= PDF p. 121]; letter of the new secretary R. Yechezkel Feigin to R. Israel Jacobson, 5 Tammuz, two days after the release to Kostroma exile. Chabad-side Kehot history.</ref> Another letter, written from Russia on 14 Tammuz, reports that on Tuesday or Wednesday of Erev Rosh Chodesh Tammuz he was told he had been sentenced to deportation to Kostroma; the first threat had been a harsher place of exile, later softened.<ref name="LevinUSSRKostroma14">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad b'Russia HaSovietit'' (1989), printed p. קד (204) [= PDF p. 122]; letter from Russia of 14 Tammuz, copied by R. Avraham Elia Axelrod. Chabad-side Kehot history.</ref>

After leaving the USSR the Rayatz himself summarised the episode in a letter of 8 Marcheshvan 5688 from Riga:

<blockquote>
שמונה עשר וחצי יום ישבתי במאסר, עשרה ימים בגלות קאסטראמא, וששה שבועות בגלות מאלאחאווקע
</blockquote>

("Eighteen and a half days I sat in prison, ten days in Kostroma exile, and six weeks in Malakhovka exile.")<ref name="LevinUSSRKostromaSelf">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad b'Russia HaSovietit'' (1989), printed p. קז (207) [= PDF p. 125], quoting Igrot Kodesh vol. 1, letter שלח, of 8 Marcheshvan 5688. Chabad-side Kehot history.</ref>

A campaign for his release involved:
* Ekaterina Peshkova of the Political Red Cross, the former wife of [[Maxim Gorky]]
* the JDC
* Senators [[Robert F. Wagner|Robert Wagner]] and [[William Borah]], with Borah's involvement "enlisted by American Reform rabbi Stephen Wise"<ref name="HFp80" /><ref name="HFp81">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 81.</ref>

Miller adds Rabbis Hildesheimer and [[Leo Baeck]] in Germany, Chief Rabbi [[Abraham Isaac Kook]], and Justice [[Louis Brandeis]]. He quotes Borah: "every so often I do something that assures me of votes in that 'final election' which we will all have to stand for someday."<ref name="Millerch4" />

On 3 Tammuz (3 July) he was told that he would be exiled to Kostroma on the Volga. From the train he declared: "Only our bodies were sent into exile and subjugated to alien rule; our souls were not given over to captivity!"<ref name="Millerch4" /> Chabad states that he "was informed of this decision on his birthday, Tammuz 12. The next day he was permitted to leave". The two days, '''12–13 Tammuz''', are kept as a Chabad festival of liberation.<ref name="ChabadBrief" /><ref name="ChabadPrev">[[Chabad.org]], [https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3573646/jewish/The-Previous-Rebbe.htm The Previous Rebbe – Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the "Frierdiker" Rebbe (1880-1950)] ''Chabad.org'', accessed 15 October 2026.</ref>

The length of the exile varies by source. Heilman and Friedman call it "just ten days… not exactly Siberia".<ref name="HFp81" /> Miller says he was freed "just eight days after his arrival".<ref name="Millerch4" /> [[Joseph Telushkin]] says nine.<ref name="Telushkin30">[[Joseph Telushkin]], ''Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History'', New York: HarperWave, 2014, ch. 30 ("Major Events in the Life of the Rebbe: A Timeline") (Kindle edition).</ref>

Rapoport objects that Heilman and Friedman left "one of his daughters" unnamed, although his ''Igrot Kodesh'' identifies her as Moussia (Chaya Mushka).<ref name="Rap173">Rapoport, ''The Afterlife of Scholarship'' (2011), Kindle p. 173 of 197.</ref>


=== Expulsion ===
Under continued surveillance, he negotiated his departure with the OGPU. The night after Sukkot (20 October 1927) he left for Riga. Before leaving he wrote: "I am not leaving under duress—far from it! I am doing exactly what I planned to do."<ref name="HFp81" /><ref name="HFp82">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 82.</ref> According to Chabad, he left with "the bulk of his valuable and historic library".<ref name="ChabadBrief" />

== Riga, 1927–1934 ==
Within a month he convened the ''Vaad L'Chizuk HaTorah V'Hadat B'Russia'' (Committee for Strengthening Torah and Religion in Russia), on 17–18 November 1927, to keep JDC money flowing to Jews under Soviet rule. Heilman and Friedman note that "Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak would not see most of his Hasidim in the USSR again, as many of them perished either in the Stalinist terror or in the brutal murders of the Nazi firestorm."<ref name="HFp82" /> He founded ''Mahane Israel'', a social-service arm "modeled on similar Latvian organizations", and recruited Chaim Hodakov. In this period the movement "shifted its orientation from the strictly parochial to something more expansive".<ref name="HFp83">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 83.</ref>

=== 1929 journey ===
In 1929 he visited Palestine and the United States. In the US, Chabad says, he was received by President [[Herbert Hoover]].<ref name="ChabadBrief" />

=== Marriages of his daughters ===
His daughter Chaya Mushka married [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] in Warsaw in November 1928.<ref name="HFp95">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), pp. 95–98.</ref> Chana had married Shmaryahu Gourary earlier.

=== Historiography and the Kherson forgeries ===
In this period he also took up the "Kherson ''genizah''", a cache of letters attributed to the [[Baal Shem Tov]] and his circle. Tests showed the paper "could not have been produced before 1846". Ada Rapoport-Albert writes that the results "were sent to the new Admor, R. Joseph Isaac Schneersohn, and he responded in December 1929 by advancing the explanation that the extant letters were only copies of the originals, endorsing their ultimate authenticity."<ref name="RapAlbert">Ada Rapoport-Albert, "Hagiography with Footnotes: Edifying Tales and the Writing of History in Hasidism", ''History and Theory'' 27, Beiheft 27 (December 1988), pp. 119–159, at p. 138. doi:10.2307/2505000.</ref> [[Rachel Elior]] concludes that his history of early Hasidism "does not stand up to critical examination; it is but a revision of the past in the service of contemporary needs."<ref name="EliorMO">[[Rachel Elior]], ''The Mystical Origins of Hasidism'', trans. Shalom Carmy, Oxford: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2006, p. 24.</ref>

== Poland: Warsaw and Otwock, 1934–1939 ==
Chabad states that he moved to Warsaw in 1934 and, "Two years later", to Otwock, where the central yeshiva "attracted many hundreds of scholars".<ref name="ChabadBrief" /> Heilman and Friedman date the court's relocation to Otwock to 1935.<ref name="HFp120">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 120.</ref> In Otwock he held the library and manuscripts that became central to the later lawsuits. On 19 Kislev 5699 (12 December 1938) he told followers, "We need to talk about the Messiah."<ref name="HFp143" />

== Rescue from Warsaw, 1939–1940 ==
=== Hiding in Warsaw ===
He fled Otwock for Warsaw on 5 September 1939 and hid at the homes of followers, including Zalman Shmotkin and, later, 29 Bonifraterska Street.<ref name="HFp131">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 131.</ref>

=== The American campaign ===
American Lubavitchers led by Israel Jacobson hired the Washington lawyer Max Rhoade. Rhoade called the Rebbe "a sort of Pope" of the Jews and, in one message, compared him to St Francis of Assisi.<ref name="HFp131" /> Senator Wagner wired Secretary of State [[Cordell Hull]], and the State Department official Robert Pell turned to the German official [[Helmuth Wohlthat]], with whom he had dealt after the [[Évian Conference]].<ref name="Tablet2019">"The Nazi Who Saved the Lubavitcher Rebbe", [https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/nazi-saved-lubavitcher-rebbe ''Tablet''], 15 July 2019.</ref><ref name="Evian">[https://evian1938.de/en/fates-of-refugees/rabbi-schneersohns-rescue/ Rabbi Schneersohn's Rescue] ''Evian 1938'' exhibition website, accessed 15 October 2026.</ref>

=== The Abwehr operation ===
Bryan Mark Rigg's ''Rescued from the Reich'' (Yale University Press, 2004) is the standard account.
* '''The chain of command.''' According to a review in the ''Journal of American History'', Hull "initiated State Department contacts with a sympathetic Nazi official, Helmut Wohlthat. Adm. Wilhelm Canaris, the anti-Hitler military secret service chief, then selected Ernst Bloch and two other Mischlinge officers secretly to transport the rebbe to Riga".<ref name="JAH">Review of Bryan Mark Rigg, ''Rescued from the Reich'', ''Journal of American History'' 92:4 (March 2006), p. 1491. doi:10.2307/4486001.</ref>
* '''American motives.''' Heilman and Friedman attribute to Rigg the judgement that "American officials' ignorance of the social topography of American Judaism, when combined with the political pressure exerted by well-placed politicians, may have persuaded them that the rescue of the Rebbe, described as an important spiritual leader, could yield good publicity at a minimum risk."<ref name="HFp131" /> In the book the passage appears in Paula E. Hyman's foreword. She adds that "Without pressure from the U.S. State Department, the rescue of the Lubavitcher Rebbe would not have occurred. Yet this same State Department had demonstrated no interest in saving Jews from Nazi persecution before the outbreak of war."<ref name="RiggFwd">Paula E. Hyman, foreword to Bryan Mark Rigg, ''Rescued from the Reich: How One of Hitler's Soldiers Saved the Lubavitcher Rebbe'', foreword by Paula E. Hyman, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004, pp. xiv–xv.</ref> Rhoade told Pell that the German officials "would not wish to deprive the Rabbi, who is a sort of Pope, of his immediate disciples."<ref name="Riggp121">Rigg, ''Rescued from the Reich'' (2004), p. 121.</ref>
* '''German motives.''' The German historian [[Winfried Meyer]] (''Unternehmen Sieben'', 1993) reconstructed the Abwehr side. Meyer is quoted as saying: "The only force who would be able to do anything was military intelligence since Warsaw was occupied by the German military and not by a civil administration". He argues that Göring and Canaris "were glad to do the American government a favor by rescuing Rabbi Schneersohn", hoping to keep the war from escalating.<ref name="Tablet2019" /><ref name="Meyer">Winfried Meyer, ''Unternehmen Sieben. Eine Rettungsaktion für vom Holocaust Bedrohte aus dem Amt Ausland/Abwehr im Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'', Frankfurt am Main: Hain, 1993, ISBN 3-445-08571-4.</ref>
* '''Bloch.''' Major Ernst Bloch, who was half-Jewish, located the Rebbe in December 1939. The party travelled by train via Berlin, where they spent the night of 15 December at the Jewish community offices, and reached Riga on 17 December.<ref name="HFp132">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), pp. 132–133.</ref>


=== Arrival in New York ===
On 6 March 1940 the party flew from Riga to Stockholm and sailed from Göteborg on the ''Drottningholm''. They reached New York on 18 March, and the Rebbe disembarked the next morning.<ref name="HFp134">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 134.</ref> His youngest daughter, Sheina, and her husband, Mendel Horensztajn, could not obtain US visas as Polish citizens, and they perished. Chabad sources say they died at Treblinka; a niece's testimony suggests Otwock.<ref name="HFp134" /> Under [[Breckinridge Long]], the State Department was slow to admit the rest of the family. The Schneersons reached New York only in June 1941.<ref name="HFp136">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), pp. 135–136.</ref>

== America, 1940–1950 ==
=== Institutions ===
In September 1940 he moved his headquarters to 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn.<ref name="HFp134" /> He founded or refounded:
* Tomchei Temimim in the United States
* Machne Israel
* Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch
* the Beth Rivkah schools
* the Kehot Publication Society
* the monthly ''HaKriah VeHaKedushah''

Shortly before his death he also laid the groundwork for schools in North Africa, Israel (Kfar Chabad) and Australia.<ref name="ChabadBrief" />

=== The messianic campaign: ''L'alter li'teshuva, l'alter li'geula'' ===
His slogan in America was ''l'alter li'teshuva, l'alter li'geula'', "repentance immediately, redemption immediately". Followers posted it as stickers around the neighbourhood, but it "was a message whose significance at the time was not always clear to everyone."<ref name="HFp35">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 35.</ref> On arrival he declared: "Jews, we must repent and save our children and ourselves from the danger."<ref name="HFp35" />

Miller, writing from within the movement, presents the slogan as a response to three crises: the "four and a half million Jews trapped in his native Russia", the Jews of Poland, and the "close to five million Jews who resided peacefully—but quite irreligiously" in the United States. He describes "a series of 'urgent appeals' published in newspapers during the early 1940s". Miller adds that his son-in-law signed letters "with blessings for le-alter le-teshuvah, le-alter le-geulah".<ref name="Millerch9" />

=== Wartime theology ===
Heilman and Friedman reconstruct his theology from ''HaKriah VeHaKedushah'' and the work of Gershon Greenberg.
* '''The Holocaust as birth pangs.''' The suffering in Europe was "the birth pangs of the Messiah, the suffering that precedes redemption."<ref name="HFp143" />
* '''American Jews as the cause.''' "as the body of Jewry was being burned in Europe, in the new world the Jewish soul was being destroyed by the fire of American Jewish heresy."<ref name="HFp144">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 144.</ref> In August 1941 he wrote that American Jews' "coldness and indifference . . . towards Torah and religion" were no less destructive than the fire threatening "to annihilate more than two-thirds of the Jewish people."<ref name="HFp36" />
* '''A "day of fire".''' In June 1941 he warned that if they did not repent, all "non-pious Jews would be killed," on "a day of fire [a brenenden tog]."<ref name="HFp146">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 146.</ref>
* '''Mahane Israel.''' He founded it on 20 October 1940. It "thought of itself as a religious safety zone protected from the Hurban [destruction], a Biblical 'Goshen'".<ref name="HFp145">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 145.</ref>

Rigg, writing as a historian of the rescue, is blunter. In his reading the Rebbe "believed the Holocaust was God's punishment on the Jews for abandoning their faith. Only renewed obedience to God and belief in the Prophets would end the punishment—continued disobedience and disbelief were 'perverse Jewish Nazism.'" Rigg argues that, in consequence, "Political action to end the Holocaust or save lives was futile as long as Jews failed to follow the commandments."<ref name="Riggp171">Rigg, ''Rescued from the Reich'' (2004), p. 171.</ref> A Lubavitch appeal of the period that Rigg reproduces urged: "HAVE COMPASSION UPON YOURSELVES, UPON YOUR SONS AND DA UGHTERS, SO that you be not destroyed in the birth pangs of the coming Messiah."<ref name="Riggp179">Rigg, ''Rescued from the Reich'' (2004), p. 179.</ref>


He also implicitly rebuked other rabbis, inviting Jews to "imagine what would have happened if a few hundred rabbis . . . had appeared before the community and announced that the day of redemption is coming soon".<ref name="HFp36" />

=== Reception ===
Heilman and Friedman judge: "This was not a message designed to make friends and influence people in America—or anywhere, for that matter." In their view, his messianism "created conditions that led to the decline of his influence in America".<ref name="HFp146" /><ref name="HFp36" /> His successor recast the doctrine: "His was not a messianism of pain and catastrophe. His was a messianism of promise."<ref name="HFp146" /> See [[Chabad messianism]].


== The library ==
=== Assembling and saving the collection ===
Much of the family library "had been confiscated in 1924 by the Soviets". He could not meet the Soviets' price to buy it back, so in 1925 he bought the library of Shmuel Weiner of the Asiatic Museum in Leningrad.<ref name="HFp216">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 216.</ref> In November 1939, to get the books out of Poland by diplomatic pouch, he wrote that he had "no space for the books which Agudas [Chasidei] ChaBaD loaned me for study. I would be pleased if Agudas ChaBaD were to take these books back." About ninety boxes reached the United States in 1941.<ref name="HFp216" /><ref name="HFp217">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 217.</ref>

Nazi forces seized other manuscripts in Otwock. He later wrote to Alexander Marx of the Jewish Theological Seminary that "the evildoers confiscated several boxes full of aged manuscripts and valuable books which had been kept in my library in Otwock".<ref name="Telushkin27">Telushkin, ''Rebbe'' (2014), ch. 27 ("The Courtroom Battle That Tore Apart a Family").</ref>

=== ''Agudas Chasidei Chabad v. Gourary'' (1985–1987) ===
After his death, his secretary Lieberman "did not give the new Rebbe free access to the ChaBaD library".<ref name="HFp53">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 53.</ref> In 1985 his grandson Barry Gourary removed some 500 books and sold some of them. Barry and his mother claimed the library as family inheritance.<ref name="HFp217" /> The successor told followers that "the war [conflict] is not only over the seforim [books], but rather oif dem benkel—'over the seat'".<ref name="HFp55">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 55.</ref>

Judge Charles P. Sifton found for Agudas Chasidei Chabad on 6 January 1987. He held that the library "was never held by the Rebbe as personal property for his personal benefit … It was held as personal property for the community's benefit and for charitable uses".<ref name="Sifton">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Gourary'', [https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/650/1463/1663054/ 650 F. Supp. 1463] (E.D.N.Y. 1987), at 1475–1476.</ref> The Second Circuit affirmed, finding "a settlor's unequivocal intent to convey the library … to appellee as trustee for charitable purposes".<ref name="CA2">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Gourary'', [https://openjurist.org/833/f2d/431/agudas-chasidei-chabad-of-united-states-v-gourary 833 F.2d 431] (2d Cir. 1987).</ref> Chabad celebrates the date, 5 Tevet, as ''Didan Notzach'' ("our side won").<ref name="HFp55" />

=== The Russian "Schneerson library" dispute ===
The collection left behind is in two parts:
* '''The Library.''' Some 12,000 books and manuscripts "seized during the Bolshevik Revolution and Russian Civil War between 1917 and 1925", held by the Russian State Library.
* '''The Archive.''' Some "25,000 pages of handwritten teachings and other writings of the Rebbes" seized by Germany in Poland and taken by the Red Army as "trophy documents". It is held by the Russian State Military Archive.<ref name="Lamberth2010">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', 729 F. Supp. 2d 141 (D.D.C. 2010).</ref>

Judge [[Royce Lamberth]] entered a default judgment in 2010 ordering their return. Russia responded that it would "refuse to loan cultural artifacts and art to institutions in the United States".<ref name="Lamberth2011">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', 798 F. Supp. 2d 260 (D.D.C. 2011).</ref> In January 2013 the court imposed "a fine payable to the plaintiff in the amount of $50,000 per day".<ref name="Lamberth2013">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', Civil No. 05-1548 (RCL), Order of 16 January 2013 (ECF No. 115); opinion reported at 915 F. Supp. 2d 148 (D.D.C. 2013).</ref> See [[Schneerson library]] and [[Russia]].


== Death and succession, 1950 ==
In his last years he had multiple sclerosis and had suffered a stroke. Rigg records that his "multiple sclerosis and strokes prevented him from walking on his own".<ref name="Riggp178">Rigg, ''Rescued from the Reich'' (2004), p. 178.</ref> He was also "overweight and a heavy smoker". He died of a heart attack at 770 on the Sabbath morning of 28 January 1950 (10 Shevat 5710); the doctor pronounced him dead at 8:07 a.m.<ref name="HFp30">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 30.</ref> Some 3,000 people attended the funeral.<ref name="HFp35" />

He "had died intestate". He left neither a will for his property, "including his beloved and huge library", nor a "'moral' will that indicated who should lead".<ref name="HFp33">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 33.</ref> Rumours of a lost will naming Barry were "unsubstantiated".<ref name="HFp33" />

=== The two sons-in-law ===
* '''Shmaryahu Gourary.''' The elder son-in-law had been his chief aide, and Shalom Dovber had reportedly chosen him for the family.<ref name="HFp32">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 32.</ref> He later accepted his brother-in-law's authority and testified for him in the library trial.<ref name="HFp53" />
* '''Barry Gourary.''' Barry did not want the role. He said: "I decided that was not the kind of life I wanted to lead."<ref name="HFp34">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 34.</ref>
* '''Menachem Mendel Schneerson.''' The younger son-in-law formally accepted the leadership on the first anniversary, 10 Shevat 1951.<ref name="HFp46">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 46.</ref>

The biographers disagree about how close the Rayatz and Schneerson were. Heilman and Friedman stress Schneerson's distance from the court in the 1920s and 1930s. Rapoport counters that "Rayatz sent the bulk of his talks and discourses to be edited by the Rebbe prior to their publication".<ref name="Rap33">Rapoport, ''The Afterlife of Scholarship'' (2011), Kindle p. 33 of 197.</ref>

=== Legacy ===
His successor presented himself as the continuation of his father-in-law: "The Previous Rebbe would continue to lead them."<ref name="HFp62">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 62.</ref> The Rayatz's ohel (tomb) in Queens, where Schneerson was later buried beside him, became a pilgrimage site. In the official history, by contrast, "no mention is made of Chana Gourary, her son Barry, or Chaim Lieberman".<ref name="HFp54">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 54.</ref>

== Works ==
* ''Likkutei Dibburim'' (talks; includes his own account of the 1927 arrest, vol. 4, pp. 1218ff.)<ref name="Rap149" />
* ''Sefer HaZichronot'' (memoirs; English ''Memoirs'', Kehot)
* ''Igrot Kodesh'' (collected letters)
* ''Sefer HaMaamarim'' (discourses)


== See also ==
* [[Chabad-Lubavitch movement]]
* [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
* [[Shalom Dovber Schneersohn]]
* [[Chabad messianism]]
* [[Agudas Chasidei Chabad]]
* [[770 Eastern Parkway]]
* [[Schneerson library]]
* [[Yevsektsiya]]
* [[Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia]]
* [[History of Chabad in Tsarist Russia – Selected Chapters, 1770–1920]]

== External links ==
* [https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3573646/jewish/The-Previous-Rebbe.htm The Previous Rebbe] – Chabad.org

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Chabad-Lubavitch|Schneersohn, Yosef Yitzchak]]
[[Category:Chabad|Schneersohn, Yosef Yitzchak]]
[[Category:Controversial rabbis|Schneersohn, Yosef Yitzchak]]

Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn

2026-10-15T17:29:28Z

D-Backup:

{{Chabad sidebar}}
{{short description|'''Sixth Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch (1880–1950), imprisoned by the Soviet secret police in 1927, rescued from Nazi-occupied Warsaw in 1939 and founder of the movement's American base'''}}

{{Infobox person
| name = Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn
| image = [[File:Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn passport photo.jpg||250px]]
| caption = Passport photograph
| other_names = Joseph Isaac Schneersohn; the Rayatz; the Frierdiker (Previous) Rebbe
| birth_date = 21 June 1880 (12 Tammuz 5640)
| birth_place = Lubavitch (Lyubavichi), [[Russian Empire]]
| death_date = 28 January 1950 (10 Shevat 5710)
| death_place = [[770 Eastern Parkway]], Brooklyn, New York
| resting_place = Ohel, Old Montefiore Cemetery, Queens, New York
| known_for = Sixth Rebbe of [[Chabad-Lubavitch movement|Chabad-Lubavitch]], 1920–1950
| spouse = Nechama Dina Schneersohn (m. 1897)
| children = Chana Gourary; Chaya Mushka Schneerson; Sheina Horensztajn
| predecessor = [[Shalom Dovber Schneersohn]]
| successor = [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
}}

'''Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn''' (1880–1950), known by the acronym '''the Rayatz''' and to later Lubavitchers as the "Frierdiker" (Previous) Rebbe, was the sixth leader of the [[Chabad-Lubavitch movement|Chabad-Lubavitch]] Hasidic dynasty. He succeeded his father, [[Shalom Dovber Schneersohn]], in 1920. He ran a clandestine religious network in the early Soviet Union, was arrested by the OGPU in 1927 and expelled, and led the movement from Riga and then Poland until he was rescued from German-occupied Warsaw in 1939–40 with the help of the US State Department and German military intelligence. In New York he built the institutions on which his son-in-law and successor, [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], would found Chabad's global expansion.<ref name="ChabadBrief">[[Chabad.org]], [https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/425/jewish/The-Previous-Rebbe.htm Rabbi Joseph Isaac Schneersohn, the "Rebbe Rayatz" (1880-1950): A brief biography of the sixth Chabad Rebbe] ''Chabad.org'', accessed 15 October 2026.</ref>

His wartime preaching that the Holocaust was the "birth pangs" of the Messiah, and that redemption depended on immediate repentance by American Jews, made him controversial in his lifetime; according to [[Samuel C. Heilman]] and [[Menachem M. Friedman]], "In the eyes of many Jews, he was blaming the victim."<ref name="HFp36">[[Samuel C. Heilman]] and [[Menachem M. Friedman]], ''The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson'', Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010 (paperback 2012), p. 36.</ref> He died without a will, and the library he had assembled became the object of two lawsuits: a family case decided in 1987, and a case against the [[Russian Federation]] that remains unresolved.

== Early life and Tomchei Temimim ==
Schneersohn was born in Lubavitch on 12 Tammuz 5640 (1880), the only son of Shalom Dovber Schneersohn. According to the official Chabad biography, at fifteen his father made him his personal secretary, and in 1895 and 1896 he attended rabbinical conferences in Kovno and Vilna.<ref name="ChabadBrief" /> On 13 Elul 5657 (1897) he married Nechama Dina, a great-granddaughter of the [[Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (Tzemach Tzedek)|Tzemach Tzedek]].<ref name="ChabadBrief" />

During the wedding celebrations his father announced the founding of the yeshiva '''Tomchei Temimim''' and "the following year appointed his son to be its executive director".<ref name="ChabadBrief" /> Heilman and Friedman likewise describe it as "the Tomekhei Temimim yeshiva, which his father had set up and which he had appointed his only son to head".<ref name="HFp76">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 76.</ref> Its graduates later formed the cadre he sent across the Soviet Union.

Chabad sources credit him with organising a textile factory in Dubrovna employing "some 2,000 Jewish employees" (1901), sending matzot to Jewish soldiers in the Russo-Japanese War, and lobbying in Germany and Holland against pogroms. They also state that "Between the years 5662 and 5671 (1902-1911), Rabbi Schneersohn was arrested in Moscow and St Petersburg on four occasions."<ref name="ChabadBrief" />


Kaminetzky reprints a Yiddish memoir by Yitzchak Schneersohn, the government-appointed rabbi of Chernigov and a relative of the family. The memoir describes the 1910 rabbinical conference in St Petersburg called by the Russian Interior Ministry, at which Shalom Dovber led the Orthodox camp. It also records that Shalom Dovber came to Chernigov for the elections "accompanied by his son the Rayatz" (Hebrew: בליווית בנו הריי"צ) and sent him to visit the memoirist.<ref name="Kaminetzky6">Kaminetzky, ''HaRebbe ve-ha-Mossad'' (1998), ch. 6, pp. 113–121.</ref>

In 1915 the court fled the German advance from Lubavitch to Rostov-on-Don, where Shalom Dovber spent his last five years.<ref name="HFp76" />

== Succession, 1920 ==
Shalom Dovber died on 2 Nissan 5680 (1920). According to Chabad, his son "was requested by the entire Chabad world to accept the leadership of the movement".<ref name="ChabadBrief" /> Heilman and Friedman write: "When Yosef Yitzchak became the sixth Lubavitcher rebbe in 1920 at the age of forty, it was a difficult time for any religious leader." By then, they add, the movement "had become a court on the move—some might say on the run."<ref name="HFp75">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 75.</ref>

Heilman and Friedman trace his messianism to his father, who had read secularisation and Zionism as signs of the end. For the son, "the Bolshevik revolution, which had forced him into 'exile' from Russia and trapped his many Hasidim and other Jews in its godless regime, was a sign of the pangs that preceded the birth of the Messiah."<ref name="HFp143">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 143.</ref>

== Soviet Russia, 1920–1927 ==
=== The underground network ===
In 1924 he moved the court from Rostov to Leningrad. Chabad attributes the move to "libelous accusations".<ref name="ChabadBrief" /> [[Chaim Miller]] calls it a watershed: "'After Petersburg' 1924, the Chabad courts would always be found in significant cities: Riga, Otwock (near Warsaw) and, finally, New York."<ref name="Millerch9">[[Chaim Miller]], ''Turning Judaism Outward: A Biography of the Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson'', Brooklyn: Kol Menachem, 2014, ch. 9 ("Life in America, 1941–1949") (Kindle edition; no print page numbers).</ref>

Unlike most Orthodox leaders, who emigrated, he "stayed in Russia as a matter of principle, prohibiting his Hasidim from emigrating, particularly to the United States or Palestine". He sent graduates of Tomchei Temimim to the main Jewish centres, "Often they came in the role of shokhtim, ritual slaughterers", which gave them an income. In time they set up "a network of schools for the teaching of Torah and ChaBaD Hasidism".<ref name="HFp76" /> Chabad describes "a silent army of idealistic chassidim whom he deployed in a unique countrywide underground educational network".<ref name="ChabadOutline">[[Chabad.org]], [https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/6279516/jewish/The-Rebbe-Yosef-Yitzchak-A-Biographical-Outline.htm The Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak: A Biographical Outline] ''Chabad.org'', accessed 15 October 2026.</ref> Chabad also states that he founded a yeshiva in Warsaw in 1921 as a reserve centre, and one in Uzbekistan in 1927.<ref name="ChabadBrief" />

The American [[Joint Distribution Committee]] (JDC) chose him to distribute relief to Soviet Jews, since "there seemed no one better positioned to reach large numbers of Jews". In Heilman and Friedman's account, this control "made him even more powerful, but it also made him a potential target for the communist authorities", and it angered local Jewish leaders who resented the Lubavitchers' control of the money.<ref name="HFp78">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 78.</ref>

=== Emissaries and the 1929 Zemba letter ===
One of the men he sent east was R. Simcha Gorodetzky, whom he directed first to outlying Lubavitch settlements and then, in 1926, to Samarkand to work among Bukharian Jews.<ref name="ZaltzGorod">Hillel Zaltzman, ''The Jewish Underground of Samarkand: How Faith Defied Soviet Rule'', Mandel Vilar Press, 2023, Kindle pp. 159–165 of 406. Chabad-side memoir (abridged from the 2016 Chamah edition).</ref> In January 1929, after his own expulsion, the Rayatz wrote about Gorodetzky to the Gerrer scholar [[Menachem Zemba]] while fundraising for schools still operating inside the USSR. The letter is quoted at length in Zaltzman's Chabad-side memoir:<ref name="ZaltzLetter">Zaltzman, ''The Jewish Underground of Samarkand'' (2023), Kindle pp. 163–165 of 406 (section "A Letter from the Rebbe Rayatz").</ref>

<blockquote>
Who is the one who put his life in substantial danger by traveling to Bukharia; who, with the help of Hashem, founded schools in Samarkand, and for three months brought together some 800 young children studying under the tutelage of 45 teachers; who generated such enthusiasm on the parents' part that they committed to contribute to their children's tuition, and to establish a special community committee to pay for the rest; and who founded Tiferes Bachurim, where young businessmen, factory managers and laborers—eventually around 150 students—gathered to learn Torah?

R. Simcha worked tirelessly for an entire year. His work was performed entirely in secret, until, when it became known who had been directing all of this activity, the NKVD came to arrest him. Because someone had come from Tashkent requesting that R. Simcha travel back with him to found schools there, as he had in Samarkand, he left that night and was saved.

For three months the Yevsektzia worked to destroy what R. Simcha planted with the blood of his heart, with the sweat of his brow, with trembling and awful fear. Twenty teachers were deported to prison where they were tortured terribly and put on trial. About eight teachers fled and escaped, and the rest remained until, after much effort and expense, the detainees were released from their confinement, thank G-d.

R. Simcha stayed for four months in those outlying cities and labored with blood and heart setting up schools, and, thank G-d, he was successful. Until today, about eight months since he was forced to leave that region altogether—his image had been circulated amongst the regional GPU offices, along with orders that left his fate in no doubt, should he be caught—the sound of Torah can, thank G-d, still be heard ringing in Samarkand from the 400 students still there, may they live and increase. Dozens upon dozens of students in other towns are also learning, although unfortunately there is no money to support them, may Hashem have mercy.

R. Simcha did not let up from his work, Heaven forbid. He traveled to the ends of the Caucasus region, where our brethren the Mountain Jews dwell, may G-d be with them. He then journeyed to the city of Derbent, where he found some thirty young students learning under the guidance of a teacher; now, through his tremendous work efforts and with Hashem's help, 360 students learn there today. After four months of continued labor, the secret committee that he established there informs us that they are able to increase the number of those learning to 500. However, in order to pursue this, they need outside assistance; not much aid, merely 150 rubles a month. How painful it is that their meager request cannot be met. The conditions of the place require great care and R. Simcha is in much danger, so he plans to travel on to Kuba, a large city full of G-d-fearing Jews and those who know Torah.
</blockquote>


The same mission is summarised in the Rayatz's own Hebrew letter of 2 Shevat 5689, printed as ''Igrot Kodesh'' vol. 2, letter 423, and quoted by Levin in his chapter on Gorodetzky's mission:

<blockquote>
העמיר עצמו בסבנה ממש, ובא לבובארא, ובעזה״י בעיר סמרקנד יסד חדרים ובמשך בשלשה חדשים אסף וקיבץ בשמונה מאות תלמידים שי׳ קטנים אצל ארבעים וחמשה מלמדים שי׳
</blockquote>

("He put himself in real danger, and came to Bukhara, and with the help of Heaven in the city of Samarkand he founded schools, and within about three months he gathered some eight hundred young students under forty-five teachers.")<ref name="LevinUSSR423">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad b'Russia HaSovietit'' (1989), printed p. ע (70) [= PDF p. 88], quoting Igrot Kodesh vol. 2, letter תכג (423), of 2 Shevat 5689. Chabad-side Kehot history.</ref>

Levin's quotation matches the figures in the English text of the Zemba letter as given by Zaltzman (about 800 children and 45 teachers), which suggests that Zaltzman is drawing on the same letter or on a closely related fundraising letter of the same period.

=== The Yevsektsiya ===
His chief adversary was the [[Yevsektsiya]], the Jewish section of the Bolshevik party. It was led for most of its existence by Semion Dimanstein, "a former student at the Lubavitch yeshiva who had received rabbinical ordination". To the Yevsektsiya, the Rebbe's activities "were anathema".<ref name="HFp78" /> He was "denounced by the Yevsektsiya and marked by the OGPU as a 'foreign agent' running a 'counterrevolutionary network' that imperiled the Soviet state."<ref name="HFp79">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 79.</ref>

Chabad hagiography records a confrontation in which an agent pointed a gun at him and said, "This little toy has made many a man change his mind". The Rebbe replied: "That little toy can intimidate only the kind of man who has many gods-passions, and but one world-this world. Because I have only one G‑d and two worlds, I am not impressed by your little toy."<ref name="ChabadBrief" />


Chabad tradition also records protectors inside the security apparatus. Yosef Yitzchak Kaminetzky tells the story of a senior OGPU officer named Bashkov. According to this account, Bashkov was the son of one of the Rebbe's underground teachers. In 1927 he visited the Rebbe at his Moscow hotel, and while he was there, armed Yevsektsiya men from Moscow burst in to arrest the Rebbe. Bashkov produced his OGPU headquarters identity card and sent them away.<ref name="Kaminetzky">Yosef Yitzchak Kaminetzky, ''HaRebbe ve-ha-Mossad: Perakim alumim ba-historiya shel Chabad'' (The Rebbe and the Mossad: Little-known episodes in Chabad history), Kfar Chabad, 1998 (Hebrew), ch. 5, pp. 103–111.</ref>


=== Arrest, sentence and release, 1927 ===
"Near midnight of June 14, 1927," an OGPU detail "headed by two former Lubavitchers" searched his Leningrad flat and arrested him. He was taken to what Lubavitchers called "Shpalerka Prison", probably the Spalernaya prison.<ref name="HFp79" /> His secretary, Chaim Lieberman, burned papers before he too was arrested.<ref name="Millerch4">[[Chaim Miller]], ''Turning Judaism Outward'', Brooklyn: Kol Menachem, 2014, ch. 4 ("Leaving Home, 1927") (Kindle edition).</ref> Miller writes that "Lieberman's Soviet interrogation files state that no incriminatory documents were found."<ref name="Millerch4" /> As he was led away, the Rebbe blessed his infant grandson, Shalom Dovber (Barry) Gourary, "that this child grow to be the greatest of his brothers". Heilman and Friedman read this as a signal about the succession.<ref name="HFp80">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 80.</ref>

Whether he was sentenced to death is disputed:
* '''Chabad account.''' He was "sentenced to death, but the timely intervention of leading foreign statesmen saved his life".<ref name="ChabadBrief" />
* '''Miller.''' The death sentence "was abated—Rayatz himself later saw his file with the command for execution crossed out". He was then convicted under articles "no. 14 and 58 ('Acts of Sabotage against the Revolution') and no. 122 ('Teaching Religion to Minors')" and sentenced to ten years on the Solovki Islands, later commuted to three years' exile.<ref name="Millerch4" />
* '''Heilman and Friedman.''' They write that he was sentenced to death "according to Lubavitcher versions of the events" and that the condemnation was "if in fact it occurred".<ref name="HFp80" />
* '''Rapoport's reply.''' [[Chaim Rapoport]] answers: "There is only one account of the arrest, and that is the one that Rayatz himself penned (and subsequently published) in his own personal diary. See Likuttei Dibburim vol. 4, page 1218ff. There are no other 'versions' of this story."<ref name="Rap149">[[Chaim Rapoport]], ''The Afterlife of Scholarship: A Critical Review of 'The Rebbe' by Samuel Heilman and Menachem Friedman'', Oporto Press, 2011, Kindle p. 149 of 197.</ref>



* '''Levin (Kehot).''' In a Hebrew précis of the committee founded after the Rayatz's release—the material Levin prints as background to the "Vaad Magen uMachseh" for Russian Jewry—he states without qualification that a death sentence was passed and then exchanged for exile:

<blockquote>
וביולי 1927 נעצר מר שניאורסאהן, נשלח למאסר ונגזר דינו למוות. פסק־דין זה הוחלף לאח״ז, ובסופו של דבר נקנס בעונש גלות.
</blockquote>

("And in July 1927 Mr Schneersohn was arrested, sent to prison, and his sentence was decreed as death. This judgement was later exchanged, and in the end he was assessed the punishment of exile.") The same précis adds that through the intercession of various notables with the Soviet ambassador he was freed and permitted to leave Russia for Riga.<ref name="LevinUSSRDeath">[[Shalom Dovber Levin]], ''Toldot Chabad b'Russia HaSovietit'' (History of Chabad in the USSR), 1917–1950, Brooklyn: Kehot / Otzar HaChassidim, 1989 (5749), ISBN 0-8266-5331-6, printed p. קיד (214) [= PDF p. 132]; Chabad-side Kehot history, compiled from letters, documents and oral memoirs.</ref>

Levin also prints contemporary letters about the Kostroma exile that followed the commutation. A Hasidic letter of 5 Tammuz, written two days after the Rayatz was released from prison and sent into exile at Kostroma, explains the government's charges in coded Hasidic language (the "claim of Laban against Jacob") and treats the exile itself as the result of American relief money crossing the "curtain" between the worlds.<ref name="LevinUSSRKostromaFeigin">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad b'Russia HaSovietit'' (1989), printed p. קג (203) [= PDF p. 121]; letter of the new secretary R. Yechezkel Feigin to R. Israel Jacobson, 5 Tammuz, two days after the release to Kostroma exile. Chabad-side Kehot history.</ref> Another letter, written from Russia on 14 Tammuz, reports that on Tuesday or Wednesday of Erev Rosh Chodesh Tammuz he was told he had been sentenced to deportation to Kostroma; the first threat had been a harsher place of exile, later softened.<ref name="LevinUSSRKostroma14">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad b'Russia HaSovietit'' (1989), printed p. קד (204) [= PDF p. 122]; letter from Russia of 14 Tammuz, copied by R. Avraham Elia Axelrod. Chabad-side Kehot history.</ref>

After leaving the USSR the Rayatz himself summarised the episode in a letter of 8 Marcheshvan 5688 from Riga:

<blockquote>
שמונה עשר וחצי יום ישבתי במאסר, עשרה ימים בגלות קאסטראמא, וששה שבועות בגלות מאלאחאווקע
</blockquote>

("Eighteen and a half days I sat in prison, ten days in Kostroma exile, and six weeks in Malakhovka exile.")<ref name="LevinUSSRKostromaSelf">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad b'Russia HaSovietit'' (1989), printed p. קז (207) [= PDF p. 125], quoting Igrot Kodesh vol. 1, letter שלח, of 8 Marcheshvan 5688. Chabad-side Kehot history.</ref>

A campaign for his release involved:
* Ekaterina Peshkova of the Political Red Cross, the former wife of [[Maxim Gorky]]
* the JDC
* Senators [[Robert F. Wagner|Robert Wagner]] and [[William Borah]], with Borah's involvement "enlisted by American Reform rabbi Stephen Wise"<ref name="HFp80" /><ref name="HFp81">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 81.</ref>

Miller adds Rabbis Hildesheimer and [[Leo Baeck]] in Germany, Chief Rabbi [[Abraham Isaac Kook]], and Justice [[Louis Brandeis]]. He quotes Borah: "every so often I do something that assures me of votes in that 'final election' which we will all have to stand for someday."<ref name="Millerch4" />

On 3 Tammuz (3 July) he was told that he would be exiled to Kostroma on the Volga. From the train he declared: "Only our bodies were sent into exile and subjugated to alien rule; our souls were not given over to captivity!"<ref name="Millerch4" /> Chabad states that he "was informed of this decision on his birthday, Tammuz 12. The next day he was permitted to leave". The two days, '''12–13 Tammuz''', are kept as a Chabad festival of liberation.<ref name="ChabadBrief" /><ref name="ChabadPrev">[[Chabad.org]], [https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3573646/jewish/The-Previous-Rebbe.htm The Previous Rebbe – Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the "Frierdiker" Rebbe (1880-1950)] ''Chabad.org'', accessed 15 October 2026.</ref>

The length of the exile varies by source. Heilman and Friedman call it "just ten days… not exactly Siberia".<ref name="HFp81" /> Miller says he was freed "just eight days after his arrival".<ref name="Millerch4" /> [[Joseph Telushkin]] says nine.<ref name="Telushkin30">[[Joseph Telushkin]], ''Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History'', New York: HarperWave, 2014, ch. 30 ("Major Events in the Life of the Rebbe: A Timeline") (Kindle edition).</ref>

Rapoport objects that Heilman and Friedman left "one of his daughters" unnamed, although his ''Igrot Kodesh'' identifies her as Moussia (Chaya Mushka).<ref name="Rap173">Rapoport, ''The Afterlife of Scholarship'' (2011), Kindle p. 173 of 197.</ref>


=== Expulsion ===
Under continued surveillance, he negotiated his departure with the OGPU. The night after Sukkot (20 October 1927) he left for Riga. Before leaving he wrote: "I am not leaving under duress—far from it! I am doing exactly what I planned to do."<ref name="HFp81" /><ref name="HFp82">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 82.</ref> According to Chabad, he left with "the bulk of his valuable and historic library".<ref name="ChabadBrief" />

== Riga, 1927–1934 ==
Within a month he convened the ''Vaad L'Chizuk HaTorah V'Hadat B'Russia'' (Committee for Strengthening Torah and Religion in Russia), on 17–18 November 1927, to keep JDC money flowing to Jews under Soviet rule. Heilman and Friedman note that "Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak would not see most of his Hasidim in the USSR again, as many of them perished either in the Stalinist terror or in the brutal murders of the Nazi firestorm."<ref name="HFp82" /> He founded ''Mahane Israel'', a social-service arm "modeled on similar Latvian organizations", and recruited Chaim Hodakov. In this period the movement "shifted its orientation from the strictly parochial to something more expansive".<ref name="HFp83">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 83.</ref>

=== 1929 journey ===
In 1929 he visited Palestine and the United States. In the US, Chabad says, he was received by President [[Herbert Hoover]].<ref name="ChabadBrief" />

=== Marriages of his daughters ===
His daughter Chaya Mushka married [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] in Warsaw in November 1928.<ref name="HFp95">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), pp. 95–98.</ref> Chana had married Shmaryahu Gourary earlier.

=== Historiography and the Kherson forgeries ===
In this period he also took up the "Kherson ''genizah''", a cache of letters attributed to the [[Baal Shem Tov]] and his circle. Tests showed the paper "could not have been produced before 1846". Ada Rapoport-Albert writes that the results "were sent to the new Admor, R. Joseph Isaac Schneersohn, and he responded in December 1929 by advancing the explanation that the extant letters were only copies of the originals, endorsing their ultimate authenticity."<ref name="RapAlbert">Ada Rapoport-Albert, "Hagiography with Footnotes: Edifying Tales and the Writing of History in Hasidism", ''History and Theory'' 27, Beiheft 27 (December 1988), pp. 119–159, at p. 138. doi:10.2307/2505000.</ref> [[Rachel Elior]] concludes that his history of early Hasidism "does not stand up to critical examination; it is but a revision of the past in the service of contemporary needs."<ref name="EliorMO">[[Rachel Elior]], ''The Mystical Origins of Hasidism'', trans. Shalom Carmy, Oxford: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2006, p. 24.</ref>

== Poland: Warsaw and Otwock, 1934–1939 ==
Chabad states that he moved to Warsaw in 1934 and, "Two years later", to Otwock, where the central yeshiva "attracted many hundreds of scholars".<ref name="ChabadBrief" /> Heilman and Friedman date the court's relocation to Otwock to 1935.<ref name="HFp120">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 120.</ref> In Otwock he held the library and manuscripts that became central to the later lawsuits. On 19 Kislev 5699 (12 December 1938) he told followers, "We need to talk about the Messiah."<ref name="HFp143" />

== Rescue from Warsaw, 1939–1940 ==
=== Hiding in Warsaw ===
He fled Otwock for Warsaw on 5 September 1939 and hid at the homes of followers, including Zalman Shmotkin and, later, 29 Bonifraterska Street.<ref name="HFp131">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 131.</ref>

=== The American campaign ===
American Lubavitchers led by Israel Jacobson hired the Washington lawyer Max Rhoade. Rhoade called the Rebbe "a sort of Pope" of the Jews and, in one message, compared him to St Francis of Assisi.<ref name="HFp131" /> Senator Wagner wired Secretary of State [[Cordell Hull]], and the State Department official Robert Pell turned to the German official [[Helmuth Wohlthat]], with whom he had dealt after the [[Évian Conference]].<ref name="Tablet2019">"The Nazi Who Saved the Lubavitcher Rebbe", [https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/nazi-saved-lubavitcher-rebbe ''Tablet''], 15 July 2019.</ref><ref name="Evian">[https://evian1938.de/en/fates-of-refugees/rabbi-schneersohns-rescue/ Rabbi Schneersohn's Rescue] ''Evian 1938'' exhibition website, accessed 15 October 2026.</ref>

=== The Abwehr operation ===
Bryan Mark Rigg's ''Rescued from the Reich'' (Yale University Press, 2004) is the standard account.
* '''The chain of command.''' According to a review in the ''Journal of American History'', Hull "initiated State Department contacts with a sympathetic Nazi official, Helmut Wohlthat. Adm. Wilhelm Canaris, the anti-Hitler military secret service chief, then selected Ernst Bloch and two other Mischlinge officers secretly to transport the rebbe to Riga".<ref name="JAH">Review of Bryan Mark Rigg, ''Rescued from the Reich'', ''Journal of American History'' 92:4 (March 2006), p. 1491. doi:10.2307/4486001.</ref>
* '''American motives.''' Heilman and Friedman attribute to Rigg the judgement that "American officials' ignorance of the social topography of American Judaism, when combined with the political pressure exerted by well-placed politicians, may have persuaded them that the rescue of the Rebbe, described as an important spiritual leader, could yield good publicity at a minimum risk."<ref name="HFp131" /> In the book the passage appears in Paula E. Hyman's foreword. She adds that "Without pressure from the U.S. State Department, the rescue of the Lubavitcher Rebbe would not have occurred. Yet this same State Department had demonstrated no interest in saving Jews from Nazi persecution before the outbreak of war."<ref name="RiggFwd">Paula E. Hyman, foreword to Bryan Mark Rigg, ''Rescued from the Reich: How One of Hitler's Soldiers Saved the Lubavitcher Rebbe'', foreword by Paula E. Hyman, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004, pp. xiv–xv.</ref> Rhoade told Pell that the German officials "would not wish to deprive the Rabbi, who is a sort of Pope, of his immediate disciples."<ref name="Riggp121">Rigg, ''Rescued from the Reich'' (2004), p. 121.</ref>
* '''German motives.''' The German historian [[Winfried Meyer]] (''Unternehmen Sieben'', 1993) reconstructed the Abwehr side. Meyer is quoted as saying: "The only force who would be able to do anything was military intelligence since Warsaw was occupied by the German military and not by a civil administration". He argues that Göring and Canaris "were glad to do the American government a favor by rescuing Rabbi Schneersohn", hoping to keep the war from escalating.<ref name="Tablet2019" /><ref name="Meyer">Winfried Meyer, ''Unternehmen Sieben. Eine Rettungsaktion für vom Holocaust Bedrohte aus dem Amt Ausland/Abwehr im Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'', Frankfurt am Main: Hain, 1993, ISBN 3-445-08571-4.</ref>
* '''Bloch.''' Major Ernst Bloch, who was half-Jewish, located the Rebbe in December 1939. The party travelled by train via Berlin, where they spent the night of 15 December at the Jewish community offices, and reached Riga on 17 December.<ref name="HFp132">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), pp. 132–133.</ref>


=== Arrival in New York ===
On 6 March 1940 the party flew from Riga to Stockholm and sailed from Göteborg on the ''Drottningholm''. They reached New York on 18 March, and the Rebbe disembarked the next morning.<ref name="HFp134">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 134.</ref> His youngest daughter, Sheina, and her husband, Mendel Horensztajn, could not obtain US visas as Polish citizens, and they perished. Chabad sources say they died at Treblinka; a niece's testimony suggests Otwock.<ref name="HFp134" /> Under [[Breckinridge Long]], the State Department was slow to admit the rest of the family. The Schneersons reached New York only in June 1941.<ref name="HFp136">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), pp. 135–136.</ref>

== America, 1940–1950 ==
=== Institutions ===
In September 1940 he moved his headquarters to 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn.<ref name="HFp134" /> He founded or refounded:
* Tomchei Temimim in the United States
* Machne Israel
* Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch
* the Beth Rivkah schools
* the Kehot Publication Society
* the monthly ''HaKriah VeHaKedushah''

Shortly before his death he also laid the groundwork for schools in North Africa, Israel (Kfar Chabad) and Australia.<ref name="ChabadBrief" />

=== The messianic campaign: ''L'alter li'teshuva, l'alter li'geula'' ===
His slogan in America was ''l'alter li'teshuva, l'alter li'geula'', "repentance immediately, redemption immediately". Followers posted it as stickers around the neighbourhood, but it "was a message whose significance at the time was not always clear to everyone."<ref name="HFp35">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 35.</ref> On arrival he declared: "Jews, we must repent and save our children and ourselves from the danger."<ref name="HFp35" />

Miller, writing from within the movement, presents the slogan as a response to three crises: the "four and a half million Jews trapped in his native Russia", the Jews of Poland, and the "close to five million Jews who resided peacefully—but quite irreligiously" in the United States. He describes "a series of 'urgent appeals' published in newspapers during the early 1940s". Miller adds that his son-in-law signed letters "with blessings for le-alter le-teshuvah, le-alter le-geulah".<ref name="Millerch9" />

=== Wartime theology ===
Heilman and Friedman reconstruct his theology from ''HaKriah VeHaKedushah'' and the work of Gershon Greenberg.
* '''The Holocaust as birth pangs.''' The suffering in Europe was "the birth pangs of the Messiah, the suffering that precedes redemption."<ref name="HFp143" />
* '''American Jews as the cause.''' "as the body of Jewry was being burned in Europe, in the new world the Jewish soul was being destroyed by the fire of American Jewish heresy."<ref name="HFp144">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 144.</ref> In August 1941 he wrote that American Jews' "coldness and indifference . . . towards Torah and religion" were no less destructive than the fire threatening "to annihilate more than two-thirds of the Jewish people."<ref name="HFp36" />
* '''A "day of fire".''' In June 1941 he warned that if they did not repent, all "non-pious Jews would be killed," on "a day of fire [a brenenden tog]."<ref name="HFp146">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 146.</ref>
* '''Mahane Israel.''' He founded it on 20 October 1940. It "thought of itself as a religious safety zone protected from the Hurban [destruction], a Biblical 'Goshen'".<ref name="HFp145">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 145.</ref>

Rigg, writing as a historian of the rescue, is blunter. In his reading the Rebbe "believed the Holocaust was God's punishment on the Jews for abandoning their faith. Only renewed obedience to God and belief in the Prophets would end the punishment—continued disobedience and disbelief were 'perverse Jewish Nazism.'" Rigg argues that, in consequence, "Political action to end the Holocaust or save lives was futile as long as Jews failed to follow the commandments."<ref name="Riggp171">Rigg, ''Rescued from the Reich'' (2004), p. 171.</ref> A Lubavitch appeal of the period that Rigg reproduces urged: "HAVE COMPASSION UPON YOURSELVES, UPON YOUR SONS AND DA UGHTERS, SO that you be not destroyed in the birth pangs of the coming Messiah."<ref name="Riggp179">Rigg, ''Rescued from the Reich'' (2004), p. 179.</ref>


He also implicitly rebuked other rabbis, inviting Jews to "imagine what would have happened if a few hundred rabbis . . . had appeared before the community and announced that the day of redemption is coming soon".<ref name="HFp36" />

=== Reception ===
Heilman and Friedman judge: "This was not a message designed to make friends and influence people in America—or anywhere, for that matter." In their view, his messianism "created conditions that led to the decline of his influence in America".<ref name="HFp146" /><ref name="HFp36" /> His successor recast the doctrine: "His was not a messianism of pain and catastrophe. His was a messianism of promise."<ref name="HFp146" /> See [[Chabad messianism]].


== The library ==
=== Assembling and saving the collection ===
Much of the family library "had been confiscated in 1924 by the Soviets". He could not meet the Soviets' price to buy it back, so in 1925 he bought the library of Shmuel Weiner of the Asiatic Museum in Leningrad.<ref name="HFp216">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 216.</ref> In November 1939, to get the books out of Poland by diplomatic pouch, he wrote that he had "no space for the books which Agudas [Chasidei] ChaBaD loaned me for study. I would be pleased if Agudas ChaBaD were to take these books back." About ninety boxes reached the United States in 1941.<ref name="HFp216" /><ref name="HFp217">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 217.</ref>

Nazi forces seized other manuscripts in Otwock. He later wrote to Alexander Marx of the Jewish Theological Seminary that "the evildoers confiscated several boxes full of aged manuscripts and valuable books which had been kept in my library in Otwock".<ref name="Telushkin27">Telushkin, ''Rebbe'' (2014), ch. 27 ("The Courtroom Battle That Tore Apart a Family").</ref>

=== ''Agudas Chasidei Chabad v. Gourary'' (1985–1987) ===
After his death, his secretary Lieberman "did not give the new Rebbe free access to the ChaBaD library".<ref name="HFp53">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 53.</ref> In 1985 his grandson Barry Gourary removed some 500 books and sold some of them. Barry and his mother claimed the library as family inheritance.<ref name="HFp217" /> The successor told followers that "the war [conflict] is not only over the seforim [books], but rather oif dem benkel—'over the seat'".<ref name="HFp55">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 55.</ref>

Judge Charles P. Sifton found for Agudas Chasidei Chabad on 6 January 1987. He held that the library "was never held by the Rebbe as personal property for his personal benefit … It was held as personal property for the community's benefit and for charitable uses".<ref name="Sifton">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Gourary'', [https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/650/1463/1663054/ 650 F. Supp. 1463] (E.D.N.Y. 1987), at 1475–1476.</ref> The Second Circuit affirmed, finding "a settlor's unequivocal intent to convey the library … to appellee as trustee for charitable purposes".<ref name="CA2">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Gourary'', [https://openjurist.org/833/f2d/431/agudas-chasidei-chabad-of-united-states-v-gourary 833 F.2d 431] (2d Cir. 1987).</ref> Chabad celebrates the date, 5 Tevet, as ''Didan Notzach'' ("our side won").<ref name="HFp55" />

=== The Russian "Schneerson library" dispute ===
The collection left behind is in two parts:
* '''The Library.''' Some 12,000 books and manuscripts "seized during the Bolshevik Revolution and Russian Civil War between 1917 and 1925", held by the Russian State Library.
* '''The Archive.''' Some "25,000 pages of handwritten teachings and other writings of the Rebbes" seized by Germany in Poland and taken by the Red Army as "trophy documents". It is held by the Russian State Military Archive.<ref name="Lamberth2010">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', 729 F. Supp. 2d 141 (D.D.C. 2010).</ref>

Judge [[Royce Lamberth]] entered a default judgment in 2010 ordering their return. Russia responded that it would "refuse to loan cultural artifacts and art to institutions in the United States".<ref name="Lamberth2011">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', 798 F. Supp. 2d 260 (D.D.C. 2011).</ref> In January 2013 the court imposed "a fine payable to the plaintiff in the amount of $50,000 per day".<ref name="Lamberth2013">''Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation'', Civil No. 05-1548 (RCL), Order of 16 January 2013 (ECF No. 115); opinion reported at 915 F. Supp. 2d 148 (D.D.C. 2013).</ref> See [[Schneerson library]] and [[Russia]].


== Death and succession, 1950 ==
In his last years he had multiple sclerosis and had suffered a stroke. Rigg records that his "multiple sclerosis and strokes prevented him from walking on his own".<ref name="Riggp178">Rigg, ''Rescued from the Reich'' (2004), p. 178.</ref> He was also "overweight and a heavy smoker". He died of a heart attack at 770 on the Sabbath morning of 28 January 1950 (10 Shevat 5710); the doctor pronounced him dead at 8:07 a.m.<ref name="HFp30">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 30.</ref> Some 3,000 people attended the funeral.<ref name="HFp35" />

He "had died intestate". He left neither a will for his property, "including his beloved and huge library", nor a "'moral' will that indicated who should lead".<ref name="HFp33">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 33.</ref> Rumours of a lost will naming Barry were "unsubstantiated".<ref name="HFp33" />

=== The two sons-in-law ===
* '''Shmaryahu Gourary.''' The elder son-in-law had been his chief aide, and Shalom Dovber had reportedly chosen him for the family.<ref name="HFp32">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 32.</ref> He later accepted his brother-in-law's authority and testified for him in the library trial.<ref name="HFp53" />
* '''Barry Gourary.''' Barry did not want the role. He said: "I decided that was not the kind of life I wanted to lead."<ref name="HFp34">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 34.</ref>
* '''Menachem Mendel Schneerson.''' The younger son-in-law formally accepted the leadership on the first anniversary, 10 Shevat 1951.<ref name="HFp46">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 46.</ref>

The biographers disagree about how close the Rayatz and Schneerson were. Heilman and Friedman stress Schneerson's distance from the court in the 1920s and 1930s. Rapoport counters that "Rayatz sent the bulk of his talks and discourses to be edited by the Rebbe prior to their publication".<ref name="Rap33">Rapoport, ''The Afterlife of Scholarship'' (2011), Kindle p. 33 of 197.</ref>

=== Legacy ===
His successor presented himself as the continuation of his father-in-law: "The Previous Rebbe would continue to lead them."<ref name="HFp62">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 62.</ref> The Rayatz's ohel (tomb) in Queens, where Schneerson was later buried beside him, became a pilgrimage site. In the official history, by contrast, "no mention is made of Chana Gourary, her son Barry, or Chaim Lieberman".<ref name="HFp54">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'' (2010), p. 54.</ref>

== Works ==
* ''Likkutei Dibburim'' (talks; includes his own account of the 1927 arrest, vol. 4, pp. 1218ff.)<ref name="Rap149" />
* ''Sefer HaZichronot'' (memoirs; English ''Memoirs'', Kehot)
* ''Igrot Kodesh'' (collected letters)
* ''Sefer HaMaamarim'' (discourses)


== See also ==
* [[Chabad-Lubavitch movement]]
* [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
* [[Shalom Dovber Schneersohn]]
* [[Chabad messianism]]
* [[Agudas Chasidei Chabad]]
* [[770 Eastern Parkway]]
* [[Schneerson library]]
* [[Yevsektsiya]]
* [[Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia]]
* [[History of Chabad in Tsarist Russia – Selected Chapters, 1770–1920]]

== External links ==
* [https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3573646/jewish/The-Previous-Rebbe.htm The Previous Rebbe] – Chabad.org

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Chabad-Lubavitch|Schneersohn, Yosef Yitzchak]]
[[Category:Chabad|Schneersohn, Yosef Yitzchak]]
[[Category:Controversial rabbis|Schneersohn, Yosef Yitzchak]]

Beis Ruchel D'satmar (london) Limited

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#redirect[[Beis Ruchel D'Satmar (London) Limited]]

Alte Feige Trust

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#REDIRECT [[Alte Feiga Trust]]

Alte Feiga Trust

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[[Alte Feiga Trust]] (Charity number: 1126587) is a registered charity.<ref name="CCTrustees">Charity Commission for England and Wales, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4042533/trustees ALTE FEIGA TRUST trustees] ''Charity Commission for England and Wales'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>

*Charity registered: 6 November 2008 (Registered)<ref name="CCTrustees" />
*Charity contact address: 56 Chardmore Road, London, N16 6jh<ref name="CCOverview">Charity Commission for England and Wales, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4042533 ALTE FEIGA TRUST overview] ''Charity Commission for England and Wales'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>

==People==
===Trustees===
{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! Role !! Date of appointment !! Other trusteeships
|-
| [[Berish Gross]] || Trustee || Not disclosed || [[Tehilois Yoel]] (charity number: 1177104)
|-
| [[Jacob Kernkraut]] || Trustee || Not disclosed || [[E And E Kernkraut Charities Limited]] (charity number: 275636) | [[Beis Ruchel D'Satmar (London) Limited]] (charity number: 1125988) | [[The Knightland Foundation]] (charity number: 1143110)
|-
| [[Jacob Kornbluh]] || Trustee || 12 October 2012 || [[Shining Stars London]] (charity number: 1186702) | [[Kupas Toras Chesed Ltd]] (charity number: 1197880)
|}
Source: Charity Commission register.<ref name="CCTrustees" />

==Finances==
{| class="wikitable"
! Financial year end !! Total income !! Total expenditure !! Income from donations and legacies !! Expenditure on charitable activities !! Grants to institutions !! Total funds (assets less liabilities) !! Cash !! Employees !! Volunteers !! Accounts received
|-
| 31 December 2021 || £362,016 || £380,239 || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || 0 || 13 September 2022 (due 31 October 2022)
|-
| 31 December 2022 || £398,787 || £452,105 || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || 0 || 14 May 2023 (due 31 October 2023)
|-
| 31 December 2023 || £498,489 || £494,895 || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || 0 || 29 October 2024 (due 31 October 2024)
|-
| 31 December 2024 || £606,383 || £595,813 || £606,383 || £595,813 || £49,170 || £20,495 || £23,255 || 0 || 0 || 31 October 2025 (due 31 October 2025)
|-
| 31 December 2025 || £675,187 || £618,083 || £675,187 || £618,083 || £60,340 || £77,599 || £40,479 || 0 || 0 || 24 September 2026 (due 31 October 2026)
|}
Source: Charity Commission financial history and register data.<ref name="CCFin">Charity Commission for England and Wales, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4042533/financial-history ALTE FEIGA TRUST financial history] ''Charity Commission for England and Wales'', accessed 13 October 2026; figures from the Commission's public register data extract dated 13 October 2026.</ref> The Commission records grant-making as the charity's main activity.<ref name="CCOverview" /> Trustee payments: "No trustees receive any remuneration, payments or benefits from the charity."<ref name="CCOverview" />

==Controversies and conflicts==
*'''Filing compliance:''' All 5 annual returns and accounts on the Charity Commission record were received by their due dates, and the register states "Charity reporting is up to date (on time)".<ref name="CCFin" /><ref name="CCOverview" />
*'''Overlapping trusteeships:''' [[Berish Gross]] is also a trustee of [[Tehilois Yoel]] (1177104). [[Jacob Kernkraut]] is also a trustee of [[E And E Kernkraut Charities Limited]] (275636), [[Beis Ruchel D'satmar (london) Limited]] (1125988), [[The Knightland Foundation]] (1143110). [[Jacob Kornbluh]] is also a trustee of [[Shining Stars London]] (1186702), [[Kupas Toras Chesed Ltd]] (1197880).<ref name="CCTrustees" />
*'''Shared trustees/directors:''' [[Jacob Kernkraut]] is also connected with [[The Knightland Foundation]] (1143110), which is subject to a Charity Commission regulatory alert<ref>Charity Commission for England and Wales, public register data extract (trustee table, trustee ID 1952614), 13 October 2026.</ref>.

==External links==
*[https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4042533 Charity Commission – ALTE FEIGA TRUST]

==Notes==
<references/>

Alte Faige Trust

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Alte Feiga Trust

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Alta Faige Trust

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#REDIRECT [[Alte Faige Trust]]

Alte Feiga Trust

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The Knightland Foundation

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D-Backup:

[[The Knightland Foundation]] (Charity number: 1143110; Company number 07535303) is a registered charity and private limited company by guarantee without share capital use of 'limited' exemption.<ref name="CCTrustees">Charity Commission for England and Wales, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5017334/trustees THE KNIGHTLAND FOUNDATION trustees] ''Charity Commission for England and Wales'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref><ref name="CHCompany">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07535303 THE KNIGHTLAND FOUNDATION overview] ''Companies House'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>

*Charity registered: 27 July 2011 (Registered)<ref name="CCTrustees" />
*Company incorporated: 18 February 2011 (Active); SIC 94910 - Activities of religious organisations<ref name="CHCompany" />
*Registered office address: Unit 1 Guard House, Grosvenor Way, London, --- Select ---, England, E5 9XE<ref name="CHCompany" />

==People==
===Trustees===
{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! Role !! Date of appointment !! Other trusteeships
|-
| [[Moses Benedikt]] || Trustee || 26 April 2023 || [[Brid Gardens]] (charity number: 1197961) | [[Satmar Seminary]] (charity number: 1200219) | [[Tag North London]] (charity number: 1207389)
|-
| [[Jacob Kernkraut]] || Trustee || 22 June 2026 || [[E And E Kernkraut Charities Limited]] (charity number: 275636) | [[Alte Feiga Trust]] (charity number: 1126587) | [[Beis Ruchel D'Satmar (London) Limited]] (charity number: 1125988)
|-
| [[Joseph Weissman]] || Trustee || 22 June 2026 || [[Kehal Yetev Lev]] (charity number: 1199537)
|}
Source: Charity Commission register.<ref name="CCTrustees" />

===Historic trustees===
Trustees as listed in archived snapshots of the Charity Commission register (first and last snapshot in which each name appears; not a record of actual appointment or resignation dates).
{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! First seen !! Last seen !! Snapshots listing name
|-
| [[Jacob Friedman]] || 28 September 2011 || 2 January 2019 || 4 <ref name="ARC1143110_1">UK Government Web Archive, [https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20110928175446/http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/ContactAndTrustees.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1143110&SubsidiaryNumber=0 The Knightland Foundation – register entry (28 September 2011)], archived snapshot of the Charity Commission register dated 28 September 2011, accessed 14 October 2026.</ref><ref name="ARC1143110_2">UK Government Web Archive, [https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20190102185727/http://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=1143110&subid=0 The Knightland Foundation – register entry (2 January 2019)], archived snapshot of the Charity Commission register dated 2 January 2019, accessed 14 October 2026.</ref>
|-
| [[Raechel Friedman]] || 28 September 2011 || 26 July 2017 || 2 <ref name="ARC1143110_1" /><ref name="ARC1143110_3">UK Government Web Archive, [https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20170726183414/http://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=1143110&subid=0 The Knightland Foundation – register entry (26 July 2017)], archived snapshot of the Charity Commission register dated 26 July 2017, accessed 14 October 2026.</ref>
|-
| [[Chezkel Landau]] || 28 September 2011 || 28 September 2011 || 1 <ref name="ARC1143110_1" />
|-
| [[Uriel Sholom Kaplan]] || 26 July 2017 || 2 January 2019 || 3 <ref name="ARC1143110_3" /><ref name="ARC1143110_2" />
|-
| [[Samuel Lew]] || 3 January 2018 || 2 January 2019 || 2 <ref name="ARC1143110_4">UK Government Web Archive, [https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20180103231302/http://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=1143110&subid=0 The Knightland Foundation – register entry (3 January 2018)], archived snapshot of the Charity Commission register dated 3 January 2018, accessed 14 October 2026.</ref><ref name="ARC1143110_2" />
|}
===Directors===
{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! Correspondence address !! Role !! Position !! Date of birth !! Age !! Appointed on !! Resigned on !! Nationality !! Country of residence !! Occupation
|-
| [[Moses Benedikt]] || Lower Ground Floor 139, Osbaldeston Road, London, England, N16 6ND || Role Active || Director || May 1986 || 40 || 26 April 2023 || || British || England Identity verification due 30 October 2026 || Not disclosed
|-
| [[Jacob Kernkraut]] || Unit 1, Guard House, Grosvenor Way, London, --- Select ---, England, E5 9XE || Role Active || Director || January 1974 || 52 || 22 June 2026 || || British || England || Not disclosed
|-
| [[Joseph Weissman]] || 139 Lower Ground Floor, Osbaldeston Road, London, England, N16 6ND || Role Active || Director || January 1975 || 51 || 22 June 2026 || || British || England || Not disclosed
|-
| [[Sarah Rebecca Derbaremdiger]] || Lower Ground Floor 139, Osbaldeston Road, London, England, N16 6ND || Role Resigned || Director || May 1977 || 49 || 26 April 2023 || 21 July 2026 || British || England Identity verification due 30 October 2026 || Not disclosed
|-
| [[Baruch Shloma Ehrenfeld]] || Lower Ground Floor, 139 Osbaldeston Road, London, England, N16 6ND || Role Resigned || Director || February 1988 || 38 || 30 December 2020 || 26 April 2023 || British || England || Not disclosed
|-
| [[Brenda Ruth Feldman]] || Lower Ground Floor 139, Osbaldeston Road, London, England, N16 6ND || Role Resigned || Director || May 1956 || 70 || 26 April 2023 || 1 August 2026 || British || England Identity verification due 30 October 2026 || Not disclosed
|-
| [[Shmuel Baruch Feldman]] || Lower Ground Floor 139, Osbaldeston Road, London, England, N16 6ND || Role Resigned || Director || December 1986 || 39 || 26 April 2023 || 18 June 2026 || British || England Identity verification due 30 October 2026 || Not disclosed
|-
| [[Jacob Friedman]] || [[52 Knightland Road, London, E5 9HS]] || Role Resigned || Director || January 1975 || 51 || 18 February 2011 || 3 November 2023 || American || United Kingdom || Not disclosed
|-
| [[Raechel Friedman]] || 52 Knightland Road, London, United Kingdom, E5 9HS || Role Resigned || Director || December 1974 || 51 || 18 February 2011 || 21 December 2017 || British || England || Not disclosed
|-
| [[Uriel Sholom Kaplan]] || 14 Montpelier Rise, London, United Kingdom, NW11 9SS || Role Resigned || Director || December 1976 || 49 || 25 January 2012 || 26 April 2023 || South African || United Kingdom || Not disclosed
|-
| [[Cheskel Landau]] || 60 [[Moresby Road, London, E5 9LF]] || Role Resigned || Director || April 1962 || 64 || 18 February 2011 || 25 January 2012 || American || England || Not disclosed
|-
| [[Samuel Lew]] || Lower Ground Floor, 139 Osbaldeston Road, London, England, N16 6ND || Role Resigned || Director || November 1975 || 50 || 31 March 2017 || 26 April 2023 || English || England || Not disclosed
|-
| [[Yaakov Shaltiel]] || 1st, Floor, [[47 Bury New Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 9JY]] || Role Resigned || Director || August 1977 || 49 || 18 February 2011 || 18 February 2011 || British || England || Not disclosed
|-
| [[Shraga Shalom Zaltzman]] || Lower Ground Floor 139, Osbaldeston Road, London, England, N16 6ND || Role Resigned || Director || June 1976 || 50 || 26 April 2023 || 23 June 2026 || British || England Identity verification due 30 October 2026 || Not disclosed
|-
| [[Joseph Colley]] || C/O Carter Backer Winter Llp, 56 Prescot Street, London, E1 8NN || Role Resigned || Receiver and Manager || || || 15 March 2022 || 10 November 2023 || || || Not disclosed
|-
| [[John Dickinson]] || C/O Carter Backer Winter Llp, 66 Prescot Street, London, E1 8NN || Role Resigned || Receiver and Manager || || || 15 March 2022 || 10 November 2023 || || || Not disclosed
|}
Source: Companies House officers register.<ref name="CHOfficers">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07535303/officers THE KNIGHTLAND FOUNDATION officers] ''Companies House'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>

===Persons with significant control===
{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! Correspondence address !! Status !! Notified on !! Ceased on !! Date of birth !! Age !! Nationality !! Country of residence !! Nature of control
|-
| [[Jacob Friedman]] || C/O 66, Prescot Street, London, England, E1 8NN || Ceased || 6 April 2016 || 7 April 2021 || January 1975 || 51 || American || United Kingdom || Has significant influence or control
|}
*PSC statement: The company knows or has reasonable cause to believe that there is no registrable person or registrable relevant legal entity in relation to the company (notified 4 March 2022)
Source: Companies House PSC register.<ref name="CHPSC">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07535303/persons-with-significant-control THE KNIGHTLAND FOUNDATION persons with significant control] ''Companies House'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>

==Finances==
{| class="wikitable"
! Financial year end !! Total income !! Total expenditure !! Income from donations and legacies !! Expenditure on charitable activities !! Grants to institutions !! Total funds (assets less liabilities) !! Cash !! Employees !! Volunteers !! Accounts received
|-
| January 2012 || £427,716 || £960 || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Archived register entry<ref name="ARC1143110_3" />
|-
| January 2013 || £877,257 || £10,782 || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Archived register entry<ref name="ARC1143110_3" />
|-
| January 2014 || £777,447 || £185,862 || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Archived register entry<ref name="ARC1143110_3" />
|-
| January 2015 || £323,313 || £200,171 || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Archived register entry<ref name="ARC1143110_3" />
|-
| January 2016 || £373,027 || £357,896 || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Archived register entry<ref name="ARC1143110_3" />
|-
| January 2017 || £2,341,396 || £1,870,623 || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Archived register entry<ref name="ARC1143110_4" />
|-
| January 2018 || £0 || £0 || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Archived register entry<ref name="ARC1143110_2" />
|-
| 31 January 2021 || £1,791,474 || £1,057,842 || £1,127,331 || £804,291 || £704,581 || £5,649,305 || £3,432 || 0 || 5 || 30 November 2021 (due 30 November 2021)
|-
| 31 January 2022 || £728,866 || £533,766 || £66,260 || £303,338 || £127,800 || £5,284,405 || £148,641 || 0 || 0 || 3 November 2022 (due 30 November 2022)
|-
| 31 January 2023 || £697,899 || £450,324 || £74,533 || £142,424 || £0 || £5,531,980 || £864,387 || 0 || 0 || 22 November 2023 (due 30 November 2023)
|-
| 31 January 2024 || £833,405 || £1,534,169 || £41,145 || £1,164,107 || £790,320 || £4,831,216 || £167,373 || 0 || 0 || 2 September 2024 (due 30 November 2024)
|-
| 31 January 2025 || £688,018 || £843,862 || £17,700 || £474,003 || £370,000 || £4,125,322 || £20,757 || 0 || 0 || 18 September 2025 (due 30 November 2025)
|}
Source: Charity Commission financial history and register data.<ref name="CCFin">Charity Commission for England and Wales, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5017334/financial-history THE KNIGHTLAND FOUNDATION financial history] ''Charity Commission for England and Wales'', accessed 13 October 2026; figures from the Commission's public register data extract dated 13 October 2026.</ref> The Commission records grant-making as the charity's main activity.<ref name="CCOverview">Charity Commission for England and Wales, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5017334 THE KNIGHTLAND FOUNDATION overview] ''Charity Commission for England and Wales'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref> Trustee payments: "One or more trustees receive payments or benefits from the charity."<ref name="CCOverview" />

*Companies House: last accounts made up to 31 January 2025 (Full accounts, filed 18 Sep 2025); next accounts made up to 28 January 2026, due by 28 October 2026.<ref name="CHCompany" /><ref name="CHAcc">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07535303/filing-history THE KNIGHTLAND FOUNDATION filing history] – Full accounts made up to 31 January 2025, filed 18 Sep 2025, ''Companies House'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>
*Companies House: last confirmation statement dated 16 October 2025; next due by 30 October 2026.<ref name="CHCompany" />
*Archived accounts: [https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200107153214/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends10/0001143110_AC_20150131_E_C.PDF year ending 31 January 2015]; [https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200107161228/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends10/0001143110_AC_20160131_E_C.PDF year ending 31 January 2016]; [https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200107152504/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends10/0001143110_AC_20170131_E_C.PDF year ending 31 January 2017]; [https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200107153213/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends10/0001143110_AC_20180131_E_C.PDF year ending 31 January 2018]; [https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200107161228/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends10/0001143110_AC_20190131_E_C.PDF year ending 31 January 2019].<ref name="ARC1143110_5">UK Government Web Archive, [https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20200107153214/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends10/0001143110_AC_20150131_E_C.PDF The Knightland Foundation – archived accounts], archived snapshot of the Charity Commission register dated 7 January 2020, accessed 14 October 2026.</ref>
*Registered charges (Companies House): 29 November 2019, Lloyds Bank PLC: "Freehold property known as 120 st john street london EC1V 4JS comprised under title number 354647, for more details of property being charge please refer to the instrument." (Satisfied); 24 October 2019, Lloyds Bank PLC: "The leasehold property known as or being flat 2, 2 fountayne road, london, N16 7DX comprised in title number NGL403404." (Satisfied); 24 October 2019, Lloyds Bank PLC: "The freehold property known as or being 50 lynmouth road, london, N16 6XL comprised in title number 253469." (Satisfied); 8 August 2019, Commercial Acceptances Limited: "All that freehold property situate and known as units 8 & 11 tofts farm industrial estate brenda road hartlepool TS25 2DH registered at hm land registry with title absolute under title number CE125869." (Satisfied); 23 August 2018, Commercial Acceptances Limited: "All that:. 1. freehold property situate and known as 50 lynmouth road, london, N16 6XL as the same is registered at hm land registry with title absolute under title number 253469.. 2. leasehold property situate and known as flat 2, fountayne road, london, N16 7DX as the same is registered at hm land" (Satisfied); 18 September 2013, Aldermore Bank PLC: "Notification of addition to or amendment of charge." (Satisfied); 18 September 2013, Aldermore Bank PLC: "F/H 120 st john street london t/no 354647. notification of addition to or amendment of charge." (Satisfied); 18 September 2013, Aldermore Bank PLC: "L/H ground floor 120 st john street london. Notification of addition to or amendment of charge." (Satisfied).<ref>Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07535303/charges 07535303 charges] ''Companies House'', accessed 14 October 2026.</ref>
*'''Property:''' The charity's accounts for the year ending 31 January 2025 value its investment property at £7,950,000 (£8,500,000 in 2022–24; cost £7,275,766). Bank loans of about £4.31m were secured on the properties, and the accounts note that "Post year end the charity sold two of its commercial properties in order to repay the bank loan".<ref name="CCAccKF">Charity Commission for England and Wales, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1143110/accounts-and-annual-returns THE KNIGHTLAND FOUNDATION accounts and annual returns] ''Charity Commission for England and Wales'', accessed 14 October 2026.</ref>
**120 St John Street, London EC1V 4JS (title 354647), freehold. Charged to lenders from 2013; the charges were satisfied on 16 May 2025.<ref name="CHKF">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07535303/charges THE KNIGHTLAND FOUNDATION – charges] ''Companies House'', accessed 14 October 2026.</ref> HM Land Registry Price Paid Data records a purchase for £3,350,000 on 18 September 2013 and a sale for £3,500,000 on 9 May 2025. These are address matches only: Price Paid Data does not name the parties. Both are "additional price paid" (Category B) records.<ref name="PPDKF1">HM Land Registry, [https://landregistry.data.gov.uk/data/ppi/transaction-record.csv?propertyAddress.postcode=EC1V%204JS Price Paid Data: EC1V 4JS] ''HM Land Registry'', accessed 14 October 2026.</ref>
**Units 8–11 Stadium North, Tofts Farm Industrial Estate East, Hartlepool TS25 2DH (title CE125869), freehold. Charged in 2019; the charges were satisfied on 16 May 2025.<ref name="CHKF" /> Price Paid Data records £138,578 on 8 August 2019 and £2,800,000 on 9 May 2025. Both are Category B records (which can include bulk or portfolio sales), and the parties are not named, so these are address matches only.<ref name="PPDKF2">HM Land Registry, [https://landregistry.data.gov.uk/data/ppi/transaction-record.csv?propertyAddress.postcode=TS25%202DH Price Paid Data: TS25 2DH] ''HM Land Registry'', accessed 14 October 2026.</ref>
**50 Lynmouth Road, London N16 6XL (title 253469) and Flat 2, 2 Fountayne Road, London N16 7DX (title NGL403404). Both were charged in 2018–19, and the charges were satisfied by May 2025.<ref name="CHKF" />
**54 and 54A Lynmouth Road, London N16 6XL (title EGL183715). Held by the charity's subsidiary Bellview Management Ltd (07239964), with legal charges in favour of The Knightland Foundation dated 26 July 2023 and 29 August 2025, both outstanding.<ref name="CHBM">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07239964/charges BELLVIEW MANAGEMENT LIMITED – charges] ''Companies House'', accessed 14 October 2026.</ref>
**60 Gloucester Road and Units 1–4, 44A Gloucester Road, Croydon CR0 2DA (titles SY114139 and SGL116559). Charged in 2018 by Bellview Land Ltd (08798911), in which the charity held 50%; the charges were satisfied on 1 February 2020.<ref name="CHBL">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/08798911/charges BELLVIEW LAND LIMITED – charges] ''Companies House'', accessed 14 October 2026.</ref>
*'''Land Registry (company-owned property):''' HM Land Registry's company ownership data (October 2026) lists 3 title(s) registered to the organisation or a linked company: 50 Lynmouth Road, London (N16 6XL) (title 253469, freehold; registered proprietor THE KNIGHTLAND FOUNDATION (07535303); proprietor registered 04-12-2012, price paid £100,000); 54 Lynmouth Road, Stoke Newington, London (N16 6XL) (title EGL183715, freehold; registered proprietor BELLVIEW MANAGEMENT LIMITED (07239964); proprietor registered 31-08-2010, price paid £495,000); Flat 2, 2 Fountayne Road, London (N16 7DX) (title NGL403404, leasehold; registered proprietor THE KNIGHTLAND FOUNDATION (07535303); proprietor registered 03-01-2013, price paid £54,000).<ref name="LRCCOD">HM Land Registry, [https://use-land-property-data.service.gov.uk/datasets/ccod UK companies that own property in England and Wales] dataset, October 2026, accessed 14 October 2026.</ref>

==Controversies and conflicts==
*'''Statutory inquiry:''' The Charity Commission opened a statutory inquiry into The Knightland Foundation on 24 February 2021, and appointed Interim Managers by order of 8 April 2021. The charity's appeal against that appointment was dismissed by the First-tier Tribunal (Charity).<ref name="KnightFTT">First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) Charity, [https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukftt/grc/2021/365 The Knightland Foundation v The Charity Commission for England and Wales [2021] UKFTT 365 (GRC)] ''First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) Charity'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref> The inquiry report, published 15 November 2024, found "serious mismanagement in the administration of the charity by the former trustees over an extended period of time". This included failing to identify and manage conflicts of interest, holding charity funds in the accounts of a private company, and inadequate record keeping. Charity funds were placed at considerable risk, although there was no ultimate loss. Five independent trustees were appointed on 26 April 2023.<ref name="GovKnight">Charity Commission (GOV.UK), [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-inquiry-the-knightland-foundation/charity-inquiry-the-knightland-foundation Charity Inquiry: The Knightland Foundation] ''Charity Commission (GOV.UK)'', 15 November 2024, accessed 13 October 2026.</ref><ref name="CSKnight">Civil Society, [https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/educational-charity-gets-new-trustees-as-regulator-finds-serious-mismanagement.html Educational charity gets new trustees as regulator finds serious mismanagement] ''Civil Society'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>
*'''Related-party transactions:''' The latest filed accounts state: "Property management services for the value of £ 63,638 (202 4 - £ 78,368 ) were provided by Bellview Management (UK) Limited, a company under the control of a former trustee of the charity . These services were provided for part of the year free of charge , and have been shown in the accounts as a donation-in-kind. Other than the above and those disclosed in notes 9 & 14 t here were no disclosable related party transactions during the year . 21 Subsidiaries Details of the charity's subsidiaries at 31 January 2025 are as follows: Name of undertaking Registered Nature of business Class of % Held office shares held Direct Indirect Bellview Management Ltd Property Investment Ordinary Shares 100."<ref name="CHAcc" />
*'''Charity Commission regulatory alert:''' The register states: "The Charity Commission has published a report on its inquiry into the charity".<ref name="CCOverview" />
*'''Filing compliance:''' All 5 annual returns and accounts on the Charity Commission record were received by their due dates, and the register states "Charity reporting is up to date (on time)".<ref name="CCFin" /><ref name="CCOverview" />
*'''Overlapping trusteeships:''' [[Moses Benedikt]] is also a trustee of [[Brid Gardens]] (1197961), [[Satmar Seminary]] (1200219), [[Tag North London]] (1207389). [[Jacob Kernkraut]] is also a trustee of [[E And E Kernkraut Charities Limited]] (275636), [[Alte Feiga Trust]] (1126587), [[Beis Ruchel D'satmar (london) Limited]] (1125988). [[Joseph Weissman]] is also a trustee of [[Kehal Yetev Lev]] (1199537).<ref name="CCTrustees" />
*'''Shared trustees/directors:''' [[Moses Benedikt]] is also connected with [[Brid Gardens]] (1197961)<ref>Charity Commission for England and Wales, public register data extract (trustee table, trustee ID 12566138), 13 October 2026.</ref>, [[Satmar Seminary]] (1200219)<ref>Charity Commission for England and Wales, public register data extract (trustee table, trustee ID 12566138), 13 October 2026.</ref>, [[Tag North London]] (1207389)<ref>Charity Commission for England and Wales, public register data extract (trustee table, trustee ID 12566138), 13 October 2026.</ref>; [[Jacob Kernkraut]] is also connected with [[E And E Kernkraut Charities Limited]] (275636)<ref>Charity Commission for England and Wales, public register data extract (trustee table, trustee ID 1952614), 13 October 2026.</ref>, [[Alte Feiga Trust]] (1126587)<ref>Charity Commission for England and Wales, public register data extract (trustee table, trustee ID 1952614), 13 October 2026.</ref>, [[Beis Ruchel D'satmar (london) Limited]] (1125988)<ref>Charity Commission for England and Wales, public register data extract (trustee table, trustee ID 1952614), 13 October 2026.</ref>, [[Classquote Limited]] (1080482)<ref>Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/gyazNQ--Hc5plNoHTpTxex-P26w/appointments KERNKRAUT, Jacob appointments] ''Companies House'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>; [[Joseph Weissman]] is also connected with [[Kehal Yetev Lev]] (1199537)<ref>Charity Commission for England and Wales, public register data extract (trustee table, trustee ID 12678557), 13 October 2026.</ref>; [[Brenda Ruth Feldman]] is also connected with [[Otto Schiff Housing Association]] (210396)<ref>Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/M-NLRI0mbPQP8k8QafW56YoQFFQ/appointments FELDMAN, Brenda Ruth appointments] ''Companies House'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>, [[Jewish Care Community Foundation]] (1048105)<ref>Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/M-NLRI0mbPQP8k8QafW56YoQFFQ/appointments FELDMAN, Brenda Ruth appointments] ''Companies House'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>, [[Jewish Care]] (802559)<ref>Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/M-NLRI0mbPQP8k8QafW56YoQFFQ/appointments FELDMAN, Brenda Ruth appointments] ''Companies House'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>; [[Jacob Friedman]] is also connected with [[The F W Trust Ltd]] (1131276)<ref>Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/o5AfnT6WWaUFcZas0qb-sc_joB4/appointments FRIEDMAN, Jacob appointments] ''Companies House'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>; [[Uriel Sholom Kaplan]] is also connected with [[Jewish Education Fund Limited]] (1046994)<ref>Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/oHsDRWLshszg0Dcz6c0QcBPHC-E/appointments KAPLAN, Uriel Sholom appointments] ''Companies House'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>; [[Yaakov Shaltiel]] is also connected with [[Gesher]] (1142268)<ref>Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/D8d5OsyoPGBCST_f_-_u5yvFOjw/appointments SHALTIEL, Yaakov, Dr appointments] ''Companies House'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>.
*'''Sale of properties to a company controlled by a former trustee:''' In May 2025 the charity sold 120 St John Street, London EC1V 4JS (title 354647) and Units 8 & 11, Tofts Farm Industrial Estate, Hartlepool (title CE125869). HM Land Registry's company ownership data now records the proprietor of both titles as [[Urban Capital Assets Ltd]] (16278486), registered 2 June 2025, with prices paid of £3,500,000 and £2,800,000 respectively. The same company is also registered (on the same date) to an adjoining title, land on the east side of Tofts Road East, Tofts Farm Industrial Estate (CE198436).<ref name="LRCCOD">HM Land Registry, [https://use-land-property-data.service.gov.uk/datasets/ccod UK companies that own property in England and Wales] dataset, October 2026, accessed 14 October 2026.</ref> Urban Capital Assets Ltd was incorporated on 26 February 2025 as Bellview Holdings Ltd (renamed 13 March 2025). Its directors are Jacob Friedman (appointed 26 February 2025) and Raechel Friedman (appointed 22 April 2025), and Jacob Friedman is recorded as its person with significant control (75% or more). Its first charges, to Recognise Bank Limited and Jemrex Capital Limited, were created on 9 May 2025, the date of the purchase, over 120 St John Street.<ref name="UCAKF">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/16278486 URBAN CAPITAL ASSETS LTD (16278486)] (overview, officers, persons with significant control and charges) ''Companies House'', accessed 14 October 2026.</ref> Companies House records a Jacob Friedman (same month and year of birth and nationality) as a director of The Knightland Foundation from 18 February 2011 to 3 November 2023 and as its person with significant control until April 2021, and a Raechel Friedman (same month and year of birth) as a director from 2011 to 2017.<ref name="CHKFoff">Companies House, [https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07535303/officers THE KNIGHTLAND FOUNDATION – officers] ''Companies House'', accessed 14 October 2026.</ref> The charity's accounts for the year ending 31 January 2025 state only that two commercial properties were sold after the year end to repay the bank loan.<ref name="CCAccKF" />

==External links==
*[https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5017334 Charity Commission – THE KNIGHTLAND FOUNDATION]
*[https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07535303 Companies House – THE KNIGHTLAND FOUNDATION]

==Notes==
<references/>

Alte Feiga Trust

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Alta Faiga Trust

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#REDIRECT [[Alta Faige Trust]]

Alte Feiga Trust

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[[Alte Feiga Trust]] (Charity number: 1126587) is a registered charity.<ref name="CCTrustees">Charity Commission for England and Wales, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4042533/trustees ALTE FEIGA TRUST trustees] ''Charity Commission for England and Wales'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>

*Charity registered: 6 November 2008 (Registered)<ref name="CCTrustees" />
*Charity contact address: 56 Chardmore Road, London, N16 6jh<ref name="CCOverview">Charity Commission for England and Wales, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4042533 ALTE FEIGA TRUST overview] ''Charity Commission for England and Wales'', accessed 13 October 2026.</ref>

==People==
===Trustees===
{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! Role !! Date of appointment !! Other trusteeships
|-
| [[Berish Gross]] || Trustee || Not disclosed || [[Tehilois Yoel]] (charity number: 1177104)
|-
| [[Jacob Kernkraut]] || Trustee || Not disclosed || [[E And E Kernkraut Charities Limited]] (charity number: 275636) | [[Beis Ruchel D'satmar (london) Limited]] (charity number: 1125988) | [[The Knightland Foundation]] (charity number: 1143110)
|-
| [[Jacob Kornbluh]] || Trustee || 12 October 2012 || [[Shining Stars London]] (charity number: 1186702) | [[Kupas Toras Chesed Ltd]] (charity number: 1197880)
|}
Source: Charity Commission register.<ref name="CCTrustees" />

==Finances==
{| class="wikitable"
! Financial year end !! Total income !! Total expenditure !! Income from donations and legacies !! Expenditure on charitable activities !! Grants to institutions !! Total funds (assets less liabilities) !! Cash !! Employees !! Volunteers !! Accounts received
|-
| 31 December 2021 || £362,016 || £380,239 || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || 0 || 13 September 2022 (due 31 October 2022)
|-
| 31 December 2022 || £398,787 || £452,105 || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || 0 || 14 May 2023 (due 31 October 2023)
|-
| 31 December 2023 || £498,489 || £494,895 || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || Not disclosed || 0 || 29 October 2024 (due 31 October 2024)
|-
| 31 December 2024 || £606,383 || £595,813 || £606,383 || £595,813 || £49,170 || £20,495 || £23,255 || 0 || 0 || 31 October 2025 (due 31 October 2025)
|-
| 31 December 2025 || £675,187 || £618,083 || £675,187 || £618,083 || £60,340 || £77,599 || £40,479 || 0 || 0 || 24 September 2026 (due 31 October 2026)
|}
Source: Charity Commission financial history and register data.<ref name="CCFin">Charity Commission for England and Wales, [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4042533/financial-history ALTE FEIGA TRUST financial history] ''Charity Commission for England and Wales'', accessed 13 October 2026; figures from the Commission's public register data extract dated 13 October 2026.</ref> The Commission records grant-making as the charity's main activity.<ref name="CCOverview" /> Trustee payments: "No trustees receive any remuneration, payments or benefits from the charity."<ref name="CCOverview" />

==Controversies and conflicts==
*'''Filing compliance:''' All 5 annual returns and accounts on the Charity Commission record were received by their due dates, and the register states "Charity reporting is up to date (on time)".<ref name="CCFin" /><ref name="CCOverview" />
*'''Overlapping trusteeships:''' [[Berish Gross]] is also a trustee of [[Tehilois Yoel]] (1177104). [[Jacob Kernkraut]] is also a trustee of [[E And E Kernkraut Charities Limited]] (275636), [[Beis Ruchel D'satmar (london) Limited]] (1125988), [[The Knightland Foundation]] (1143110). [[Jacob Kornbluh]] is also a trustee of [[Shining Stars London]] (1186702), [[Kupas Toras Chesed Ltd]] (1197880).<ref name="CCTrustees" />
*'''Shared trustees/directors:''' [[Jacob Kernkraut]] is also connected with [[The Knightland Foundation]] (1143110), which is subject to a Charity Commission regulatory alert<ref>Charity Commission for England and Wales, public register data extract (trustee table, trustee ID 1952614), 13 October 2026.</ref>.

==External links==
*[https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4042533 Charity Commission – ALTE FEIGA TRUST]

==Notes==
<references/>

History of Chabad in the USSR - 1989

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{{Chabad sidebar}}
{{short description|Book detailing the history of the Chabad movement in the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1950}}
'''History of Chabad in the USSR''' (Hebrew: ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'') is a 1989 historical work documenting the struggles and activities of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement in the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1950.

The book covers the period from the Bolshevik Revolution through the leadership of Rabbi [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] (the Rebbe Rayatz), focusing on resistance to religious persecution by the Yevsektsiya (Jewish Section of the Communist Party), underground yeshivas, and efforts to sustain Jewish observance.

== Background ==
Compiled by Rabbi [[Shalom Dovber Levin]] based on letters, documents, and oral testimonies, the work was published by Kehot Publication Society in Brooklyn, New York.<ref name="Levin1989">Levin, Shalom Dovber. ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', Kehot Publication Society, Brooklyn, NY, 1989.</ref>

It details the Rebbe Rayatz's campaigns, arrests, exile, and support networks for Chabad communities, including the network of underground ''Tomchei Temimim'' yeshivas that operated across dozens of towns. The book is organized thematically with chronological elements, featuring a special section on the yeshiva network (chapters נא–צח) and emigration (צט–קכ).

== Chapter 1: The first years of Soviet rule ==
Describes the Bolshevik takeover in late 1917, the civil war, founding of the Yevsektsiya, early anti-religious propaganda and measures (synagogue seizures, closure of communal institutions), and the relatively limited special targeting of Chabad before the mid-1920s. Most Jews remained traditional; open freethinkers were few.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]] | [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The Communist government, upon coming to power, did not immediately emphasize in its official laws its opposition to religion. At the very beginning of its existence it proclaimed the separation of religion from the state and that religion was the private affair of citizens. This law did not particularly hinder Jewish institutions, which previously had not received support from the state treasury either.
<ref name="Levin1989p19">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 19.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>In the first year of the Yevsektsiya’s existence it did not have real influence on the Jewish street. The Jews of Russia were then mostly believing Jews, the sons of believers… The number of freethinkers was small.
<ref name="Levin1989p19">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 19.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 2: The state of the economy – at the end of the war ==
Covers the devastation from war, pogroms (especially in Ukraine), famine, nationalization of property, and the extreme poverty that prevented reconstruction of religious institutions. Sabbath-observing Jews were barred from state factories; private trade was restricted.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Meir Gorkov]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The years of war, years of siege, illness and famine, years of pogroms, pillage and murder… which passed over our land… made desolation in the land and, God forbid, it was as if the divine light had already been extinguished. How many houses of study and synagogues were destroyed, Torah scrolls torn and burned, rabbis, community leaders and shochetim with thousands of Jews were killed and slaughtered…
— Rebbe Rayatz letter, 22 Tevet 5683 (1922–1923) <ref name="Levin1989p20">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 20 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz letter, 22 Tevet 5683 (1922–1923)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 3: Dispatch of mashpi’im throughout Russia ==
Details the post-1920 (after the Rebbe Rashab’s passing) organized sending of mashpi’im to towns to establish fixed Torah and Chassidus study, “Kupat Rabbeinu,” and strengthen Jewish life. Includes early instructions and reports.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Eliyahu Eber]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Avraham Baruch Pevzner]] | [[Hillel Liberov]] | [[Samuel Levin]] | [[Kupat Rabbeinu]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Also endeavour in the matter of establishing fixed study of Chassidus in the towns… and the establishment of chadarim in the towns…
— Rebbe Rashab’s will <ref name="Levin1989p22">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 22 (quoting Rebbe Rashab’s will).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 4: Strengthening Judaism in Georgia ==
Covers emissaries sent to Georgia and the Caucasus from the late 1910s onward (Levitin, Slavin, Shushkin, Zuber, Perlove, etc.), founding of cheders and yeshivas, and later developments including arrests.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmuel Levitin]] | [[Avraham Levi Slavin]] | [[Nachum Shmaryahu Shushkin]] | [[Israel Zuber]] | [[Mordechai Perlove]] | [[Simcha Gorodetsky]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The cheder, thank God, has grown… and he made them a cheder in another town, and in a second and third, until he travelled through all the towns of the country…
— Rebbe Rayatz <ref name="Levin1989p25">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 25 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 5: Establishing the destroyed religious institutions ==
Describes efforts (with limited foreign aid) to rebuild mikvaos, support rabbis/shochetim/melamdim, and the shift toward NEP-era small-scale economic activity that partially enabled religious life until 1929.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[David Schifrin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Havlin]] | [[Agudas Chassidei Chabad]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Every community and assembly in Israel is doing great work to re-establish all matters of religion and to rebuild them as at the beginning, but they lack the means… and in this I turn to our brothers the House of Israel everywhere… to found a special society to come to the aid of the Hebrew communities in our land…
<ref name="Levin1989p20">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 20.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 6: Establishing a spiritual rabbinical centre ==
Recounts the founding of the Rabbinical Centre in 1923 under the Rebbe’s initiative, its work against anti-religious measures, and continuation after the Rebbe’s departure.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmuel Rabinowitz]] | [[Yaakov Klemes]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Yechezkel Abramsky]] | [[Shmuel Levitin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Gluskin]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>From the year 5682 (1921–1922), in this month until Sivan 5687 (1926–1927), almost no week passed in which I did not do difficult work in the yoke of Torah, and in open and hidden war with the persecutors of religion, namely the well-known Yevsektsiya.
— Rebbe Rayatz <ref name="Levin1989p35">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 35 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 7: The struggle against the closure of the chadarim ==
The longest early chapter, subdivided into obtaining permits for private study with three pupils, memoranda and petitions, the law after the permit, continued persecutions, establishment and support of chadarim, the year 5688 (1927–1928), subsequent years, and compulsory education laws. Includes extensive documentary material on Yevsektsiya actions and legal battles. Details the 1923-1924 legal interpretations allowing limited private religious instruction (up to 3 pupils), Yevsektsiya propaganda and show trials against melamdim, establishment of underground or semi-legal chadarim supported by the Rebbe's network, lists of towns with numbers of pupils and support needs in 1928, the impact of the 1930 compulsory education law forcing parents to send children to Soviet schools or face penalties, and individual accounts of parents continuing clandestine education.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Yaakov Zachariah Maskalik]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]] | [[Benzion Maroz]] | [[Raphael Cohen]] | [[Menachem Mendel Gluskin]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In the general session of the VTsIK… on Saturday 7 July 1923… Krylenko… declared that home studies in private groups are not included in the prohibition at all.
<ref name="Levin1989p39">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 39.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The Yevsektsiya… set for itself the mission of making possible the uprooting of the Torah from among the Jewish people… and of liquidating the teachers of the Jewish people.
<ref name="Levin1989p41">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 41.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>There are those who think that the Torah has already disappeared entirely from the House of Jacob in our land... but it is also true that Israel is not yet widowed and there are still many boys and youths whose fathers entrust them to study Torah.
— Shlomo Yosef Zevin <ref name="Levin1989p53">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 53 (quoting Shlomo Yosef Zevin).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 8: The struggle against the seizure of the synagogues ==
Details the systematic confiscation of synagogues by the Yevsektsiya for clubs and other uses, starting from the early years of Soviet rule. Describes legal efforts by the Rabbinical Centre and lawyers (including Orinson), petitions to Kalinin, local resistance (e.g., in Oni, Georgia, where residents physically prevented closure until military intervention), gradual takeover of remaining synagogues by the mid-1930s, formation of secret minyanim in private homes, and efforts to protect or relocate Torah scrolls. Includes specific letters from 1933-1934 describing conditions in towns like Nikolayev, Krivoy Rog, Uman, and others.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Yaakov Landau]] | [[Nachum Shmaryahu Shushkin]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[Mikhail Kalinin]] | [[Orinson]] (lawyer)

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The synagogues are taken by force for clubs... while the chadarim of Israel are closed, and the people in whom there is the scent of Torah and service are persecuted, insulted and judged, by the young men who have shaken off every good feeling...
— Rebbe Rayatz, 28 Tammuz 5683 (1922–1923) <ref name="Levin1989p65">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 65 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 28 Tammuz 5683 (1922–1923)).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>In general, persecutions of the religion have now begun in order to uproot the remnant of the survivors; they take and close the synagogues and batei midrash (only secretly and cunningly, so as not to make a noise abroad).
— Yaakov Zachariah Maskalik, 1934 <ref name="Levin1989p66">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 66 (quoting Yaakov Zachariah Maskalik, 1934).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 9: Spreading Torah – Tiferet Bachurim ==
Describes the Rebbe's efforts to establish regular Torah study sessions in synagogues and the organization of "Tiferet Bachurim" groups for young workers, merchants, and students (ages ~18-35) to study Chumash, Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, Gemara, etc., in the evenings. Supported by the Rabbinical Centre in multiple cities including Moscow, Leningrad, Minsk, Vitebsk, Nevel. Reports of hundreds of members and positive impact on Jewish life.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Eliyahu Chaim Althaus]] | [[Tiferet Bachurim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The experience has shown me that in Tsaritsyn... in seven synagogues, thank God, they study in every synagogue between Mincha and Maariv and after Maariv a Gemara lesson, and this costs me five rubles... per month.
— Rebbe Rayatz <ref name="Levin1989p69">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 69 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 10: The covenant to the last drop of blood ==
Recounts the winter 1924 (5684 (1923–1924)) Moscow assembly of Tomchei Temimim students (eight or nine “temimim”) who swore an oath of self-sacrifice “to the last drop of blood” for Torah and Judaism. The Rebbe divided regions among them for underground work establishing chadarim, fixed study sessions, and mikvaot. Shortly afterward the GPU sought to arrest the Rebbe in Rostov; he relocated temporarily and then moved the household to Leningrad. Includes accounts of a 19 Kislev farbrengen in Rostov and the participants’ subsequent activities.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Benzion Shemtov]] | [[Simcha Gorodetsky]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]] | [[GPU]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>After the histalkus, decrees began against Torah and chadarim. In 5684 (1923–1924) nine temimim—students of Tomchei Temimim—gathered in Moscow and I was the tenth, and we all swore to sacrifice ourselves for Torah until the last drop of blood. We then divided the work in the country, each to a separate region. This had a great influence on the country and hundreds of Talmud Torahs and chadarim were founded.
— one of the participants <ref name="Levin1989p73">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 73 (quoting one of the participants).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>I selected eight young temimim with healthy heads and hearts and hands and feet. I called them together to Moscow for an assembly, and we swore an oath that whatever would be, one must be ready to go to the last drop of blood.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 13 Tammuz 5692 (1931–1932) talk <ref name="Levin1989p73">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 73 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 13 Tammuz 5692 (1931–1932) talk).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 11: Strengthening Judaism in the colonies (koloniyes) ==
Details efforts from the mid-1920s to support Jewish agricultural colonies (especially in Crimea, Kherson, and nearby districts) established with Joint Distribution Committee assistance. The Rabbinical Centre sent questionnaires, emissaries (including Simcha Gorodetsky), and funds for shochetim, melamdim, mikvaot, and synagogues. Includes extensive lists of colonies and their needs, negotiations with Joint officials, and the Rebbe’s insistence that material aid be accompanied by religious infrastructure. Later sections note famine-driven departure of many shochetim in the early 1930s.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Simcha Gorodetsky]] | [[Aharon Eliezer Zeitlin]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>A special chapter is the fifth department, the colonies department in the districts of Crimea, Kherson, Kriukovo and others… the new settlements being built in Crimea and elsewhere without any sign of Judaism and without any scent of ancestral tradition, without a place for prayer and without a teacher for Torah, without a shochet for kashrut and without a mikveh for purity…
— Shlomo Yosef Zevin survey, late Shevat 5687 (1926–1927) <ref name="Levin1989p74">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 74 (quoting Shlomo Yosef Zevin survey, late Shevat 5687 (1926–1927)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 12: Mission of R. Benzion Shemtov ==
Covers the 1925–1927 (approx.) clandestine travels of Benzion Shemtov through Volhynia, Kiev, and Podolia. He established dozens of chadarim and several secret yeshivas, organized Tiferet Bachurim groups, fixed study sessions, and mikvaot, while compiling statistical reports on Jewish religious life. He was later arrested and sentenced to three years in Siberia.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Benzion Shemtov]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Eliyahu Chaim Althaus]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>For two and a half years he travelled, thank God, in great success, and founded very many tens of chadarim, and delivered passionate speeches about fixed times for Torah… and a different spirit entered Volhynia.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 2 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p80">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 80 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 2 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 13: Mission of R. Binyamin Gorodetsky ==
Describes Binyamin Gorodetsky’s 1927 mission to the Kiev region. He reorganized and expanded chadarim and yeshivas (including taking over an existing yeshiva in Podol), established “Torah Temimah” and “Ohalei Shem,” and worked among both observant and newly attracted Jews until his arrest around early 1931 and subsequent exile.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In the summer of 5687 (1926–1927) a letter from our Rebbe was received at the administration of the beis midrash, in which he expresses his desire to send me as a rabbi to Kiev and the surrounding districts, and also for the purpose of organizing chadarim, Talmud Torahs and yeshivas.
— Binyamin Gorodetsky, Sefer Zikaron <ref name="Levin1989p83">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 83 (quoting Binyamin Gorodetsky, Sefer Zikaron).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 14: Mission of R. Simon Yakovashvili (Yakobson) ==
Recounts the Georgian-born temim Simon Yakovashvili’s 1926–1927 mission throughout Georgia after Shmuel Levitin’s departure. He established chadarim, yeshivas, and mikvaot and delivered public addresses. Yevsektsiya head Litvakov later complained that the Rebbe’s emissaries had revived religious life even in distant Georgia and Turkestan. Includes coded letters describing his arrest and release.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Simon Yakovashvili (Yakobson)]] | [[Shmuel Levitin]] | [[Litvakov]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Wherever we turn—not only in White Russia or Little Russia and Inner Russia but even in distant corners such as Georgia and Turkestan—there too are found the messengers and agents of Rabbi Schneersohn to maintain the institutions of religion.
— Litvakov, head of the Yevsektsiya, as reported 5687 (1926–1927) <ref name="Levin1989p84">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 84 (quoting Litvakov, head of the Yevsektsiya, as reported 5687 (1926–1927)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 15: Mission of R. Simcha Gorodetsky ==
After his Crimean colonies work, Simcha Gorodetsky was sent in 1926 to Samarkand/Bukhara. He founded a large Talmud Torah (reportedly reaching ~800–1,000 children and 25–45 melamdim) and a Tiferet Bachurim group among the local Bukharan Jewish community.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Simcha Gorodetsky]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>He put himself in actual danger and came to Bukhara, and thank God in the city of Samarkand he founded chadarim and within about three months gathered about eight hundred young students…
— Rebbe Rayatz, 2 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p88">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 88 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 2 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 16: Organizing home handicrafts (kustar) ==
Covers the Rebbe’s efforts during the NEP period to promote and obtain Joint support for Jewish religious craftsmen (kustarniks) who could observe Shabbat while earning a living. Includes detailed proposals submitted to Joint officials in Moscow and Berlin, the founding of an artel in Leningrad, and correspondence highlighting the desperate economic situation of observant Jews barred from state employment.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]] | [[Dr. Rosen]] | [[Dr. Haukin]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>I am not content with the work in matters of Torah and buildings; I am submitting a memorandum to the Joint concerning aid for handicraft work—kustar—and I am founding, by means of letters, a bureau in New York that will enter into discussions with the members of the Joint…
— Rebbe Rayatz, 15 Menachem Av 5688 (1927–1928) <ref name="Levin1989p89">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 89 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 15 Menachem Av 5688 (1927–1928)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 17: Livelihood of Anash ==
Describes the severe economic distress of Chabad hasidim (Anash) in the mid-1920s. Most were small traders or kustarniks whose livelihoods were collapsing under Soviet restrictions. The Rebbe and the Rabbinical Centre (via Shmuel Levitin) circulated questionnaires to former Tomchei Temimim students about their skills and willingness to take up agriculture or crafts, while continuing to press the Joint for support. Includes detailed accounts of the Rebbe’s household expenses in Leningrad and the general poverty that made even supporting the yeshiva network difficult.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmuel Levitin]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]] | [[Anash]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The state of Anash is that there is no need to describe their condition in general, and the main thing is that small trade from private individuals and the kustarniks have recently been declining lower and lower… the majority of Anash are merchants and a very small minority engage in some handicraft…
— Yitzchak Leib Neishuler letter, 2 Menachem Av 5686 (1925–1926) <ref name="Levin1989p91">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 91 (quoting Yitzchak Leib Neishuler letter, 2 Menachem Av 5686 (1925–1926)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 18: Separation of religion from the state and the Yevsektsiya ==
Presents a detailed memorandum (delivered by the Rebbe to Professor Haukin in 1927) contrasting official Soviet law on separation of church and state with the actual practices of the Yevsektsiya and local authorities. Documents how Yevsektsiya pressure led to forced atheism, closure of synagogues, harassment of parents providing religious education, discrimination against observant employees and students, and the absence of genuine Jewish representation before the government. Notes that the Yevsektsiya’s anti-religious campaign continued mainly until around 1930.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[Professor Haukin]] | [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The religion is declared the private affair of the believer. The state does not intervene at all in the sphere of religion… To our regret, however, we see facts that grossly contradict the above situation.
<ref name="Levin1989p93">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 93 (from the 1927 memorandum on the religious life of the Jewish population).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 19: The Leningrad Conference ==
Recounts the 1925–1926 crisis surrounding a proposed all-Russian Jewish communal conference initiated by the largely secular leadership of the Leningrad Jewish community (under Gorowitz). The Rebbe and observant circles strongly opposed it, fearing it would be exploited by the Yevsektsiya and freethinkers to introduce reforms. The chapter details the split in the Leningrad community, the founding of the pure “Tzemach Tzedek” congregation under Shimon Lazarov, public meetings, the Rebbe’s open letter of 13 Sivan 5686 (1925–1926) condemning the conference, and the eventual collapse of the project under GPU pressure. Eliyahu Chaim Althaus’s long contemporary account is extensively quoted.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Eliyahu Chaim Althaus]] | [[Shimon Lazarov]] | [[David Tevele Katzenelenbogen]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[GPU]] | [[Tzemach Tzedek]] (Leningrad congregation)

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>It is clear to me that this conference which the Leningrad community is thinking of calling is unclean… I am utterly opposed to any general conference whatsoever, and I testify by all that is holy to me that the initiators of the idea of the general Leningrad conference have an evil thing concealed in it…
— Rebbe Rayatz, 15 Menachem Av 5688 (1927–1928) letter <ref name="Levin1989p96">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 96 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 15 Menachem Av 5688 (1927–1928) letter).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>A general religious conference of the community of Israel who fear God and keep the Torah and the commandments in this country… has great value, and very great responsibility is involved in it and in its results… [But] the “general religious conference” which the Leningrad community is calling is new in the land and departs from the rule…
— Rebbe Rayatz open letter, 13 Sivan 5686 (1925–1926) <ref name="Levin1989p103">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 103 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz open letter, 13 Sivan 5686 (1925–1926)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 20: The Korosten Conference ==
Describes the October 1926 (Marcheshvan 5687 (1926–1927)) conference of nearly 100 rabbis (mainly from Volhynia and Ukraine) held in Korosten under official Soviet permission. Initiated by local rabbis (including Shmuel Kipnis) as a counterweight to the secular Leningrad proposal, it focused on strengthening religious institutions. The Rebbe was elected honorary president in absentia; Shlomo Yosef Zevin and others played leading roles. The gathering raised Yevsektsiya and GPU hostility and contributed to later arrests. Includes the official participant list and contemporary press reports.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Shmuel Kipnis]] | [[Benzion Shemtov]] | [[Shimon Lazarov]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[GPU]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The assembly of the Volhynian rabbis in the city of Korosten… made a great impression on the world of religious (Orthodox) Judaism. In total there were close to one hundred rabbis… The assembly chose His Honor [the Rebbe] as honorary president in his absence…
— Elchanan Dov Marozov letter, 3 Kislev 5687 (1926–1927) <ref name="Levin1989p106">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 106 (quoting Elchanan Dov Marozov letter, 3 Kislev 5687 (1926–1927)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 21: The arrests ==
Covers the wave of arrests in 1926–1928 of the Rebbe’s secretaries and emissaries connected to the underground Torah work and the conferences. Benzion Shemtov was arrested in Ovruch, held in Kharkov, and sentenced to three years in Siberia. Elchanan Dov Marozov was arrested in early 1927 on a fabricated charge and exiled to Siberia. Others arrested or sentenced to forced labor included Shlomo Chaim Kesselman (Polotsk), Binyamin Gorodetsky (Kiev), and several Nevel yeshiva students. The chapter draws on the Rebbe’s letters, Yechezkel Feigin’s reports, and contemporary accounts.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Benzion Shemtov]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]] | [[GPU]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The Yevsektsiya smelled that there is a hidden hand working and making great propaganda in spreading Torah… and for about three months he felt that he had a shadow following his tracks… and one day in Adar 5687 (1926–1927) they caught him in the city of Ovruch and sent him bound in iron chains under heavy guard to the city of Kharkov and put him in prison…
— Rebbe Rayatz, 2 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p115">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 115 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 2 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 22: The Rebbe continues the struggle ==
Despite the arrests of his closest aides and the personal danger, the Rebbe continued directing the network of underground yeshivas and chadarim. Yechezkel Feigin, then managing the dispersed Tomchei Temimim branches, visited him after Pesach 5687 (1926–1927) and recorded the Rebbe’s continued focus on the general work even while physically weakened.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Despite all this the Rebbe continued his work with self-sacrifice, without taking into account the arrests of the workers with him, nor the risk that they were preparing to arrest him as well…
<ref name="Levin1989p118">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 118.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 23: The arrest of the Rebbe and his exit from Russia ==
Narrates the Rebbe’s arrest on the night of 15 Sivan 5687 (June 1927) in Leningrad, the interrogations, his refusal to abandon tefillin, the 19 days of imprisonment, transfer to Kostroma, then to Malakhovka near Moscow, and the intensive international efforts that secured his release and permission to leave the Soviet Union in the autumn of 5688 (Tishrei). Includes coded and open letters from Anash describing the shock in Jewish Russia, public fasts, and the Rebbe’s own later account of the period. He settled in Riga.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Mordechai Dubin]] | [[Dr. Yosef Rosen]] | [[Eliyahu Chaim Althaus]] | [[GPU]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>A time of trouble for Jacob. On the night of Wednesday 15 Sivan they called our honored friend [the Rebbe] the verse Genesis 39:20 [And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison]… The eyes of all Israel in our country are covered with tears of blood, they decree fasts everywhere. Danger faces all Israel and the Torah.
<ref name="Levin1989p121">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 121 (anonymous letter from Russia, seventh day of the arrest).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Blessed is He who has kept us alive and sustained us and brought us to this time, that I am able to come into correspondence with my beloved and faithful friends… for during the last three months of my dwelling in our country I was deprived of the ability—because of the watchful eyes of the known searchers—to write even regards.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 8 Menachem Av 5688 (1927–1928), from Riga <ref name="Levin1989p125">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 125 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 8 Menachem Av 5688 (1927–1928), from Riga).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 24: The Committee of Shield and Shelter for the Jews of Russia ==
Upon settling in Riga, the Rebbe reorganized and expanded the external aid committee (previously planned with figures such as Dr. Meir Hildesheimer, Wolf of Frankfurt, and others). Meetings in Riga in late 1927 / early 1928 defined a multi-branch program: support for yeshivas and chadarim, mikvaot and synagogues, legal defense against Yevsektsiya actions, kustar (handicraft) assistance, and work in the colonies. The chapter includes the detailed protocol of the Riga meetings and the formal work plan of the “Committee for Strengthening Torah and Religion in Soviet Russia.”

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Dr. Meir Hildesheimer]] | [[Mordechai Dubin]] | [[Yosef Rosen (Rogatchover)]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]] | [[Va'ad HaEzra]] (later Paris/Poland branches)

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The work must be conducted under the supervision of the head of the center over the course of the work and its educational guidance, as was the practice in Leningrad…
<ref name="Levin1989p127">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 127 (from the Riga committee protocol).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 25: Support for the Jews of Russia ==
Focuses on the material (not only spiritual) aid organized by the Rebbe Rayatz immediately after leaving the USSR and settling in Riga. Priority was given to expanding home handicraft (*kustar*) work, the only viable livelihood for Sabbath observers once state employment and private trade were restricted. Detailed memoranda were sent to Prof. V. Haukin (Alliance Israélite) and others; the Rebbe stressed that the aid was for all Russian Jews, not only Chabad. Trips to Berlin and other European centers were made for this purpose.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Professor V. Haukin]] | [[Dr. Meir Hildesheimer]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]] | [[Alliance Israélite Universelle]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Not only spiritual support did our Rebbe extend to the Jews of Russia upon reaching the free world, but also, and perhaps mainly, material help… the only work possible for Sabbath observers.
<ref name="Levin1989p135">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 135.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 26: Sending Matzos to Russia ==
Documents the large-scale 1929 (Adar–Nisan 5689 (1928–1929)) campaign that shipped dozens of train cars of baked matzos plus thousands of parcels of Passover flour. Signed joint appeals with the Chofetz Chaim and R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Later years faced Soviet restrictions (only flour parcels allowed, high customs, risk to recipients); the Rebbe continued organizing via Riga and Berlin centers.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Yisrael Meir Kagan (Chofetz Chaim)]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]] | [[Dr. Meir Hildesheimer]] | [[Eliyahu Chaim Althaus]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In a short time of about twenty-six days something was accomplished that at first seemed impossible… 28 train cars of baked matzos and 5,689 parcels of Passover flour…
— Rebbe Rayatz, 27 Nisan 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p138">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 138 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 27 Nisan 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 27: The Journey to the United States for the Benefit of Russian Jews ==
Covers the Rebbe’s 1929–1930 visit to America (and brief stop in Eretz Yisrael). Primary goal was to mobilize public opinion and institutions for Russian Jewry. Meetings with the Union of Orthodox Rabbis; limited practical success because the Wall Street crash intervened. Contemporary press coverage and coded letters from remaining rabbis in the USSR are included.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Union of Orthodox Rabbis]] | [[R. Moshe Zev Margolies]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The general matters with which the Rebbe is occupied for the benefit of our brothers living in our country… require and force a journey of the Rebbe himself to the United States.
— Yechezkel Feigin, 25 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p143">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 143 (quoting Yechezkel Feigin, 25 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 28: Liquidation of the NEP ==
Describes Stalin’s end of the New Economic Policy (NEP) from 1929/30 onward. Independent handicrafts and petty trade—the remaining sources of livelihood for observant Jews—were eliminated. Sabbath observers were barred from state factories. Some managed cooperative *artels* or night-watchman jobs; most sank into extreme poverty. Letters from Anash (including Leah Beila Levin) illustrate the desperation.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Leah Beila Levin]] | [[Alter Shneur Zalman Gitlin]] | [[Shaul Brook]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Meanwhile the economic situation in Russia worsened greatly, especially for Sabbath-observing Jews… the sources of livelihood of the observant Jews were wiped out.
<ref name="Levin1989p147">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 147.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 29: The Famine ==
Covers the catastrophic famine of 1932–33 (and continuing hardship). Hundreds of letters reached R. Israel Jacobson describing near-starvation; observant Jews were among the first victims. The Rebbe organized emergency “aid for the hungry” funds and Torgsin remittances. Graphic contemporary accounts are quoted.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Zalman Posner]] | [[Moshe Axelrod]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Menachem Mendel Dubrovsky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>For seven or eight years I have been separated from you… now necessity forces me to write a request… for almost a full year we have suffered actual starvation…
— Dov Ber Babrov, 4 Shevat 5693 (1932–1933) <ref name="Levin1989p150">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 150 (quoting Dov Ber Babrov, 4 Shevat 5693 (1932–1933)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 30: The Rebbe’s Efforts to Secure Support ==
Despite the Great Depression choking American fundraising, the Rebbe continued intense personal efforts throughout the famine years (1931–33). He traveled to Paris and Warsaw, incurred large private debts, and sent whatever funds he could raise (mainly via Torgsin). Contemporary letters describe his physical and emotional exhaustion from the work.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Rothstein]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Torgsin]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>You have no concept at all of how much soul-pain and grief I suffered and continue to suffer… I began working for their benefit without rest… the support is not at all in proportion to the labor.
— Rebbe Rayatz to R. Zamszky, late Iyar 5693 (1932–1933) <ref name="Levin1989p158">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 158 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz to R. Zamszky, late Iyar 5693 (1932–1933)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 31: Founding of the “Aid Committee” in Paris and Poland ==
In 1933 the Rebbe established formal aid committees in Paris (with Baron de Gunzburg, R. Eisenstadt and others) and in Warsaw/Poland (jointly with Polish rebbes and communal leaders). A large Warsaw conference in 5694 (1933–1934) issued a joint call; thousands of parcels were subsequently sent.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Baron A. de Gunzburg]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]] | [[Menachem Mendel Rothstein]] | [[Va'ad HaEzra le-Yehudei Rusya]] | [[Agudat ha-Rabbanim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>One of the reasons I came to Poland was to enlist the large Jewish community of Poland to stand ready to help our brothers in Russia…
<ref name="Levin1989p160">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 160.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 32: Sending Money to Russia ==
Explains the official exchange rate (≈1.94 rubles per dollar) versus the black-market rate (5–10 rubles). Direct bank or postal transfers therefore destroyed most of the value. Unofficial channels organized by R. Israel Gurary, R. Shmaryahu Gurary and others delivered 5–8.5 rubles per dollar while minimizing risk to recipients.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Israel Gurary]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Meir Gorkov]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Those who send their money to their relatives through the official bank or post do two evils… the government forces them to exchange it at the official rate…
— Israel Gurary, 1931 <ref name="Levin1989p163">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 163 (quoting Israel Gurary, 1931).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 33: Food and Clothing Parcels ==
Because cash transfers were dangerous and inefficient, the main practical aid became food and clothing parcels (butter, smoked meat, sugar, etc.) sent via Riga. Price lists were circulated; R. Moshe Gurary and R. Israel Jacobson coordinated the American side.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Moshe Gurary]] | [[Israel Jacobson]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>One of the ways of help they request is to send them parcels of foodstuffs via the post… especially kosher meat… and fats such as butter…
<ref name="Levin1989p165">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 165.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 34: The Torgsin Stores ==
From roughly 1932 the Soviet government opened “Torgsin” stores that sold goods only for foreign currency. Relatives abroad could send dollars to a Torgsin address; the recipient received equivalent goods at world prices. This became the preferred method until the stores were closed at the end of 1935.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Meir Gorkov]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Torgsin]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Send me twenty shekels to the address written on the margin… it is a store the government opened for anyone who comes with foreign currency…
— Meir Gorkov, Adar 5692 (1931–1932) <ref name="Levin1989p166">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 166 (quoting Meir Gorkov, Adar 5692 (1931–1932)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 35: Return to Sending Parcels ==
After the closure of Torgsin (end of 1935) the network reverted to ordinary food and clothing parcels. Committees in Paris, Riga and Tel Aviv (Gurary brothers + Eliezer Krasik) continued the work until the outbreak of war interrupted the routes.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Eliezer Krasik]] | [[Mordechai Chefetz]] | [[Shamai Vigan]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Everyone knows that after the closing of the Torgsin the sending of food and clothing parcels is a question of life and existence for a large part of our brothers in Russia.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 14 Elul 5696 (1935–1936) <ref name="Levin1989p168">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 168 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 14 Elul 5696 (1935–1936)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 36: Continuation of the Struggle for Religion in Russia ==
Even after leaving the USSR the Rebbe continued directing the underground work through daring emissaries. Chief among them was R. Yaakov Zechariah Maskalik (“Zhuravitzer”), who traveled as a wandering preacher, founded secret chadarim, study groups and mikvaot, and recruited children for the underground yeshivas. The Rebbe also maintained constant coded correspondence encouraging fixed Torah study, Chassidus and farbrengens. Local reports from Moscow, Kharkov, Kiev, Rostov and elsewhere document the continued spiritual activity.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yaakov Zechariah Maskalik (Zhuravitzer)]] | [[Shaul Brook]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>If I had twenty men like him I would overturn the country. “Ven ich volt hobn tzvantsik Yankelekh volt ich iberkern Russland.”
— Rebbe Rayatz about R. Yaakov Maskalik <ref name="Levin1989p172">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 172 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz about R. Yaakov Maskalik).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 37: Intensification of Religious Persecution ==
A long anthology of 1928–1930 letters from dozens of towns describing the escalating campaign: closure and confiscation of synagogues, sealing of mikvaot, arrests of teachers and yeshiva students, forced signatures renouncing teaching, prohibitions on shechita, and pressure to eat chametz on Passover. Yevsektsiya and later the secret police led the drive. Includes the Rebbe’s 1929 call for a public fast signed with the Chofetz Chaim and R. Chaim Ozer.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[GPU]] | [[Yaakov Zechariah Maskalik]] | [[Yisrael Meir Kagan (Chofetz Chaim)]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The condition of our brothers the children of Israel in Russia and Ukraine is dreadful beyond measure… nearly three million Jewish souls are in distress… the Yevsektsiya seeks to uproot the Torah and erase the name of Heaven…
<ref name="Levin1989p184">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 184 (from the 5689 (1928–1929) call for a public fast).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 38: The State of the Mikvaot ==
In 1924–1930 the Soviet authorities, primarily through the Yevsektsiya, systematically confiscated, sealed or destroyed the remaining mikvaot in virtually every town, after earlier war-time destruction and post-war reconstruction efforts (supported by the Rebbe). A detailed 1928 alphabetical survey compiled from letters of ~150 towns documents the situation: many mikvaot closed for “repairs,” taken over by the municipal bathhouse authority (which raised prices prohibitively or sealed them), or simply destroyed. Local Jews raised partial funds and sought modest aid from abroad via the Rebbe’s network; the Rebbe continued sending encouragement and small sums. By the early 1930s almost all public mikvaot had been eliminated, forcing reliance on secret or temporary facilities.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Yaakov Zechariah Maskalik]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]] | [[Mordechai Feinstein]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>They invalidate mikvaot in every place, and there are also many decrees to close synagogues. Perhaps it would be worthwhile for them to decree a public fast among you on the troubles of Israel.
— Yaakov Maskalik, 1928 <ref name="Levin1989p187">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 187 (quoting Yaakov Maskalik, 1928).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The mikvaot: When years were normal, family purity was fully observed and money was available… Now this question stands in our world with full force… from one side the economic situation is so difficult… and from the other side the attitude of much of the new generation to the whole principle of family purity has also changed…
— Shlomo Yosef Zevin’s 1927 survey <ref name="Levin1989p186">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 186 (quoting Shlomo Yosef Zevin’s 1927 survey).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 39: Persecution of the Rabbis and Those Who Serve in Holiness ==
From the early years of Soviet rule the authorities (initially via the Yevsektsiya, later the GPU/NKVD) targeted rabbis and religious functionaries with personal vilification, heavy taxes, forced resignations, eviction from their homes, confiscation of property, exile and, later, mass arrests, imprisonment and executions. The chapter focuses on 1930 and surrounding years with concrete cases (e.g., R. Alexander Sender Yudasin of Krivoy Rog, R. Menachem Mendel Hilbitz of Zembin, R. Leib Hillel Gluskin of Znamenka, the mass arrest of ~30 rabbis and activists in Minsk after an American visitor publicized conditions). The Rebbe continued to intervene from abroad and to urge support for the remaining rabbis.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Alexander Sender Yudasin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Hilbitz]] | [[Abraham Baruch Pevzner]] | [[Leib Hillel Gluskin]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] | [[GPU]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The reports coming from Russia from the rabbis and those who serve in holiness are shocking, and they inform that the condition of the rabbis there has already descended to a level below which there is nothing… their bread is broken, they are expelled from their dwellings, taxes and levies are imposed upon them in sums that cannot be paid…
— Rebbe Rayatz, 28 Shevat 5690 (1929–1930) <ref name="Levin1989p210">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 210 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 28 Shevat 5690 (1929–1930)).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>In particular in recent times when the sale of bread is only by cards for those who have work and trade, the rabbis… and the elderly who study Torah are hungry for bread without any exaggeration and the situation is terrible and dreadful.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 10 Menachem Av 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p210">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 210 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 10 Menachem Av 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 40: The Lishentsy (Those Deprived of Rights) ==
Rabbis, shochtim, melamdim and other religious functionaries were classified as “lishentsy” (deprived of civic rights) because spiritual work was not recognized as “labor.” Consequences included loss of food ration cards, eviction from nationalized housing, denial of medical care, forced manual labor (wood-chopping etc.), and general social ostracism. The status made normal life nearly impossible and was used to pressure them to resign their posts.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Israel Leib Lipschitz]] | [[Zalman Feiginer]] | [[Nachman Dov Wichnin]] | [[Shmuel Notik]] | [[Lishentsy]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Those deprived of rights, that is, they have no food cards and no means to buy in the collective stores.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 7 Nisan 5690 (1929–1930) <ref name="Levin1989p217">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 217 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 7 Nisan 5690 (1929–1930)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 41: Support for the Rabbis of Russia ==
From exile the Rebbe organized systematic aid for rabbis, yeshiva heads, melamdim and shochtim: food/clothing parcels or Torgsin credits, help for prisoners and exiles, emigration assistance, and support for their children. He sought to establish committees in America, Poland and elsewhere, issued public appeals, and maintained detailed lists of remaining rabbis and mikvaot so that limited funds could be directed where most needed.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Menachem Mendel Rothstein]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]] | [[Agudat ha-Rabbanim]] | [[Va'ad HaEzra]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>From the first hour that the question of the holy vessels in Russia was born, we have not ceased to occupy ourselves with it… the only way to solve this question is through the rabbis abroad… every rabbi in a town or study hall should take upon himself to send one parcel for the rabbis of Russia via Torgsin…
— Rebbe Rayatz, 5692 (1931–1932) <ref name="Levin1989p219">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 219–220 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 5692 (1931–1932)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 42: The Approach to Litvinov ==
In late 1933, when U.S. recognition of the USSR was imminent and Foreign Commissar Maxim Litvinov visited America, the Rebbe coordinated a political campaign. Letters and telegrams were sent to American Jewish leaders and senators (Borah, King, Adler, Dickstein etc.) requesting that the negotiations include relief for Soviet Jewry. A detailed memorandum signed by R. Alter, R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, R. Levin and representatives of Agudat Israel, the liberal rabbis and the Jewish Agency demanded: no closure of religious schools, no ban on Hebrew, permission for rabbis to emigrate, food rations for clergy, no closure of synagogues, no ban on shechita or circumcision.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Maxim Litvinov]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]] | [[William Borah]] | [[Cyrus Adler]] | [[Agudat Israel]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>It is important for us to use this occasion for the benefit of our brothers in Russia… the main thing is to ease the decree of emigration… and for those who cannot leave, to ease their condition so that the right to bread and food from the government stores is not taken from them.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 1933–34 <ref name="Levin1989p222">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 222 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 1933–34).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 43: Mass Arrests of Chabad People ==
From 1935 onward the secret police conducted simultaneous night-time round-ups of 10–20 Chabad hasidim in a single locality so that none could warn the others. The charge of belonging to the “Schneersohn movement” or participating in underground yeshivas, illegal minyanim or 19 Kislev farbrengens was sufficient for arrest, exile or worse. One example is the 1935 Malakhovka (near Moscow) operation; R. Zalman Kornitzer managed to escape and warn others by denying his identity.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shneur Zalman Botman]] | [[Yaakov Zechariah Maskalik]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Abraham Dreizin]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>1) You studied in the yeshiva of Schneersohn and taught others his teachings. 2) You prayed in an illegal minyan… 3) You helped the prisoners, the hasidim of Schneersohn… 4) You organized a farbrengen on 19 Kislev…
— the interrogation of Yechiel Michel Rapoport <ref name="Levin1989p224">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 224 (quoting the interrogation of Yechiel Michel Rapoport).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 44: Agents of the Secret Police ==
The GPU/NKVD systematically pressured arrested Chabad activists to become informers by means of solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, bright lights, insects and threats of death. Most refused. One former Chabad hasid ultimately broke under a death sentence and thereafter traveled from town to town denouncing others; his activities are described in later chapters.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Simcha Gorodetsky]] | [[Raphael Nachman Cohen]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Seeing that I admitted nothing and did not inform on anyone, their anger increased and they decided to punish me with the full severity of the law. They put me in solitary confinement for 37 days!… a tiny cell… a small piece of bread and a cup of water… and they took me for interrogation all night so that I could not even snatch a light sleep.
— Simcha Gorodetsky <ref name="Levin1989p226">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 226 (quoting Simcha Gorodetsky).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 45: The Arrests in Moscow and Malakhovka ==
In the summer–autumn of 1935 a wave of arrests struck the Chabad community around Moscow and Malakhovka. Among those taken were R. Shneur Zalman Botman, R. Yaakov Zechariah Maskalik (Zhuravitzer), R. Eliezer Gorelik, R. Meir Avtzon, R. Abba Levin and others. Most were later exiled; R. Maskalik disappeared after further transfer and is presumed to have perished. Coded letters from Moscow and contemporary press reports (Morgen Journal) list the names. Survivors later recounted the interrogations and the subsequent exile in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shneur Zalman Botman]] | [[Yaakov Zechariah Maskalik]] | [[Eliezer Gorelik]] | [[Meir Avtzon]] | [[Abba Levin]] | [[Shlomo Matosov]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Please inform our father and the Anash that they have begun to deal with the matter of “Vayeshev”… and among our brothers also the father of the orphans R. Yaakov b. Yehudit of Zhuravitz…
<ref name="Levin1989p228">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 228 (coded letter, 18 Elul 5695 (1934–1935)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 46: The Arrests in Other Towns ==
Throughout 1935–1939 simultaneous night arrests of Chabad hasidim continued in Rostov, Leningrad, Kharkov, Chernigov, Yekaterinoslav and many smaller towns. Documented waves include the Rosh Hashanah 5696 (1935–1936) arrests in Rostov (including Shamai Vigan and others, sentenced to three years hard labor in Siberia), the 5697 (1936–1937)–98 arrests in Leningrad that eliminated the remaining leadership of the religious community, the 5699 (1938–1939) arrests in Kharkov, and the arrest of R. Levi Yitzchak Schneerson in Yekaterinoslav. Many of those taken later perished in exile or were executed.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shamai Vigan]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Isaac Raskin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>On the night of the first day of Rosh Hashanah our brothers fell ill [were arrested]… while checking for chametz [house search]…
<ref name="Levin1989p231">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 231 (coded letter from Rostov).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 47: The Life of Chabad People Underground ==
Those who learned they were being sought lived in constant flight: sleeping in forests on the outskirts of Moscow, moving from village to village, or going into deep hiding. Memoirs of R. Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin and others describe weeks of sleeping in the woods, the terror of every noise, and the difficulty of maintaining any communal or family life. Many who remained free continued secret study and farbrengens until they too were caught.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin]] | [[Zalman Shimon Dvorkin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Dubrovsky]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Life under underground conditions grew harder and harder. Certain people revealed that all our young men and boys were listed with them and it was likely they would arrest us all…
— Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin <ref name="Levin1989p233">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 233 (quoting Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 48: The War and the Flight to Central Asia ==
When Germany invaded in June 1941, Jews (including Chabad hasidim) fled the western border regions toward the interior and especially Central Asia. Long, dangerous journeys by train and boat brought large numbers to Samarkand and Tashkent. Memoirs recount bombings, hunger, travel on the Sabbath under conditions of pikuach nefesh, and the eventual concentration of the surviving Chabad community in Uzbekistan.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin]] | [[Yehuda Leib Levin]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]] | [[Mendel Smordinsky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>When the Germans entered Russia, the authorities began building shelters… every night at ten o’clock a German plane appeared and bombed the city… those who had the means left everything behind and tried to flee to the distant regions… most of the Jews fled to Central Asia, Tashkent and Samarkand…
— Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin <ref name="Levin1989p236">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 236 (quoting Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 49: The Famine in Samarkand ==
The sudden influx of tens of thousands of refugees into Samarkand in the winter of 1941–42 produced catastrophic famine and epidemics (typhus, malaria). Daily bread rations were only 400 grams, obtained only after hours or nights of waiting; local toughs often seized the bread. Bodies of those who died of starvation lay unburied in the streets. Chabad activists organized a chevra kadisha, hospital visitation by women who brought food, free soup kitchens and mutual aid. Approximately ten prominent Anash and many women and children perished.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yehuda Leib Levin]] | [[Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Deutsch]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In Samarkand we met the famine face to face. Thousands of refugees streamed there and the authorities were unable to feed all these masses. They introduced strict rationing of bread, and each person was allotted no more than four hundred grams a day…
— Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin <ref name="Levin1989p239">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 239 (quoting Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 50: Sending Parcels through the Rebbe’s Efforts ==
From New York the Rebbe continued to organize Passover aid (matzah and “maot chitim”) and year-round parcels for the refugees in Central Asia and the remaining Jews in European Russia. He appealed to the Joint Distribution Committee, American rabbinic bodies, Agudat Israel and others, and coordinated shipments via Tehran and the Land of Israel. Lists of addresses were compiled so that parcels could reach specific families.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Ephraim Eliezer Yolles]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]] | [[Agudat Israel]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>This year nothing has been done to send help to the Jews in Russia for the needs of Passover… tens of thousands of families will remain without matzah on the Passover… the only advice is to send them help in cash…
— Rebbe Rayatz to the Joint, 12 Adar 5702 (1941–1942) <ref name="Levin1989p242">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 242 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz to the Joint, 12 Adar 5702 (1941–1942)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 51: Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch ==
Tomchei Temimim was founded in Elul 1897 in Lubavitch by the Rebbe Rashab and continued under his son the Rebbe Rayatz. It comprised a main yeshiva for older students (zal), intermediate shiurim, and younger cheder classes, with branches in Zembin, Kublicz, Dokshitz, Nevel, Horodishch, Babinovichi and Shezedrin. A branch (“Torat Emet”) was opened in Hebron in 1912. The First World War forced the Rebbe and his family to leave Lubavitch for Rostov in 1916; the yeshiva itself remained in Lubavitch under increasing hardship until its later relocation.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]] | [[Shlomo Zalman Havlin]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch was founded in Elul 5657 (1896–1897) and existed for twenty years in the town of Lubavitch, with branches in Zembin, Kublicz, Dokshitz, Nevel, Horodishch, Babinovichi and Shezedrin.
<ref name="Levin1989p244">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 244.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 52: Transfer of the Yeshiva to Kremenchug and Orel ==
As the German front approached Lubavitch in 1918 and economic conditions collapsed, the Rebbe Rashab ordered the yeshiva transferred to Kremenchug. Younger students (cheder and shiurim) went first via Orel; the older zal students followed amid wartime chaos, arrests as suspected spies, and interrupted rail lines. Some groups were delayed for months in Orel, Kharkov and elsewhere before reaching Kremenchug.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yehoshua Arash]] | [[Shalom Kuratin]] | [[Eliezer Kaplan]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In Lubavitch a great uproar arose from the approach of the Germans, and the cost of living also rose greatly… and there is no money with them… they decided to leave Lubavitch for the two reasons above, and after exchange of telegrams… I wrote them that they should transfer to Kremenchug…
— Rebbe Rashab, 28 Adar 5678 (1917–1918) <ref name="Levin1989p248">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 248 (quoting Rebbe Rashab, 28 Adar 5678 (1917–1918)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 53: Adventures on the Road and the Yeshiva in Kharkov (1918) ==
One group of students was arrested en route near Poltava, falsely accused of espionage, and nearly shot before local hasidim intervened. Another group was stranded in Kharkov for the entire summer of 1918 and continued studies there under temporary supervision before proceeding to Kremenchug. Local Anash in Kharkov provided housing and support.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Baruch Friedman]] | [[Shalom Kuratin]] | [[Yaakov Otaysker]] | [[Zalman Shimon Dvorkin]]

== Chapter 54: The Last Group Leaves Lubavitch ==
A third group reached only Smolensk, learned of the Rebbe’s preference that the older students remain in Lubavitch if possible, and returned. The final departure from Lubavitch took place toward the end of Menachem Av 5678 (1917–1918); remaining staff hid valuables and left with heavy hearts, hoping the exile would be temporary.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Shmuel Gronem Esterman]] | [[Eliezer Kaplan]] | [[Shalom Kuratin]]

== Chapter 55: The Yeshiva in Kremenchug (1918–1930) ==
From late 1918 until Iyar 1930 the main younger divisions of Tomchei Temimim operated in Kremenchug under the overall direction of the Rebbes in Rostov. Local benefactors (Gurary, Krichevsky families) supplied buildings; mashpi’im and mashgichim included R. Shalom Kuratin, R. Menachem Mendel Gribov, R. Israel Noach Belinitzky and others. Peak enrollment reached ~120 children. The branch was repeatedly searched by the Yevsektsiya and finally closed in 1930 when R. Gribov was arrested; remaining students were dispersed to other underground locations.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Menachem Mendel Gribov]] | [[Israel Noach Belinitzky]] | [[Meir Avtzon]] | [[Benzion Maroz]] | [[Yehuda Eber]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>As the pressure to close the yeshiva in Kremenchug grew, the Rebbe ordered that the number of students—then forty—be reduced… and the class was split, and my class went to Polotsk together with the rosh yeshiva R. Yechezkel Himmelfarb.
— Aharon Kahanov <ref name="Levin1989p254">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 254 (quoting Aharon Kahanov).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapters נז–נט: Branches in Kherson, Alexandri and Harol (1917–1920) ===
Short-lived branches operated in Kherson (under R. Eliezer Tchitcherskier and later R. Mordechai Perlov), the agricultural colony Alexandri (ten older students for one summer under R. Gershon Chen), and Harol (about forty younger students under R. Yehoshua Arash). These were temporary wartime or post-war arrangements that closed with the intensification of civil-war chaos and later Soviet pressure.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Eliezer Tchitcherskier]] | [[Mordechai Perlov]] | [[Gershon Chen]] | [[Yehoshua Arash]] | [[Elazar Moshe Madeievsky]]

== Chapter 56: The Yeshiva in Rostov (1920–1921) ==
After the passing of the Rebbe Rashab (2 Nisan 5680 (1919–1920)) the Rebbe Rayatz transferred the older students from Kremenchug to Rostov so that the yeshiva would be “around me.” R. Shmuel Gronem Esterman served as acting director and R. Yitzchak Goldin as his deputy. The students arrived in rags; the Rebbe personally supervised their material and spiritual needs. The branch functioned for less than a year before further Soviet pressure forced further dispersal.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmuel Gronem Esterman]] | [[Yitzchak Goldin]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>After Pesach he began to say, “I want Tomchei Temimim to be around me.” Tomchei Temimim was then in Kremenchug… When he decided to bring Tomchei Temimim to Rostov, R. Shmuel Gronem was appointed acting director…
— Yitzchak Goldin <ref name="Levin1989p260">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 260 (quoting Yitzchak Goldin).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 57: The State of the Mikvaot ==
Details the systematic confiscation and closure of ritual baths (mikvaot) across Soviet Russia, especially intensifying in the mid-to-late 1920s (תרפ"ה–תר"ץ). After earlier wartime destruction and postwar reconstruction efforts (supported by the Rebbe Rayatz via funds and letters), authorities seized remaining public mikvaot, often attached to bathhouses under municipal control. Reports from approximately 150 towns in summer 1928 (compiled from letters to the Rebbe) describe closures due to high fees, lack of heating, structural decay, poverty preventing repairs, and ideological pressure. Many communities built or maintained underground/private mikvaot at great personal risk and cost; the Rebbe and his emissaries (e.g., R. Yaakov Zakhar, R. Binyamin Grodetsky) coordinated limited aid. Later years saw further closures, arrests of those maintaining them, and reliance on secret mikvaot into the 1930s.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Yaakov Zakhar]] | [[Binyamin Grodetsky]] | [[Mordechai Feinstein]] | [[Yehuda Reizik]] | [[Shaul Brook]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The mikvaot: In normal years family purity was fully observed… Now the question stands in our world with full force… In one city the bathhouse burned, in the second it was closed by the government (via the Yevsektsiya), in the third it collapsed from age, in the fourth it was destroyed in the pogroms…
— Shlomo Yosef Zevin survey, late Shevat 5687 (1926–1927) <ref name="Levin1989p186">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 186 (quoting Shlomo Yosef Zevin survey, late Shevat 5687 (1926–1927)).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>They are invalidating mikvaot everywhere, and also many decrees to close synagogues. Perhaps it is worthwhile to decree a public fast among you over the troubles of Israel.
— Yaakov Zakhar letter, 5688 (1927–1928) <ref name="Levin1989p187">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 187 (quoting Yaakov Zakhar letter, 5688 (1927–1928)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 58: Persecutions Against the Rabbis and Those Serving in Holiness ==
Surveys the escalating campaign against rabbis and religious functionaries from the early Soviet years, intensifying in 1929–1933 (תר"ץ–תרצ"ג). Methods included personal smears, deprivation of rights, crushing taxes (often leading to arrest for non-payment), expulsion from homes, confiscation of property, and forced resignations. Examples include the 1930 mass arrest of ~30 rabbis and activists in Minsk (following a visit by American Rabbi Glazer), individual exiles (e.g., R. Alexander Sander Yudasin of Krivoi Rog, R. Menachem Mendel Hilkevitz of Zemlin), and arrests linked to mikvaot or underground teaching. The Rebbe Rayatz, then abroad, organized diplomatic interventions (telegrams to U.S. officials, etc.); some releases occurred, but many remained imprisoned or emigrated later.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Alexander Sander Yudasin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Hilkevitz]] | [[Abraham Baruch Pevzner]] | [[Moshe Axelrod]] | [[Raphael Nachman Cohen]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The reports coming from Russia from the rabbis and those who serve in holiness are terrifying… Their situation has already descended to a level from which there is no lower… They are given over to shame and disgrace, their livelihood is broken, they are expelled from their dwellings, taxes and imposts are imposed on them in amounts that it is impossible to pay…
— Rebbe Rayatz letter, 28 Shevat 5690 (1929–1930) <ref name="Levin1989p210">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 210 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz letter, 28 Shevat 5690 (1929–1930)).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>In particular in recent times when the sale of bread is only on ration cards to those with work and labor, the rabbis… who keep the watch of the holy and the elderly who study Torah are hungry for bread without any support, and the situation is terrible and dreadful.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 10 Marcheshvan 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p210">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 210 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 10 Marcheshvan 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>



== Chapter 59: Lishentzes (Those Deprived of Rights) ==
Explains the status of “lishentzes” – citizens stripped of civil rights because religious work (rabbinate, ritual slaughter, teaching) was not recognized as productive labor. Consequences included exclusion from food ration cards, inability to live in nationalized housing, denial of medical care, forced unpaid labor (e.g., wood-cutting), and social stigma. Rabbis and shochetim were primary targets; many fled or went underground. Examples from letters of R. Israel Leib Lipschitz, R. Zalman Poizner, R. Nachman Dov Vichnin and others.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Israel Leib Lipschitz]] | [[Zalman Poizner]] | [[Nachman Dov Vichnin]] | [[Shmuel Notik]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Two things, the “living” from the books of rights and the accused of violating freedom – their translation in the language of the Yevsektsiya is: to take everything he has in the house and stand him naked as the day he was born and seat him in prison for dozens of months, and afterward send him to a place of exile for three years and more.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 27 Nisan 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p217">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 217 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 27 Nisan 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 60: Support for the Rabbis of Russia ==
Documents the Rebbe Rayatz’s extensive fundraising and organizational efforts (from the late 1920s into the 1930s) to aid rabbis, yeshiva heads, teachers and shochetim remaining in the USSR. Appeals to the Agudath Harabbanim of America, European rabbis (including R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski), and individuals; proposals for systematic monthly packages via Torgsin; establishment of committees; compilation of lists of rabbis, shochetim and towns lacking mikvaot. Despite limited success and internal debates, the Rebbe continued personal interventions even while ill.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]] | [[Menachem Mendel Rothstein]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Agudath Harabbanim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Help is needed urgently without delay, both for the expenses of those who have the possibility of leaving the country, and to quiet the hunger of those who for the time being must remain in the country.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 28 Shevat 5690 (1929–1930) <ref name="Levin1989p219">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 219 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 28 Shevat 5690 (1929–1930)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 61: The Intervention with Litvinov ==
In late 1933–early 1934, as the U.S. prepared to recognize the USSR, the Rebbe (then in Warsaw) organized a coordinated diplomatic effort timed with Foreign Commissar Maxim Litvinov’s visit to America. Telegrams and memoranda were sent to U.S. senators (Borah, King), Congressman Dickstein, Cyrus Adler and others, and a formal memorandum signed by leading rabbis and Jewish organizations demanded: non-closure of religious schools, permission for rabbis to emigrate, access to state food stores, non-closure of synagogues, and non-prohibition of shechita and circumcision. One concrete result was the later release of 23 border-crossing prisoners (detailed in chapter קיג).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Maxim Litvinov]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]] | [[Yaakov Rosenheim]] | [[Nahum Sokolow]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>1. That the Soviet government not close the schools of the Orthodox; 2. That it not confiscate the Hebrew language and its literature; 3. That it permit the rabbis of Russia to emigrate abroad…
— contemporary newspaper summary of the memorandum <ref name="Levin1989p222">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 222 (quoting contemporary newspaper summary of the memorandum).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 62: Mass Arrests of Chabad Hasidim ==
From the mid-1930s (especially 1935 onward), the NKVD conducted coordinated nighttime raids arresting 10–20 Chabad hasidim at once to prevent warning others. Charges centered on affiliation with the “Chabad movement”: studying/teaching Chassidus, illegal prayer quorums, aiding prisoners and their families, and celebrating 19 Kislev. Examples include the 1935 Malakhovka/Moscow roundup (Botman, Goldin, Gorelik, Avtzon, Levin and others) and earlier Moscow incidents. Many were exiled; some escaped after tip-offs.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shneur Zalman Botman]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Abraham Drizin]] | [[Yaakov Zakhar]] | [[Yitzchak Goldin]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>1) You studied in Schneersohn’s yeshiva and also taught others his teachings. 2) You prayed in an illegal minyan forbidden by law. 3) You helped prisoners, Schneersohn’s hasidim… 4) You organized a farbrengen… on 19 Kislev.
— Yechiel Michel Rappoport’s account of his 1939 arrest <ref name="Levin1989p224">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 224 (quoting Yechiel Michel Rappoport’s account of his 1939 arrest).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 63: Agents of the Secret Police ==
Describes NKVD pressure on arrested hasidim to become informers, revealing names of other Chabad members in order to dismantle the underground network. Most refused despite severe torture (solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, extreme lighting, vermin). One former hasid (under death sentence) eventually collaborated and traveled identifying hasidim for arrest. R. Raphael Nachman Cohen’s refusal led to a three-year exile.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Raphael Nachman Cohen]] | [[Simcha Gorodetsky]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Seeing that I admitted nothing and informed on no one – their anger and wrath increased and they decided to punish me with the full severity of the law. They put me in solitary for 37 days…
— Simcha Gorodetsky <ref name="Levin1989p226">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 226 (quoting Simcha Gorodetsky).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 64: The Arrests in Moscow and Malakhovka ==
Focuses on the 1935 wave of arrests in the Moscow area, particularly the Chabad settlement in Malakhovka. Triggered in part by a collaborator, the NKVD arrested key figures including R. Shneur Zalman Botman (who had taken over a minyan and property after his brother-in-law’s departure to Eretz Yisrael), R. Yitzchak Goldin, R. Eliezer Gorelik and son, R. Meir Avtzon, R. Abraham Aba Levin, R. Shlomo Matusof and others. Some (e.g., R. Abraham Drizin) escaped; most were sentenced to exile. R. Yaakov Zakhar disappeared after further transfer. Contemporary reports in foreign Yiddish press (Morgen Journal) listed the arrested and noted that some Jews cut their beards to avoid suspicion. The Rebbe’s secretariat in Warsaw received encrypted reports and coordinated limited aid.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shneur Zalman Botman]] | [[Yaakov Zakhar]] | [[Yitzchak Goldin]] | [[Eliezer Gorelik]] | [[Meir Avtzon]] | [[Abraham Drizin]] | [[Shlomo Matusof]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Please inform our father and Anash that they have begun to deal with the matter of Parashat Vayeshev of Parashat Shishi… and among our brothers also the father of orphans R. Yaakov son of Yehudit of Zhuravitz…
<ref name="Levin1989p229">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 229 (encrypted letter from Moscow, 18 Elul 5695 (1934–1935)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 65: Arrests in Other Towns ==
Details the continuation of mass and individual arrests of Chabad hasidim across Russia from 1935–1939 (תרצ"ה–תרצ"ט). Immediately after the Moscow/Malakhovka wave, a group was arrested in Rostov (including near the Rebbe Rashab’s ohel) on Rosh Hashanah 5696 (1935–1936); further arrests hit Kharkov (Purim 5699 (1938–1939), involving R. Avraham Baruch Pevzner, R. Nachum Yitzchak Pinson, R. Tzemach Gurevitz), Chernigov, Yekaterinoslav (including R. Levi Yitzchak Schneerson on 9 Nisan 5699 (1938–1939)), Leningrad (multiple waves in 5697 (1936–1937)–5698 (1937–1938) wiping out much of the Orthodox leadership), Yegoryevsk and other towns. Sentences typically ranged from three to ten years of hard labor in Siberia; some were executed. Encrypted letters and later memoirs (Shashunkin, Gorkov, Chitrik) document the scope.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shamai Vigan]] | [[David Labak]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Yitzchak Raskin]] | [[Abraham Baruch Pevzner]] | [[Nachum Yitzchak Pinson]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Our friend Shamai has fallen ill and several more of Anash from our city… and they have been imprisoned for more than a month… and their families are literally perishing of hunger.
— Chaim Padnas letter <ref name="Levin1989p231">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 231 (quoting Chaim Padnas letter).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 66: Life of Chabad Hasidim in the Underground ==
Describes the clandestine existence of those who received advance warning and fled before arrest. Hasidim moved constantly between villages, slept in forests near Moscow, changed residences, and avoided known gathering places. R. Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin’s memoir recounts leaving Leningrad just in time (warning R. Elchanan Marozov and R. Yitzchak Raskin, who were later arrested and disappeared), sleeping in the woods for weeks in Elul, and the constant fear of night-time raids. Exile terms lengthened to ten years or more; correspondence was often forbidden. Many never returned.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Yitzchak Raskin]] | [[Zalman Shimon Dvorkin]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The underground life became harder and harder. Certain people revealed in our ears that all our young men and boys are listed with them and it is near that they will arrest all of us… I decided that the time had come to leave Leningrad.
— Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin, *Zikhronotai* <ref name="Levin1989p233">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 233 (quoting Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin, *Zikhronotai*).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 67: The War and the Flight to Central Asia ==
With the German invasion in summer 1941 (תש"א), Jews in the western border regions fled eastward; many Chabad hasidim reached Central Asia, concentrating in Samarkand and Tashkent. Memoirs (Shashunkin, Gorodetsky, others) recount frantic evacuations by train under bombardment, selling household goods at a loss, traveling for weeks, and arriving in Uzbekistan. Some groups waited until after Shabbat Bereshit before leaving Kharkov and other cities. Upon arrival the Rebbe Rayatz (in New York) sought news through Bukharan contacts and later corresponded via Eretz Yisrael.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]] | [[Yehuda Leib Levin]] | [[Mendel Smordinsky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>When the Germans invaded, the inhabitants of Russia began to flee from the border cities into the interior… The Jews fled mainly to the cities of Central Asia. Many Jews, among them Anash, then settled in the towns of Samarkand and Tashkent.
<ref name="Levin1989p236">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 236.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 68: The Famine in Samarkand ==
Immediately upon the arrival of the refugees in early winter 5702 (1941), a severe famine struck Samarkand. Rations were limited to ~400 grams of bread per person; lines were chaotic and Uzbek locals sometimes seized supplies. Lack of sanitation led to typhus and other epidemics. Approximately ten leading hasidim died of hunger or disease in the first months, plus many women and children. R. Yehuda Leib Levin organized a Chevra Kadisha to bury the dead properly and, together with women’s groups, initiated hospital visits and food distribution that saved many lives. Conditions improved gradually by summer 5702 (1941–1942) as weaving and other trades were established; mutual aid remained strong.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yehuda Leib Levin]] | [[Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Deutsch]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In Samarkand we met the famine face to face. Thousands of refugees streamed there and the authorities were unable to feed all those multitudes… Obtaining the bread ration was a terrible nightmare.
— Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin <ref name="Levin1989p239">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 239 (quoting Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 69: Dispatch of Packages through the Rebbe’s Efforts ==
The Rebbe Rayatz’s first wartime priority was Passover needs. In Adar 5702 (1941–1942) he appealed urgently to the Joint Distribution Committee and dozens of rabbinical and communal bodies for cash aid (requesting at least 100,000 shekels) so that tens of thousands of Soviet Jewish families would not lack matzah. He coordinated telegrams to the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem, American Agudath Harabbanim, and others. Later years saw continued shipment of Passover packages via Tehran and Eretz Yisrael once address lists became available. The chapter closes the general narrative of Chabad life in the USSR and transitions to the dedicated section on the Tomchei Temimim network (chapters נא–צח).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Ephraim Eliezer Yolles]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>This year nothing has been done to send help to the Jews in Russia for the needs of the Passover holiday… According to the situation, tens of thousands of families will remain without matzah… and the only solution is to send them help in cash.
— Rebbe Rayatz appeal to the Joint, 12 Adar 5702 (1941–1942) <ref name="Levin1989p242">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 242 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz appeal to the Joint, 12 Adar 5702 (1941–1942)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 70: Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim of Lubavitch ==
Brief historical overview of the founding of Tomchei Temimim in Elul 5657 (1896) in Lubavitch by the Rebbe Rashab, with early branches in towns such as Zembin, Kobylnik, Dokshitz, Nevel, Haradok, Babinovichi and Shchedrin. A Hebron branch (“Torat Emet”) opened in 5672 (1911–1912). The World War I crisis closed many branches; Turkish authorities forced the return of students from Hebron. The Rebbe Rashab and his son the Rebbe Rayatz labored to sustain the institution. In early 5676 (1915–1916) they left Lubavitch for Rostov, leaving the yeshiva temporarily isolated.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Zalman Havlin]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

== Chapter 71: Transfer of the Yeshiva to Kremenchug and Ariel ==
In 5678 (1917–1918), with the German advance and Bolshevik takeover disrupting supplies and communications, the Rebbe Rashab ordered the transfer from Lubavitch to Kremenchug. Younger divisions (chedarim and shiurim) went first and stayed temporarily in Ariel; older students followed. Local benefactors (Krichevsky) provided buildings. Travel was hazardous.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]] | [[Yehuda Chitrik]] | [[Michael Yehuda Leib Cohen]] | [[Pinchas Krichevsky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>My father came to Lubavitch and related that the situation was extremely critical, that the German was about to enter Lubavitch… and he took all the students of the chedarim and shiurim with their teachers, and we traveled as far as the city of Ariel…
— Michael Yehuda Leib Cohen <ref name="Levin1989p245">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 245 (quoting Michael Yehuda Leib Cohen).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 72: Adventures on the Way ==
Details the chaotic transfer of older students. Some groups were delayed or diverted; one party was falsely accused of espionage near Poltava, nearly executed, and rescued by local hasidim (including intervention by R. Tzvi Gurary). Communications with the Rebbe in Rostov were intermittent; some students remained temporarily in Lubavitch or other towns on the Rebbe’s instruction.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Shalom Kuratin]] | [[Eliezer Kaplan]] | [[Tzvi Gurary]] | [[Mordechai Aharon Friedman]]

== Chapter 73: The Yeshiva in Kharkov (5678 (1917–1918)) ==
A group of students stranded in Kharkov for the summer of 5678 (1917–1918) continued studies there under temporary supervision (R. Baruch Friedman as mashgiach). Local Anash (including R. Yaakov Otaysker) provided housing and support in former Talmud Torah buildings. They remained until late summer when roads reopened and they proceeded to Kremenchug. Additional groups studied in Kharkov in later years.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Baruch Friedman]] | [[Shalom Kuratin]] | [[Yaakov Otaysker]] | [[Zalman Shimon Dvorkin]]

== Chapter 74: The Last Group Leaves Lubavitch ==
A third group reached only Smolensk, learned of the Rebbe’s preference that older students remain in Lubavitch if possible, and returned. The final departure from Lubavitch took place toward the end of Menachem Av 5678 (1917–1918); remaining staff hid valuables and left with heavy hearts, hoping the exile would be temporary.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Shmuel Gronem Esterman]] | [[Eliezer Kaplan]] | [[Shalom Kuratin]]

== Chapter 75: The Yeshiva in Kremenchug (5678 (1917–1918)–5690 (1929–1930)) ==
From late 5678 (1917–1918) until Iyar 5690 (1929–1930) the main younger divisions operated in Kremenchug under overall direction from Rostov. Local benefactors (Gurary, Krichevsky) supplied buildings; mashpi’im and mashgichim included R. Shalom Kuratin, R. Menachem Mendel Gribov, R. Israel Noach Belinitzky and others. Peak enrollment reached ~120 children. Repeatedly searched by the Yevsektsiya; finally closed in 5690 (1929–1930) when R. Gribov was arrested; remaining students dispersed to other underground locations.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Menachem Mendel Gribov]] | [[Israel Noach Belinitzky]] | [[Meir Avtzon]] | [[Benzion Maroz]] | [[Yehuda Eber]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>As the pressure to close the yeshiva in Kremenchug grew, the Rebbe ordered that the number of students—then forty—be reduced… and the class was split, and my class went to Polotsk together with the rosh yeshiva R. Yechezkel Himmelfarb.
— Aharon Kahanov <ref name="Levin1989p254">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 254 (quoting Aharon Kahanov).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapters נז–נט: Branches in Kherson, Alexandri and Harol (5677 (1916–1917)–5680 (1919–1920)) ===
Short-lived branches operated in Kherson (under R. Eliezer Tchitcherskier and later R. Mordechai Perlov; up to ~50 students), the agricultural colony Alexandri (ten older students for one summer under R. Gershon Chen), and Harol (~40 younger students under R. Yehoshua Arash). These were temporary wartime or early-Soviet arrangements that closed amid civil-war chaos and later pressure.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Eliezer Tchitcherskier]] | [[Mordechai Perlov]] | [[Gershon Chen]] | [[Yehoshua Arash]] | [[Elazar Moshe Madeievsky]]

== Chapter 76: The Yeshiva in Rostov (5680 (1919–1920)–5681 (1920–1921)) ==
After the passing of the Rebbe Rashab (2 Nisan 5680 (1919–1920)) the Rebbe Rayatz transferred the older students from Kremenchug to Rostov so that the yeshiva would be “around me.” R. Shmuel Gronem Esterman served as acting director and R. Yitzchak Goldin as his deputy. The students arrived in rags; the Rebbe personally supervised their material and spiritual needs. The branch functioned for less than a year before further Soviet pressure forced further dispersal.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmuel Gronem Esterman]] | [[Yitzchak Goldin]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>After Pesach he began to say, “I want Tomchei Temimim to be around me.” Tomchei Temimim was then in Kremenchug… When he decided to bring Tomchei Temimim to Rostov, R. Shmuel Gronem was appointed acting director…
— Yitzchak Goldin <ref name="Levin1989p260">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 260 (quoting Yitzchak Goldin).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 77: The Yeshiva in Poltava (5681 (1920–1921)–5683 (1922–1923)) ==
After the Rostov branch closed, most older students transferred to Poltava, where the yeshiva operated for nearly two years (until before Pesach 5683 (1922–1923)). Early arrivals included R. Zalman Shimon Dvorkin and others; local Anash (R. Shlomo Itkin, R. Shmuel Dobruskin) took on support. Mashpi’im included R. Shmuel Leib Levin and later R. Yechezkel Feigin. Students lived in extreme poverty (sleeping on tables and benches, wearing sackcloth), yet studied with great diligence in Nigleh and Chassidus. The Rebbe Rayatz sent letters of encouragement. The branch was raided by the Cheka/Yevsektsiya just before Pesach 5683 (1922–1923); younger students under 18 were ordered to leave.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Zalman Shimon Dvorkin]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Shmuel Leib Levin]] | [[Shlomo Itkin]] | [[Yehuda Eber]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>After they arrested our Rebbe and confiscated all that was his, most of the yeshiva students in Rostov went to their homes… the great poverty that prevailed then in Rostov and the infectious diseases… precluded the possibility of continuing the yeshiva in Rostov.
— Zalman Shimon Dvorkin <ref name="Levin1989p266">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 266 (quoting Zalman Shimon Dvorkin).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 78: Transfer of the Yeshiva to Nevel, Kremenchug and Kharkov ==
Following the Poltava raid, students dispersed in small groups to Nevel, Kremenchug and Kharkov. In Nevel a group was arrested almost immediately. The Rebbe directed remaining students to gather in Kharkov for the summer of 5683 (1922–1923) under temporary arrangements. R. Yechezkel Feigin coordinated the moves.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Israel Noach Belinitzky]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]]

=== Chapters סג–סד: Branches in Vulabin and Homel (5681 (1920–1921)–5682 (1921–1922)) ===
While the main body was in Poltava, local Anash opened short-lived branches in Vulabin (under R. Moshe Axelrod) and Homel (under R. Yechezkel Feigin and R. Israel Jacobson). Both were designated “Ma’arechet Tomchei Temimim of Lubavitch” and supported by local funds. The Homel branch faced rivalry with a Novardok group and later pressure from the Yevsektsiya.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Moshe Axelrod]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Baruch Duchman]]

== Chapter 79: Return of the Yeshiva to Rostov (5684 (1923–1924)) ==
In Tishrei 5684 (1923–1924) the Rebbe Rayatz ordered the return of the older students to Rostov so the yeshiva would again be near him. Local communal figures with government connections secured a suitable building on Vorontsovska Street for students over 18. The branch operated only half a year before a search of the Rebbe’s home forced him (and the yeshiva) to leave Rostov.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Yehuda Eber]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]]

== Chapter 80: Return to Kharkov and Nevel ==
After the Rebbe left Rostov for Leningrad, the central yeshiva moved back to Kharkov (and a parallel division to Nevel). A small group remained in Rostov temporarily to learn shechita. From summer 5684 (1923–1924) until 5689 (1928–1929) the main network operated primarily between Kharkov and Nevel under the overall direction of R. Yechezkel Feigin, with additional branches in Kremenchug, Ramen, Polotsk, Vitebsk and elsewhere.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Israel Noach Belinitzky]] | [[Yehuda Eber]]

== Chapter 81: The Yeshiva in Kharkov (5684 (1923–1924)–5689 (1928–1929)) ==
The Kharkov branch functioned from summer 5684 (1923–1924) until late summer 5689 (1928–1929). Enrollment fluctuated (roughly 25–35 at times); mashgichim included R. Yehoshua Karp, R. Yitzchak Leib Neishuler and others. Older students were periodically transferred to Nevel. A 5688 (1927–1928) raid led to protocols against the hosts; the Rebbe protested via Prof. Haffkine. Studies continued underground (including a brief period in a village house) until final closure.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yehoshua Karp]] | [[Yitzchak Leib Neishuler]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Zalman Shimon Dvorkin]]

== Chapter 82: The Yeshiva and Rabbinical Seminary in Nevel (5684 (1923–1924)–5689 (1928–1929)) ==
From summer 5684 (1923–1924) the Nevel branch (and from 5685 (1924–1925) a dedicated “Beit Midrash for Rabbis and Shochetim”) became a major center. Directed by R. Yehuda Eber (rosh yeshiva/mashgiach) and R. Shmuel Levitin (seminary). Older students from Kharkov were transferred here in 5687 (1926–1927). Peak numbers reached ~70 in the older division. Closed in Kislev 5689 (1928–1929) amid arrests (including R. Levitin, who was later exiled to Siberia). The seminary aimed to produce rabbis and shochetim under severe material hardship.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yehuda Eber]] | [[Shmuel Levitin]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Meir Avtzon]] | [[David Okunov]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The Beit Midrash for Rabbis exists entirely on the support of the budget. Its purpose is to train and appoint rabbis and shochetim… From lack of money we are forced to reject many who wish to be accepted. The expenses of the institution are 50 rubles per person per month…
<ref name="Levin1989p282">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 282 (from the 5689 (1928–1929) budget summary prepared by the Rebbe’s committee).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 83: The Yeshiva in Polotsk (5686 (1925–1926)–5689 (1928–1929)) ==
The Polotsk branch of Tomchei Temimim opened at the beginning of summer 5686 (1925–1926) and continued until late winter 5689 (1928–1929). It was founded by R. Avraham Dreizin (Mayorer) who brought a small group of students (including R. Israel Shimon Kalmanson, R. Zalman Koratin and R. Dovber Chefetz) from Nevel. R. Yechezkel Himelstein later replaced Dreizin when the latter moved to open the Vitebsk branch. The mashpia in the town and yeshiva throughout was R. Shlomo Chaim Kesselman (sent by the Rebbe Rayatz already in 5682 (1921–1922)). Peak numbers reached around fifty students. In late winter 5689 (1928–1929) the branch was closed; Kesselman was arrested (his second arrest in Polotsk) and later exiled to Poltava, where he continued teaching small groups of students. Many students later listed Polotsk among their places of study.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Avraham Dreizin]] | [[Yechezkel Himelstein]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Israel Shimon Kalmanson]] | [[Zalman Koratin]] | [[Pesach Friedkin]] | [[Yehuda Eber]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In Tomchei Temimim, thank God, another branch was added in Polotsk. The shiur is given there by Avraham Dreizin… with students numbering about fifty or more.
— letters of 5686 (1925–1926) <ref name="Levin1989p290">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 290 (quoting letters of 5686 (1925–1926)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 84: The Yeshiva in Romny (5685 (1924–1925)–5688 (1927–1928)) ==
A local cheder had existed in Romny since 5676 (1915–1916), but a full Tomchei Temimim branch opened in 5685 (1924–1925) and operated until the beginning of summer 5688 (1927–1928). R. Yaakov Gorary served as rosh yeshiva; R. Yechezkel Greenfess provided early support. Students (including R. David Okunov, R. Levi Yitzchak Shapiro and R. Nachum Volasov) lived and studied in the synagogue. The branch was closed after repeated raids and protocols. In 5688 (1927–1928) R. Gorary was sentenced to five months of forced labor (later mitigated by an amnesty in one case). Contemporary reports in Sha’arei Zion noted the trial of the local shochet for maintaining a cheder.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yaakov Gorary]] | [[Yechezkel Greenfess]] | [[David Okunov]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Shapiro]] | [[Nachum Volasov]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>For three years this enterprise (yeshiva) has existed here. In the first year they began opposing it… This year in Tevet they again made a protocol… and after all the efforts they sentenced me to five months of forced labor.
— R. Yaakov Gorary, summer 5688 (1927–1928) <ref name="Levin1989p293">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 293 (quoting R. Yaakov Gorary, summer 5688 (1927–1928)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 85: The Yeshiva in Astashkov (5686 (1925–1926)) ==
A short-lived branch operated in the small town of Astashkov (near Nikolaev) in 5686 (1925–1926) under the maggid shiur R. Yitzchak Leib Neishuler. It is mentioned in several contemporary letters and in students’ later questionnaires, but little detailed information survives. By the following year Neishuler himself is recorded in Kharkov and the town no longer appears among active branches.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yitzchak Leib Neishuler]] | [[Benzion Shemtov]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]]

== Chapter 86: The Yeshiva in Vitebsk (5687 (1926–1927)–5691 (1930–1931)) ==
The Vitebsk branch opened at the beginning of summer 5687 (1926–1927) when R. Avraham Dreizin arrived from Polotsk with a group of students. It rapidly became the central yeshiva in Russia, peaking at about ninety students in summer 5688 (1927–1928) and operating in several local synagogues (including the Chabad shul and women’s galleries). R. Yehuda Eber gave shiurim; other mashgichim and mashpi’im included R. Zalman Levitin, R. Nachum Labkovsky, R. Elchanan Marozov and R. Rafael Cohen. After the closure of Nevel (Kislev 5689 (1928–1929)) and Polotsk, additional students and staff transferred here. Studies continued under extreme secrecy (doors and curtains closed, learning by weak lamp light). The branch was finally closed in late winter 5691 (1930–1931) after a raid around Purim; students under eighteen were expelled while older individuals faced multi-year sentences of hard labor or exile. Many students later listed Vitebsk among their places of study.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Avraham Dreizin]] | [[Yehuda Eber]] | [[Zalman Levitin]] | [[Nachum Labkovsky]] | [[Elchanan Marozov]] | [[Rafael Cohen]] | [[Israel Shimon Kalmanson]] | [[Menachem Mendel Futerfas]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In Vitebsk for the summer period, ninety students; and if not for the difficult situation there would be many more.
— R. Yechezkel Feigin, summer 5688 (1927–1928) <ref name="Levin1989p295">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 295 (quoting R. Yechezkel Feigin, summer 5688 (1927–1928)).</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>The order of study began every day at 4:30 in the morning. At the appointed hour all the students were already in place.
— a student’s memoir <ref name="Levin1989p296">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 296 (quoting a student’s memoir).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 87: The Yeshiva in Leningrad (5689 (1928–1929)–5692 (1931–1932)) ==
After the closure of the Nevel branch, a group of older students transferred to Leningrad in winter 5689 (1928–1929) and studied there for about one year (until winter 5690 (1929–1930)). A smaller group continued from summer 5691 (1930–1931) until winter 5692 (1931–1932). R. Nissan Nemanov served as mashpia. The branch operated in a synagogue under conditions of extreme secrecy. In winter 5690 (1929–1930) Nemanov was arrested on the street and sentenced to three years’ exile (later reduced); R. Shimon Lazarov (rabbi of the Chabad community) and his son were also arrested and sentenced to hard labor. Contemporary reports in Sha’arei Zion and private letters describe the arrests, the exile of Nemanov and Lazarov to Arkhangelsk, and the general atmosphere of fear. After the Vitebsk closure a further small group studied briefly in Leningrad until the Rebbe Rayatz (then in Riga) instructed them to find work and attempt to leave Russia.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Shimon Lazarov]] | [[Nachum Shmaryahu Shushkin]] | [[Israel Shimon Kalmanson]] | [[Yehuda Eber]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>When it became known to the authorities that there was an underground yeshiva in Leningrad, they arrested R. Nissan in the middle of the street and exiled him for three years.
— R. Nachum Shmaryahu Shushkin <ref name="Levin1989p297">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 297 (quoting R. Nachum Shmaryahu Shushkin).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 88: The Yeshiva in Yekaterinoslav (5689 (1928–1929)–5691 (1930–1931)) ==
The branch opened in the middle of winter 5689 (1928–1929) after students fled the closure of Nevel and later Kharkov. It operated until the middle of winter 5690 (1929–1930), after which a smaller group continued for about another year. Mashgichim included R. Menachem Mendel Futerfas and R. Nachum Labkovsky. Students (including R. David Okunov and R. Avraham Yehoshua Koratin) studied in synagogue women’s galleries. In Tevet/Shevat 5690 (1929–1930) the police raided, sealed the synagogue and the students fled at night. Local support came in part from the town shochet R. Avraham Abba Regulim, who was later arrested and died in prison. After the main branch closed, a small cheder for younger boys continued under Regulim’s care for a time.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Menachem Mendel Futerfas]] | [[Nachum Labkovsky]] | [[David Okunov]] | [[Avraham Yehoshua Koratin]] | [[Avraham Abba Regulim]] | [[Dovber Gorfinkel]]

== Chapter 89: The Yeshiva in Zvil (Novograd-Volynsk) (5688 (1927–1928)–5689 (1928–1929)) ==
In winter 5688 (1927–1928) R. Chaim Shaul Brook, with the Rebbe Rayatz’s approval, went to Zvil (Novograd-Volynsk) to open a yeshiva. It began with nine students and grew to eighteen (plus a separate cheder of twelve). Studies took place in a large synagogue; Brook taught while wearing tallit and tefillin to appear as a private worshipper. Repeated visits by Yevsektsiya officials led to protocols, a trial, and Brook’s eventual sentence of nine months’ forced labor followed by five years’ exile to his hometown of Ilyino. The students were forced to move several times (including to an attic and the chazzan’s house) before the branch closed in summer 5689 (1928–1929). Brook later described the constant fear, night-time interrogations and the physical hardship of the period in his memoirs.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Chaim Shaul Brook]] | [[Aharon Chazan]] | [[Yaakov Maskalik]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>I received a letter from my friend R. Mordechai Eliezer… asking me to travel to Zvil… to serve as ram and mashpia… I wrote to the Rebbe Rayatz… He answered that it was very worthwhile to go there.
— R. Chaim Shaul Brook’s memoirs <ref name="Levin1989p302">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 302 (quoting R. Chaim Shaul Brook’s memoirs).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 90: The Yeshiva in Homel, Kherson and Odessa (5689 (1928–1929)–5690 (1929–1930)) ==
After the closure of Polotsk in late winter 5689 (1928–1929), one group of students (including R. Israel Shimon Kalmanson) went to Kherson and later to Odessa, while another group under R. Yechezkel Himelstein went first to Homel and then to Kherson. In Odessa the students studied throughout 5690 (1929–1930) under occasional supervision by R. Menachem Mendel Futerfas and R. Yaakov Gurkov. A minor incident at a mixed bathing beach (students deliberately avoiding the mixed section) led to their detention by the NKVD and forced them to leave the city. The Homel group was also expelled after a short time. Students then transferred to Vitebsk, which was then the central yeshiva.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yechezkel Himelstein]] | [[Israel Shimon Kalmanson]] | [[Menachem Mendel Futerfas]] | [[Yaakov Gurkov]] | [[Nachum Volasov]] | [[Tzemach Gurevitz]]

== Chapter 91: General Summary of the Tomchei Temimim Network (until 5691 (1930–1931)) ==
Contemporary letters and a 5689 (1928–1929) budget report by the Rebbe’s committee describe the network at its height. In 5686 (1925–1926)–5687 (1926–1927) branches operated in Kharkov, Kremenchug, Romny, Nevel, Polotsk, Astashkov and elsewhere, with total enrollment reaching several hundred. By summer 5688 (1927–1928) Nevel alone had several hundred students plus a rabbinical seminary; Kharkov, Kiev, Vitebsk and Polotsk were also major centers. A 5689 (1928–1929) budget listed 620 students across roughly a dozen locations (including 150 in Minsk, 100 in Vitebsk, 75 in Nevel, 60 in Polotsk, 45 in Kharkov, etc.), plus plans for additional groups in Georgia, Samarkand and Volhynia. Non-Chabad yeshivas (Novardok, Minsk under R. Yehoshua of Hordna, etc.) had already been closed or had fled by the late 5680s, leaving Chabad branches as the last organized network. Students lived on 20–25 rubles per month and faced constant Yevsektsiya pressure.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Eliyahu Chaim Althaus]] | [[Saadia Liberov]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Now Tomchei Temimim is in five principal large places besides smaller places, and the number of students is about three hundred.
— R. Elchanan Dov Marozov, 5687 (1926–1927) <ref name="Levin1989p307">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 307 (quoting R. Elchanan Dov Marozov, 5687 (1926–1927)).</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>What you ask—how one studies Torah in Russia—yes, I have seen holiness. Would that they studied so in other countries where one is permitted to study, only that one would not need the Russian mesirut nefesh. And that is the Nevel yeshiva which was the center.
— the Rebbe Rayatz at Dvinsk station, Adar 5688 (1927–1928) <ref name="Levin1989p307b">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 307 (quoting the Rebbe Rayatz at Dvinsk station, Adar 5688 (1927–1928)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 92: The Yeshiva in Kutaisi and Other Georgian Towns (5691 (1930–1931)–5693 (1932–1933)) ==
After the final closure of the Vitebsk central yeshiva in late winter 5691 (1930–1931), the main body of students was directed to the Caucasus. Groups first tried Baku, then settled in Kutaisi (and briefly Sachkhere and other Georgian towns). R. Shmuel Levitin (later succeeded by R. Avraham Levi Slavin) and local Georgian shochetim and rabbanim assisted. R. Zalman Levitin (“Haretscher”) arrived as mashpia and raised the level of Chassidus study. Conditions were severe—famine, difficulty obtaining food, constant fear of arrest. In the winter of 5692 (1931–1932)–93 the branch was raided; R. Zalman Levitin and many students were arrested. Remaining students fled back into Russia proper. Contemporary memoirs (R. Michael Rapoport and others) describe the train journey, interrogations, and life in Kutaisi under extreme poverty.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shmuel Levitin]] | [[Zalman Levitin]] | [[Avraham Levi Slavin]] | [[Avraham Dreizin]] | [[Michael Rapoport]] | [[Michael Lipsker]] | [[Menachem Mendel Futerfas]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In the month of Tammuz we received instructions to travel to Baku in Azerbaijan, where we could study Torah in peace… We all moved to Kutaisi and studied there for several years. The situation in the country was very bad, for there was great famine…
— R. Michael Rapoport <ref name="Levin1989p310">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 310 (quoting R. Michael Rapoport).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 93: The Arrested and the Remnant Yeshivas (5693 (1932–1933)) ==
A detailed letter of 2 Iyar 5693 (1932–1933) from one of the yeshiva administrators to the Rebbe Rayatz lists the scattered remnants after the Georgian arrests and the failed Batum border-crossing attempt (23 Chabad men arrested, including nine students). Groups of 4–10 older students continued in Kiev, Kursk, Novozybkov, Staraya Russa, Nevel, Poltava and elsewhere. Many others had returned to their hometowns. The letter also records those still in Batum prison and notes the extreme difficulty of supporting even this small number. These remnant branches form the subject of the following chapters.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Eliezer Pinsky]] | [[Benzion Katzenelson]] | [[Nachum Volasov]] | [[Avraham Yehoshua Koratin]] | [[Zalman Levitin]]

== Chapter 94: The Yeshiva in Kiev (5689 (1928–1929)–5694 (1933–1934)) ==
A branch was established in Kiev in winter 5689 (1928–1929) after the Nevel closure (one of the classes transferred there). It continued until the beginning of winter 5694 (1933–1934). R. Binyamin Lipman of Minsk served as mashpia. Students (including R. Eliezer Pinsky, R. Nachum Volasov, R. Michael Kuznetsov, R. Moshe Yatsmenik and others) studied in synagogues under severe poverty; occasional packages of money arrived from the Rebbe in Poland. In Tishrei 5694 (1933–1934) the authorities raided the women’s gallery; most students escaped through a window while one local man was briefly arrested. The synagogue was sealed and the branch closed. A smaller group of about ten continued in a workshop-like setting for a short time. Memoirs describe both the material hardship and the farbrengens on 12 Tammuz.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Binyamin Lipman]] | [[Eliezer Pinsky]] | [[Nachum Volasov]] | [[Michael Kuznetsov]] | [[Moshe Yatsmenik]] | [[Yaakov Schatz]] | [[Aryeh Leib Kaplan]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Now I have to speak with you about the workers who are here. We are ten brothers doing our work according to the order established of old… The spirit of the storm all around prevents them from advancing further.
— R. Binyamin Lipman, Iyar 5693 (1932–1933) <ref name="Levin1989p315">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 315 (quoting R. Binyamin Lipman, Iyar 5693 (1932–1933)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 95: The Yeshiva in Chernigov (5694 (1933–1934)–5695 (1934–1935)) ==
After the Kiev raid of Tishrei 5694 (1933–1934) a small group (including the author’s father and R. Moshe Yatsmenik) moved to Chernigov. R. Yehuda Leib Don-Yechia, the local rav, taught them. The group studied through 5694 (1933–1934)–95; some later moved on to Moscow/Malakhovka or Berdichev. Contemporary letters show the students writing to the Rebbe about the possibility of obtaining exit papers for Riga.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yehuda Leib Don-Yechia]] | [[Moshe Yatsmenik]] | [[Yaakov Ganzburg]] | [[Avraham Kinman]]

== Chapter 96: The Yeshiva in Malakhovka (5694 (1933–1934)–5695 (1934–1935)) ==
Malakhovka (near Moscow) had a sizable Chabad community. From the middle of winter 5694 (1933–1934) a group of students gathered there to study with R. Shlomo Chaim Kesselman (exiled from Polotsk), R. Rafael Cohen and others. Because residence within 100 km of Moscow required special permits, the students lived under constant threat of arrest; several were detained at night, forced to sign undertakings to leave, and then returned to study. Peak numbers reached about six regular students plus visitors. The branch continued into 5695 (1934–1935). Many later listed Malakhovka/Moscow among their places of study.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Rafael Cohen]] | [[Avraham Kinman]] | [[Meir Zarhi]] | [[Shlomo Matosov]] | [[Avraham Yehoshua Koratin]] | [[Michael Teitelbaum]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>I am now in a city where there are workers engaged in His craft… In this city [Moscow area] there are both things [Anash and study partners].
— R. Avraham Kinman, summer 5694 (1933–1934) <ref name="Levin1989p318">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 318 (quoting R. Avraham Kinman, summer 5694 (1933–1934)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 97: The Yeshiva in Novozybkov (5691 (1930–1931)–5694 (1933–1934)) ==
Small groups studied in Novozybkov at different times between summer 5691 (1930–1931) and summer 5694 (1933–1934). One group of four (including R. Moshe Robinson/Karalovitcher, R. Dovber Gurevitz and R. Yitzchak Shetatin) studied under the local rav R. Shlomo Yosef Zain for nearly a year until Lag ba-Omer 5694 (1933–1934), then moved to Karalovitch. Earlier, R. David Okunov had spent about a year and a half there after the Yekaterinoslav closure. Support for matzos and basic needs is recorded in local letters.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shlomo Yosef Zain]] | [[David Okunov]] | [[Moshe Robinson]] | [[Yosef Goldberg]] | [[Yitzchak Shetatin]]

== Chapter 98: The Yeshiva in Kursk (5693 (1932–1933)–5700 (1939–1940)) ==
One of the longer-lived branches, active from at least spring 5693 (1932–1933) until summer 5700 (1939–1940). Early students included R. Bentzion Katzenelson, R. Shaul Steinback, and the Wilenkin brothers (Yosef and Shalom). Later, R. Michael Rapoport served as maggid shiur for younger boys (ages 6–16); after his departure R. Shimon Shtilerman and then R. Henich Rapoport continued. Studies took place in synagogues and private homes; frequent moves were required once locations became known. In Iyar 5700 (1939–1940) the NKVD raided; R. Henich Rapoport and several students were arrested. R. Yehoshua Raskin (Katznelson) described months of solitary confinement, repeated interrogations, and a sentence of five to ten years in a labor camp. Local support came from R. Mendel Sheinman and others. Peak numbers were small (often 6–8 regular students).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Bentzion Katzenelson]] | [[Shaul Steinback]] | [[Yosef Wilenkin]] | [[Shalom Wilenkin]] | [[Michael Rapoport]] | [[Shimon Shtilerman]] | [[Henich Rapoport]] | [[Yehoshua Raskin]] | [[Mendel Sheinman]] | [[Mordechai Levin]] | [[Shalom Ber Friedman]] | [[Yeshaya Gopin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Levin]] | [[Hershel Slonim]] | [[Rafael Wilshansky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Kindelach, you don’t need to be impressed by anyone! You can tell them the whole truth about me… They can arrest me and exile me to Siberia, but you must continue to learn!
— R. Mendel Sheinman upon his arrest in Kursk, 5700 (1939–1940) <ref name="Levin1989p326">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 326 (quoting R. Mendel Sheinman upon his arrest in Kursk, 5700 (1939–1940)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 99: The Yeshiva in Zhitomir (5694 (1933–1934)–5697 (1936–1937)) ==
Opened in winter 5694 (1933–1934) after the Kiev closure; continued until late summer 5697 (1936–1937). Initial students: R. Eliezer Pinsky, R. Nachum Volosov, R. Avraham Zelig Ganburg, later joined by R. Yaakov Shatz, R. Michel Konitzov and others. Local help came from R. Mordechai Eliezer Lapatovsky (hy"d). Studies occurred in synagogues (including the “Tikin Kleizl” and the Maggid’s kloyz). After Pinsky’s marriage, R. Michael Teitelbaum served as mashgiach. A police visit in 5696 (1935–1936) forced a temporary flight; the branch closed after a night raid in Elul 5697 (1936–1937) and students fled to Voronezh.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Eliezer Pinsky]] | [[Nachum Volosov]] | [[Avraham Zelig Ganburg]] | [[Yaakov Shatz]] | [[Michel Konitzov]] | [[Mordechai Eliezer Lapatovsky]] | [[Michael Teitelbaum]] | [[Moshe Aharon Geisinsky]] | [[Moshe Binyamin Kaplan]] | [[Hillel Pevzner]] | [[Shneur Zalman Katzenelenbogen]] | [[Shimon Charitonov]]

== Chapter 100: The Yeshiva in Berdichev (5695 (1934–1935)–5698 (1937–1938)) ==
Founded in winter 5695 (1934–1935) by R. Yaakov Shatz; continued (with interruptions) until 24 Tevet 5698 (1937–1938). Early students included the Geisinsky cousins and others; later groups numbered up to 12–13. Maggidei shiur included R. Yaakov Shatz, R. Avraham Zelig Ganburg and R. Moshe Robinson (Karalovitcher). On 24 Tevet 5698 (1937–1938) the NKVD arrested Robinson together with the students. After about a month the younger boys were sent to a children’s home; R. Michael Teitelbaum later rescued several of them. Robinson was exiled. Contemporary Soviet press noted the existence of the “illegal” group.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yaakov Shatz]] | [[Avraham Zelig Ganburg]] | [[Moshe Robinson]] | [[Moshe Aharon Geisinsky]] | [[Hillel Pevzner]] | [[Dovber Kibman]] | [[Heshel Zeitlin]] | [[Yechezkel Brod]] | [[Rafael Wilshansky]] | [[Wolf Auerbach]] | [[Shaul Brook]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The studies were at five in the morning. One of the students would lock the shutters from outside and leave. We studied in different synagogues and only gathered for the shiur.
— R. Heshel Zeitlin on the Berdichev branch <ref name="Levin1989p333">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 333 (quoting R. Heshel Zeitlin on the Berdichev branch).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 101: The Yeshiva in Poltava (5696 (1935–1936)) ==
A short-lived branch active mainly in 5696 (with a small precursor in summer 5695 (1934–1935)). Students included R. Moshe Binyamin Kaplan, R. Moshe Yashmenik and R. Nachum Volosov (who initially served as mashgiach). Later mashgichim were R. Moshe Yashmenik and then R. Meir Zarhi (Kaplan). Local connection was through R. Dovber Greenferim, the rav of Poltava, and R. Shmuel Dabrovskin. The group studied through the winter and following summer before dispersing.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Moshe Binyamin Kaplan]] | [[Nachum Volosov]] | [[Meir Zarhi]] | [[Moshe Yashmenik]] | [[Dovber Greenferim]] | [[Shmuel Dabrovskin]]

== Chapter 102: The Yeshiva in Haditch (5696 (1935–1936)) ==
A small winter 5696 (1935–1936) branch. Students included R. Moni Rapoport, R. Mordechai Trigubov and others under R. Avraham Zelig Ganburg (with a brief period under R. Yosef Goldberg). R. Dovber Kibman later recalled studying there before returning to Berdichev. The group was short-lived and students moved on after Pesach.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Avraham Zelig Ganburg]] | [[Moni Rapoport]] | [[Mordechai Trigubov]] | [[Yosef Goldberg]] | [[Dovber Kibman]]

== Chapter 103: The Yeshiva in Voronezh (5695 (1934–1935)–5698 (1937–1938)) ==
Opened in summer 5695 (1934–1935) for older bachurim and continued until late summer 5698 (1937–1938). Early participants included R. Michael Teitelbaum, R. Shaul Froifusker, R. Shalom Wilenkin and R. Yisrael Levin; the local chassid R. Betzalel Wilshansky frequently farbrenged with them. After the Zhitomir closure a larger group arrived. Studies took place in the synagogue. Threats of the “known informer” forced temporary dispersals to nearby villages (Sasnovka, Grapskaya). R. Michael Teitelbaum served as mashgiach until his marriage.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Betzalel Wilshansky]] | [[Michael Teitelbaum]] | [[Shalom Wilenkin]] | [[Yisrael Levin]] | [[Moshe Aharon Geisinsky]] | [[Moshe Binyamin Kaplan]] | [[Hillel Pevzner]] | [[Berl Kievman]] | [[Yeshaya Gopin]] | [[Rafael Wilshansky]] | [[Henich Rapoport]] | [[Nissan Pinson]]

== Chapter 104: The Yeshiva in Karalovitch (5694 (1933–1934)–5697 (1936–1937)) ==
A branch for older students active from early summer 5694 (1933–1934) until late winter 5697 (1936–1937). Participants included R. Yosef Goldberg, R. Moshe Robinson, R. Yeshaya Gopin, R. Nissan Pinson, R. Dovber Gurevitz and R. Shimon Charitonov. Some had previously studied in Novozybkov. The group dispersed in the course of 5697 (1936–1937), with members moving to other branches.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Goldberg]] | [[Moshe Robinson]] | [[Yeshaya Gopin]] | [[Nissan Pinson]] | [[Dovber Gurevitz]] | [[Shimon Charitonov]]

== Chapter 105: Support of the Rebbe for the Yeshivas ==
Throughout the underground period the Rebbe Rayatz provided financial support from the central Tomchei Temimim funds (covering both Polish and Russian branches). Letters document requests for addresses of students so that aid could be sent, and monthly budget allocations (one surviving fragment lists ~1,000 rubles per month as the Rebbe’s share for the Russian “Tomchei Temimim” groups of five students studying in various batei midrash). Local Anash also contributed beyond their means. The Rebbe’s letters repeatedly emphasize the mesirus nefesh of the students and the extreme physical hardship (hunger, exile, constant flight).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Avraham Dreizin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>They are, thank G-d, studying Torah with actual mesirus nefesh… hungry, barefoot, weak, tortured and persecuted… May G-d have mercy on them and redeem them soon with a complete redemption.
<ref name="Levin1989p341">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 341 (from letters of the Rebbe Rayatz, 5689 (1928–1929)–5691 (1930–1931)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 106: The New Director – R. Yona Cohen of Poltava ==
After R. Avraham Dreizin was forced into hiding by intensified arrests in summer 5695 (1934–1935), central direction of the scattered branches gradually passed to R. Yona Cohen (Poltaver), who lived in the Moscow area. In summer 5696 (1935–1936) the Rebbe formally entrusted him with overall responsibility. Working with R. Mordechai Eliezer Lapatovsky (Zhitomir) and others, he coordinated the assignment of older bachurim as maggidei shiur, the founding of new branches, and the distribution of support funds (often carried by trusted women). Meetings of senior students were held in Moscow (including at the home of R. Moshe Katzman) to plan the continuation of the yeshivas under conditions of extreme danger.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yona Cohen]] | [[Mordechai Eliezer Lapatovsky]] | [[Nachum Volosov]] | [[Avraham Dreizin]] | [[Shaul Brook]] | [[Moshe Robinson]] | [[Yosef Goldberg]] | [[Yisrael Levin]] | [[Michael Rapoport]] | [[Shimon Shtilerman]]

== Chapter 107: The Yeshiva in Krivoi Rog (5696 (1935–1936)–5698 (1937–1938)) ==
A group moved from Berdichev in summer 5696 (1935–1936) and studied until late Tishrei 5697 (1936–1937). A second branch opened after Pesach 5697 (1936–1937) under R. Yisrael Yehuda Levin and continued into mid-winter 5698 (1937–1938). Students included R. Moshe Binyamin Kaplan, R. Moshe Aharon Geisinsky, R. Aharon Elazar Mogilevsky, R. Leib Motzkin, R. Yoel Dubman, R. Yehoshua Katznelson and others. Studies took place in the synagogue women’s gallery and, at times, in a chicken coop. A daytime raid forced flight; Levin delayed his own escape until the boys were safe. The branch was closed and reopened more than once before final dispersal.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yisrael Yehuda Levin]] | [[Yosef Goldberg]] | [[Moshe Binyamin Kaplan]] | [[Moshe Aharon Geisinsky]] | [[Yehoshua Katznelson]] | [[Yechezkel Brod]] | [[Leib Motzkin]] | [[Yoel Dubman]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Only one person did not move. It was R. Yisrael himself, who stood and waited until we had all fled… only then did he flee as well. It was true mesirus nefesh.
— R. Yehoshua Katznelson on the Krivoi Rog raid <ref name="Levin1989p346">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 346 (quoting R. Yehoshua Katznelson on the Krivoi Rog raid).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 108: The Yeshiva in Klinzy (5697 (1936–1937)) ==
Opened after Pesach 5697 (1936–1937) by R. Yosef Goldberg and continued until 24 Kislev 5698 (1937–1938). Students included R. Shalom Mendel Kalmanzon, R. Henich Rapoport, R. Shalom Ber Friedman, R. Tzvi Hirsch Braslav and others. On the night of the attempted arrest Goldberg was absent and the group escaped. He later opened short-lived branches in other towns (including Kubishov).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Goldberg]] | [[Shalom Mendel Kalmanzon]] | [[Henich Rapoport]] | [[Shalom Ber Friedman]] | [[Yechezkel Brod]]

== Chapter 109: Remnants of the Yeshivas in Russia (5697 (1936–1937)–5701 (1940–1941)) ==
By 5697 (1936–1937)–5700 (1939–1940) most organized branches had been closed by arrests and exile. Small groups of three to six students continued in scattered locations (including Yegoryevsk near Moscow under R. Yisrael Neveler, and temporary groups in Kharkov and elsewhere). Students and mashgichim moved constantly; many older bachurim were themselves arrested. The pattern persisted until the outbreak of war, when large numbers of Anash fled eastward to Samarkand and Tashkent.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yisrael Neveler]] | [[Reuven Kaminetzky]] | [[Mordechai Levin]] | [[Dovber Levin]] | [[Moshe Zalman Kaminetzky]] | [[Michael Teitelbaum]]

== Chapter 110: The Yeshiva in Kutaisi and Georgian Cities (5698 (1937–1938)–5706 (1945–1946)) ==
Founded around Pesach 5698 (1937–1938) in Kutaisi (Georgia) and continued until late 5705 (1944–1945). Early students included R. Yechezkel Brod, R. Leib Henich Menkin, R. Yeshaya Gopin, R. Menachem Mendel Raskin and R. Dovber Kibman. R. Yosef Goldberg directed the main branch and several smaller ones in nearby towns (Kulashi, Senaki, Sukhumi, Batumi, etc.) until his marriage; R. Moshe Marozov later took over. Additional mashgichim included R. Shalom Mendel Kalmanzon and R. Yaakov Notik. Students studied in private homes and synagogues; occasional arrests occurred but the relative remoteness of Georgia allowed greater continuity. After the war most remaining students transferred to the central yeshiva in Samarkand. In summer 5706 (1945–1946) a short-lived group was again sent from Samarkand to Kutaisi before the mass emigration via Poland.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yechezkel Brod]] | [[Yosef Goldberg]] | [[Moshe Marozov]] | [[Yeshaya Gopin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Raskin]] | [[Dovber Kibman]] | [[Shalom Mendel Kalmanzon]] | [[Yaakov Notik]] | [[Leib Motzkin]] | [[Shalom Levertov]] | [[Azriel Chaikin]] | [[Chaim Yisrael Sperlin]]

== Chapter 111: The Yeshiva in Melitopol (5698 (1937–1938)–5701 (1940–1941)) ==
A small branch of 5–6 students operated in Melitopol (Crimea) from 5698 (1937–1938) until early summer 5701 (1940–1941). R. Shalom Mendel Kalmanzon served as mashgiach from 5698 (1937–1938) until winter 5700 (then moved to Kutaisi); R. Shalom Marozov arrived at the beginning of summer. Other students included R. Shneur Zalman Katzenelenbogen, R. Shneur Zalman Levin, R. Heshel Zeitlin and the brothers Ephraim Mordechai and Menachem Mendel Paley. At the start of summer 5701 (1940–1941) the older students were summoned for interrogation; fearing arrest they fled to Kutaisi and thereby escaped the German occupation of Melitopol later that summer, during which the remaining Jews were murdered.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shalom Mendel Kalmanzon]] | [[Shalom Marozov]] | [[Shneur Zalman Katzenelenbogen]] | [[Shneur Zalman Levin]] | [[Heshel Zeitlin]] | [[Ephraim Mordechai Paley]] | [[Menachem Mendel Paley]]

== Chapter 112: The Yeshiva in Samarkand and Tashkent (5702 (1941–1942)–5706 (1945–1946)) ==
With the German invasion large numbers of Anash fled eastward to Central Asia, primarily Samarkand and Tashkent. An early study group formed around R. Eliyahu Chaim Roitblatt but collapsed under the great famine and typhus of 5702 (1941–1942). In early 5703 (1942–1943) the yeshiva was reorganized. R. Michael Teitelbaum began with a few students (including R. Shalom Levertov and the orphaned sons of R. Moshe Katzman and R. Mendel Dubrovsky). R. Menachem Mendel Futerfas assumed practical responsibility under the overall direction of R. Yona Cohen (then in Tashkent). Numbers grew rapidly; by 5704 (1943–1944) R. Nissan Nemanov was brought from Tashkent as the principal mashpia. At its peak the Samarkand yeshiva had roughly forty older students in the main hall and about one hundred younger boys (fifty studying Gemara), with a parallel branch of about sixty in Tashkent and continued activity in Kutaisi. After the war, as Anash began leaving on Polish papers, the yeshiva continued until mid-summer 5706 (1945–1946). R. Yona Cohen arranged for orphaned students to be registered with other Anash families so they could emigrate; he himself was arrested in Lvov before he could leave and disappeared.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Michael Teitelbaum]] | [[Menachem Mendel Futerfas]] | [[Yona Cohen]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Eliyahu Chaim Roitblatt]] | [[Shalom Levertov]] | [[Yehoshua Dubrovsky]] | [[Zelig Katzman]] | [[Hillel Katzman]] | [[Moshe Robinson]] | [[Zalman Shimon Dvorkin]] | [[Avraham Eliyahu Plotkin]] | [[Mendel Dubrovsky]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Yisrael Noach Bilnitzky]] | [[Yehoshua Karp]] | [[Hirsch Lieberman]] | [[Chaim Meir Garelik]] | [[Nachum Volosov]] | [[Hillel Azimov]] | [[Shmuel Notik]] | [[Meir Gurkov]] | [[Abba Pliskin]] | [[Aharon Yosef Bilnitzky]] | [[Shlomo Matosov]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Michael said to me: We must make a Tomchei Temimim yeshiva here. … We will take the two boys Shalom Kovliaker and Zelig Katzman and make a Tomchei Temimim, and arrange “meals” for them, and he will learn with them.
<ref name="Levin1989p352">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 352 (memoir of the author’s father on the re-founding of the Samarkand yeshiva, early 5703 (1942–1943)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 113: The Emigration of Anash from Russia ==
After completing the account of the underground Tomchei Temimim network (chapters נא–צח), the book turns to the final major theme: the emigration of Anash from Russia. During the mass Jewish emigration from the Russian Empire (from 1880 onward) relatively few Chabad chassidim participated; the Rebbeim were not enthusiastic about departure to the “land of freedom.” Even after the Revolution and the intensification of religious persecution, as long as the Rebbe Rayatz remained in Russia the majority of Anash and the Temimim stayed and continued the struggle. Individual instructions to leave were given in specific cases (e.g., R. Avraham Eliyahu Axelrod in 5682 (1921–1922)/5684 (1923–1924)), but the general stance was to remain. After the Rebbe’s own departure (Kislev 5688 (1927–1928)) the situation deteriorated further and emigration efforts increased.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Nachum Shimarya Shashonkin]] | [[Avraham Eliyahu Axelrod]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Yaakov Yisrael Zuber]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The fearers of G-d and the observers of Torah and mitzvos must stand firm as a camp… We are not permitted… to look with the glance of flight and escape from the place of the campaign; on the contrary, we must strengthen our stand…
<ref name="Levin1989p356">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 356 (letter of the Rebbe Rayatz, 20 Menachem Av 5685 (1924–1925), responding to a request to leave for the Land of Israel).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 114: Instructions of the Rebbe to Endeavor to Leave Russia ==
The first known individual instruction from the Rebbe Rayatz to emigrate to the United States was given to R. Avraham Eliyahu Axelrod (winter 5684 (1923–1924), after earlier preparation). A broader stirring among Anash began around Rosh Hashanah 5685 (1924–1925), when a group of Temimim in Leningrad resolved to promote departure and to send individuals abroad who would then help others. R. Yisrael Jacobson was among those who eventually left for the US and worked on behalf of those remaining. After the Rebbe’s release from Kostroma exile and his decision to leave for Riga, he instructed R. Yaakov Yisrael Zuber (Rosh Chodesh Elul 5687 (1926–1927)) to seek a visa for America for rabbinic work. Private instructions continued; the general attitude while the Rebbe was still in Russia had been to remain and strengthen Jewish life there.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Avraham Eliyahu Axelrod]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Yaakov Yisrael Zuber]] | [[Aharon Shlomo Axelrod]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Avraham Paris]] | [[Yisrael of Girsad]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>My opinion and desire is that you travel to America for rabbinate… I want you to travel there and inform them of all this in my name…
<ref name="Levin1989p358">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 358 (letter of R. Yaakov Yisrael Zuber transmitting the Rebbe’s instruction, 1 Tavo 5687 (1926–1927)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 115: The Mission of R. Mordechai Dubin to Russia ==
Approximately two years after the Rebbe’s arrival in Riga he sent R. Mordechai Dubin (a member of the Latvian Sejm with political influence) to Russia to explore possibilities of extracting Anash. Dubin visited Leningrad and Moscow. He reported that former contacts in the Soviet apparatus had been replaced or were unwilling to help, that exit permits were sometimes sold for high sums, and that wealthy non-observant Jews were uninterested in funding the departure of religious Jews. The visit produced limited practical results but intensified the Rebbe’s private and general instructions that Anash should try to leave. The Rebbe also wrote repeatedly to American Chabad contacts requesting affidavits and rabbinic positions for individuals still in Russia (including R. Yehuda Butrashvili / Kolater and others).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Mordechai Dubin]] | [[Yitzchak Raskin]] | [[Nachum Shimarya Shashonkin]] | [[Yehuda Butrashvili]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Rafael Nachman Cohen]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>From the day our Rebbe arrived in Riga he has been pressing me to travel to Russia in order to get you out… The chances are small…
<ref name="Levin1989p360">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 360 (account of R. Nachum Shimarya Shashonkin on Dubin’s visit).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 116: Rescue Campaign by Anash in the United States ==
Anash already outside Russia, led especially by R. Yisrael Jacobson (who had arrived in 5686 (1925–1926)), organized systematic efforts. In 5689 (1928–1929) a detailed questionnaire (nine points covering name, occupation, means of support, preferred destination, etc.) was prepared and distributed; at least 150 completed forms reached Jacobson and were forwarded to the Rebbe. In summer 5690 (1929–1930) a special meeting of the Agudas HaTemimim in New York discussed concrete steps to save Anash still in Russia. Circular letters continued into 5693 (1932–1933) emphasizing the “pidyon shevuyim” obligation. Results remained limited because of American immigration quotas and Soviet exit restrictions.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Agudas HaTemimim]] | [[Shaul Dovber Zislin]] | [[Moshe Axelrod]] | [[Avraham Shlomo Patchin]] | [[Shimon Bliner]] | [[Yaakov Yisrael Zuber]] | [[Yehuda Eber]] | [[Aharon Eliezer Zeitlin]] | [[Elchanan Dovber Marozov]] | [[Eli Nachum Shklai]] | [[Shalom Posner]]

== Chapter 117: Difficulties in Obtaining a Visa, Travel Ticket and Passport ==
Even after external affidavits or rabbinic positions were secured, three nearly insurmountable obstacles remained: (1) a foreign entry visa, (2) paid steamship tickets for the entire family, and (3) a Soviet exit passport whose cost often exceeded $100–300 per adult (payable only in foreign currency after 5692 (1931–1932)). The United States imposed tight quotas after 5684 (1923–1924) and made rabbinic visas extremely difficult to obtain. Latvia granted temporary refuge more readily until 5694 (1933–1934); Poland and most other countries were closed. Palestine was the most accessible destination for those who could reach it. After obtaining the three documents the applicant still faced repeated refusals at Soviet exit offices; many spent years in Moscow or nearby towns (e.g., Yegoryevsk) merely to be eligible to file. The combination of economic crisis in the West and famine plus foreign-currency requirements inside the USSR brought emigration almost to a halt in 5692 (1931–1932)–5693 (1932–1933).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Shaul Dovber Zislin]] | [[Avraham Eliyahu Axelrod]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Shmuel Zalmanov]] | [[Rafael Nachman Cohen]] | [[Yosef Rosen]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>According to many cases I have seen, the difficulty of travel is great… After the documents and permits have been sent from there, it still remains in great doubt, dependent on the will, desire and judgment of the consul here who is very strict…
<ref name="Levin1989p365">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 365 (letter of the Rebbe Rayatz, 18 Sivan 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 118: The Rebbe’s Efforts on Behalf of Emigration ==
From his arrival in Riga (5688 (1927–1928)) onward the Rebbe Rayatz continuously urged Anash to seek exit permits. In the relatively quieter year 5694 (1933–1934) he intensified private instructions: “submit in p’shutim” (ordinary Soviet currency rather than dollars), prefer the Land of Israel as destination, and re-apply after refusals. Surviving letter-books from Adar–Iyar 5694 (1933–1934) contain dozens of such directives. He also sought collective certificates and funding from the Joint and other bodies for groups of working-age Anash, and corresponded with R. Shneur Zalman Schneersohn (his representative in Russia) and R. Shlomo Yosef Zevin about practical lists and certificates. Approximately one hundred Anash families managed to leave in 5695 (1934–1935)–5696 (1935–1936), most for Palestine; thereafter borders tightened again until the end of the war.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Mordechai Dubin]] | [[Yosef Rosen]] | [[Yehuda Eber]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Binyamin Garodetzky]] | [[Aharon Tomarkin]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Everyone knows [my view regarding] travel to the Holy Land… but concerning our brothers who are suffering there is no other counsel, for to the other countries besides Latvia they do not give entry permission, and in Latvia there is nothing to do…
<ref name="Levin1989p374">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 374 (letter of the Rebbe Rayatz, 3 Iyar 5694 (1933–1934)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 119: R. Yaakov Yisrael Zuber ==
Following the Rebbe’s instruction (Elul 5687 (1926–1927)) R. Yisrael Jacobson obtained a rabbinic contract for Zuber from a synagogue on Coney Island. Because the United States had no diplomatic relations with the USSR, the documents had to be notarized in Russia and sent to the American consulate in Riga. Zuber reached Riga in early winter 5689 (1928–1929) but never received the American visa; after years of fruitless efforts he settled in Stockholm as a shoichet and rav and only reached the United States after the Second World War.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yaakov Yisrael Zuber]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]]

== Chapter 120: R. Yitzchak (Ha-Matmid) Horowitz ==
Efforts to bring R. Yitzchak Ha-Matmid (Horowitz) and R. Yaakov Maskalik (Voravtzer) out of Russia began immediately after Zuber’s arrival in Riga. Ha-Matmid eventually received an exit permit and reached Riga in early winter 5693 (1932–1933) after more than two years of attempts; his arrival was greeted with joy among Anash still inside Russia. Maskalik remained; he was arrested in late summer 5695 (1934–1935), exiled, and disappeared.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yitzchak Horowitz (Ha-Matmid)]] | [[Yaakov Maskalik]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Moshe Axelrod]] | [[Shamai Vigan]] | [[Shmuel Horowitz]]

== Chapter 121: R. Moshe Axelrod ==
R. Moshe Axelrod’s case illustrates the multi-year ordeal typical of those who eventually left. From 5690 (1929–1930) onward he received a synagogue contract and funds from relatives and from R. Yisrael Jacobson, yet faced repeated refusals, changing ticket requirements (Franz Line certificates became invalid), short-term arrest, eviction from his home, and the need to register in Leningrad or Moscow merely to file. After seven years of alternating hope and despair he succeeded in reaching the Land of Israel in summer 5696 (1935–1936).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Moshe Axelrod]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Aharon Tomarkin]]

== Chapter 122: R. Yisrael Leib Lipschitz ==
Shortly after R. Moshe Axelrod’s departure, R. Yisrael Leib Lipschitz also reached the Land of Israel, but only after years of near-despair. The Rebbe personally arranged a single ticket; family tickets and the required foreign-currency passport fee remained obstacles. He registered near Moscow to file, appealed to Kalinin, and finally received his passport in winter 5697 (1936–1937).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yisrael Leib Lipschitz]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]] | [[Hendel Nadai]]

== Chapter 123: R. Aharon Eliezer Zeitlin ==
R. Aharon Eliezer Zeitlin (brother-in-law of both R. Yisrael Jacobson and R. Yechezkel Feigin) received synagogue contracts, tickets, and dollar transfers, yet every application failed. When he tried to deposit the Joint money for the passport, the bank called the GPU; the funds were seized. He continued efforts for years without success. Arrested on the first night of Sukkot 5698 (1937–1938) for hosting a minyan and study circle in his home, he was sent to Siberia, where he died in Tishrei 5699 (1938–1939) after prolonged illness and hunger. His son-in-law R. Yaakov Shatz was also arrested and disappeared.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Aharon Eliezer Zeitlin]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Yaakov Shatz]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Shaul Brok]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>On the first night of Sukkot they came and took our brother-in-law R. Aharon Eliezer into custody… the reason was that in his house they prayed in a minyan all three prayers and studied in groups…
<ref name="Levin1989p391">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 391 (letter of R. Yechezkel Feigin, 28 Tishrei 5698 (1937–1938)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 124: R. Meir Gurkov ==
The elderly R. Meir Gurkov spent years transferring assets abroad (via the Joint, R. Moshe Gurary, R. Shmuel Abba Dalitzky, and R. Yisrael Jacobson) and securing certificates and tickets for Palestine. When everything was finally ready in 5695 (1934–1935), rumors spread that exit permits had been halted and that any application would mark the applicant as an enemy of the regime. He returned the tickets (losing only the certificate fee) and remained in Russia until the postwar exodus of winter 5707 (1946–1947).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Meir Gurkov]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Moshe Gurary]] | [[Shmuel Abba Dalitzky]] | [[Hanoch Hendel Ovolin]] | [[Aharon Eliezer Zeitlin]]

== Chapter 125: R. Shamai Vigan ==
R. Shamai Vigan attempted to finance his family’s emigration by shipping Torah scrolls and other seforim from closed synagogues for sale abroad. He obtained Palestine visas in 5694 (1933–1934), but new decrees in 5695 (1934–1935) banned both the export of books and the filing of passport applications without a full year of residence registration in the capital. Arrested with other Anash in Rostov at the beginning of 5696 (1935–1936), he was sentenced to hard labor in Siberia, lost two children, and, after his release, perished in Novozybkov during the German occupation.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shamai Vigan]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Hanoch Hendel Ovolin]] | [[Chaim Padnas]] | [[Yitzchak Horowitz (Ha-Matmid)]]

== Chapter 126: R. Elchanan Dovber Marozov ==
Former secretary of the Rebbe, R. Elchanan Dovber Marozov was arrested on Purim Katan 5687 (1926–1927), exiled for three years, and after his return settled in Leningrad under the assumed name “Dovber Pozner.” From 5689 (1928–1929) he urgently sought exit papers. Palestine visas were secured and partial funds raised, yet the full family tickets and Soviet passport were never obtained. He remained in Leningrad until mid-winter 5701 (1940–1941), when he was arrested and disappeared.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Elchanan Dovber Marozov]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Yehuda Eber]] | [[Menachem Mendel Marozov]] | [[Michael Teitelbaum]] | [[Chaim Zalman Kramer]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Please have mercy on my soul and the souls of my children… How long shall I be among those who cry out and are not answered? Bring me out and rescue me from the straits, for a little more and, God forbid, I shall be lost…
<ref name="Levin1989p400">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 400 (letter of R. Elchanan Dovber Marozov, 25 Menachem Av 5694 (1933–1934)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 127: Attempts to Cross the Border Illegally (5691 (1930–1931)–5693 (1932–1933)) ==
Two major attempts involving Tomchei Temimim students are recorded. In 5691 (1930–1931)–5692 (1931–1932) a non-Jew in Kamenets-Podolsk ferried dozens of Jews (including R. David Green and later R. Avraham Kvash) into Poland for payment. Kvash was briefly imprisoned in Poland on suspicion of espionage; relatives left behind were arrested and sent to Siberia. In late winter 5693 (1932–1933) a GPU provocation near the Caucasus border offered a route to Turkey and Palestine; twenty-three Chabadniks (nine of them yeshiva students) were arrested near Batumi, imprisoned for half a year, and sentenced to hard labor. They were released in mid-winter 5694 (1933–1934) after intensive foreign intervention (including efforts timed to Litvinov’s American visit). Even afterward the desire to flee continued, though the risks had become clearer.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[David Green]] | [[Avraham Kvash]] | [[Aharon Kvash]] | [[Binyamin Lipman]] | [[Melech Kaplan]] | [[Mordechai Perlow]] | [[Yitzchak Horowitz (Ha-Matmid)]] | [[Alexander Reinin]]

== Chapter 128: Closure of the Borders in the Following Years ==
After approximately one hundred Anash families left in 5695 (1934–1935)–5696 (1935–1936), exit permits ceased almost completely. The last known departures included R. Moshe Dovber Genovburg and his family (Kalinin signed their permit on Hoshana Rabbah 5698 (1937–1938)). The years 5694 (1933–1934)–5699 (1938–1939) were among the most murderous in Soviet history; millions were arrested, exiled, or executed, and the same fate befell many Chabadniks. The path of legal emigration remained closed until after the Second World War.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Moshe Dovber Genovburg]] | [[Yitzchak Genovburg]] | [[Mikhail Kalinin]]

== Chapter 129: Departure from Russia in 5706 (1945–1946) ==
With the end of the war, Polish citizens who had fled to the USSR were allowed to return. Anash (mostly in Samarkand, Tashkent, and Kutaisi) exploited the opportunity by obtaining forged Polish papers and traveling via Lvov. The Rebbe initially advised caution (5 Tevet 5706 (1945–1946)) but later approved the route once its feasibility was confirmed. Several hundred families left during the summer and early winter of 5706 (1945–1946); the operation was highly secretive and largely self-organized by the Chabadniks themselves, with only limited contact with the broader “Briha” network. When the Soviets discovered the scheme, those still en route were arrested.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmuel Levitin]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetzky]] | [[Yehuda Leib Motzkin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Gorovitz]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Menachem Mendel Futerfas]] | [[Yonah Kahan]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>A magnificent chapter in the history of the Briha belongs to the Lubavitcher Hasidim who left Russia in the first year after liberation, conducting an independent, planned, organized, and secret flight…
<ref name="Levin1989p406">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 406 (quotation from Ephraim Dekel, ''Be-Netivei ha-Briha'').</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 130: Upon Their Arrival in Poland ==
After crossing from Lvov the first stop was Kraków, then Łódź, where many Anash temporarily settled. Pogroms against returning Jews made prolonged residence in communist-controlled Poland dangerous. The Rebbe directed them (20 Tammuz 5706 (1945–1946)) to proceed toward the American zones of Germany and Austria rather than France, so that American visas might be more attainable. R. Yisrael Jacobson was sent from New York (18 Tammuz) as the Rebbe’s special emissary to organize the rescue, visit the refugees, and coordinate with local activists. By the end of summer more than 600 Anash (approximately 200 families, of whom ~550 were from Russia) had left Poland for the West; only a few remained behind to assist later groups.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetzky]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Yitzchak Goldin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Serebryansky]] | [[Hadassah Garelik]] | [[Shalom Mendel Kalmanson]] | [[Eliezer Silver]]

== Chapter 131: The Prague Way-Station ==
Prague served as the principal intermediate stop between Poland and the American zones (or France). R. Jacobson spent about a month there (late Tammuz–Menachem Av 5706 (1945–1946)) organizing border crossings, food, and onward travel. A small local committee (including R. Yehuda Hitrick, R. Chaim Chaikin, and others) continued the work after his departure. Later, permanent representatives (R. Shalom Mendel Kalmanson, R. Hillel Pewzner, and Mrs. Hadassah Garelik) were stationed in Prague to maintain contact with Lvov, the camps, and the Rebbe. A short-lived “Beit Sarah” girls’ school was also founded there. Activity largely ceased after the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 5708 (1947–1948).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Shalom Mendel Kalmanson]] | [[Hillel Pewzner]] | [[Hadassah Garelik]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetzky]] | [[Yehuda Leib Motzkin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Futerfas]]

== Chapter 132: Refugee Camps ==
The first wave (~550 souls) reached the American zone in Germany and Austria in summer 5706 (1945–1946) and concentrated mainly in the Pocking camp near Munich (and smaller groups in Bensheim, Salzburg, etc.). There they re-established a Tomchei Temimim yeshiva under R. Nissan Nemanov; by late 5706 (1945–1946) it numbered roughly 120 students studying both Nigleh and Chassidus with renewed intensity. A later wave that left Russia in the winter of 5707 (1946–1947) settled in Austrian camps (Wegscheid, Steyr, Hallein). American visas proved far more difficult to obtain than expected (the consulates demanded proof of residence in the zones since 1945). The Rebbe therefore instructed that efforts shift toward moving the refugees to Paris for further processing.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Avraham Eliyahu Plotkin]] | [[Shalom Mendel Kalmanson]] | [[Nachum Shemaryahu Sosonkin]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetzky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Thanks to G-d our holy yeshiva has been organized here in all its details. The total number of students is 120… they study with tremendous diligence and in a short time they have grown and succeeded…
<ref name="Levin1989p422">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 422 (letter of R. Avraham Eliyahu Plotkin, 13 Marcheshvan 5707 (1946–1947)).</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 133: Settlement in France and Other Countries ==
When American visas remained blocked, the Rebbe established a “European Office for Refugee Aid” in Paris under R. Binyamin Gorodetzky (appointed 24 Marcheshvan 5707 (1946–1947)). Approximately 500 Anash were transferred from the German and Austrian camps to Paris in fifteen groups during the summer of 5707 (1946–1947). A Tomchei Temimim yeshiva was reopened in Paris; many refugees ultimately settled in France, Belgium, or continued later to the United States or the Land of Israel. The office coordinated visas, housing, and funding with the Joint and other bodies, while the Rebbe maintained daily correspondence with the activists.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Binyamin Gorodetzky]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Shneur Zalman Levitin]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Yitzchak Goldin]]

=== Final Conclusion of the Volume ===
With the successful transfer of roughly 500 Anash refugees to Paris in 5707 (1946–1947)–5708 (1947–1948) and the re-establishment of Tomchei Temimim there, the main narrative of the book comes to a close. Many of the refugees settled permanently in France or neighboring countries; others continued to the United States, England, Australia, or the Land of Israel. In 5709 (1948–1949) a large group of 140 souls left Paris for Israel, where Kfar Chabad was founded for them. The volume notes that the story of the remnant of Chabad that remained inside the Soviet Union after 5706 (1945–1946)–5707 (1946–1947) belongs to a later period (“She’erit Tenu’at Chabad be-Rusya”) and lies outside the scope of this work.

The book ends with extensive indices (subject, institutions, and a biographical list of Tomchei Temimim students), confirming that chapter קכ is the final narrative chapter.

== Involvement of external actors ==
According to the book, aid and emigration support came through Chabad’s own networks (including Va’ad HaEzra in Paris and Poland) and personal interventions coordinated by [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] and his emissaries. The volume covers the period to 1950 and does not document involvement by the Mossad, Israeli government, broader Zionist movement, or Western intelligence agencies in the underground activities of this era.<ref name="Levin1989" />

== See also ==
[[Chabad-Lubavitch]]
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
[[Tomchei Temimim]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:1989 books]]
[[Category:Chabad-Lubavitch]]
[[Category:Books about Hasidism]]
[[Category:Soviet Union books]]

History of Chabad in the USSR - 1989

2026-10-13T13:25:12Z

D-Backup:

{{short description|Book detailing the history of the Chabad movement in the Soviet Union from 1917 to 1950}}
'''History of Chabad in the USSR''' (Hebrew: ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'') is a 1989 historical work documenting the struggles and activities of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement in the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1950.

The book covers the period from the Bolshevik Revolution through the leadership of Rabbi [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] (the Rebbe Rayatz), focusing on resistance to religious persecution by the Yevsektsiya (Jewish Section of the Communist Party), underground yeshivas, and efforts to sustain Jewish observance.

== Background ==
Compiled by Rabbi [[Shalom Dovber Levin]] based on letters, documents, and oral testimonies, the work was published by Kehot Publication Society in Brooklyn, New York.<ref name="Levin1989">Levin, Shalom Dovber. ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', Kehot Publication Society, Brooklyn, NY, 1989.</ref>

It details the Rebbe Rayatz's campaigns, arrests, exile, and support networks for Chabad communities, including the network of underground ''Tomchei Temimim'' yeshivas that operated across dozens of towns. The book is organized thematically with chronological elements, featuring a special section on the yeshiva network (chapters נא–צח) and emigration (צט–קכ).

== Chapter extracts ==

=== Chapter 1: The first years of Soviet rule ===
Describes the Bolshevik takeover in late 1917, the civil war, founding of the Yevsektsiya, early anti-religious propaganda and measures (synagogue seizures, closure of communal institutions), and the relatively limited special targeting of Chabad before the mid-1920s. Most Jews remained traditional; open freethinkers were few.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]] | [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The Communist government, upon coming to power, did not immediately emphasize in its official laws its opposition to religion. At the very beginning of its existence it proclaimed the separation of religion from the state and that religion was the private affair of citizens. This law did not particularly hinder Jewish institutions, which previously had not received support from the state treasury either.
<ref name="Levin1989p19">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 19.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>In the first year of the Yevsektsiya’s existence it did not have real influence on the Jewish street. The Jews of Russia were then mostly believing Jews, the sons of believers… The number of freethinkers was small.
<ref name="Levin1989p19">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 19.</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 2: The state of the economy – at the end of the war ===
Covers the devastation from war, pogroms (especially in Ukraine), famine, nationalization of property, and the extreme poverty that prevented reconstruction of religious institutions. Sabbath-observing Jews were barred from state factories; private trade was restricted.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Meir Gorkov]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The years of war, years of siege, illness and famine, years of pogroms, pillage and murder… which passed over our land… made desolation in the land and, God forbid, it was as if the divine light had already been extinguished. How many houses of study and synagogues were destroyed, Torah scrolls torn and burned, rabbis, community leaders and shochetim with thousands of Jews were killed and slaughtered…
— Rebbe Rayatz letter, 22 Tevet 5683 (1922–1923) <ref name="Levin1989p20">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 20 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz letter, 22 Tevet 5683 (1922–1923)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 3: Dispatch of mashpi’im throughout Russia ===
Details the post-1920 (after the Rebbe Rashab’s passing) organized sending of mashpi’im to towns to establish fixed Torah and Chassidus study, “Kupat Rabbeinu,” and strengthen Jewish life. Includes early instructions and reports.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Eliyahu Eber]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Avraham Baruch Pevzner]] | [[Hillel Liberov]] | [[Samuel Levin]] | [[Kupat Rabbeinu]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Also endeavour in the matter of establishing fixed study of Chassidus in the towns… and the establishment of chadarim in the towns…
— Rebbe Rashab’s will <ref name="Levin1989p22">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 22 (quoting Rebbe Rashab’s will).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 4: Strengthening Judaism in Georgia ===
Covers emissaries sent to Georgia and the Caucasus from the late 1910s onward (Levitin, Slavin, Shushkin, Zuber, Perlove, etc.), founding of cheders and yeshivas, and later developments including arrests.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmuel Levitin]] | [[Avraham Levi Slavin]] | [[Nachum Shmaryahu Shushkin]] | [[Israel Zuber]] | [[Mordechai Perlove]] | [[Simcha Gorodetsky]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The cheder, thank God, has grown… and he made them a cheder in another town, and in a second and third, until he travelled through all the towns of the country…
— Rebbe Rayatz <ref name="Levin1989p25">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 25 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 5: Establishing the destroyed religious institutions ===
Describes efforts (with limited foreign aid) to rebuild mikvaos, support rabbis/shochetim/melamdim, and the shift toward NEP-era small-scale economic activity that partially enabled religious life until 1929.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[David Schifrin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Havlin]] | [[Agudas Chassidei Chabad]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Every community and assembly in Israel is doing great work to re-establish all matters of religion and to rebuild them as at the beginning, but they lack the means… and in this I turn to our brothers the House of Israel everywhere… to found a special society to come to the aid of the Hebrew communities in our land…
<ref name="Levin1989p20">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 20.</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 6: Establishing a spiritual rabbinical centre ===
Recounts the founding of the Rabbinical Centre in 1923 under the Rebbe’s initiative, its work against anti-religious measures, and continuation after the Rebbe’s departure.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmuel Rabinowitz]] | [[Yaakov Klemes]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Yechezkel Abramsky]] | [[Shmuel Levitin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Gluskin]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>From the year 5682 (1921–1922), in this month until Sivan 5687 (1926–1927), almost no week passed in which I did not do difficult work in the yoke of Torah, and in open and hidden war with the persecutors of religion, namely the well-known Yevsektsiya.
— Rebbe Rayatz <ref name="Levin1989p35">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 35 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 7: The struggle against the closure of the chadarim ===
The longest early chapter, subdivided into obtaining permits for private study with three pupils, memoranda and petitions, the law after the permit, continued persecutions, establishment and support of chadarim, the year 5688 (1927–1928), subsequent years, and compulsory education laws. Includes extensive documentary material on Yevsektsiya actions and legal battles. Details the 1923-1924 legal interpretations allowing limited private religious instruction (up to 3 pupils), Yevsektsiya propaganda and show trials against melamdim, establishment of underground or semi-legal chadarim supported by the Rebbe's network, lists of towns with numbers of pupils and support needs in 1928, the impact of the 1930 compulsory education law forcing parents to send children to Soviet schools or face penalties, and individual accounts of parents continuing clandestine education.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Yaakov Zachariah Maskalik]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]] | [[Benzion Maroz]] | [[Raphael Cohen]] | [[Menachem Mendel Gluskin]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In the general session of the VTsIK… on Saturday 7 July 1923… Krylenko… declared that home studies in private groups are not included in the prohibition at all.
<ref name="Levin1989p39">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 39.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The Yevsektsiya… set for itself the mission of making possible the uprooting of the Torah from among the Jewish people… and of liquidating the teachers of the Jewish people.
<ref name="Levin1989p41">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 41.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>There are those who think that the Torah has already disappeared entirely from the House of Jacob in our land... but it is also true that Israel is not yet widowed and there are still many boys and youths whose fathers entrust them to study Torah.
— Shlomo Yosef Zevin <ref name="Levin1989p53">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 53 (quoting Shlomo Yosef Zevin).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 8: The struggle against the seizure of the synagogues ===
Details the systematic confiscation of synagogues by the Yevsektsiya for clubs and other uses, starting from the early years of Soviet rule. Describes legal efforts by the Rabbinical Centre and lawyers (including Orinson), petitions to Kalinin, local resistance (e.g., in Oni, Georgia, where residents physically prevented closure until military intervention), gradual takeover of remaining synagogues by the mid-1930s, formation of secret minyanim in private homes, and efforts to protect or relocate Torah scrolls. Includes specific letters from 1933-1934 describing conditions in towns like Nikolayev, Krivoy Rog, Uman, and others.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Yaakov Landau]] | [[Nachum Shmaryahu Shushkin]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[Mikhail Kalinin]] | [[Orinson]] (lawyer)

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The synagogues are taken by force for clubs... while the chadarim of Israel are closed, and the people in whom there is the scent of Torah and service are persecuted, insulted and judged, by the young men who have shaken off every good feeling...
— Rebbe Rayatz, 28 Tammuz 5683 (1922–1923) <ref name="Levin1989p65">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 65 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 28 Tammuz 5683 (1922–1923)).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>In general, persecutions of the religion have now begun in order to uproot the remnant of the survivors; they take and close the synagogues and batei midrash (only secretly and cunningly, so as not to make a noise abroad).
— Yaakov Zachariah Maskalik, 1934 <ref name="Levin1989p66">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 66 (quoting Yaakov Zachariah Maskalik, 1934).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 9: Spreading Torah – Tiferet Bachurim ===
Describes the Rebbe's efforts to establish regular Torah study sessions in synagogues and the organization of "Tiferet Bachurim" groups for young workers, merchants, and students (ages ~18-35) to study Chumash, Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, Gemara, etc., in the evenings. Supported by the Rabbinical Centre in multiple cities including Moscow, Leningrad, Minsk, Vitebsk, Nevel. Reports of hundreds of members and positive impact on Jewish life.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Eliyahu Chaim Althaus]] | [[Tiferet Bachurim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The experience has shown me that in Tsaritsyn... in seven synagogues, thank God, they study in every synagogue between Mincha and Maariv and after Maariv a Gemara lesson, and this costs me five rubles... per month.
— Rebbe Rayatz <ref name="Levin1989p69">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 69 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 10: The covenant to the last drop of blood ===
Recounts the winter 1924 (5684 (1923–1924)) Moscow assembly of Tomchei Temimim students (eight or nine “temimim”) who swore an oath of self-sacrifice “to the last drop of blood” for Torah and Judaism. The Rebbe divided regions among them for underground work establishing chadarim, fixed study sessions, and mikvaot. Shortly afterward the GPU sought to arrest the Rebbe in Rostov; he relocated temporarily and then moved the household to Leningrad. Includes accounts of a 19 Kislev farbrengen in Rostov and the participants’ subsequent activities.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Benzion Shemtov]] | [[Simcha Gorodetsky]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]] | [[GPU]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>After the histalkus, decrees began against Torah and chadarim. In 5684 (1923–1924) nine temimim—students of Tomchei Temimim—gathered in Moscow and I was the tenth, and we all swore to sacrifice ourselves for Torah until the last drop of blood. We then divided the work in the country, each to a separate region. This had a great influence on the country and hundreds of Talmud Torahs and chadarim were founded.
— one of the participants <ref name="Levin1989p73">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 73 (quoting one of the participants).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>I selected eight young temimim with healthy heads and hearts and hands and feet. I called them together to Moscow for an assembly, and we swore an oath that whatever would be, one must be ready to go to the last drop of blood.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 13 Tammuz 5692 (1931–1932) talk <ref name="Levin1989p73">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 73 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 13 Tammuz 5692 (1931–1932) talk).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 11: Strengthening Judaism in the colonies (koloniyes) ===
Details efforts from the mid-1920s to support Jewish agricultural colonies (especially in Crimea, Kherson, and nearby districts) established with Joint Distribution Committee assistance. The Rabbinical Centre sent questionnaires, emissaries (including Simcha Gorodetsky), and funds for shochetim, melamdim, mikvaot, and synagogues. Includes extensive lists of colonies and their needs, negotiations with Joint officials, and the Rebbe’s insistence that material aid be accompanied by religious infrastructure. Later sections note famine-driven departure of many shochetim in the early 1930s.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Simcha Gorodetsky]] | [[Aharon Eliezer Zeitlin]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>A special chapter is the fifth department, the colonies department in the districts of Crimea, Kherson, Kriukovo and others… the new settlements being built in Crimea and elsewhere without any sign of Judaism and without any scent of ancestral tradition, without a place for prayer and without a teacher for Torah, without a shochet for kashrut and without a mikveh for purity…
— Shlomo Yosef Zevin survey, late Shevat 5687 (1926–1927) <ref name="Levin1989p74">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 74 (quoting Shlomo Yosef Zevin survey, late Shevat 5687 (1926–1927)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 12: Mission of R. Benzion Shemtov ===
Covers the 1925–1927 (approx.) clandestine travels of Benzion Shemtov through Volhynia, Kiev, and Podolia. He established dozens of chadarim and several secret yeshivas, organized Tiferet Bachurim groups, fixed study sessions, and mikvaot, while compiling statistical reports on Jewish religious life. He was later arrested and sentenced to three years in Siberia.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Benzion Shemtov]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Eliyahu Chaim Althaus]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>For two and a half years he travelled, thank God, in great success, and founded very many tens of chadarim, and delivered passionate speeches about fixed times for Torah… and a different spirit entered Volhynia.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 2 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p80">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 80 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 2 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 13: Mission of R. Binyamin Gorodetsky ===
Describes Binyamin Gorodetsky’s 1927 mission to the Kiev region. He reorganized and expanded chadarim and yeshivas (including taking over an existing yeshiva in Podol), established “Torah Temimah” and “Ohalei Shem,” and worked among both observant and newly attracted Jews until his arrest around early 1931 and subsequent exile.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In the summer of 5687 (1926–1927) a letter from our Rebbe was received at the administration of the beis midrash, in which he expresses his desire to send me as a rabbi to Kiev and the surrounding districts, and also for the purpose of organizing chadarim, Talmud Torahs and yeshivas.
— Binyamin Gorodetsky, Sefer Zikaron <ref name="Levin1989p83">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 83 (quoting Binyamin Gorodetsky, Sefer Zikaron).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 14: Mission of R. Simon Yakovashvili (Yakobson) ===
Recounts the Georgian-born temim Simon Yakovashvili’s 1926–1927 mission throughout Georgia after Shmuel Levitin’s departure. He established chadarim, yeshivas, and mikvaot and delivered public addresses. Yevsektsiya head Litvakov later complained that the Rebbe’s emissaries had revived religious life even in distant Georgia and Turkestan. Includes coded letters describing his arrest and release.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Simon Yakovashvili (Yakobson)]] | [[Shmuel Levitin]] | [[Litvakov]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Wherever we turn—not only in White Russia or Little Russia and Inner Russia but even in distant corners such as Georgia and Turkestan—there too are found the messengers and agents of Rabbi Schneersohn to maintain the institutions of religion.
— Litvakov, head of the Yevsektsiya, as reported 5687 (1926–1927) <ref name="Levin1989p84">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 84 (quoting Litvakov, head of the Yevsektsiya, as reported 5687 (1926–1927)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 15: Mission of R. Simcha Gorodetsky ===
After his Crimean colonies work, Simcha Gorodetsky was sent in 1926 to Samarkand/Bukhara. He founded a large Talmud Torah (reportedly reaching ~800–1,000 children and 25–45 melamdim) and a Tiferet Bachurim group among the local Bukharan Jewish community.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Simcha Gorodetsky]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>He put himself in actual danger and came to Bukhara, and thank God in the city of Samarkand he founded chadarim and within about three months gathered about eight hundred young students…
— Rebbe Rayatz, 2 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p88">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 88 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 2 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 16: Organizing home handicrafts (kustar) ===
Covers the Rebbe’s efforts during the NEP period to promote and obtain Joint support for Jewish religious craftsmen (kustarniks) who could observe Shabbat while earning a living. Includes detailed proposals submitted to Joint officials in Moscow and Berlin, the founding of an artel in Leningrad, and correspondence highlighting the desperate economic situation of observant Jews barred from state employment.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]] | [[Dr. Rosen]] | [[Dr. Haukin]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>I am not content with the work in matters of Torah and buildings; I am submitting a memorandum to the Joint concerning aid for handicraft work—kustar—and I am founding, by means of letters, a bureau in New York that will enter into discussions with the members of the Joint…
— Rebbe Rayatz, 15 Menachem Av 5688 (1927–1928) <ref name="Levin1989p89">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 89 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 15 Menachem Av 5688 (1927–1928)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 17: Livelihood of Anash ===
Describes the severe economic distress of Chabad hasidim (Anash) in the mid-1920s. Most were small traders or kustarniks whose livelihoods were collapsing under Soviet restrictions. The Rebbe and the Rabbinical Centre (via Shmuel Levitin) circulated questionnaires to former Tomchei Temimim students about their skills and willingness to take up agriculture or crafts, while continuing to press the Joint for support. Includes detailed accounts of the Rebbe’s household expenses in Leningrad and the general poverty that made even supporting the yeshiva network difficult.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmuel Levitin]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]] | [[Anash]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The state of Anash is that there is no need to describe their condition in general, and the main thing is that small trade from private individuals and the kustarniks have recently been declining lower and lower… the majority of Anash are merchants and a very small minority engage in some handicraft…
— Yitzchak Leib Neishuler letter, 2 Menachem Av 5686 (1925–1926) <ref name="Levin1989p91">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 91 (quoting Yitzchak Leib Neishuler letter, 2 Menachem Av 5686 (1925–1926)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 18: Separation of religion from the state and the Yevsektsiya ===
Presents a detailed memorandum (delivered by the Rebbe to Professor Haukin in 1927) contrasting official Soviet law on separation of church and state with the actual practices of the Yevsektsiya and local authorities. Documents how Yevsektsiya pressure led to forced atheism, closure of synagogues, harassment of parents providing religious education, discrimination against observant employees and students, and the absence of genuine Jewish representation before the government. Notes that the Yevsektsiya’s anti-religious campaign continued mainly until around 1930.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[Professor Haukin]] | [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The religion is declared the private affair of the believer. The state does not intervene at all in the sphere of religion… To our regret, however, we see facts that grossly contradict the above situation.
<ref name="Levin1989p93">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 93 (from the 1927 memorandum on the religious life of the Jewish population).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 19: The Leningrad Conference ===
Recounts the 1925–1926 crisis surrounding a proposed all-Russian Jewish communal conference initiated by the largely secular leadership of the Leningrad Jewish community (under Gorowitz). The Rebbe and observant circles strongly opposed it, fearing it would be exploited by the Yevsektsiya and freethinkers to introduce reforms. The chapter details the split in the Leningrad community, the founding of the pure “Tzemach Tzedek” congregation under Shimon Lazarov, public meetings, the Rebbe’s open letter of 13 Sivan 5686 (1925–1926) condemning the conference, and the eventual collapse of the project under GPU pressure. Eliyahu Chaim Althaus’s long contemporary account is extensively quoted.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Eliyahu Chaim Althaus]] | [[Shimon Lazarov]] | [[David Tevele Katzenelenbogen]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[GPU]] | [[Tzemach Tzedek]] (Leningrad congregation)

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>It is clear to me that this conference which the Leningrad community is thinking of calling is unclean… I am utterly opposed to any general conference whatsoever, and I testify by all that is holy to me that the initiators of the idea of the general Leningrad conference have an evil thing concealed in it…
— Rebbe Rayatz, 15 Menachem Av 5688 (1927–1928) letter <ref name="Levin1989p96">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 96 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 15 Menachem Av 5688 (1927–1928) letter).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>A general religious conference of the community of Israel who fear God and keep the Torah and the commandments in this country… has great value, and very great responsibility is involved in it and in its results… [But] the “general religious conference” which the Leningrad community is calling is new in the land and departs from the rule…
— Rebbe Rayatz open letter, 13 Sivan 5686 (1925–1926) <ref name="Levin1989p103">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 103 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz open letter, 13 Sivan 5686 (1925–1926)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 20: The Korosten Conference ===
Describes the October 1926 (Marcheshvan 5687 (1926–1927)) conference of nearly 100 rabbis (mainly from Volhynia and Ukraine) held in Korosten under official Soviet permission. Initiated by local rabbis (including Shmuel Kipnis) as a counterweight to the secular Leningrad proposal, it focused on strengthening religious institutions. The Rebbe was elected honorary president in absentia; Shlomo Yosef Zevin and others played leading roles. The gathering raised Yevsektsiya and GPU hostility and contributed to later arrests. Includes the official participant list and contemporary press reports.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Shmuel Kipnis]] | [[Benzion Shemtov]] | [[Shimon Lazarov]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[GPU]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The assembly of the Volhynian rabbis in the city of Korosten… made a great impression on the world of religious (Orthodox) Judaism. In total there were close to one hundred rabbis… The assembly chose His Honor [the Rebbe] as honorary president in his absence…
— Elchanan Dov Marozov letter, 3 Kislev 5687 (1926–1927) <ref name="Levin1989p106">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 106 (quoting Elchanan Dov Marozov letter, 3 Kislev 5687 (1926–1927)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 21: The arrests ===
Covers the wave of arrests in 1926–1928 of the Rebbe’s secretaries and emissaries connected to the underground Torah work and the conferences. Benzion Shemtov was arrested in Ovruch, held in Kharkov, and sentenced to three years in Siberia. Elchanan Dov Marozov was arrested in early 1927 on a fabricated charge and exiled to Siberia. Others arrested or sentenced to forced labor included Shlomo Chaim Kesselman (Polotsk), Binyamin Gorodetsky (Kiev), and several Nevel yeshiva students. The chapter draws on the Rebbe’s letters, Yechezkel Feigin’s reports, and contemporary accounts.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Benzion Shemtov]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]] | [[GPU]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The Yevsektsiya smelled that there is a hidden hand working and making great propaganda in spreading Torah… and for about three months he felt that he had a shadow following his tracks… and one day in Adar 5687 (1926–1927) they caught him in the city of Ovruch and sent him bound in iron chains under heavy guard to the city of Kharkov and put him in prison…
— Rebbe Rayatz, 2 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p115">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 115 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 2 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 22: The Rebbe continues the struggle ===
Despite the arrests of his closest aides and the personal danger, the Rebbe continued directing the network of underground yeshivas and chadarim. Yechezkel Feigin, then managing the dispersed Tomchei Temimim branches, visited him after Pesach 5687 (1926–1927) and recorded the Rebbe’s continued focus on the general work even while physically weakened.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Despite all this the Rebbe continued his work with self-sacrifice, without taking into account the arrests of the workers with him, nor the risk that they were preparing to arrest him as well…
<ref name="Levin1989p118">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 118.</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 23: The arrest of the Rebbe and his exit from Russia ===
Narrates the Rebbe’s arrest on the night of 15 Sivan 5687 (June 1927) in Leningrad, the interrogations, his refusal to abandon tefillin, the 19 days of imprisonment, transfer to Kostroma, then to Malakhovka near Moscow, and the intensive international efforts that secured his release and permission to leave the Soviet Union in the autumn of 5688 (Tishrei). Includes coded and open letters from Anash describing the shock in Jewish Russia, public fasts, and the Rebbe’s own later account of the period. He settled in Riga.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Mordechai Dubin]] | [[Dr. Yosef Rosen]] | [[Eliyahu Chaim Althaus]] | [[GPU]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>A time of trouble for Jacob. On the night of Wednesday 15 Sivan they called our honored friend [the Rebbe] the verse Genesis 39:20 [And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison]… The eyes of all Israel in our country are covered with tears of blood, they decree fasts everywhere. Danger faces all Israel and the Torah.
<ref name="Levin1989p121">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 121 (anonymous letter from Russia, seventh day of the arrest).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Blessed is He who has kept us alive and sustained us and brought us to this time, that I am able to come into correspondence with my beloved and faithful friends… for during the last three months of my dwelling in our country I was deprived of the ability—because of the watchful eyes of the known searchers—to write even regards.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 8 Menachem Av 5688 (1927–1928), from Riga <ref name="Levin1989p125">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 125 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 8 Menachem Av 5688 (1927–1928), from Riga).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 24: The Committee of Shield and Shelter for the Jews of Russia ===
Upon settling in Riga, the Rebbe reorganized and expanded the external aid committee (previously planned with figures such as Dr. Meir Hildesheimer, Wolf of Frankfurt, and others). Meetings in Riga in late 1927 / early 1928 defined a multi-branch program: support for yeshivas and chadarim, mikvaot and synagogues, legal defense against Yevsektsiya actions, kustar (handicraft) assistance, and work in the colonies. The chapter includes the detailed protocol of the Riga meetings and the formal work plan of the “Committee for Strengthening Torah and Religion in Soviet Russia.”

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Dr. Meir Hildesheimer]] | [[Mordechai Dubin]] | [[Yosef Rosen (Rogatchover)]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]] | [[Va'ad HaEzra]] (later Paris/Poland branches)

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The work must be conducted under the supervision of the head of the center over the course of the work and its educational guidance, as was the practice in Leningrad…
<ref name="Levin1989p127">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 127 (from the Riga committee protocol).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 25: Support for the Jews of Russia ===
Focuses on the material (not only spiritual) aid organized by the Rebbe Rayatz immediately after leaving the USSR and settling in Riga. Priority was given to expanding home handicraft (*kustar*) work, the only viable livelihood for Sabbath observers once state employment and private trade were restricted. Detailed memoranda were sent to Prof. V. Haukin (Alliance Israélite) and others; the Rebbe stressed that the aid was for all Russian Jews, not only Chabad. Trips to Berlin and other European centers were made for this purpose.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Professor V. Haukin]] | [[Dr. Meir Hildesheimer]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]] | [[Alliance Israélite Universelle]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Not only spiritual support did our Rebbe extend to the Jews of Russia upon reaching the free world, but also, and perhaps mainly, material help… the only work possible for Sabbath observers.
<ref name="Levin1989p135">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 135.</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 26: Sending Matzos to Russia ===
Documents the large-scale 1929 (Adar–Nisan 5689 (1928–1929)) campaign that shipped dozens of train cars of baked matzos plus thousands of parcels of Passover flour. Signed joint appeals with the Chofetz Chaim and R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Later years faced Soviet restrictions (only flour parcels allowed, high customs, risk to recipients); the Rebbe continued organizing via Riga and Berlin centers.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Yisrael Meir Kagan (Chofetz Chaim)]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]] | [[Dr. Meir Hildesheimer]] | [[Eliyahu Chaim Althaus]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In a short time of about twenty-six days something was accomplished that at first seemed impossible… 28 train cars of baked matzos and 5,689 parcels of Passover flour…
— Rebbe Rayatz, 27 Nisan 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p138">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 138 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 27 Nisan 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 27: The Journey to the United States for the Benefit of Russian Jews ===
Covers the Rebbe’s 1929–1930 visit to America (and brief stop in Eretz Yisrael). Primary goal was to mobilize public opinion and institutions for Russian Jewry. Meetings with the Union of Orthodox Rabbis; limited practical success because the Wall Street crash intervened. Contemporary press coverage and coded letters from remaining rabbis in the USSR are included.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Union of Orthodox Rabbis]] | [[R. Moshe Zev Margolies]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The general matters with which the Rebbe is occupied for the benefit of our brothers living in our country… require and force a journey of the Rebbe himself to the United States.
— Yechezkel Feigin, 25 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p143">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 143 (quoting Yechezkel Feigin, 25 Shevat 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 28: Liquidation of the NEP ===
Describes Stalin’s end of the New Economic Policy (NEP) from 1929/30 onward. Independent handicrafts and petty trade—the remaining sources of livelihood for observant Jews—were eliminated. Sabbath observers were barred from state factories. Some managed cooperative *artels* or night-watchman jobs; most sank into extreme poverty. Letters from Anash (including Leah Beila Levin) illustrate the desperation.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Leah Beila Levin]] | [[Alter Shneur Zalman Gitlin]] | [[Shaul Brook]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Meanwhile the economic situation in Russia worsened greatly, especially for Sabbath-observing Jews… the sources of livelihood of the observant Jews were wiped out.
<ref name="Levin1989p147">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 147.</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 29: The Famine ===
Covers the catastrophic famine of 1932–33 (and continuing hardship). Hundreds of letters reached R. Israel Jacobson describing near-starvation; observant Jews were among the first victims. The Rebbe organized emergency “aid for the hungry” funds and Torgsin remittances. Graphic contemporary accounts are quoted.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Zalman Posner]] | [[Moshe Axelrod]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Menachem Mendel Dubrovsky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>For seven or eight years I have been separated from you… now necessity forces me to write a request… for almost a full year we have suffered actual starvation…
— Dov Ber Babrov, 4 Shevat 5693 (1932–1933) <ref name="Levin1989p150">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 150 (quoting Dov Ber Babrov, 4 Shevat 5693 (1932–1933)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 30: The Rebbe’s Efforts to Secure Support ===
Despite the Great Depression choking American fundraising, the Rebbe continued intense personal efforts throughout the famine years (1931–33). He traveled to Paris and Warsaw, incurred large private debts, and sent whatever funds he could raise (mainly via Torgsin). Contemporary letters describe his physical and emotional exhaustion from the work.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Rothstein]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Torgsin]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>You have no concept at all of how much soul-pain and grief I suffered and continue to suffer… I began working for their benefit without rest… the support is not at all in proportion to the labor.
— Rebbe Rayatz to R. Zamszky, late Iyar 5693 (1932–1933) <ref name="Levin1989p158">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 158 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz to R. Zamszky, late Iyar 5693 (1932–1933)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 31: Founding of the “Aid Committee” in Paris and Poland ===
In 1933 the Rebbe established formal aid committees in Paris (with Baron de Gunzburg, R. Eisenstadt and others) and in Warsaw/Poland (jointly with Polish rebbes and communal leaders). A large Warsaw conference in 5694 (1933–1934) issued a joint call; thousands of parcels were subsequently sent.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Baron A. de Gunzburg]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]] | [[Menachem Mendel Rothstein]] | [[Va'ad HaEzra le-Yehudei Rusya]] | [[Agudat ha-Rabbanim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>One of the reasons I came to Poland was to enlist the large Jewish community of Poland to stand ready to help our brothers in Russia…
<ref name="Levin1989p160">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 160.</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 32: Sending Money to Russia ===
Explains the official exchange rate (≈1.94 rubles per dollar) versus the black-market rate (5–10 rubles). Direct bank or postal transfers therefore destroyed most of the value. Unofficial channels organized by R. Israel Gurary, R. Shmaryahu Gurary and others delivered 5–8.5 rubles per dollar while minimizing risk to recipients.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Israel Gurary]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Meir Gorkov]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Those who send their money to their relatives through the official bank or post do two evils… the government forces them to exchange it at the official rate…
— Israel Gurary, 1931 <ref name="Levin1989p163">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 163 (quoting Israel Gurary, 1931).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 33: Food and Clothing Parcels ===
Because cash transfers were dangerous and inefficient, the main practical aid became food and clothing parcels (butter, smoked meat, sugar, etc.) sent via Riga. Price lists were circulated; R. Moshe Gurary and R. Israel Jacobson coordinated the American side.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Moshe Gurary]] | [[Israel Jacobson]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>One of the ways of help they request is to send them parcels of foodstuffs via the post… especially kosher meat… and fats such as butter…
<ref name="Levin1989p165">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 165.</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 34: The Torgsin Stores ===
From roughly 1932 the Soviet government opened “Torgsin” stores that sold goods only for foreign currency. Relatives abroad could send dollars to a Torgsin address; the recipient received equivalent goods at world prices. This became the preferred method until the stores were closed at the end of 1935.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Meir Gorkov]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Torgsin]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Send me twenty shekels to the address written on the margin… it is a store the government opened for anyone who comes with foreign currency…
— Meir Gorkov, Adar 5692 (1931–1932) <ref name="Levin1989p166">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 166 (quoting Meir Gorkov, Adar 5692 (1931–1932)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 35: Return to Sending Parcels ===
After the closure of Torgsin (end of 1935) the network reverted to ordinary food and clothing parcels. Committees in Paris, Riga and Tel Aviv (Gurary brothers + Eliezer Krasik) continued the work until the outbreak of war interrupted the routes.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Eliezer Krasik]] | [[Mordechai Chefetz]] | [[Shamai Vigan]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Everyone knows that after the closing of the Torgsin the sending of food and clothing parcels is a question of life and existence for a large part of our brothers in Russia.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 14 Elul 5696 (1935–1936) <ref name="Levin1989p168">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 168 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 14 Elul 5696 (1935–1936)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 36: Continuation of the Struggle for Religion in Russia ===
Even after leaving the USSR the Rebbe continued directing the underground work through daring emissaries. Chief among them was R. Yaakov Zechariah Maskalik (“Zhuravitzer”), who traveled as a wandering preacher, founded secret chadarim, study groups and mikvaot, and recruited children for the underground yeshivas. The Rebbe also maintained constant coded correspondence encouraging fixed Torah study, Chassidus and farbrengens. Local reports from Moscow, Kharkov, Kiev, Rostov and elsewhere document the continued spiritual activity.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yaakov Zechariah Maskalik (Zhuravitzer)]] | [[Shaul Brook]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>If I had twenty men like him I would overturn the country. “Ven ich volt hobn tzvantsik Yankelekh volt ich iberkern Russland.”
— Rebbe Rayatz about R. Yaakov Maskalik <ref name="Levin1989p172">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 172 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz about R. Yaakov Maskalik).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 37: Intensification of Religious Persecution ===
A long anthology of 1928–1930 letters from dozens of towns describing the escalating campaign: closure and confiscation of synagogues, sealing of mikvaot, arrests of teachers and yeshiva students, forced signatures renouncing teaching, prohibitions on shechita, and pressure to eat chametz on Passover. Yevsektsiya and later the secret police led the drive. Includes the Rebbe’s 1929 call for a public fast signed with the Chofetz Chaim and R. Chaim Ozer.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[GPU]] | [[Yaakov Zechariah Maskalik]] | [[Yisrael Meir Kagan (Chofetz Chaim)]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The condition of our brothers the children of Israel in Russia and Ukraine is dreadful beyond measure… nearly three million Jewish souls are in distress… the Yevsektsiya seeks to uproot the Torah and erase the name of Heaven…
<ref name="Levin1989p184">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 184 (from the 5689 (1928–1929) call for a public fast).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 38: The State of the Mikvaot ===
In 1924–1930 the Soviet authorities, primarily through the Yevsektsiya, systematically confiscated, sealed or destroyed the remaining mikvaot in virtually every town, after earlier war-time destruction and post-war reconstruction efforts (supported by the Rebbe). A detailed 1928 alphabetical survey compiled from letters of ~150 towns documents the situation: many mikvaot closed for “repairs,” taken over by the municipal bathhouse authority (which raised prices prohibitively or sealed them), or simply destroyed. Local Jews raised partial funds and sought modest aid from abroad via the Rebbe’s network; the Rebbe continued sending encouragement and small sums. By the early 1930s almost all public mikvaot had been eliminated, forcing reliance on secret or temporary facilities.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Yaakov Zechariah Maskalik]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]] | [[Mordechai Feinstein]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>They invalidate mikvaot in every place, and there are also many decrees to close synagogues. Perhaps it would be worthwhile for them to decree a public fast among you on the troubles of Israel.
— Yaakov Maskalik, 1928 <ref name="Levin1989p187">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 187 (quoting Yaakov Maskalik, 1928).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The mikvaot: When years were normal, family purity was fully observed and money was available… Now this question stands in our world with full force… from one side the economic situation is so difficult… and from the other side the attitude of much of the new generation to the whole principle of family purity has also changed…
— Shlomo Yosef Zevin’s 1927 survey <ref name="Levin1989p186">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 186 (quoting Shlomo Yosef Zevin’s 1927 survey).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 39: Persecution of the Rabbis and Those Who Serve in Holiness ===
From the early years of Soviet rule the authorities (initially via the Yevsektsiya, later the GPU/NKVD) targeted rabbis and religious functionaries with personal vilification, heavy taxes, forced resignations, eviction from their homes, confiscation of property, exile and, later, mass arrests, imprisonment and executions. The chapter focuses on 1930 and surrounding years with concrete cases (e.g., R. Alexander Sender Yudasin of Krivoy Rog, R. Menachem Mendel Hilbitz of Zembin, R. Leib Hillel Gluskin of Znamenka, the mass arrest of ~30 rabbis and activists in Minsk after an American visitor publicized conditions). The Rebbe continued to intervene from abroad and to urge support for the remaining rabbis.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Alexander Sender Yudasin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Hilbitz]] | [[Abraham Baruch Pevzner]] | [[Leib Hillel Gluskin]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] | [[GPU]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The reports coming from Russia from the rabbis and those who serve in holiness are shocking, and they inform that the condition of the rabbis there has already descended to a level below which there is nothing… their bread is broken, they are expelled from their dwellings, taxes and levies are imposed upon them in sums that cannot be paid…
— Rebbe Rayatz, 28 Shevat 5690 (1929–1930) <ref name="Levin1989p210">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 210 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 28 Shevat 5690 (1929–1930)).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>In particular in recent times when the sale of bread is only by cards for those who have work and trade, the rabbis… and the elderly who study Torah are hungry for bread without any exaggeration and the situation is terrible and dreadful.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 10 Menachem Av 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p210">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 210 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 10 Menachem Av 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 40: The Lishentsy (Those Deprived of Rights) ===
Rabbis, shochtim, melamdim and other religious functionaries were classified as “lishentsy” (deprived of civic rights) because spiritual work was not recognized as “labor.” Consequences included loss of food ration cards, eviction from nationalized housing, denial of medical care, forced manual labor (wood-chopping etc.), and general social ostracism. The status made normal life nearly impossible and was used to pressure them to resign their posts.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Israel Leib Lipschitz]] | [[Zalman Feiginer]] | [[Nachman Dov Wichnin]] | [[Shmuel Notik]] | [[Lishentsy]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Those deprived of rights, that is, they have no food cards and no means to buy in the collective stores.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 7 Nisan 5690 (1929–1930) <ref name="Levin1989p217">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 217 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 7 Nisan 5690 (1929–1930)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 41: Support for the Rabbis of Russia ===
From exile the Rebbe organized systematic aid for rabbis, yeshiva heads, melamdim and shochtim: food/clothing parcels or Torgsin credits, help for prisoners and exiles, emigration assistance, and support for their children. He sought to establish committees in America, Poland and elsewhere, issued public appeals, and maintained detailed lists of remaining rabbis and mikvaot so that limited funds could be directed where most needed.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Menachem Mendel Rothstein]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]] | [[Agudat ha-Rabbanim]] | [[Va'ad HaEzra]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>From the first hour that the question of the holy vessels in Russia was born, we have not ceased to occupy ourselves with it… the only way to solve this question is through the rabbis abroad… every rabbi in a town or study hall should take upon himself to send one parcel for the rabbis of Russia via Torgsin…
— Rebbe Rayatz, 5692 (1931–1932) <ref name="Levin1989p219">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 219–220 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 5692 (1931–1932)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 42: The Approach to Litvinov ===
In late 1933, when U.S. recognition of the USSR was imminent and Foreign Commissar Maxim Litvinov visited America, the Rebbe coordinated a political campaign. Letters and telegrams were sent to American Jewish leaders and senators (Borah, King, Adler, Dickstein etc.) requesting that the negotiations include relief for Soviet Jewry. A detailed memorandum signed by R. Alter, R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, R. Levin and representatives of Agudat Israel, the liberal rabbis and the Jewish Agency demanded: no closure of religious schools, no ban on Hebrew, permission for rabbis to emigrate, food rations for clergy, no closure of synagogues, no ban on shechita or circumcision.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Maxim Litvinov]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]] | [[William Borah]] | [[Cyrus Adler]] | [[Agudat Israel]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>It is important for us to use this occasion for the benefit of our brothers in Russia… the main thing is to ease the decree of emigration… and for those who cannot leave, to ease their condition so that the right to bread and food from the government stores is not taken from them.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 1933–34 <ref name="Levin1989p222">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 222 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 1933–34).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 43: Mass Arrests of Chabad People ===
From 1935 onward the secret police conducted simultaneous night-time round-ups of 10–20 Chabad hasidim in a single locality so that none could warn the others. The charge of belonging to the “Schneersohn movement” or participating in underground yeshivas, illegal minyanim or 19 Kislev farbrengens was sufficient for arrest, exile or worse. One example is the 1935 Malakhovka (near Moscow) operation; R. Zalman Kornitzer managed to escape and warn others by denying his identity.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shneur Zalman Botman]] | [[Yaakov Zechariah Maskalik]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Abraham Dreizin]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>1) You studied in the yeshiva of Schneersohn and taught others his teachings. 2) You prayed in an illegal minyan… 3) You helped the prisoners, the hasidim of Schneersohn… 4) You organized a farbrengen on 19 Kislev…
— the interrogation of Yechiel Michel Rapoport <ref name="Levin1989p224">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 224 (quoting the interrogation of Yechiel Michel Rapoport).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 44: Agents of the Secret Police ===
The GPU/NKVD systematically pressured arrested Chabad activists to become informers by means of solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, bright lights, insects and threats of death. Most refused. One former Chabad hasid ultimately broke under a death sentence and thereafter traveled from town to town denouncing others; his activities are described in later chapters.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Simcha Gorodetsky]] | [[Raphael Nachman Cohen]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Seeing that I admitted nothing and did not inform on anyone, their anger increased and they decided to punish me with the full severity of the law. They put me in solitary confinement for 37 days!… a tiny cell… a small piece of bread and a cup of water… and they took me for interrogation all night so that I could not even snatch a light sleep.
— Simcha Gorodetsky <ref name="Levin1989p226">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 226 (quoting Simcha Gorodetsky).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 45: The Arrests in Moscow and Malakhovka ===
In the summer–autumn of 1935 a wave of arrests struck the Chabad community around Moscow and Malakhovka. Among those taken were R. Shneur Zalman Botman, R. Yaakov Zechariah Maskalik (Zhuravitzer), R. Eliezer Gorelik, R. Meir Avtzon, R. Abba Levin and others. Most were later exiled; R. Maskalik disappeared after further transfer and is presumed to have perished. Coded letters from Moscow and contemporary press reports (Morgen Journal) list the names. Survivors later recounted the interrogations and the subsequent exile in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shneur Zalman Botman]] | [[Yaakov Zechariah Maskalik]] | [[Eliezer Gorelik]] | [[Meir Avtzon]] | [[Abba Levin]] | [[Shlomo Matosov]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Please inform our father and the Anash that they have begun to deal with the matter of “Vayeshev”… and among our brothers also the father of the orphans R. Yaakov b. Yehudit of Zhuravitz…
<ref name="Levin1989p228">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 228 (coded letter, 18 Elul 5695 (1934–1935)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 46: The Arrests in Other Towns ===
Throughout 1935–1939 simultaneous night arrests of Chabad hasidim continued in Rostov, Leningrad, Kharkov, Chernigov, Yekaterinoslav and many smaller towns. Documented waves include the Rosh Hashanah 5696 (1935–1936) arrests in Rostov (including Shamai Vigan and others, sentenced to three years hard labor in Siberia), the 5697 (1936–1937)–98 arrests in Leningrad that eliminated the remaining leadership of the religious community, the 5699 (1938–1939) arrests in Kharkov, and the arrest of R. Levi Yitzchak Schneerson in Yekaterinoslav. Many of those taken later perished in exile or were executed.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shamai Vigan]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Isaac Raskin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>On the night of the first day of Rosh Hashanah our brothers fell ill [were arrested]… while checking for chametz [house search]…
<ref name="Levin1989p231">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 231 (coded letter from Rostov).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 47: The Life of Chabad People Underground ===
Those who learned they were being sought lived in constant flight: sleeping in forests on the outskirts of Moscow, moving from village to village, or going into deep hiding. Memoirs of R. Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin and others describe weeks of sleeping in the woods, the terror of every noise, and the difficulty of maintaining any communal or family life. Many who remained free continued secret study and farbrengens until they too were caught.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin]] | [[Zalman Shimon Dvorkin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Dubrovsky]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Life under underground conditions grew harder and harder. Certain people revealed that all our young men and boys were listed with them and it was likely they would arrest us all…
— Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin <ref name="Levin1989p233">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 233 (quoting Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 48: The War and the Flight to Central Asia ===
When Germany invaded in June 1941, Jews (including Chabad hasidim) fled the western border regions toward the interior and especially Central Asia. Long, dangerous journeys by train and boat brought large numbers to Samarkand and Tashkent. Memoirs recount bombings, hunger, travel on the Sabbath under conditions of pikuach nefesh, and the eventual concentration of the surviving Chabad community in Uzbekistan.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin]] | [[Yehuda Leib Levin]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]] | [[Mendel Smordinsky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>When the Germans entered Russia, the authorities began building shelters… every night at ten o’clock a German plane appeared and bombed the city… those who had the means left everything behind and tried to flee to the distant regions… most of the Jews fled to Central Asia, Tashkent and Samarkand…
— Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin <ref name="Levin1989p236">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 236 (quoting Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 49: The Famine in Samarkand ===
The sudden influx of tens of thousands of refugees into Samarkand in the winter of 1941–42 produced catastrophic famine and epidemics (typhus, malaria). Daily bread rations were only 400 grams, obtained only after hours or nights of waiting; local toughs often seized the bread. Bodies of those who died of starvation lay unburied in the streets. Chabad activists organized a chevra kadisha, hospital visitation by women who brought food, free soup kitchens and mutual aid. Approximately ten prominent Anash and many women and children perished.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yehuda Leib Levin]] | [[Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Deutsch]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In Samarkand we met the famine face to face. Thousands of refugees streamed there and the authorities were unable to feed all these masses. They introduced strict rationing of bread, and each person was allotted no more than four hundred grams a day…
— Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin <ref name="Levin1989p239">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 239 (quoting Nachum Shmaryahu Sasonkin).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 50: Sending Parcels through the Rebbe’s Efforts ===
From New York the Rebbe continued to organize Passover aid (matzah and “maot chitim”) and year-round parcels for the refugees in Central Asia and the remaining Jews in European Russia. He appealed to the Joint Distribution Committee, American rabbinic bodies, Agudat Israel and others, and coordinated shipments via Tehran and the Land of Israel. Lists of addresses were compiled so that parcels could reach specific families.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Ephraim Eliezer Yolles]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]] | [[Agudat Israel]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>This year nothing has been done to send help to the Jews in Russia for the needs of Passover… tens of thousands of families will remain without matzah on the Passover… the only advice is to send them help in cash…
— Rebbe Rayatz to the Joint, 12 Adar 5702 (1941–1942) <ref name="Levin1989p242">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 242 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz to the Joint, 12 Adar 5702 (1941–1942)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 51: Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch ===
Tomchei Temimim was founded in Elul 1897 in Lubavitch by the Rebbe Rashab and continued under his son the Rebbe Rayatz. It comprised a main yeshiva for older students (zal), intermediate shiurim, and younger cheder classes, with branches in Zembin, Kublicz, Dokshitz, Nevel, Horodishch, Babinovichi and Shezedrin. A branch (“Torat Emet”) was opened in Hebron in 1912. The First World War forced the Rebbe and his family to leave Lubavitch for Rostov in 1916; the yeshiva itself remained in Lubavitch under increasing hardship until its later relocation.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]] | [[Shlomo Zalman Havlin]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch was founded in Elul 5657 (1896–1897) and existed for twenty years in the town of Lubavitch, with branches in Zembin, Kublicz, Dokshitz, Nevel, Horodishch, Babinovichi and Shezedrin.
<ref name="Levin1989p244">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 244.</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 52: Transfer of the Yeshiva to Kremenchug and Orel ===
As the German front approached Lubavitch in 1918 and economic conditions collapsed, the Rebbe Rashab ordered the yeshiva transferred to Kremenchug. Younger students (cheder and shiurim) went first via Orel; the older zal students followed amid wartime chaos, arrests as suspected spies, and interrupted rail lines. Some groups were delayed for months in Orel, Kharkov and elsewhere before reaching Kremenchug.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yehoshua Arash]] | [[Shalom Kuratin]] | [[Eliezer Kaplan]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In Lubavitch a great uproar arose from the approach of the Germans, and the cost of living also rose greatly… and there is no money with them… they decided to leave Lubavitch for the two reasons above, and after exchange of telegrams… I wrote them that they should transfer to Kremenchug…
— Rebbe Rashab, 28 Adar 5678 (1917–1918) <ref name="Levin1989p248">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 248 (quoting Rebbe Rashab, 28 Adar 5678 (1917–1918)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 53: Adventures on the Road and the Yeshiva in Kharkov (1918) ===
One group of students was arrested en route near Poltava, falsely accused of espionage, and nearly shot before local hasidim intervened. Another group was stranded in Kharkov for the entire summer of 1918 and continued studies there under temporary supervision before proceeding to Kremenchug. Local Anash in Kharkov provided housing and support.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Baruch Friedman]] | [[Shalom Kuratin]] | [[Yaakov Otaysker]] | [[Zalman Shimon Dvorkin]]

=== Chapter 54: The Last Group Leaves Lubavitch ===
A third group reached only Smolensk, learned of the Rebbe’s preference that the older students remain in Lubavitch if possible, and returned. The final departure from Lubavitch took place toward the end of Menachem Av 5678 (1917–1918); remaining staff hid valuables and left with heavy hearts, hoping the exile would be temporary.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Shmuel Gronem Esterman]] | [[Eliezer Kaplan]] | [[Shalom Kuratin]]

=== Chapter 55: The Yeshiva in Kremenchug (1918–1930) ===
From late 1918 until Iyar 1930 the main younger divisions of Tomchei Temimim operated in Kremenchug under the overall direction of the Rebbes in Rostov. Local benefactors (Gurary, Krichevsky families) supplied buildings; mashpi’im and mashgichim included R. Shalom Kuratin, R. Menachem Mendel Gribov, R. Israel Noach Belinitzky and others. Peak enrollment reached ~120 children. The branch was repeatedly searched by the Yevsektsiya and finally closed in 1930 when R. Gribov was arrested; remaining students were dispersed to other underground locations.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Menachem Mendel Gribov]] | [[Israel Noach Belinitzky]] | [[Meir Avtzon]] | [[Benzion Maroz]] | [[Yehuda Eber]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>As the pressure to close the yeshiva in Kremenchug grew, the Rebbe ordered that the number of students—then forty—be reduced… and the class was split, and my class went to Polotsk together with the rosh yeshiva R. Yechezkel Himmelfarb.
— Aharon Kahanov <ref name="Levin1989p254">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 254 (quoting Aharon Kahanov).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapters נז–נט: Branches in Kherson, Alexandri and Harol (1917–1920) ===
Short-lived branches operated in Kherson (under R. Eliezer Tchitcherskier and later R. Mordechai Perlov), the agricultural colony Alexandri (ten older students for one summer under R. Gershon Chen), and Harol (about forty younger students under R. Yehoshua Arash). These were temporary wartime or post-war arrangements that closed with the intensification of civil-war chaos and later Soviet pressure.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Eliezer Tchitcherskier]] | [[Mordechai Perlov]] | [[Gershon Chen]] | [[Yehoshua Arash]] | [[Elazar Moshe Madeievsky]]

=== Chapter 56: The Yeshiva in Rostov (1920–1921) ===
After the passing of the Rebbe Rashab (2 Nisan 5680 (1919–1920)) the Rebbe Rayatz transferred the older students from Kremenchug to Rostov so that the yeshiva would be “around me.” R. Shmuel Gronem Esterman served as acting director and R. Yitzchak Goldin as his deputy. The students arrived in rags; the Rebbe personally supervised their material and spiritual needs. The branch functioned for less than a year before further Soviet pressure forced further dispersal.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmuel Gronem Esterman]] | [[Yitzchak Goldin]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>After Pesach he began to say, “I want Tomchei Temimim to be around me.” Tomchei Temimim was then in Kremenchug… When he decided to bring Tomchei Temimim to Rostov, R. Shmuel Gronem was appointed acting director…
— Yitzchak Goldin <ref name="Levin1989p260">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 260 (quoting Yitzchak Goldin).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 57: The State of the Mikvaot ===
Details the systematic confiscation and closure of ritual baths (mikvaot) across Soviet Russia, especially intensifying in the mid-to-late 1920s (תרפ"ה–תר"ץ). After earlier wartime destruction and postwar reconstruction efforts (supported by the Rebbe Rayatz via funds and letters), authorities seized remaining public mikvaot, often attached to bathhouses under municipal control. Reports from approximately 150 towns in summer 1928 (compiled from letters to the Rebbe) describe closures due to high fees, lack of heating, structural decay, poverty preventing repairs, and ideological pressure. Many communities built or maintained underground/private mikvaot at great personal risk and cost; the Rebbe and his emissaries (e.g., R. Yaakov Zakhar, R. Binyamin Grodetsky) coordinated limited aid. Later years saw further closures, arrests of those maintaining them, and reliance on secret mikvaot into the 1930s.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Yaakov Zakhar]] | [[Binyamin Grodetsky]] | [[Mordechai Feinstein]] | [[Yehuda Reizik]] | [[Shaul Brook]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The mikvaot: In normal years family purity was fully observed… Now the question stands in our world with full force… In one city the bathhouse burned, in the second it was closed by the government (via the Yevsektsiya), in the third it collapsed from age, in the fourth it was destroyed in the pogroms…
— Shlomo Yosef Zevin survey, late Shevat 5687 (1926–1927) <ref name="Levin1989p186">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 186 (quoting Shlomo Yosef Zevin survey, late Shevat 5687 (1926–1927)).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>They are invalidating mikvaot everywhere, and also many decrees to close synagogues. Perhaps it is worthwhile to decree a public fast among you over the troubles of Israel.
— Yaakov Zakhar letter, 5688 (1927–1928) <ref name="Levin1989p187">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 187 (quoting Yaakov Zakhar letter, 5688 (1927–1928)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 58: Persecutions Against the Rabbis and Those Serving in Holiness ===
Surveys the escalating campaign against rabbis and religious functionaries from the early Soviet years, intensifying in 1929–1933 (תר"ץ–תרצ"ג). Methods included personal smears, deprivation of rights, crushing taxes (often leading to arrest for non-payment), expulsion from homes, confiscation of property, and forced resignations. Examples include the 1930 mass arrest of ~30 rabbis and activists in Minsk (following a visit by American Rabbi Glazer), individual exiles (e.g., R. Alexander Sander Yudasin of Krivoi Rog, R. Menachem Mendel Hilkevitz of Zemlin), and arrests linked to mikvaot or underground teaching. The Rebbe Rayatz, then abroad, organized diplomatic interventions (telegrams to U.S. officials, etc.); some releases occurred, but many remained imprisoned or emigrated later.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Alexander Sander Yudasin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Hilkevitz]] | [[Abraham Baruch Pevzner]] | [[Moshe Axelrod]] | [[Raphael Nachman Cohen]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] | [[Yevsektsiya]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The reports coming from Russia from the rabbis and those who serve in holiness are terrifying… Their situation has already descended to a level from which there is no lower… They are given over to shame and disgrace, their livelihood is broken, they are expelled from their dwellings, taxes and imposts are imposed on them in amounts that it is impossible to pay…
— Rebbe Rayatz letter, 28 Shevat 5690 (1929–1930) <ref name="Levin1989p210">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 210 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz letter, 28 Shevat 5690 (1929–1930)).</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>In particular in recent times when the sale of bread is only on ration cards to those with work and labor, the rabbis… who keep the watch of the holy and the elderly who study Torah are hungry for bread without any support, and the situation is terrible and dreadful.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 10 Marcheshvan 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p210">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 210 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 10 Marcheshvan 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>



=== Chapter 59: Lishentzes (Those Deprived of Rights) ===
Explains the status of “lishentzes” – citizens stripped of civil rights because religious work (rabbinate, ritual slaughter, teaching) was not recognized as productive labor. Consequences included exclusion from food ration cards, inability to live in nationalized housing, denial of medical care, forced unpaid labor (e.g., wood-cutting), and social stigma. Rabbis and shochetim were primary targets; many fled or went underground. Examples from letters of R. Israel Leib Lipschitz, R. Zalman Poizner, R. Nachman Dov Vichnin and others.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Israel Leib Lipschitz]] | [[Zalman Poizner]] | [[Nachman Dov Vichnin]] | [[Shmuel Notik]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Two things, the “living” from the books of rights and the accused of violating freedom – their translation in the language of the Yevsektsiya is: to take everything he has in the house and stand him naked as the day he was born and seat him in prison for dozens of months, and afterward send him to a place of exile for three years and more.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 27 Nisan 5689 (1928–1929) <ref name="Levin1989p217">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 217 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 27 Nisan 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 60: Support for the Rabbis of Russia ===
Documents the Rebbe Rayatz’s extensive fundraising and organizational efforts (from the late 1920s into the 1930s) to aid rabbis, yeshiva heads, teachers and shochetim remaining in the USSR. Appeals to the Agudath Harabbanim of America, European rabbis (including R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski), and individuals; proposals for systematic monthly packages via Torgsin; establishment of committees; compilation of lists of rabbis, shochetim and towns lacking mikvaot. Despite limited success and internal debates, the Rebbe continued personal interventions even while ill.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]] | [[Menachem Mendel Rothstein]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Agudath Harabbanim]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Help is needed urgently without delay, both for the expenses of those who have the possibility of leaving the country, and to quiet the hunger of those who for the time being must remain in the country.
— Rebbe Rayatz, 28 Shevat 5690 (1929–1930) <ref name="Levin1989p219">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 219 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz, 28 Shevat 5690 (1929–1930)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 61: The Intervention with Litvinov ===
In late 1933–early 1934, as the U.S. prepared to recognize the USSR, the Rebbe (then in Warsaw) organized a coordinated diplomatic effort timed with Foreign Commissar Maxim Litvinov’s visit to America. Telegrams and memoranda were sent to U.S. senators (Borah, King), Congressman Dickstein, Cyrus Adler and others, and a formal memorandum signed by leading rabbis and Jewish organizations demanded: non-closure of religious schools, permission for rabbis to emigrate, access to state food stores, non-closure of synagogues, and non-prohibition of shechita and circumcision. One concrete result was the later release of 23 border-crossing prisoners (detailed in chapter קיג).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Maxim Litvinov]] | [[Chaim Ozer Grodzinski]] | [[Yaakov Rosenheim]] | [[Nahum Sokolow]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>1. That the Soviet government not close the schools of the Orthodox; 2. That it not confiscate the Hebrew language and its literature; 3. That it permit the rabbis of Russia to emigrate abroad…
— contemporary newspaper summary of the memorandum <ref name="Levin1989p222">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 222 (quoting contemporary newspaper summary of the memorandum).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 62: Mass Arrests of Chabad Hasidim ===
From the mid-1930s (especially 1935 onward), the NKVD conducted coordinated nighttime raids arresting 10–20 Chabad hasidim at once to prevent warning others. Charges centered on affiliation with the “Chabad movement”: studying/teaching Chassidus, illegal prayer quorums, aiding prisoners and their families, and celebrating 19 Kislev. Examples include the 1935 Malakhovka/Moscow roundup (Botman, Goldin, Gorelik, Avtzon, Levin and others) and earlier Moscow incidents. Many were exiled; some escaped after tip-offs.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shneur Zalman Botman]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Abraham Drizin]] | [[Yaakov Zakhar]] | [[Yitzchak Goldin]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>1) You studied in Schneersohn’s yeshiva and also taught others his teachings. 2) You prayed in an illegal minyan forbidden by law. 3) You helped prisoners, Schneersohn’s hasidim… 4) You organized a farbrengen… on 19 Kislev.
— Yechiel Michel Rappoport’s account of his 1939 arrest <ref name="Levin1989p224">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 224 (quoting Yechiel Michel Rappoport’s account of his 1939 arrest).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 63: Agents of the Secret Police ===
Describes NKVD pressure on arrested hasidim to become informers, revealing names of other Chabad members in order to dismantle the underground network. Most refused despite severe torture (solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, extreme lighting, vermin). One former hasid (under death sentence) eventually collaborated and traveled identifying hasidim for arrest. R. Raphael Nachman Cohen’s refusal led to a three-year exile.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Raphael Nachman Cohen]] | [[Simcha Gorodetsky]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Seeing that I admitted nothing and informed on no one – their anger and wrath increased and they decided to punish me with the full severity of the law. They put me in solitary for 37 days…
— Simcha Gorodetsky <ref name="Levin1989p226">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 226 (quoting Simcha Gorodetsky).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 64: The Arrests in Moscow and Malakhovka ===
Focuses on the 1935 wave of arrests in the Moscow area, particularly the Chabad settlement in Malakhovka. Triggered in part by a collaborator, the NKVD arrested key figures including R. Shneur Zalman Botman (who had taken over a minyan and property after his brother-in-law’s departure to Eretz Yisrael), R. Yitzchak Goldin, R. Eliezer Gorelik and son, R. Meir Avtzon, R. Abraham Aba Levin, R. Shlomo Matusof and others. Some (e.g., R. Abraham Drizin) escaped; most were sentenced to exile. R. Yaakov Zakhar disappeared after further transfer. Contemporary reports in foreign Yiddish press (Morgen Journal) listed the arrested and noted that some Jews cut their beards to avoid suspicion. The Rebbe’s secretariat in Warsaw received encrypted reports and coordinated limited aid.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shneur Zalman Botman]] | [[Yaakov Zakhar]] | [[Yitzchak Goldin]] | [[Eliezer Gorelik]] | [[Meir Avtzon]] | [[Abraham Drizin]] | [[Shlomo Matusof]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Please inform our father and Anash that they have begun to deal with the matter of Parashat Vayeshev of Parashat Shishi… and among our brothers also the father of orphans R. Yaakov son of Yehudit of Zhuravitz…
<ref name="Levin1989p229">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 229 (encrypted letter from Moscow, 18 Elul 5695 (1934–1935)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 65: Arrests in Other Towns ===
Details the continuation of mass and individual arrests of Chabad hasidim across Russia from 1935–1939 (תרצ"ה–תרצ"ט). Immediately after the Moscow/Malakhovka wave, a group was arrested in Rostov (including near the Rebbe Rashab’s ohel) on Rosh Hashanah 5696 (1935–1936); further arrests hit Kharkov (Purim 5699 (1938–1939), involving R. Avraham Baruch Pevzner, R. Nachum Yitzchak Pinson, R. Tzemach Gurevitz), Chernigov, Yekaterinoslav (including R. Levi Yitzchak Schneerson on 9 Nisan 5699 (1938–1939)), Leningrad (multiple waves in 5697 (1936–1937)–5698 (1937–1938) wiping out much of the Orthodox leadership), Yegoryevsk and other towns. Sentences typically ranged from three to ten years of hard labor in Siberia; some were executed. Encrypted letters and later memoirs (Shashunkin, Gorkov, Chitrik) document the scope.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shamai Vigan]] | [[David Labak]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Yitzchak Raskin]] | [[Abraham Baruch Pevzner]] | [[Nachum Yitzchak Pinson]] | [[NKVD]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Our friend Shamai has fallen ill and several more of Anash from our city… and they have been imprisoned for more than a month… and their families are literally perishing of hunger.
— Chaim Padnas letter <ref name="Levin1989p231">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 231 (quoting Chaim Padnas letter).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 66: Life of Chabad Hasidim in the Underground ===
Describes the clandestine existence of those who received advance warning and fled before arrest. Hasidim moved constantly between villages, slept in forests near Moscow, changed residences, and avoided known gathering places. R. Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin’s memoir recounts leaving Leningrad just in time (warning R. Elchanan Marozov and R. Yitzchak Raskin, who were later arrested and disappeared), sleeping in the woods for weeks in Elul, and the constant fear of night-time raids. Exile terms lengthened to ten years or more; correspondence was often forbidden. Many never returned.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Yitzchak Raskin]] | [[Zalman Shimon Dvorkin]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The underground life became harder and harder. Certain people revealed in our ears that all our young men and boys are listed with them and it is near that they will arrest all of us… I decided that the time had come to leave Leningrad.
— Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin, *Zikhronotai* <ref name="Levin1989p233">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 233 (quoting Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin, *Zikhronotai*).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 67: The War and the Flight to Central Asia ===
With the German invasion in summer 1941 (תש"א), Jews in the western border regions fled eastward; many Chabad hasidim reached Central Asia, concentrating in Samarkand and Tashkent. Memoirs (Shashunkin, Gorodetsky, others) recount frantic evacuations by train under bombardment, selling household goods at a loss, traveling for weeks, and arriving in Uzbekistan. Some groups waited until after Shabbat Bereshit before leaving Kharkov and other cities. Upon arrival the Rebbe Rayatz (in New York) sought news through Bukharan contacts and later corresponded via Eretz Yisrael.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]] | [[Yehuda Leib Levin]] | [[Mendel Smordinsky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>When the Germans invaded, the inhabitants of Russia began to flee from the border cities into the interior… The Jews fled mainly to the cities of Central Asia. Many Jews, among them Anash, then settled in the towns of Samarkand and Tashkent.
<ref name="Levin1989p236">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 236.</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 68: The Famine in Samarkand ===
Immediately upon the arrival of the refugees in early winter 5702 (1941), a severe famine struck Samarkand. Rations were limited to ~400 grams of bread per person; lines were chaotic and Uzbek locals sometimes seized supplies. Lack of sanitation led to typhus and other epidemics. Approximately ten leading hasidim died of hunger or disease in the first months, plus many women and children. R. Yehuda Leib Levin organized a Chevra Kadisha to bury the dead properly and, together with women’s groups, initiated hospital visits and food distribution that saved many lives. Conditions improved gradually by summer 5702 (1941–1942) as weaving and other trades were established; mutual aid remained strong.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yehuda Leib Levin]] | [[Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Deutsch]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In Samarkand we met the famine face to face. Thousands of refugees streamed there and the authorities were unable to feed all those multitudes… Obtaining the bread ration was a terrible nightmare.
— Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin <ref name="Levin1989p239">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 239 (quoting Nachum Shmaryahu Shashunkin).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 69: Dispatch of Packages through the Rebbe’s Efforts ===
The Rebbe Rayatz’s first wartime priority was Passover needs. In Adar 5702 (1941–1942) he appealed urgently to the Joint Distribution Committee and dozens of rabbinical and communal bodies for cash aid (requesting at least 100,000 shekels) so that tens of thousands of Soviet Jewish families would not lack matzah. He coordinated telegrams to the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem, American Agudath Harabbanim, and others. Later years saw continued shipment of Passover packages via Tehran and Eretz Yisrael once address lists became available. The chapter closes the general narrative of Chabad life in the USSR and transitions to the dedicated section on the Tomchei Temimim network (chapters נא–צח).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Ephraim Eliezer Yolles]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>This year nothing has been done to send help to the Jews in Russia for the needs of the Passover holiday… According to the situation, tens of thousands of families will remain without matzah… and the only solution is to send them help in cash.
— Rebbe Rayatz appeal to the Joint, 12 Adar 5702 (1941–1942) <ref name="Levin1989p242">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 242 (quoting Rebbe Rayatz appeal to the Joint, 12 Adar 5702 (1941–1942)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 70: Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim of Lubavitch ===
Brief historical overview of the founding of Tomchei Temimim in Elul 5657 (1896) in Lubavitch by the Rebbe Rashab, with early branches in towns such as Zembin, Kobylnik, Dokshitz, Nevel, Haradok, Babinovichi and Shchedrin. A Hebron branch (“Torat Emet”) opened in 5672 (1911–1912). The World War I crisis closed many branches; Turkish authorities forced the return of students from Hebron. The Rebbe Rashab and his son the Rebbe Rayatz labored to sustain the institution. In early 5676 (1915–1916) they left Lubavitch for Rostov, leaving the yeshiva temporarily isolated.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Zalman Havlin]] | [[Tomchei Temimim]]

=== Chapter 71: Transfer of the Yeshiva to Kremenchug and Ariel ===
In 5678 (1917–1918), with the German advance and Bolshevik takeover disrupting supplies and communications, the Rebbe Rashab ordered the transfer from Lubavitch to Kremenchug. Younger divisions (chedarim and shiurim) went first and stayed temporarily in Ariel; older students followed. Local benefactors (Krichevsky) provided buildings. Travel was hazardous.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]] | [[Yehuda Chitrik]] | [[Michael Yehuda Leib Cohen]] | [[Pinchas Krichevsky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>My father came to Lubavitch and related that the situation was extremely critical, that the German was about to enter Lubavitch… and he took all the students of the chedarim and shiurim with their teachers, and we traveled as far as the city of Ariel…
— Michael Yehuda Leib Cohen <ref name="Levin1989p245">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 245 (quoting Michael Yehuda Leib Cohen).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 72: Adventures on the Way ===
Details the chaotic transfer of older students. Some groups were delayed or diverted; one party was falsely accused of espionage near Poltava, nearly executed, and rescued by local hasidim (including intervention by R. Tzvi Gurary). Communications with the Rebbe in Rostov were intermittent; some students remained temporarily in Lubavitch or other towns on the Rebbe’s instruction.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Shalom Kuratin]] | [[Eliezer Kaplan]] | [[Tzvi Gurary]] | [[Mordechai Aharon Friedman]]

=== Chapter 73: The Yeshiva in Kharkov (5678 (1917–1918)) ===
A group of students stranded in Kharkov for the summer of 5678 (1917–1918) continued studies there under temporary supervision (R. Baruch Friedman as mashgiach). Local Anash (including R. Yaakov Otaysker) provided housing and support in former Talmud Torah buildings. They remained until late summer when roads reopened and they proceeded to Kremenchug. Additional groups studied in Kharkov in later years.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Baruch Friedman]] | [[Shalom Kuratin]] | [[Yaakov Otaysker]] | [[Zalman Shimon Dvorkin]]

=== Chapter 74: The Last Group Leaves Lubavitch ===
A third group reached only Smolensk, learned of the Rebbe’s preference that older students remain in Lubavitch if possible, and returned. The final departure from Lubavitch took place toward the end of Menachem Av 5678 (1917–1918); remaining staff hid valuables and left with heavy hearts, hoping the exile would be temporary.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Shmuel Gronem Esterman]] | [[Eliezer Kaplan]] | [[Shalom Kuratin]]

=== Chapter 75: The Yeshiva in Kremenchug (5678 (1917–1918)–5690 (1929–1930)) ===
From late 5678 (1917–1918) until Iyar 5690 (1929–1930) the main younger divisions operated in Kremenchug under overall direction from Rostov. Local benefactors (Gurary, Krichevsky) supplied buildings; mashpi’im and mashgichim included R. Shalom Kuratin, R. Menachem Mendel Gribov, R. Israel Noach Belinitzky and others. Peak enrollment reached ~120 children. Repeatedly searched by the Yevsektsiya; finally closed in 5690 (1929–1930) when R. Gribov was arrested; remaining students dispersed to other underground locations.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Menachem Mendel Gribov]] | [[Israel Noach Belinitzky]] | [[Meir Avtzon]] | [[Benzion Maroz]] | [[Yehuda Eber]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>As the pressure to close the yeshiva in Kremenchug grew, the Rebbe ordered that the number of students—then forty—be reduced… and the class was split, and my class went to Polotsk together with the rosh yeshiva R. Yechezkel Himmelfarb.
— Aharon Kahanov <ref name="Levin1989p254">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 254 (quoting Aharon Kahanov).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapters נז–נט: Branches in Kherson, Alexandri and Harol (5677 (1916–1917)–5680 (1919–1920)) ===
Short-lived branches operated in Kherson (under R. Eliezer Tchitcherskier and later R. Mordechai Perlov; up to ~50 students), the agricultural colony Alexandri (ten older students for one summer under R. Gershon Chen), and Harol (~40 younger students under R. Yehoshua Arash). These were temporary wartime or early-Soviet arrangements that closed amid civil-war chaos and later pressure.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Eliezer Tchitcherskier]] | [[Mordechai Perlov]] | [[Gershon Chen]] | [[Yehoshua Arash]] | [[Elazar Moshe Madeievsky]]

=== Chapter 76: The Yeshiva in Rostov (5680 (1919–1920)–5681 (1920–1921)) ===
After the passing of the Rebbe Rashab (2 Nisan 5680 (1919–1920)) the Rebbe Rayatz transferred the older students from Kremenchug to Rostov so that the yeshiva would be “around me.” R. Shmuel Gronem Esterman served as acting director and R. Yitzchak Goldin as his deputy. The students arrived in rags; the Rebbe personally supervised their material and spiritual needs. The branch functioned for less than a year before further Soviet pressure forced further dispersal.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmuel Gronem Esterman]] | [[Yitzchak Goldin]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>After Pesach he began to say, “I want Tomchei Temimim to be around me.” Tomchei Temimim was then in Kremenchug… When he decided to bring Tomchei Temimim to Rostov, R. Shmuel Gronem was appointed acting director…
— Yitzchak Goldin <ref name="Levin1989p260">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 260 (quoting Yitzchak Goldin).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 77: The Yeshiva in Poltava (5681 (1920–1921)–5683 (1922–1923)) ===
After the Rostov branch closed, most older students transferred to Poltava, where the yeshiva operated for nearly two years (until before Pesach 5683 (1922–1923)). Early arrivals included R. Zalman Shimon Dvorkin and others; local Anash (R. Shlomo Itkin, R. Shmuel Dobruskin) took on support. Mashpi’im included R. Shmuel Leib Levin and later R. Yechezkel Feigin. Students lived in extreme poverty (sleeping on tables and benches, wearing sackcloth), yet studied with great diligence in Nigleh and Chassidus. The Rebbe Rayatz sent letters of encouragement. The branch was raided by the Cheka/Yevsektsiya just before Pesach 5683 (1922–1923); younger students under 18 were ordered to leave.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Zalman Shimon Dvorkin]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Shmuel Leib Levin]] | [[Shlomo Itkin]] | [[Yehuda Eber]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>After they arrested our Rebbe and confiscated all that was his, most of the yeshiva students in Rostov went to their homes… the great poverty that prevailed then in Rostov and the infectious diseases… precluded the possibility of continuing the yeshiva in Rostov.
— Zalman Shimon Dvorkin <ref name="Levin1989p266">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 266 (quoting Zalman Shimon Dvorkin).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 78: Transfer of the Yeshiva to Nevel, Kremenchug and Kharkov ===
Following the Poltava raid, students dispersed in small groups to Nevel, Kremenchug and Kharkov. In Nevel a group was arrested almost immediately. The Rebbe directed remaining students to gather in Kharkov for the summer of 5683 (1922–1923) under temporary arrangements. R. Yechezkel Feigin coordinated the moves.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Israel Noach Belinitzky]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetsky]]

=== Chapters סג–סד: Branches in Vulabin and Homel (5681 (1920–1921)–5682 (1921–1922)) ===
While the main body was in Poltava, local Anash opened short-lived branches in Vulabin (under R. Moshe Axelrod) and Homel (under R. Yechezkel Feigin and R. Israel Jacobson). Both were designated “Ma’arechet Tomchei Temimim of Lubavitch” and supported by local funds. The Homel branch faced rivalry with a Novardok group and later pressure from the Yevsektsiya.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Moshe Axelrod]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Baruch Duchman]]

=== Chapter 79: Return of the Yeshiva to Rostov (5684 (1923–1924)) ===
In Tishrei 5684 (1923–1924) the Rebbe Rayatz ordered the return of the older students to Rostov so the yeshiva would again be near him. Local communal figures with government connections secured a suitable building on Vorontsovska Street for students over 18. The branch operated only half a year before a search of the Rebbe’s home forced him (and the yeshiva) to leave Rostov.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Yehuda Eber]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]]

=== Chapter 80: Return to Kharkov and Nevel ===
After the Rebbe left Rostov for Leningrad, the central yeshiva moved back to Kharkov (and a parallel division to Nevel). A small group remained in Rostov temporarily to learn shechita. From summer 5684 (1923–1924) until 5689 (1928–1929) the main network operated primarily between Kharkov and Nevel under the overall direction of R. Yechezkel Feigin, with additional branches in Kremenchug, Ramen, Polotsk, Vitebsk and elsewhere.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Israel Noach Belinitzky]] | [[Yehuda Eber]]

=== Chapter 81: The Yeshiva in Kharkov (5684 (1923–1924)–5689 (1928–1929)) ===
The Kharkov branch functioned from summer 5684 (1923–1924) until late summer 5689 (1928–1929). Enrollment fluctuated (roughly 25–35 at times); mashgichim included R. Yehoshua Karp, R. Yitzchak Leib Neishuler and others. Older students were periodically transferred to Nevel. A 5688 (1927–1928) raid led to protocols against the hosts; the Rebbe protested via Prof. Haffkine. Studies continued underground (including a brief period in a village house) until final closure.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yehoshua Karp]] | [[Yitzchak Leib Neishuler]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Zalman Shimon Dvorkin]]

=== Chapter 82: The Yeshiva and Rabbinical Seminary in Nevel (5684 (1923–1924)–5689 (1928–1929)) ===
From summer 5684 (1923–1924) the Nevel branch (and from 5685 (1924–1925) a dedicated “Beit Midrash for Rabbis and Shochetim”) became a major center. Directed by R. Yehuda Eber (rosh yeshiva/mashgiach) and R. Shmuel Levitin (seminary). Older students from Kharkov were transferred here in 5687 (1926–1927). Peak numbers reached ~70 in the older division. Closed in Kislev 5689 (1928–1929) amid arrests (including R. Levitin, who was later exiled to Siberia). The seminary aimed to produce rabbis and shochetim under severe material hardship.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yehuda Eber]] | [[Shmuel Levitin]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Meir Avtzon]] | [[David Okunov]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The Beit Midrash for Rabbis exists entirely on the support of the budget. Its purpose is to train and appoint rabbis and shochetim… From lack of money we are forced to reject many who wish to be accepted. The expenses of the institution are 50 rubles per person per month…
<ref name="Levin1989p282">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 282 (from the 5689 (1928–1929) budget summary prepared by the Rebbe’s committee).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 83: The Yeshiva in Polotsk (5686 (1925–1926)–5689 (1928–1929)) ===
The Polotsk branch of Tomchei Temimim opened at the beginning of summer 5686 (1925–1926) and continued until late winter 5689 (1928–1929). It was founded by R. Avraham Dreizin (Mayorer) who brought a small group of students (including R. Israel Shimon Kalmanson, R. Zalman Koratin and R. Dovber Chefetz) from Nevel. R. Yechezkel Himelstein later replaced Dreizin when the latter moved to open the Vitebsk branch. The mashpia in the town and yeshiva throughout was R. Shlomo Chaim Kesselman (sent by the Rebbe Rayatz already in 5682 (1921–1922)). Peak numbers reached around fifty students. In late winter 5689 (1928–1929) the branch was closed; Kesselman was arrested (his second arrest in Polotsk) and later exiled to Poltava, where he continued teaching small groups of students. Many students later listed Polotsk among their places of study.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Avraham Dreizin]] | [[Yechezkel Himelstein]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Israel Shimon Kalmanson]] | [[Zalman Koratin]] | [[Pesach Friedkin]] | [[Yehuda Eber]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In Tomchei Temimim, thank God, another branch was added in Polotsk. The shiur is given there by Avraham Dreizin… with students numbering about fifty or more.
— letters of 5686 (1925–1926) <ref name="Levin1989p290">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 290 (quoting letters of 5686 (1925–1926)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 84: The Yeshiva in Romny (5685 (1924–1925)–5688 (1927–1928)) ===
A local cheder had existed in Romny since 5676 (1915–1916), but a full Tomchei Temimim branch opened in 5685 (1924–1925) and operated until the beginning of summer 5688 (1927–1928). R. Yaakov Gorary served as rosh yeshiva; R. Yechezkel Greenfess provided early support. Students (including R. David Okunov, R. Levi Yitzchak Shapiro and R. Nachum Volasov) lived and studied in the synagogue. The branch was closed after repeated raids and protocols. In 5688 (1927–1928) R. Gorary was sentenced to five months of forced labor (later mitigated by an amnesty in one case). Contemporary reports in Sha’arei Zion noted the trial of the local shochet for maintaining a cheder.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yaakov Gorary]] | [[Yechezkel Greenfess]] | [[David Okunov]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Shapiro]] | [[Nachum Volasov]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>For three years this enterprise (yeshiva) has existed here. In the first year they began opposing it… This year in Tevet they again made a protocol… and after all the efforts they sentenced me to five months of forced labor.
— R. Yaakov Gorary, summer 5688 (1927–1928) <ref name="Levin1989p293">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 293 (quoting R. Yaakov Gorary, summer 5688 (1927–1928)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 85: The Yeshiva in Astashkov (5686 (1925–1926)) ===
A short-lived branch operated in the small town of Astashkov (near Nikolaev) in 5686 (1925–1926) under the maggid shiur R. Yitzchak Leib Neishuler. It is mentioned in several contemporary letters and in students’ later questionnaires, but little detailed information survives. By the following year Neishuler himself is recorded in Kharkov and the town no longer appears among active branches.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yitzchak Leib Neishuler]] | [[Benzion Shemtov]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]]

=== Chapter 86: The Yeshiva in Vitebsk (5687 (1926–1927)–5691 (1930–1931)) ===
The Vitebsk branch opened at the beginning of summer 5687 (1926–1927) when R. Avraham Dreizin arrived from Polotsk with a group of students. It rapidly became the central yeshiva in Russia, peaking at about ninety students in summer 5688 (1927–1928) and operating in several local synagogues (including the Chabad shul and women’s galleries). R. Yehuda Eber gave shiurim; other mashgichim and mashpi’im included R. Zalman Levitin, R. Nachum Labkovsky, R. Elchanan Marozov and R. Rafael Cohen. After the closure of Nevel (Kislev 5689 (1928–1929)) and Polotsk, additional students and staff transferred here. Studies continued under extreme secrecy (doors and curtains closed, learning by weak lamp light). The branch was finally closed in late winter 5691 (1930–1931) after a raid around Purim; students under eighteen were expelled while older individuals faced multi-year sentences of hard labor or exile. Many students later listed Vitebsk among their places of study.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Avraham Dreizin]] | [[Yehuda Eber]] | [[Zalman Levitin]] | [[Nachum Labkovsky]] | [[Elchanan Marozov]] | [[Rafael Cohen]] | [[Israel Shimon Kalmanson]] | [[Menachem Mendel Futerfas]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In Vitebsk for the summer period, ninety students; and if not for the difficult situation there would be many more.
— R. Yechezkel Feigin, summer 5688 (1927–1928) <ref name="Levin1989p295">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 295 (quoting R. Yechezkel Feigin, summer 5688 (1927–1928)).</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>The order of study began every day at 4:30 in the morning. At the appointed hour all the students were already in place.
— a student’s memoir <ref name="Levin1989p296">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 296 (quoting a student’s memoir).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 87: The Yeshiva in Leningrad (5689 (1928–1929)–5692 (1931–1932)) ===
After the closure of the Nevel branch, a group of older students transferred to Leningrad in winter 5689 (1928–1929) and studied there for about one year (until winter 5690 (1929–1930)). A smaller group continued from summer 5691 (1930–1931) until winter 5692 (1931–1932). R. Nissan Nemanov served as mashpia. The branch operated in a synagogue under conditions of extreme secrecy. In winter 5690 (1929–1930) Nemanov was arrested on the street and sentenced to three years’ exile (later reduced); R. Shimon Lazarov (rabbi of the Chabad community) and his son were also arrested and sentenced to hard labor. Contemporary reports in Sha’arei Zion and private letters describe the arrests, the exile of Nemanov and Lazarov to Arkhangelsk, and the general atmosphere of fear. After the Vitebsk closure a further small group studied briefly in Leningrad until the Rebbe Rayatz (then in Riga) instructed them to find work and attempt to leave Russia.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Shimon Lazarov]] | [[Nachum Shmaryahu Shushkin]] | [[Israel Shimon Kalmanson]] | [[Yehuda Eber]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>When it became known to the authorities that there was an underground yeshiva in Leningrad, they arrested R. Nissan in the middle of the street and exiled him for three years.
— R. Nachum Shmaryahu Shushkin <ref name="Levin1989p297">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 297 (quoting R. Nachum Shmaryahu Shushkin).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 88: The Yeshiva in Yekaterinoslav (5689 (1928–1929)–5691 (1930–1931)) ===
The branch opened in the middle of winter 5689 (1928–1929) after students fled the closure of Nevel and later Kharkov. It operated until the middle of winter 5690 (1929–1930), after which a smaller group continued for about another year. Mashgichim included R. Menachem Mendel Futerfas and R. Nachum Labkovsky. Students (including R. David Okunov and R. Avraham Yehoshua Koratin) studied in synagogue women’s galleries. In Tevet/Shevat 5690 (1929–1930) the police raided, sealed the synagogue and the students fled at night. Local support came in part from the town shochet R. Avraham Abba Regulim, who was later arrested and died in prison. After the main branch closed, a small cheder for younger boys continued under Regulim’s care for a time.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Menachem Mendel Futerfas]] | [[Nachum Labkovsky]] | [[David Okunov]] | [[Avraham Yehoshua Koratin]] | [[Avraham Abba Regulim]] | [[Dovber Gorfinkel]]

=== Chapter 89: The Yeshiva in Zvil (Novograd-Volynsk) (5688 (1927–1928)–5689 (1928–1929)) ===
In winter 5688 (1927–1928) R. Chaim Shaul Brook, with the Rebbe Rayatz’s approval, went to Zvil (Novograd-Volynsk) to open a yeshiva. It began with nine students and grew to eighteen (plus a separate cheder of twelve). Studies took place in a large synagogue; Brook taught while wearing tallit and tefillin to appear as a private worshipper. Repeated visits by Yevsektsiya officials led to protocols, a trial, and Brook’s eventual sentence of nine months’ forced labor followed by five years’ exile to his hometown of Ilyino. The students were forced to move several times (including to an attic and the chazzan’s house) before the branch closed in summer 5689 (1928–1929). Brook later described the constant fear, night-time interrogations and the physical hardship of the period in his memoirs.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Chaim Shaul Brook]] | [[Aharon Chazan]] | [[Yaakov Maskalik]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>I received a letter from my friend R. Mordechai Eliezer… asking me to travel to Zvil… to serve as ram and mashpia… I wrote to the Rebbe Rayatz… He answered that it was very worthwhile to go there.
— R. Chaim Shaul Brook’s memoirs <ref name="Levin1989p302">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 302 (quoting R. Chaim Shaul Brook’s memoirs).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 90: The Yeshiva in Homel, Kherson and Odessa (5689 (1928–1929)–5690 (1929–1930)) ===
After the closure of Polotsk in late winter 5689 (1928–1929), one group of students (including R. Israel Shimon Kalmanson) went to Kherson and later to Odessa, while another group under R. Yechezkel Himelstein went first to Homel and then to Kherson. In Odessa the students studied throughout 5690 (1929–1930) under occasional supervision by R. Menachem Mendel Futerfas and R. Yaakov Gurkov. A minor incident at a mixed bathing beach (students deliberately avoiding the mixed section) led to their detention by the NKVD and forced them to leave the city. The Homel group was also expelled after a short time. Students then transferred to Vitebsk, which was then the central yeshiva.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yechezkel Himelstein]] | [[Israel Shimon Kalmanson]] | [[Menachem Mendel Futerfas]] | [[Yaakov Gurkov]] | [[Nachum Volasov]] | [[Tzemach Gurevitz]]

=== Chapter 91: General Summary of the Tomchei Temimim Network (until 5691 (1930–1931)) ===
Contemporary letters and a 5689 (1928–1929) budget report by the Rebbe’s committee describe the network at its height. In 5686 (1925–1926)–5687 (1926–1927) branches operated in Kharkov, Kremenchug, Romny, Nevel, Polotsk, Astashkov and elsewhere, with total enrollment reaching several hundred. By summer 5688 (1927–1928) Nevel alone had several hundred students plus a rabbinical seminary; Kharkov, Kiev, Vitebsk and Polotsk were also major centers. A 5689 (1928–1929) budget listed 620 students across roughly a dozen locations (including 150 in Minsk, 100 in Vitebsk, 75 in Nevel, 60 in Polotsk, 45 in Kharkov, etc.), plus plans for additional groups in Georgia, Samarkand and Volhynia. Non-Chabad yeshivas (Novardok, Minsk under R. Yehoshua of Hordna, etc.) had already been closed or had fled by the late 5680s, leaving Chabad branches as the last organized network. Students lived on 20–25 rubles per month and faced constant Yevsektsiya pressure.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Eliyahu Chaim Althaus]] | [[Saadia Liberov]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Now Tomchei Temimim is in five principal large places besides smaller places, and the number of students is about three hundred.
— R. Elchanan Dov Marozov, 5687 (1926–1927) <ref name="Levin1989p307">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 307 (quoting R. Elchanan Dov Marozov, 5687 (1926–1927)).</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>What you ask—how one studies Torah in Russia—yes, I have seen holiness. Would that they studied so in other countries where one is permitted to study, only that one would not need the Russian mesirut nefesh. And that is the Nevel yeshiva which was the center.
— the Rebbe Rayatz at Dvinsk station, Adar 5688 (1927–1928) <ref name="Levin1989p307b">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 307 (quoting the Rebbe Rayatz at Dvinsk station, Adar 5688 (1927–1928)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 92: The Yeshiva in Kutaisi and Other Georgian Towns (5691 (1930–1931)–5693 (1932–1933)) ===
After the final closure of the Vitebsk central yeshiva in late winter 5691 (1930–1931), the main body of students was directed to the Caucasus. Groups first tried Baku, then settled in Kutaisi (and briefly Sachkhere and other Georgian towns). R. Shmuel Levitin (later succeeded by R. Avraham Levi Slavin) and local Georgian shochetim and rabbanim assisted. R. Zalman Levitin (“Haretscher”) arrived as mashpia and raised the level of Chassidus study. Conditions were severe—famine, difficulty obtaining food, constant fear of arrest. In the winter of 5692 (1931–1932)–93 the branch was raided; R. Zalman Levitin and many students were arrested. Remaining students fled back into Russia proper. Contemporary memoirs (R. Michael Rapoport and others) describe the train journey, interrogations, and life in Kutaisi under extreme poverty.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shmuel Levitin]] | [[Zalman Levitin]] | [[Avraham Levi Slavin]] | [[Avraham Dreizin]] | [[Michael Rapoport]] | [[Michael Lipsker]] | [[Menachem Mendel Futerfas]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>In the month of Tammuz we received instructions to travel to Baku in Azerbaijan, where we could study Torah in peace… We all moved to Kutaisi and studied there for several years. The situation in the country was very bad, for there was great famine…
— R. Michael Rapoport <ref name="Levin1989p310">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 310 (quoting R. Michael Rapoport).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 93: The Arrested and the Remnant Yeshivas (5693 (1932–1933)) ===
A detailed letter of 2 Iyar 5693 (1932–1933) from one of the yeshiva administrators to the Rebbe Rayatz lists the scattered remnants after the Georgian arrests and the failed Batum border-crossing attempt (23 Chabad men arrested, including nine students). Groups of 4–10 older students continued in Kiev, Kursk, Novozybkov, Staraya Russa, Nevel, Poltava and elsewhere. Many others had returned to their hometowns. The letter also records those still in Batum prison and notes the extreme difficulty of supporting even this small number. These remnant branches form the subject of the following chapters.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Eliezer Pinsky]] | [[Benzion Katzenelson]] | [[Nachum Volasov]] | [[Avraham Yehoshua Koratin]] | [[Zalman Levitin]]

=== Chapter 94: The Yeshiva in Kiev (5689 (1928–1929)–5694 (1933–1934)) ===
A branch was established in Kiev in winter 5689 (1928–1929) after the Nevel closure (one of the classes transferred there). It continued until the beginning of winter 5694 (1933–1934). R. Binyamin Lipman of Minsk served as mashpia. Students (including R. Eliezer Pinsky, R. Nachum Volasov, R. Michael Kuznetsov, R. Moshe Yatsmenik and others) studied in synagogues under severe poverty; occasional packages of money arrived from the Rebbe in Poland. In Tishrei 5694 (1933–1934) the authorities raided the women’s gallery; most students escaped through a window while one local man was briefly arrested. The synagogue was sealed and the branch closed. A smaller group of about ten continued in a workshop-like setting for a short time. Memoirs describe both the material hardship and the farbrengens on 12 Tammuz.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Binyamin Lipman]] | [[Eliezer Pinsky]] | [[Nachum Volasov]] | [[Michael Kuznetsov]] | [[Moshe Yatsmenik]] | [[Yaakov Schatz]] | [[Aryeh Leib Kaplan]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Now I have to speak with you about the workers who are here. We are ten brothers doing our work according to the order established of old… The spirit of the storm all around prevents them from advancing further.
— R. Binyamin Lipman, Iyar 5693 (1932–1933) <ref name="Levin1989p315">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 315 (quoting R. Binyamin Lipman, Iyar 5693 (1932–1933)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 95: The Yeshiva in Chernigov (5694 (1933–1934)–5695 (1934–1935)) ===
After the Kiev raid of Tishrei 5694 (1933–1934) a small group (including the author’s father and R. Moshe Yatsmenik) moved to Chernigov. R. Yehuda Leib Don-Yechia, the local rav, taught them. The group studied through 5694 (1933–1934)–95; some later moved on to Moscow/Malakhovka or Berdichev. Contemporary letters show the students writing to the Rebbe about the possibility of obtaining exit papers for Riga.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yehuda Leib Don-Yechia]] | [[Moshe Yatsmenik]] | [[Yaakov Ganzburg]] | [[Avraham Kinman]]

=== Chapter 96: The Yeshiva in Malakhovka (5694 (1933–1934)–5695 (1934–1935)) ===
Malakhovka (near Moscow) had a sizable Chabad community. From the middle of winter 5694 (1933–1934) a group of students gathered there to study with R. Shlomo Chaim Kesselman (exiled from Polotsk), R. Rafael Cohen and others. Because residence within 100 km of Moscow required special permits, the students lived under constant threat of arrest; several were detained at night, forced to sign undertakings to leave, and then returned to study. Peak numbers reached about six regular students plus visitors. The branch continued into 5695 (1934–1935). Many later listed Malakhovka/Moscow among their places of study.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Rafael Cohen]] | [[Avraham Kinman]] | [[Meir Zarhi]] | [[Shlomo Matosov]] | [[Avraham Yehoshua Koratin]] | [[Michael Teitelbaum]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>I am now in a city where there are workers engaged in His craft… In this city [Moscow area] there are both things [Anash and study partners].
— R. Avraham Kinman, summer 5694 (1933–1934) <ref name="Levin1989p318">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 318 (quoting R. Avraham Kinman, summer 5694 (1933–1934)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 97: The Yeshiva in Novozybkov (5691 (1930–1931)–5694 (1933–1934)) ===
Small groups studied in Novozybkov at different times between summer 5691 (1930–1931) and summer 5694 (1933–1934). One group of four (including R. Moshe Robinson/Karalovitcher, R. Dovber Gurevitz and R. Yitzchak Shetatin) studied under the local rav R. Shlomo Yosef Zain for nearly a year until Lag ba-Omer 5694 (1933–1934), then moved to Karalovitch. Earlier, R. David Okunov had spent about a year and a half there after the Yekaterinoslav closure. Support for matzos and basic needs is recorded in local letters.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shlomo Yosef Zain]] | [[David Okunov]] | [[Moshe Robinson]] | [[Yosef Goldberg]] | [[Yitzchak Shetatin]]

=== Chapter 98: The Yeshiva in Kursk (5693 (1932–1933)–5700 (1939–1940)) ===
One of the longer-lived branches, active from at least spring 5693 (1932–1933) until summer 5700 (1939–1940). Early students included R. Bentzion Katzenelson, R. Shaul Steinback, and the Wilenkin brothers (Yosef and Shalom). Later, R. Michael Rapoport served as maggid shiur for younger boys (ages 6–16); after his departure R. Shimon Shtilerman and then R. Henich Rapoport continued. Studies took place in synagogues and private homes; frequent moves were required once locations became known. In Iyar 5700 (1939–1940) the NKVD raided; R. Henich Rapoport and several students were arrested. R. Yehoshua Raskin (Katznelson) described months of solitary confinement, repeated interrogations, and a sentence of five to ten years in a labor camp. Local support came from R. Mendel Sheinman and others. Peak numbers were small (often 6–8 regular students).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Bentzion Katzenelson]] | [[Shaul Steinback]] | [[Yosef Wilenkin]] | [[Shalom Wilenkin]] | [[Michael Rapoport]] | [[Shimon Shtilerman]] | [[Henich Rapoport]] | [[Yehoshua Raskin]] | [[Mendel Sheinman]] | [[Mordechai Levin]] | [[Shalom Ber Friedman]] | [[Yeshaya Gopin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Levin]] | [[Hershel Slonim]] | [[Rafael Wilshansky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Kindelach, you don’t need to be impressed by anyone! You can tell them the whole truth about me… They can arrest me and exile me to Siberia, but you must continue to learn!
— R. Mendel Sheinman upon his arrest in Kursk, 5700 (1939–1940) <ref name="Levin1989p326">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 326 (quoting R. Mendel Sheinman upon his arrest in Kursk, 5700 (1939–1940)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 99: The Yeshiva in Zhitomir (5694 (1933–1934)–5697 (1936–1937)) ===
Opened in winter 5694 (1933–1934) after the Kiev closure; continued until late summer 5697 (1936–1937). Initial students: R. Eliezer Pinsky, R. Nachum Volosov, R. Avraham Zelig Ganburg, later joined by R. Yaakov Shatz, R. Michel Konitzov and others. Local help came from R. Mordechai Eliezer Lapatovsky (hy"d). Studies occurred in synagogues (including the “Tikin Kleizl” and the Maggid’s kloyz). After Pinsky’s marriage, R. Michael Teitelbaum served as mashgiach. A police visit in 5696 (1935–1936) forced a temporary flight; the branch closed after a night raid in Elul 5697 (1936–1937) and students fled to Voronezh.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Eliezer Pinsky]] | [[Nachum Volosov]] | [[Avraham Zelig Ganburg]] | [[Yaakov Shatz]] | [[Michel Konitzov]] | [[Mordechai Eliezer Lapatovsky]] | [[Michael Teitelbaum]] | [[Moshe Aharon Geisinsky]] | [[Moshe Binyamin Kaplan]] | [[Hillel Pevzner]] | [[Shneur Zalman Katzenelenbogen]] | [[Shimon Charitonov]]

=== Chapter 100: The Yeshiva in Berdichev (5695 (1934–1935)–5698 (1937–1938)) ===
Founded in winter 5695 (1934–1935) by R. Yaakov Shatz; continued (with interruptions) until 24 Tevet 5698 (1937–1938). Early students included the Geisinsky cousins and others; later groups numbered up to 12–13. Maggidei shiur included R. Yaakov Shatz, R. Avraham Zelig Ganburg and R. Moshe Robinson (Karalovitcher). On 24 Tevet 5698 (1937–1938) the NKVD arrested Robinson together with the students. After about a month the younger boys were sent to a children’s home; R. Michael Teitelbaum later rescued several of them. Robinson was exiled. Contemporary Soviet press noted the existence of the “illegal” group.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yaakov Shatz]] | [[Avraham Zelig Ganburg]] | [[Moshe Robinson]] | [[Moshe Aharon Geisinsky]] | [[Hillel Pevzner]] | [[Dovber Kibman]] | [[Heshel Zeitlin]] | [[Yechezkel Brod]] | [[Rafael Wilshansky]] | [[Wolf Auerbach]] | [[Shaul Brook]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The studies were at five in the morning. One of the students would lock the shutters from outside and leave. We studied in different synagogues and only gathered for the shiur.
— R. Heshel Zeitlin on the Berdichev branch <ref name="Levin1989p333">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 333 (quoting R. Heshel Zeitlin on the Berdichev branch).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 101: The Yeshiva in Poltava (5696 (1935–1936)) ===
A short-lived branch active mainly in 5696 (with a small precursor in summer 5695 (1934–1935)). Students included R. Moshe Binyamin Kaplan, R. Moshe Yashmenik and R. Nachum Volosov (who initially served as mashgiach). Later mashgichim were R. Moshe Yashmenik and then R. Meir Zarhi (Kaplan). Local connection was through R. Dovber Greenferim, the rav of Poltava, and R. Shmuel Dabrovskin. The group studied through the winter and following summer before dispersing.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Moshe Binyamin Kaplan]] | [[Nachum Volosov]] | [[Meir Zarhi]] | [[Moshe Yashmenik]] | [[Dovber Greenferim]] | [[Shmuel Dabrovskin]]

=== Chapter 102: The Yeshiva in Haditch (5696 (1935–1936)) ===
A small winter 5696 (1935–1936) branch. Students included R. Moni Rapoport, R. Mordechai Trigubov and others under R. Avraham Zelig Ganburg (with a brief period under R. Yosef Goldberg). R. Dovber Kibman later recalled studying there before returning to Berdichev. The group was short-lived and students moved on after Pesach.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Avraham Zelig Ganburg]] | [[Moni Rapoport]] | [[Mordechai Trigubov]] | [[Yosef Goldberg]] | [[Dovber Kibman]]

=== Chapter 103: The Yeshiva in Voronezh (5695 (1934–1935)–5698 (1937–1938)) ===
Opened in summer 5695 (1934–1935) for older bachurim and continued until late summer 5698 (1937–1938). Early participants included R. Michael Teitelbaum, R. Shaul Froifusker, R. Shalom Wilenkin and R. Yisrael Levin; the local chassid R. Betzalel Wilshansky frequently farbrenged with them. After the Zhitomir closure a larger group arrived. Studies took place in the synagogue. Threats of the “known informer” forced temporary dispersals to nearby villages (Sasnovka, Grapskaya). R. Michael Teitelbaum served as mashgiach until his marriage.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Betzalel Wilshansky]] | [[Michael Teitelbaum]] | [[Shalom Wilenkin]] | [[Yisrael Levin]] | [[Moshe Aharon Geisinsky]] | [[Moshe Binyamin Kaplan]] | [[Hillel Pevzner]] | [[Berl Kievman]] | [[Yeshaya Gopin]] | [[Rafael Wilshansky]] | [[Henich Rapoport]] | [[Nissan Pinson]]

=== Chapter 104: The Yeshiva in Karalovitch (5694 (1933–1934)–5697 (1936–1937)) ===
A branch for older students active from early summer 5694 (1933–1934) until late winter 5697 (1936–1937). Participants included R. Yosef Goldberg, R. Moshe Robinson, R. Yeshaya Gopin, R. Nissan Pinson, R. Dovber Gurevitz and R. Shimon Charitonov. Some had previously studied in Novozybkov. The group dispersed in the course of 5697 (1936–1937), with members moving to other branches.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Goldberg]] | [[Moshe Robinson]] | [[Yeshaya Gopin]] | [[Nissan Pinson]] | [[Dovber Gurevitz]] | [[Shimon Charitonov]]

=== Chapter 105: Support of the Rebbe for the Yeshivas ===
Throughout the underground period the Rebbe Rayatz provided financial support from the central Tomchei Temimim funds (covering both Polish and Russian branches). Letters document requests for addresses of students so that aid could be sent, and monthly budget allocations (one surviving fragment lists ~1,000 rubles per month as the Rebbe’s share for the Russian “Tomchei Temimim” groups of five students studying in various batei midrash). Local Anash also contributed beyond their means. The Rebbe’s letters repeatedly emphasize the mesirus nefesh of the students and the extreme physical hardship (hunger, exile, constant flight).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Avraham Dreizin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>They are, thank G-d, studying Torah with actual mesirus nefesh… hungry, barefoot, weak, tortured and persecuted… May G-d have mercy on them and redeem them soon with a complete redemption.
<ref name="Levin1989p341">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 341 (from letters of the Rebbe Rayatz, 5689 (1928–1929)–5691 (1930–1931)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 106: The New Director – R. Yona Cohen of Poltava ===
After R. Avraham Dreizin was forced into hiding by intensified arrests in summer 5695 (1934–1935), central direction of the scattered branches gradually passed to R. Yona Cohen (Poltaver), who lived in the Moscow area. In summer 5696 (1935–1936) the Rebbe formally entrusted him with overall responsibility. Working with R. Mordechai Eliezer Lapatovsky (Zhitomir) and others, he coordinated the assignment of older bachurim as maggidei shiur, the founding of new branches, and the distribution of support funds (often carried by trusted women). Meetings of senior students were held in Moscow (including at the home of R. Moshe Katzman) to plan the continuation of the yeshivas under conditions of extreme danger.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yona Cohen]] | [[Mordechai Eliezer Lapatovsky]] | [[Nachum Volosov]] | [[Avraham Dreizin]] | [[Shaul Brook]] | [[Moshe Robinson]] | [[Yosef Goldberg]] | [[Yisrael Levin]] | [[Michael Rapoport]] | [[Shimon Shtilerman]]

=== Chapter 107: The Yeshiva in Krivoi Rog (5696 (1935–1936)–5698 (1937–1938)) ===
A group moved from Berdichev in summer 5696 (1935–1936) and studied until late Tishrei 5697 (1936–1937). A second branch opened after Pesach 5697 (1936–1937) under R. Yisrael Yehuda Levin and continued into mid-winter 5698 (1937–1938). Students included R. Moshe Binyamin Kaplan, R. Moshe Aharon Geisinsky, R. Aharon Elazar Mogilevsky, R. Leib Motzkin, R. Yoel Dubman, R. Yehoshua Katznelson and others. Studies took place in the synagogue women’s gallery and, at times, in a chicken coop. A daytime raid forced flight; Levin delayed his own escape until the boys were safe. The branch was closed and reopened more than once before final dispersal.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yisrael Yehuda Levin]] | [[Yosef Goldberg]] | [[Moshe Binyamin Kaplan]] | [[Moshe Aharon Geisinsky]] | [[Yehoshua Katznelson]] | [[Yechezkel Brod]] | [[Leib Motzkin]] | [[Yoel Dubman]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Only one person did not move. It was R. Yisrael himself, who stood and waited until we had all fled… only then did he flee as well. It was true mesirus nefesh.
— R. Yehoshua Katznelson on the Krivoi Rog raid <ref name="Levin1989p346">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 346 (quoting R. Yehoshua Katznelson on the Krivoi Rog raid).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 108: The Yeshiva in Klinzy (5697 (1936–1937)) ===
Opened after Pesach 5697 (1936–1937) by R. Yosef Goldberg and continued until 24 Kislev 5698 (1937–1938). Students included R. Shalom Mendel Kalmanzon, R. Henich Rapoport, R. Shalom Ber Friedman, R. Tzvi Hirsch Braslav and others. On the night of the attempted arrest Goldberg was absent and the group escaped. He later opened short-lived branches in other towns (including Kubishov).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Goldberg]] | [[Shalom Mendel Kalmanzon]] | [[Henich Rapoport]] | [[Shalom Ber Friedman]] | [[Yechezkel Brod]]

=== Chapter 109: Remnants of the Yeshivas in Russia (5697 (1936–1937)–5701 (1940–1941)) ===
By 5697 (1936–1937)–5700 (1939–1940) most organized branches had been closed by arrests and exile. Small groups of three to six students continued in scattered locations (including Yegoryevsk near Moscow under R. Yisrael Neveler, and temporary groups in Kharkov and elsewhere). Students and mashgichim moved constantly; many older bachurim were themselves arrested. The pattern persisted until the outbreak of war, when large numbers of Anash fled eastward to Samarkand and Tashkent.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yisrael Neveler]] | [[Reuven Kaminetzky]] | [[Mordechai Levin]] | [[Dovber Levin]] | [[Moshe Zalman Kaminetzky]] | [[Michael Teitelbaum]]

=== Chapter 110: The Yeshiva in Kutaisi and Georgian Cities (5698 (1937–1938)–5706 (1945–1946)) ===
Founded around Pesach 5698 (1937–1938) in Kutaisi (Georgia) and continued until late 5705 (1944–1945). Early students included R. Yechezkel Brod, R. Leib Henich Menkin, R. Yeshaya Gopin, R. Menachem Mendel Raskin and R. Dovber Kibman. R. Yosef Goldberg directed the main branch and several smaller ones in nearby towns (Kulashi, Senaki, Sukhumi, Batumi, etc.) until his marriage; R. Moshe Marozov later took over. Additional mashgichim included R. Shalom Mendel Kalmanzon and R. Yaakov Notik. Students studied in private homes and synagogues; occasional arrests occurred but the relative remoteness of Georgia allowed greater continuity. After the war most remaining students transferred to the central yeshiva in Samarkand. In summer 5706 (1945–1946) a short-lived group was again sent from Samarkand to Kutaisi before the mass emigration via Poland.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yechezkel Brod]] | [[Yosef Goldberg]] | [[Moshe Marozov]] | [[Yeshaya Gopin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Raskin]] | [[Dovber Kibman]] | [[Shalom Mendel Kalmanzon]] | [[Yaakov Notik]] | [[Leib Motzkin]] | [[Shalom Levertov]] | [[Azriel Chaikin]] | [[Chaim Yisrael Sperlin]]

=== Chapter 111: The Yeshiva in Melitopol (5698 (1937–1938)–5701 (1940–1941)) ===
A small branch of 5–6 students operated in Melitopol (Crimea) from 5698 (1937–1938) until early summer 5701 (1940–1941). R. Shalom Mendel Kalmanzon served as mashgiach from 5698 (1937–1938) until winter 5700 (then moved to Kutaisi); R. Shalom Marozov arrived at the beginning of summer. Other students included R. Shneur Zalman Katzenelenbogen, R. Shneur Zalman Levin, R. Heshel Zeitlin and the brothers Ephraim Mordechai and Menachem Mendel Paley. At the start of summer 5701 (1940–1941) the older students were summoned for interrogation; fearing arrest they fled to Kutaisi and thereby escaped the German occupation of Melitopol later that summer, during which the remaining Jews were murdered.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shalom Mendel Kalmanzon]] | [[Shalom Marozov]] | [[Shneur Zalman Katzenelenbogen]] | [[Shneur Zalman Levin]] | [[Heshel Zeitlin]] | [[Ephraim Mordechai Paley]] | [[Menachem Mendel Paley]]

=== Chapter 112: The Yeshiva in Samarkand and Tashkent (5702 (1941–1942)–5706 (1945–1946)) ===
With the German invasion large numbers of Anash fled eastward to Central Asia, primarily Samarkand and Tashkent. An early study group formed around R. Eliyahu Chaim Roitblatt but collapsed under the great famine and typhus of 5702 (1941–1942). In early 5703 (1942–1943) the yeshiva was reorganized. R. Michael Teitelbaum began with a few students (including R. Shalom Levertov and the orphaned sons of R. Moshe Katzman and R. Mendel Dubrovsky). R. Menachem Mendel Futerfas assumed practical responsibility under the overall direction of R. Yona Cohen (then in Tashkent). Numbers grew rapidly; by 5704 (1943–1944) R. Nissan Nemanov was brought from Tashkent as the principal mashpia. At its peak the Samarkand yeshiva had roughly forty older students in the main hall and about one hundred younger boys (fifty studying Gemara), with a parallel branch of about sixty in Tashkent and continued activity in Kutaisi. After the war, as Anash began leaving on Polish papers, the yeshiva continued until mid-summer 5706 (1945–1946). R. Yona Cohen arranged for orphaned students to be registered with other Anash families so they could emigrate; he himself was arrested in Lvov before he could leave and disappeared.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Michael Teitelbaum]] | [[Menachem Mendel Futerfas]] | [[Yona Cohen]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Eliyahu Chaim Roitblatt]] | [[Shalom Levertov]] | [[Yehoshua Dubrovsky]] | [[Zelig Katzman]] | [[Hillel Katzman]] | [[Moshe Robinson]] | [[Zalman Shimon Dvorkin]] | [[Avraham Eliyahu Plotkin]] | [[Mendel Dubrovsky]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Yisrael Noach Bilnitzky]] | [[Yehoshua Karp]] | [[Hirsch Lieberman]] | [[Chaim Meir Garelik]] | [[Nachum Volosov]] | [[Hillel Azimov]] | [[Shmuel Notik]] | [[Meir Gurkov]] | [[Abba Pliskin]] | [[Aharon Yosef Bilnitzky]] | [[Shlomo Matosov]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Michael said to me: We must make a Tomchei Temimim yeshiva here. … We will take the two boys Shalom Kovliaker and Zelig Katzman and make a Tomchei Temimim, and arrange “meals” for them, and he will learn with them.
<ref name="Levin1989p352">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 352 (memoir of the author’s father on the re-founding of the Samarkand yeshiva, early 5703 (1942–1943)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 113: The Emigration of Anash from Russia ===
After completing the account of the underground Tomchei Temimim network (chapters נא–צח), the book turns to the final major theme: the emigration of Anash from Russia. During the mass Jewish emigration from the Russian Empire (from 1880 onward) relatively few Chabad chassidim participated; the Rebbeim were not enthusiastic about departure to the “land of freedom.” Even after the Revolution and the intensification of religious persecution, as long as the Rebbe Rayatz remained in Russia the majority of Anash and the Temimim stayed and continued the struggle. Individual instructions to leave were given in specific cases (e.g., R. Avraham Eliyahu Axelrod in 5682 (1921–1922)/5684 (1923–1924)), but the general stance was to remain. After the Rebbe’s own departure (Kislev 5688 (1927–1928)) the situation deteriorated further and emigration efforts increased.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Nachum Shimarya Shashonkin]] | [[Avraham Eliyahu Axelrod]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Yaakov Yisrael Zuber]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>The fearers of G-d and the observers of Torah and mitzvos must stand firm as a camp… We are not permitted… to look with the glance of flight and escape from the place of the campaign; on the contrary, we must strengthen our stand…
<ref name="Levin1989p356">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 356 (letter of the Rebbe Rayatz, 20 Menachem Av 5685 (1924–1925), responding to a request to leave for the Land of Israel).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 114: Instructions of the Rebbe to Endeavor to Leave Russia ===
The first known individual instruction from the Rebbe Rayatz to emigrate to the United States was given to R. Avraham Eliyahu Axelrod (winter 5684 (1923–1924), after earlier preparation). A broader stirring among Anash began around Rosh Hashanah 5685 (1924–1925), when a group of Temimim in Leningrad resolved to promote departure and to send individuals abroad who would then help others. R. Yisrael Jacobson was among those who eventually left for the US and worked on behalf of those remaining. After the Rebbe’s release from Kostroma exile and his decision to leave for Riga, he instructed R. Yaakov Yisrael Zuber (Rosh Chodesh Elul 5687 (1926–1927)) to seek a visa for America for rabbinic work. Private instructions continued; the general attitude while the Rebbe was still in Russia had been to remain and strengthen Jewish life there.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Avraham Eliyahu Axelrod]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Yaakov Yisrael Zuber]] | [[Aharon Shlomo Axelrod]] | [[Elchanan Dov Marozov]] | [[Avraham Paris]] | [[Yisrael of Girsad]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>My opinion and desire is that you travel to America for rabbinate… I want you to travel there and inform them of all this in my name…
<ref name="Levin1989p358">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 358 (letter of R. Yaakov Yisrael Zuber transmitting the Rebbe’s instruction, 1 Tavo 5687 (1926–1927)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 115: The Mission of R. Mordechai Dubin to Russia ===
Approximately two years after the Rebbe’s arrival in Riga he sent R. Mordechai Dubin (a member of the Latvian Sejm with political influence) to Russia to explore possibilities of extracting Anash. Dubin visited Leningrad and Moscow. He reported that former contacts in the Soviet apparatus had been replaced or were unwilling to help, that exit permits were sometimes sold for high sums, and that wealthy non-observant Jews were uninterested in funding the departure of religious Jews. The visit produced limited practical results but intensified the Rebbe’s private and general instructions that Anash should try to leave. The Rebbe also wrote repeatedly to American Chabad contacts requesting affidavits and rabbinic positions for individuals still in Russia (including R. Yehuda Butrashvili / Kolater and others).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Mordechai Dubin]] | [[Yitzchak Raskin]] | [[Nachum Shimarya Shashonkin]] | [[Yehuda Butrashvili]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Rafael Nachman Cohen]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>From the day our Rebbe arrived in Riga he has been pressing me to travel to Russia in order to get you out… The chances are small…
<ref name="Levin1989p360">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 360 (account of R. Nachum Shimarya Shashonkin on Dubin’s visit).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 116: Rescue Campaign by Anash in the United States ===
Anash already outside Russia, led especially by R. Yisrael Jacobson (who had arrived in 5686 (1925–1926)), organized systematic efforts. In 5689 (1928–1929) a detailed questionnaire (nine points covering name, occupation, means of support, preferred destination, etc.) was prepared and distributed; at least 150 completed forms reached Jacobson and were forwarded to the Rebbe. In summer 5690 (1929–1930) a special meeting of the Agudas HaTemimim in New York discussed concrete steps to save Anash still in Russia. Circular letters continued into 5693 (1932–1933) emphasizing the “pidyon shevuyim” obligation. Results remained limited because of American immigration quotas and Soviet exit restrictions.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Agudas HaTemimim]] | [[Shaul Dovber Zislin]] | [[Moshe Axelrod]] | [[Avraham Shlomo Patchin]] | [[Shimon Bliner]] | [[Yaakov Yisrael Zuber]] | [[Yehuda Eber]] | [[Aharon Eliezer Zeitlin]] | [[Elchanan Dovber Marozov]] | [[Eli Nachum Shklai]] | [[Shalom Posner]]

=== Chapter 117: Difficulties in Obtaining a Visa, Travel Ticket and Passport ===
Even after external affidavits or rabbinic positions were secured, three nearly insurmountable obstacles remained: (1) a foreign entry visa, (2) paid steamship tickets for the entire family, and (3) a Soviet exit passport whose cost often exceeded $100–300 per adult (payable only in foreign currency after 5692 (1931–1932)). The United States imposed tight quotas after 5684 (1923–1924) and made rabbinic visas extremely difficult to obtain. Latvia granted temporary refuge more readily until 5694 (1933–1934); Poland and most other countries were closed. Palestine was the most accessible destination for those who could reach it. After obtaining the three documents the applicant still faced repeated refusals at Soviet exit offices; many spent years in Moscow or nearby towns (e.g., Yegoryevsk) merely to be eligible to file. The combination of economic crisis in the West and famine plus foreign-currency requirements inside the USSR brought emigration almost to a halt in 5692 (1931–1932)–5693 (1932–1933).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Shaul Dovber Zislin]] | [[Avraham Eliyahu Axelrod]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Shmuel Zalmanov]] | [[Rafael Nachman Cohen]] | [[Yosef Rosen]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>According to many cases I have seen, the difficulty of travel is great… After the documents and permits have been sent from there, it still remains in great doubt, dependent on the will, desire and judgment of the consul here who is very strict…
<ref name="Levin1989p365">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 365 (letter of the Rebbe Rayatz, 18 Sivan 5689 (1928–1929)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 118: The Rebbe’s Efforts on Behalf of Emigration ===
From his arrival in Riga (5688 (1927–1928)) onward the Rebbe Rayatz continuously urged Anash to seek exit permits. In the relatively quieter year 5694 (1933–1934) he intensified private instructions: “submit in p’shutim” (ordinary Soviet currency rather than dollars), prefer the Land of Israel as destination, and re-apply after refusals. Surviving letter-books from Adar–Iyar 5694 (1933–1934) contain dozens of such directives. He also sought collective certificates and funding from the Joint and other bodies for groups of working-age Anash, and corresponded with R. Shneur Zalman Schneersohn (his representative in Russia) and R. Shlomo Yosef Zevin about practical lists and certificates. Approximately one hundred Anash families managed to leave in 5695 (1934–1935)–5696 (1935–1936), most for Palestine; thereafter borders tightened again until the end of the war.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shlomo Yosef Zevin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Mordechai Dubin]] | [[Yosef Rosen]] | [[Yehuda Eber]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Binyamin Garodetzky]] | [[Aharon Tomarkin]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Everyone knows [my view regarding] travel to the Holy Land… but concerning our brothers who are suffering there is no other counsel, for to the other countries besides Latvia they do not give entry permission, and in Latvia there is nothing to do…
<ref name="Levin1989p374">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 374 (letter of the Rebbe Rayatz, 3 Iyar 5694 (1933–1934)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 119: R. Yaakov Yisrael Zuber ===
Following the Rebbe’s instruction (Elul 5687 (1926–1927)) R. Yisrael Jacobson obtained a rabbinic contract for Zuber from a synagogue on Coney Island. Because the United States had no diplomatic relations with the USSR, the documents had to be notarized in Russia and sent to the American consulate in Riga. Zuber reached Riga in early winter 5689 (1928–1929) but never received the American visa; after years of fruitless efforts he settled in Stockholm as a shoichet and rav and only reached the United States after the Second World War.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yaakov Yisrael Zuber]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]]

=== Chapter 120: R. Yitzchak (Ha-Matmid) Horowitz ===
Efforts to bring R. Yitzchak Ha-Matmid (Horowitz) and R. Yaakov Maskalik (Voravtzer) out of Russia began immediately after Zuber’s arrival in Riga. Ha-Matmid eventually received an exit permit and reached Riga in early winter 5693 (1932–1933) after more than two years of attempts; his arrival was greeted with joy among Anash still inside Russia. Maskalik remained; he was arrested in late summer 5695 (1934–1935), exiled, and disappeared.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yitzchak Horowitz (Ha-Matmid)]] | [[Yaakov Maskalik]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Moshe Axelrod]] | [[Shamai Vigan]] | [[Shmuel Horowitz]]

=== Chapter 121: R. Moshe Axelrod ===
R. Moshe Axelrod’s case illustrates the multi-year ordeal typical of those who eventually left. From 5690 (1929–1930) onward he received a synagogue contract and funds from relatives and from R. Yisrael Jacobson, yet faced repeated refusals, changing ticket requirements (Franz Line certificates became invalid), short-term arrest, eviction from his home, and the need to register in Leningrad or Moscow merely to file. After seven years of alternating hope and despair he succeeded in reaching the Land of Israel in summer 5696 (1935–1936).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Moshe Axelrod]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Aharon Tomarkin]]

=== Chapter 122: R. Yisrael Leib Lipschitz ===
Shortly after R. Moshe Axelrod’s departure, R. Yisrael Leib Lipschitz also reached the Land of Israel, but only after years of near-despair. The Rebbe personally arranged a single ticket; family tickets and the required foreign-currency passport fee remained obstacles. He registered near Moscow to file, appealed to Kalinin, and finally received his passport in winter 5697 (1936–1937).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yisrael Leib Lipschitz]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]] | [[Hendel Nadai]]

=== Chapter 123: R. Aharon Eliezer Zeitlin ===
R. Aharon Eliezer Zeitlin (brother-in-law of both R. Yisrael Jacobson and R. Yechezkel Feigin) received synagogue contracts, tickets, and dollar transfers, yet every application failed. When he tried to deposit the Joint money for the passport, the bank called the GPU; the funds were seized. He continued efforts for years without success. Arrested on the first night of Sukkot 5698 (1937–1938) for hosting a minyan and study circle in his home, he was sent to Siberia, where he died in Tishrei 5699 (1938–1939) after prolonged illness and hunger. His son-in-law R. Yaakov Shatz was also arrested and disappeared.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Aharon Eliezer Zeitlin]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Yaakov Shatz]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Shaul Brok]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>On the first night of Sukkot they came and took our brother-in-law R. Aharon Eliezer into custody… the reason was that in his house they prayed in a minyan all three prayers and studied in groups…
<ref name="Levin1989p391">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 391 (letter of R. Yechezkel Feigin, 28 Tishrei 5698 (1937–1938)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 124: R. Meir Gurkov ===
The elderly R. Meir Gurkov spent years transferring assets abroad (via the Joint, R. Moshe Gurary, R. Shmuel Abba Dalitzky, and R. Yisrael Jacobson) and securing certificates and tickets for Palestine. When everything was finally ready in 5695 (1934–1935), rumors spread that exit permits had been halted and that any application would mark the applicant as an enemy of the regime. He returned the tickets (losing only the certificate fee) and remained in Russia until the postwar exodus of winter 5707 (1946–1947).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Meir Gurkov]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Moshe Gurary]] | [[Shmuel Abba Dalitzky]] | [[Hanoch Hendel Ovolin]] | [[Aharon Eliezer Zeitlin]]

=== Chapter 125: R. Shamai Vigan ===
R. Shamai Vigan attempted to finance his family’s emigration by shipping Torah scrolls and other seforim from closed synagogues for sale abroad. He obtained Palestine visas in 5694 (1933–1934), but new decrees in 5695 (1934–1935) banned both the export of books and the filing of passport applications without a full year of residence registration in the capital. Arrested with other Anash in Rostov at the beginning of 5696 (1935–1936), he was sentenced to hard labor in Siberia, lost two children, and, after his release, perished in Novozybkov during the German occupation.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Shamai Vigan]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Hanoch Hendel Ovolin]] | [[Chaim Padnas]] | [[Yitzchak Horowitz (Ha-Matmid)]]

=== Chapter 126: R. Elchanan Dovber Marozov ===
Former secretary of the Rebbe, R. Elchanan Dovber Marozov was arrested on Purim Katan 5687 (1926–1927), exiled for three years, and after his return settled in Leningrad under the assumed name “Dovber Pozner.” From 5689 (1928–1929) he urgently sought exit papers. Palestine visas were secured and partial funds raised, yet the full family tickets and Soviet passport were never obtained. He remained in Leningrad until mid-winter 5701 (1940–1941), when he was arrested and disappeared.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Elchanan Dovber Marozov]] | [[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Yechezkel Feigin]] | [[Yehuda Eber]] | [[Menachem Mendel Marozov]] | [[Michael Teitelbaum]] | [[Chaim Zalman Kramer]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Please have mercy on my soul and the souls of my children… How long shall I be among those who cry out and are not answered? Bring me out and rescue me from the straits, for a little more and, God forbid, I shall be lost…
<ref name="Levin1989p400">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 400 (letter of R. Elchanan Dovber Marozov, 25 Menachem Av 5694 (1933–1934)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 127: Attempts to Cross the Border Illegally (5691 (1930–1931)–5693 (1932–1933)) ===
Two major attempts involving Tomchei Temimim students are recorded. In 5691 (1930–1931)–5692 (1931–1932) a non-Jew in Kamenets-Podolsk ferried dozens of Jews (including R. David Green and later R. Avraham Kvash) into Poland for payment. Kvash was briefly imprisoned in Poland on suspicion of espionage; relatives left behind were arrested and sent to Siberia. In late winter 5693 (1932–1933) a GPU provocation near the Caucasus border offered a route to Turkey and Palestine; twenty-three Chabadniks (nine of them yeshiva students) were arrested near Batumi, imprisoned for half a year, and sentenced to hard labor. They were released in mid-winter 5694 (1933–1934) after intensive foreign intervention (including efforts timed to Litvinov’s American visit). Even afterward the desire to flee continued, though the risks had become clearer.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[David Green]] | [[Avraham Kvash]] | [[Aharon Kvash]] | [[Binyamin Lipman]] | [[Melech Kaplan]] | [[Mordechai Perlow]] | [[Yitzchak Horowitz (Ha-Matmid)]] | [[Alexander Reinin]]

=== Chapter 128: Closure of the Borders in the Following Years ===
After approximately one hundred Anash families left in 5695 (1934–1935)–5696 (1935–1936), exit permits ceased almost completely. The last known departures included R. Moshe Dovber Genovburg and his family (Kalinin signed their permit on Hoshana Rabbah 5698 (1937–1938)). The years 5694 (1933–1934)–5699 (1938–1939) were among the most murderous in Soviet history; millions were arrested, exiled, or executed, and the same fate befell many Chabadniks. The path of legal emigration remained closed until after the Second World War.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Moshe Dovber Genovburg]] | [[Yitzchak Genovburg]] | [[Mikhail Kalinin]]

=== Chapter 129: Departure from Russia in 5706 (1945–1946) ===
With the end of the war, Polish citizens who had fled to the USSR were allowed to return. Anash (mostly in Samarkand, Tashkent, and Kutaisi) exploited the opportunity by obtaining forged Polish papers and traveling via Lvov. The Rebbe initially advised caution (5 Tevet 5706 (1945–1946)) but later approved the route once its feasibility was confirmed. Several hundred families left during the summer and early winter of 5706 (1945–1946); the operation was highly secretive and largely self-organized by the Chabadniks themselves, with only limited contact with the broader “Briha” network. When the Soviets discovered the scheme, those still en route were arrested.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmuel Levitin]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetzky]] | [[Yehuda Leib Motzkin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Gorovitz]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Menachem Mendel Futerfas]] | [[Yonah Kahan]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>A magnificent chapter in the history of the Briha belongs to the Lubavitcher Hasidim who left Russia in the first year after liberation, conducting an independent, planned, organized, and secret flight…
<ref name="Levin1989p406">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 406 (quotation from Ephraim Dekel, ''Be-Netivei ha-Briha'').</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 130: Upon Their Arrival in Poland ===
After crossing from Lvov the first stop was Kraków, then Łódź, where many Anash temporarily settled. Pogroms against returning Jews made prolonged residence in communist-controlled Poland dangerous. The Rebbe directed them (20 Tammuz 5706 (1945–1946)) to proceed toward the American zones of Germany and Austria rather than France, so that American visas might be more attainable. R. Yisrael Jacobson was sent from New York (18 Tammuz) as the Rebbe’s special emissary to organize the rescue, visit the refugees, and coordinate with local activists. By the end of summer more than 600 Anash (approximately 200 families, of whom ~550 were from Russia) had left Poland for the West; only a few remained behind to assist later groups.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetzky]] | [[Shneur Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Yitzchak Goldin]] | [[Shneur Zalman Serebryansky]] | [[Hadassah Garelik]] | [[Shalom Mendel Kalmanson]] | [[Eliezer Silver]]

=== Chapter 131: The Prague Way-Station ===
Prague served as the principal intermediate stop between Poland and the American zones (or France). R. Jacobson spent about a month there (late Tammuz–Menachem Av 5706 (1945–1946)) organizing border crossings, food, and onward travel. A small local committee (including R. Yehuda Hitrick, R. Chaim Chaikin, and others) continued the work after his departure. Later, permanent representatives (R. Shalom Mendel Kalmanson, R. Hillel Pewzner, and Mrs. Hadassah Garelik) were stationed in Prague to maintain contact with Lvov, the camps, and the Rebbe. A short-lived “Beit Sarah” girls’ school was also founded there. Activity largely ceased after the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 5708 (1947–1948).

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yisrael Jacobson]] | [[Shalom Mendel Kalmanson]] | [[Hillel Pewzner]] | [[Hadassah Garelik]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetzky]] | [[Yehuda Leib Motzkin]] | [[Menachem Mendel Futerfas]]

=== Chapter 132: Refugee Camps ===
The first wave (~550 souls) reached the American zone in Germany and Austria in summer 5706 (1945–1946) and concentrated mainly in the Pocking camp near Munich (and smaller groups in Bensheim, Salzburg, etc.). There they re-established a Tomchei Temimim yeshiva under R. Nissan Nemanov; by late 5706 (1945–1946) it numbered roughly 120 students studying both Nigleh and Chassidus with renewed intensity. A later wave that left Russia in the winter of 5707 (1946–1947) settled in Austrian camps (Wegscheid, Steyr, Hallein). American visas proved far more difficult to obtain than expected (the consulates demanded proof of residence in the zones since 1945). The Rebbe therefore instructed that efforts shift toward moving the refugees to Paris for further processing.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Avraham Eliyahu Plotkin]] | [[Shalom Mendel Kalmanson]] | [[Nachum Shemaryahu Sosonkin]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Binyamin Gorodetzky]]

=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>Thanks to G-d our holy yeshiva has been organized here in all its details. The total number of students is 120… they study with tremendous diligence and in a short time they have grown and succeeded…
<ref name="Levin1989p422">Levin, ''Toldot Chabad be-Rusya ha-Sovietit'', 1989, p. 422 (letter of R. Avraham Eliyahu Plotkin, 13 Marcheshvan 5707 (1946–1947)).</ref></blockquote>

=== Chapter 133: Settlement in France and Other Countries ===
When American visas remained blocked, the Rebbe established a “European Office for Refugee Aid” in Paris under R. Binyamin Gorodetzky (appointed 24 Marcheshvan 5707 (1946–1947)). Approximately 500 Anash were transferred from the German and Austrian camps to Paris in fifteen groups during the summer of 5707 (1946–1947). A Tomchei Temimim yeshiva was reopened in Paris; many refugees ultimately settled in France, Belgium, or continued later to the United States or the Land of Israel. The office coordinated visas, housing, and funding with the Joint and other bodies, while the Rebbe maintained daily correspondence with the activists.

=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Binyamin Gorodetzky]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gurary]] | [[Nissan Nemanov]] | [[Shneur Zalman Levitin]] | [[Shlomo Chaim Kesselman]] | [[Yitzchak Goldin]]

=== Final Conclusion of the Volume ===
With the successful transfer of roughly 500 Anash refugees to Paris in 5707 (1946–1947)–5708 (1947–1948) and the re-establishment of Tomchei Temimim there, the main narrative of the book comes to a close. Many of the refugees settled permanently in France or neighboring countries; others continued to the United States, England, Australia, or the Land of Israel. In 5709 (1948–1949) a large group of 140 souls left Paris for Israel, where Kfar Chabad was founded for them. The volume notes that the story of the remnant of Chabad that remained inside the Soviet Union after 5706 (1945–1946)–5707 (1946–1947) belongs to a later period (“She’erit Tenu’at Chabad be-Rusya”) and lies outside the scope of this work.

The book ends with extensive indices (subject, institutions, and a biographical list of Tomchei Temimim students), confirming that chapter קכ is the final narrative chapter.

== Involvement of external actors ==
According to the book, aid and emigration support came through Chabad’s own networks (including Va’ad HaEzra in Paris and Poland) and personal interventions coordinated by [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] and his emissaries. The volume covers the period to 1950 and does not document involvement by the Mossad, Israeli government, broader Zionist movement, or Western intelligence agencies in the underground activities of this era.<ref name="Levin1989" />

== See also ==
[[Chabad-Lubavitch]]
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
[[Tomchei Temimim]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:1989 books]]
[[Category:Chabad-Lubavitch]]
[[Category:Books about Hasidism]]
[[Category:Soviet Union books]]

The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson

2026-10-13T11:04:30Z

D-Backup:

{{short description|'''Academic biography of Menachem Mendel Schneerson by Samuel C. Heilman and Menachem M. Friedman'''}}
[[File:The Rebbe.jpeg|thumb|right"500px|The Rebbe, by Heilman and Friedman.]]
'''[[The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]''' is a 2010 scholarly biography by [[Samuel C. Heilman|Heilman, Samuel C.]] and [[Menachem M. Friedman|Friedman, Menachem M.]], published by Princeton University Press. It examines the life of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, the rise of Chabad-Lubavitch messianism, the global network of shluchim, and the movement’s response to Schneerson’s death in 1994.<ref>Heilman, Samuel C. and Friedman, Menachem M., ''The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson'', Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010.</ref>

== Contents ==

* Preface
* 1. Farbrengen: The Gathering of the Emissaries
* 2. Death and Resurrection
* 3. Coming of Age in a Time of Transition
* 4. Entering the Court of Lubavitch
* 5. From Survival to Uforatzto
* 6. On a Mission from the Rebbe in Life
* 7. From Resurrection to Death: We Want Moshiach Now
* 8. On a Mission from the Rebbe in His Afterlife

== Preface ==

The book traces Chabad’s messianic trajectory from the fifth Rebbe [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn|Schneersohn, Shalom DovBer]] through [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn|Schneersohn, Yosef Yitzchak]] to [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson|Schneerson, Menachem Mendel]]. It frames the movement’s post-1950 expansion and the conviction that Schneerson was the Messiah incarnate as a response to modern Jewish history (secularisation, Holocaust, Zionism, and the relocation of Jewry to Western democracies).

Key individuals and groups: [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]], [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]], [[Martin Marty]], [[R. Scott Appleby]], [[David Assaf]], [[Yoram Bilu]], [[Maya Katz]], [[Yehuda Krinsky]], [[Avremel Shemtov]], [[Barry Gourary]], [[Chana Gourary]], [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]], [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]], [[Tomekhei Temimim]].

Significant quotation:
<blockquote>Under the leadership of Rabbi Menachem Mendel, they saw themselves as being on a mission to transform Jewry—and indeed the world. … they also became convinced that their rebbe was the redeemer incarnate.<ref name="Heilman2010">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, pp. xv–xvi.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 1: Farbrengen: The Gathering of the Emissaries ==
Describes the annual kinus shluchim at 770 Eastern Parkway and the continued mission after Schneerson’s death. Covers the historical origins of Chabad outreach, the role of couples as shluchim, post-1989 expansion into the former Soviet Union, and practices at the ohel (including pidyones, bibliomancy, and video presence).
=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]] | [[Schneur Zalman of Liadi|Zalman, Schneur]] | [[Ba’al Shem Tov]] | [[Abraham Hecht]] | [[Shaltiel Lebovic]] | [[Hirschy Zarchi]] | [[Elkie Zarchi]] | [[Shalom Greenberg]] | [[Dina Greenberg]] | [[Asher Federman]] | [[Henya Federman]] | [[Shalom Lipskar]] | [[Berel Lazar]] | [[Yehuda Krinsky]] | [[Moshe Kotlarsky]] | [[Berel Shemtov]] | [[Avremel Shemtov]] | [[Leizer Shemtov]] | [[Ari Solish]] | [[Abba Refson]] | [[Yisrael Shmotkin]] | [[770 Eastern Parkway]] | [[Kfar Chabad]] | [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]] | [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]] | [[Tomekhei Temimim]] | [[Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia]]
=== Significant quotations ===
<blockquote>our job is to make a dwelling place for God in the lower world. … We try to make the world a more and more godly place, until the coming of the Moshiach. (Rabbi Shaltiel Lebovic)<ref name="Heilman2010" /></blockquote>
<blockquote>He has nothing to fear. He’s going to go and he’s going to come back and everything will be all right. (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn to a mother of a student sent to Poland, 1939)<ref name="Heilman2010" /></blockquote>
<blockquote>I am happy to provide a synagogue and kosher meal for religious Jews visiting Shanghai. But if I were not here, the observant Jew would still pray on his own … the Jews who are not observant, however, are praying because I and Dina are here … They are the reason ChaBaD has come here. (Shalom Greenberg)<ref name="Heilman2010" /></blockquote>
<blockquote>Those who do not remember the Rebbe in life are ‘bigger Hasidim’ even than those who did, because they have to work harder to bring him back. … the Rebbe gives a person the strength he needs. … a tsaddik lives more today than yesterday. (Berel Shemtov)<ref name="Heilman2010" /></blockquote>
<blockquote>Charity … hastens and immediately causes the true and complete redemption. (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010" /></blockquote>
== Chapter 2: Death and Resurrection ==
Recounts the death of [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] on 10 Shvat 5710 (28 January 1950) at [[770 Eastern Parkway]], the succession contest between sons-in-law [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] and [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], and Schneerson’s eventual acceptance of the leadership on the first yahrzeit. Analyses the construction of continuity through claims that the Previous Rebbe remained present, the role of the ohel, and the later library lawsuit that sealed Schneerson’s symbolic and legal control.
=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Chana Gourary]] | [[Barry Gourary]] | [[Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Nechama Dina Schneersohn]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]] | [[Shmuel Levitin]] | [[Shalom DovBer Eichorn]] | [[Abraham (Aba) Seligson]] | [[Eli Simpson]] | [[Baer Rivkin]] | [[Zalman Schachter]] | [[Chaim Hodakov]] | [[Yehuda Leib Groner]] | [[Yitzchak Hendel]] | [[Avraham Sender Nemtzov]] | [[Yoel Kahan]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]] | [[Vaad Hapoel of Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]] | [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]] | [[United Lubavitcher Yeshivas]] | [[Tomekhei Temimim]] | [[Old Montefiore Cemetery]] | [[770 Eastern Parkway]]
=== Significant quotations ===
'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''
<blockquote>“Jews,” he declared upon his arrival in North America in 1940, “we must repent and save our children and ourselves from the danger. We have to observe Sabbath and the laws of kashruth. Men must put on tefillin and women must go to the mikveh… children must get a religious education.” His motto had been “l'altar l'tshuvah, l'altar l'geula” — “repentance immediately, redemption immediately.” (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn)<ref name="Heilman2010p35">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 35.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>But we do have a Rebbe. What difference does it make where he is, in this world or the other world? (Menachem Mendel Schneerson to Zalman Schachter, 1950)<ref name="Heilman2010p42">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 42.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>Although we have not earned it, and have not toiled for it… nevertheless, ‘all those who are seventh are most beloved,’ and therefore there are no inherent limitations that should cause an individual [of this seventh generation] to say that this status is beyond him… (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, ma’amar of 10 Shvat 5711)<ref name="Heilman2010p49">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 49.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>I am only a stand-in. (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p62">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 62.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>wild men think that to die is to leave completely, this is not so. (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p62">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 62.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>It should be understood the war [conflict] is not only over the seforim [books], but rather oif dem benkel—‘over the seat’ of power. (Menachem Mendel Schneerson on the library case)<ref name="Heilman2010p55">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 55.</ref></blockquote>
'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''
<blockquote>Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak had died intestate; he left neither a will that indicated who would receive his property… nor a “moral” will that indicated who should lead the community of Hasidim after him. There were unsubstantiated rumors that there had been a will (naming Barry, his beloved grandson) but that it had disappeared, perhaps eliminated intentionally.<ref name="Heilman2010p33">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 33.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>While Shmaryahu Gourary was swooning, his brother-in-law… Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was sobbing. … The intensity of his mourning made a deep impression on the community. This man, who had seemed to be distant… was now evidently more openly broken up than Shmaryahu Gourary over the loss of their Rebbe.<ref name="Heilman2010p32">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 32.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>In the end, the victor is presented by the Hasidim as the most deserving leader who is truly ordained for the role. Any lingering doubts are simply banished… The key was always to ensure continuity. This happened during 1950 and into 1951 in Lubavitch. And, when it was over, as the new Rebbe would later put it, “they put the key into [my] pocket.”<ref name="Heilman2010p41">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 41.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>This theme would become a recurring leitmotif of the reign of Rabbi Menachem Mendel… The Messiah would be brought by the seventh generation in the ChaBaD dynasty, and they were that generation. … This address… served as the basis of the entire Messiah campaign and the justification for all its missionizing and other activities.<ref name="Heilman2010p48">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 48.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>Menachem Mendel had not invented this idea of talking to a dead rebbe… For Rabbi Menachem Mendel, it became the basis of his legitimacy. Perhaps it was why he would never stray further than a short car ride away from the cemetery…<ref name="Heilman2010p59">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 59.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>These very same arguments were invoked within the community years later, after Menachem Mendel himself had died with his own promises of redemption unfulfilled.<ref name="Heilman2010p61">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 61.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>Menachem Mendel Schneerson understood that the library was more than just a collection of books, and that the struggle over it with his nephew and sister-in-law was about his leadership. … When Menachem Mendel was affirmed as having that possession, he was finally judged to belong symbolically and legally to that succession.<ref name="Heilman2010p55">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 55.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>Unlike Menachem Mendel, whose appeal emerged at this time, Gourary suddenly appeared to many people to lack personal charisma. … He was not one who would attract more followers to the movement or lead them toward the day of redemption…<ref name="Heilman2010p56">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 56.</ref></blockquote>
== Chapter 3: Coming of Age in a Time of Transition ==
Traces Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s childhood and youth from Nikolayev to Yekaterinoslav (later Dnepropetrovsk), his exposure to secular education and Zionist/socialist currents, his apprenticeship and university studies, the family’s move into the Lubavitcher court in Leningrad, the 1927 arrest of Yosef Yitzchak, and the couple’s life in Riga and Berlin prior to the 1928 wedding. Emphasises the tension between Hasidic expectations and Schneerson’s pursuit of secular knowledge, and the retrospective hagiographic framing of these years.
=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] | [[Chana Schneerson]] | [[Yisrael Aryeh Leib Schneerson]] | [[DovBer Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Chaya Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]] | [[Avraham Lavut]] | [[Meyer Shlomo Yanofsky]] | [[Abraham Shlonsky]] | [[Vardina Shlonsky]] | [[Zalman Wilenkin]] | [[Israel Eidelsohn]] | [[Hayyim Zuta]] | [[Shmarya Levin]] | [[Emanuel Burstein]] | [[Semion Dimanstein]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]] | [[Chaim Hodakov]] | [[Meir Hildesheimer]] | [[J. J. Weinberg]] | [[Joint Distribution Committee]] | [[Yevsektsiya]] | [[OGPU]] | [[Vaad L’Chizuk HaTorah V’Hadat B’Russia]] | [[Mahane Israel]] | [[Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary]] | [[Tomekhei Temimim]] | [[Friedrich Wilhelm University]]
=== Significant quotations ===
'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''
<blockquote>superior “in Torah and the fear of God” but also as someone who “knows and understands worldly matters.” (Fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe on Levi Yitzchak)<ref name="Heilman2010p69">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 69.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>I am not leaving under duress—far from it! I am doing exactly what I planned to do. … Know that I shall be with you always … know that what you are seeing is a neshamah [soul], as it exists in Gan Eden [paradise] clothed in a body. (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn)<ref name="Heilman2010p82">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 82.</ref></blockquote>
'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''
<blockquote>The life story of a Hasidic rebbe is often shrouded in hagiography. … Every past act and event must be shown retrospectively to have led inexorably to his eminence and greatness… The farther back in the rebbe’s life one goes, the more difficult this becomes, and the more pressing is the need to shroud these distant events in hagiography, myth, mystery, and reconstructed memory.<ref name="Heilman2010p65">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 65.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>Like so much else in his story, even the date of his birth is ambiguous. While the accepted birthday, according to his own word, was Sabbath eve, April 18, 1902… his Soviet passport indicates an earlier date, March 2, 1895…<ref name="Heilman2010p66">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 66.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>Despite his attachment to Lubavitcher Hasidism… Levi Yitzchak Schneerson did not send his sons to the Tomekhei Temimim yeshiva… According to one internal Lubavitcher source, Levi Yitzchak did not “permit” his son Mendel to go to the yeshiva in Lubavitch.<ref name="Heilman2010p71">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 71.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>To this end they hired Israel Eidelsohn, a confirmed socialist and Zionist… Many years later Menachem Mendel as Lubavitcher Rebbe would adamantly and publicly oppose this position [of defining Jewishness by personal choice].<ref name="Heilman2010p72">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 72.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>Later Lubavitcher histories claim with hindsight that this move to Leningrad, the early connection with the court of the sixth Lubavitcher rebbe, and the marriage to Yosef Yitzchak’s daughter prove beyond any doubt the strength of Menachem Mendel’s Hasidic attachments. … It is entirely unclear, however, whether becoming his father-in-law’s successor was in the young man’s plans.<ref name="Heilman2010p75">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 75.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>The fact that two were out together until the early hours of the morning is glossed over in Lubavitcher accounts of the events. Such behavior would certainly have distinguished them from a traditional Hasidic couple…<ref name="Heilman2010p79">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 79.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>Apart from Yosef Yitzchak and Lieberman… none of the other family members were detained or imprisoned. Mendel remained untouched—and all the efforts in which internal sources describe his being active or wanted by the police remain undocumented.<ref name="Heilman2010p80">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 80.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>We find no reliable answers for Mendel’s choice of Berlin. … Notwithstanding the claims of Lubavitchers that he spent much time there on missions for the Rebbe, Berlin was not a place where Mendel went to act in his capacity as a Hasid.<ref name="Heilman2010p84">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 84.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>A story repeated among Lubavitchers that Menachem Mendel Schneerson received rabbinic ordination (semikhah) while in Berlin from Rabbi J. J. Weinberg… has no apparent evidentiary basis.<ref name="Heilman2010p87">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 87.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>With this marriage, he would not only gain a wife but shift his status from that of a cousin of the Lubavitcher rebbe to being his son-in-law. In time, that status would prove far more important than having studied in Berlin.<ref name="Heilman2010p89">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 89.</ref></blockquote>
== Chapter 4: Entering the Court of Lubavitch ==
Describes the November 1928 wedding of Menachem Mendel Schneerson and Chaya Moussia Schneersohn in Warsaw, the couple’s subsequent life shuttling between Berlin and the Lubavitcher court in Riga, Mendel’s continuing university studies as an auditor, Yosef Yitzchak’s efforts to draw him into court activities, and the tensions surrounding secular education, appearance, and Hasidic expectations.
=== Individuals and groups ===
[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Chaya Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] | [[Chana Schneerson]] | [[Sheina Schneersohn]] | [[Mendel Horensztajn]] | [[Moshe Horensztajn]] | [[Chaya Mushka Horensztajn]] | [[Abraham Mordecai Alter]] | [[Yitzhak Menachem Mendel Danziger]] | [[Meir Shapiro]] | [[Meir Hildesheimer]] | [[J. J. Weinberg]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]] | [[Tomekhei Temimim]] | [[Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary]] | [[Friedrich Wilhelm University]] | [[Tseirey Agudas Yisroel]]
=== Significant quotations ===
'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''
<blockquote>“The crowd of guests is completely different from those seen at other [Hasidic] Rebbes’ weddings. One sees no shtraymls or the black round velvet hats [typical of Hasidim]. Most are Jews clothed in European dress and only a small number is dressed in high silk caps.” (Moment)<ref name="Heilman2010p97">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 97.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>“a young man of refined features, with an intelligent demeanor” (Moment on the groom)<ref name="Heilman2010p100">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 100.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>“sympathetic face and a small dark beard” (Haynt)<ref name="Heilman2010p100">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 100.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>The Torah remains only with those who give their life for it. Diligence in studying the depths of Torah is what causes that Torah to remain in a person’s mind. (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn at the wedding)<ref name="Heilman2010p101">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 101.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>Where… did his son “acquire this practice?” … “You are not a Samson in strength.” Such is not “the way of Torah or of repentance.” (Levi Yitzchak Schneerson on Mendel’s fasting)<ref name="Heilman2010p106">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 106.</ref></blockquote>
'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''
<blockquote>Unlike her sister, whose age at marriage was in line with the common custom of Hasidic daughters, Moussia… was at almost twenty-eight marrying at an extraordinarily late age for Hasidic brides. … unlike the husband of her older sister… Mendel… was not now nor ever had been a student at the Lubavitcher yeshiva, but someone pursuing university studies…<ref name="Heilman2010p91">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 91.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>In all the internal Lubavitcher hagiographies, before his marriage and during what might be called a courtship, Mendel is always referred to as “the one intended to be the groom,” a title that has no precedent in Jewish tradition and law.<ref name="Heilman2010p91">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 91.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>Mendel’s actions suggest he was determined to enter the court and marry Moussia, but they also suggest he was not ready to be a Hasid like all others.<ref name="Heilman2010p93">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 93.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>The Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak, however, did not manage to persuade his new son-in-law to abandon completely his aspirations for secular study (which in principle he appeared to oppose) in Berlin. Perhaps this double life as both a Hasid and a student at the university was a reflection of Mendel's desires to please both Moussia and her father.<ref name="Heilman2010p94">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 94.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>Weddings are also ceremonies that symbolize continuity and point to the future. If the new bridegroom was to be a new leader… this wedding would be the most suitable opportunity to present him to the court and the Jewish world. … But could this bride and groom serve as the vehicles for such a cultural celebration…?<ref name="Heilman2010p96">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 96.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>If Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn wanted to impress the Hasidic world with his position as a Hasidic leader who would attract other Hasidim, this was the wrong crowd and wedding with which to do that.<ref name="Heilman2010p98">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 98.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>Are these the directions of a father to a son who knows what is expected of a Hasidic groom…? Or are these words of guidance given by a father who is very much a rabbi and is addressing a son who he knows has embarked on a life's journey that has taken him to the heart of secular culture…?<ref name="Heilman2010p99">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 99.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>Did he want to make such a toast with a son-in-law standing with him who was not one of the temimim, who had not spent time in a yeshiva, who was headed back to the university in Berlin…?<ref name="Heilman2010p101">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 101.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>Did he mean that this mixing of Torah and secular learning was alright for the bride and groom because otherwise they “would be even worse”? … Or was he trying to warn them against the way of life they had apparently chosen?<ref name="Heilman2010p102">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 102.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>In a sense, they lived a kind of bifocal life: in one they were young newlyweds in Berlin, students tasting the cosmopolitan life of the German capital… On the other hand, they were still firmly connected to the family and court from which they came…<ref name="Heilman2010p104">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 104.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>That Mendel managed to switch easily from one mind-set to the other… must have impressed itself on him and confirmed a belief that one could be physically and culturally distant from the court… yet still remain connected to it… It would be a lesson he would many years later share with his shluchim…<ref name="Heilman2010p106">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 106.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 5: From Survival to Uforatzto ==

Covers the wartime rescue of Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn and his family from Nazi-occupied Poland, the arrival of Menachem Mendel and Moussia Schneerson in New York in 1941, the impact of the Holocaust and personal losses on Mendel’s thinking, the intensification of messianic themes, and the launch in 1958 of the Uforatzto campaign that sent young shluchim outward to “burst forth” and reach assimilated Jews.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Chana Gourary]] | [[Barry Gourary]] | [[Sheina Schneersohn]] | [[Mendel Horensztajn]] | [[Nechama Dina Schneersohn]] | [[Shterna Sarah Schneersohn]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]] | [[Chaim Hodakov]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Max Rhoade]] | [[Sam Kramer]] | [[Arthur Rabinovitz]] | [[Stephen Wise]] | [[Louis Brandeis]] | [[Robert A. Wagner]] | [[William Borah]] | [[Ernst Bloch]] | [[Breckinridge Long]] | [[Zalman Shmotkin]] | [[Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Bentzion Shemtov]] | [[Yaakov Lipskar]] | [[Yoel Teitelbaum]] | [[Mahane Israel]] | [[Hakriya v’Hakedusha]] | [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]] | [[Tomekhei Temimim]] | [[Uforatzto Campaign]] | [[shluchim]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“The sufferings I endured in prison in Russia do not compare to the torments of the 12 weeks I spent under their rule.” (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn)<ref name="Heilman2010p130">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 130.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Gevalt [for heaven's sake], the Messiah told the Ba'al Shem Tov that he would come with him when he spreads the wellsprings to the outside. And this task was given to us, to lead—and what are we doing about it? We are suffering in exile even though the Rebbe sh'lita in his maymer promised that the redemption would come quickly in our days.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1948)<ref name="Heilman2010p139">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 139.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“We need engineers and chemists, but engineering and chemistry are not the most important things.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p141">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 141.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“the seventh's primary quality lies in his being seventh. In other words, he is cherished not on account of his choice, desire, or spiritual service but because he is seventh—and this is something that he is born into.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Basi L'Gani)<ref name="Heilman2010p150">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 150.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Don't convince yourselves that you can live off the fat of the land and reside in these few blocks... There is a 'desolate land' which is thus far undeveloped spiritually. ... If you have not used your treasures for this, it must bother you.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson on Uforatzto)<ref name="Heilman2010p158">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 158.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Key, however, was the fact that American officials... had been somehow persuaded... that the Lubavitcher Rebbe was “a sort of Pope” of the Jews... Indeed, in one communication to American officials, Rhoade actually compared him to St. Francis of Assisi.<ref name="Heilman2010p131">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 131.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Neither Mendel Schneerson nor Mendel Horensztajn... had served as rabbis in any professional capacity. Both had been engaged in engineering studies... Tragically... Mendel Horensztajn and his family as Polish citizens remained disqualified for U.S. visas...<ref name="Heilman2010p133">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 133.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>These are not the words and sentiments of a man planning a career in France... This “Gevalt” is a cry from the heart of a man whose life has been turned upside down and around... The messianic message of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak... actually fit Mendel's own situation: it solved the dilemma of what the future would hold for a barren couple.<ref name="Heilman2010p139">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 139.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>When Menachem Mendel Schneerson later took up his own “Moshiach” campaign, he would reframe the messages of his predecessors so that these questions became moot. He made clear that redemption did not require any further death and suffering as a prerequisite... His was a messianism of promise.<ref name="Heilman2010p146">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 146.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>From being a somewhat mediocre mechanical and electrical engineer he would become an outstanding social and spiritual engineer who would offer his recipe for the redemption of all the Jewish people. To a significant number of his Hasidim, he would by the end appear to be the Messiah himself.<ref name="Heilman2010p149">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 149.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>This was a radically new view—that observant Jews could be surrounded by unbelievers and the unobservant but would change the environment rather than assimilating into it. He believed this possible based on his own experience of being distant from the heart of Jewish life and yet remaining tied to his Hasidic roots.<ref name="Heilman2010p159">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 159.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>His shluchim would be sent to those who were nearly lost in the depths of the spiritual dust, communicating teachings of inspiration and Judaism and thereby try to kindle the light of their Judaism... That was what it meant for this Rebbe to spread the wellsprings.<ref name="Heilman2010p162">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 162.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 6: On a Mission from the Rebbe in Life ==

Examines the expansion of Schneerson’s outreach after 1951, the shift from survival to the mitzvah campaigns and Uforatzto, the deployment of shluchim and Chabad Houses, public symbols such as tefillin and Hanukkah menorahs, relations with Israel and Zionism, the role of women, and the personal isolation of the Rebbe amid his growing global stature.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Shlomo Carlebach]] | [[Zalman Schachter]] | [[Avremel Shemtov]] | [[Chaim Hodakov]] | [[Yoel Teitelbaum]] | [[Zalman Shazar]] | [[Yitzchak Rabin]] | [[Menachem Begin]] | [[Ariel Sharon]] | [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] | [[Moshe Dayan]] | [[Hershel Hecht]] | [[Shlomo Riskin]] | [[Joseph B. Soloveitchik]] | [[Moshe Feinstein]] | [[Tzivos Hashem]] | [[Mahane Israel]] | [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]] | [[Kehot Publication Society]] | [[Kfar Chabad]] | [[shluchim]] | [[Uforatzto Campaign]] | [[Mitzvah Campaign]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“the house of Israel is on fire (May God have mercy), and the young generation, as things now stand, is largely trapped. You are surely not unaware of the ‘dry’ statistics of intermarriage and assimilation in this country [the United States] and the subject is similar in other countries.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1964)<ref name="Heilman2010p164">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 164.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“I thought he was my soldier,” the Rebbe wrote to the parents, “and that I could assign him. … However it emerges that before he makes a decision, he must listen to his mother and his family. Obviously, this is not the behavior of a soldier…” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p168">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 168.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“It would be worthwhile for you to start visiting the colleges.” (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn to Carlebach and Schachter)<ref name="Heilman2010p168">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 168.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“in the current situation, we must pay great care to see to it that every Jew will put on tefillin, for this is a mitzvah that has great power to bring the Jews out from their difficulties in peace.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1967)<ref name="Heilman2010p187">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 187.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Not only may you do this, but you must do it.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson to Shlomo Riskin on women dancing with the Torah)<ref name="Heilman2010p179">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 179.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Ale khsidim zaynen dem Rebns kinder”—“all Hasidim are the Rebbe’s children.” (Moussia Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p195">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 195.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Unlike the fifth and sixth rebbes, who had remained within the cocoon of Lubavitch even when they were on the run, this Rebbe had been on the periphery. … Menachem Mendel… could see the future because he had been living in it. He had been in Montparnasse and he had been in Berlin…<ref name="Heilman2010p165">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 165.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Menachem Mendel Schneerson wanted an alternative army to the Zionist one, one that did not move by firepower but was driven by spiritual power, one that he commanded and which brought not destruction before victory but mitzvahs before redemption.<ref name="Heilman2010p175">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 175.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>This was a radically new view—that observant Jews could be surrounded by unbelievers and the unobservant but would change the environment rather than assimilating into it. He believed this possible based on his own experience…<ref name="Heilman2010p159">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 159.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>When after six days the unanticipated military triumph of the Israelis led not only to survival but also to their regaining the ancient Temple Mount… the Rebbe could claim the victory as his, arguing that it was the sight of soldiers donning tefillin that had miraculously frightened the enemy.<ref name="Heilman2010p187">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 187.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Indeed, the only person Menachem Mendel could really talk to and with whom he could expansively share his inner thoughts and feelings was a dead man, his father-in-law… Given this sort of personal isolation and solitude… was he getting lost in a culture of messianic delusion?<ref name="Heilman2010p195">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 195.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 7: From Resurrection to Death: We Want Moshiach Now ==

Traces the intensification of explicit messianism from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, including the “We Want Moshiach Now” campaign, the Yosele Schumacher affair, relations with Israeli leaders, the library lawsuit, the death of Moussia Schneerson, the “who is a Jew” controversy, the Gulf War, the failed expectations of 1991–92, and the Rebbe’s stroke on 2 March 1992.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Barry Gourary]] | [[Chana Gourary]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Avremel Shemtov]] | [[Yehuda Krinsky]] | [[Yoel Kahan]] | [[Zalman Shazar]] | [[Menachem Begin]] | [[Yitzhak Shamir]] | [[Yitzhak Rabin]] | [[Moshe Dayan]] | [[Menachem Elazar Schach]] | [[Shalom Schumacher]] | [[Yosele Schumacher]] | [[Berel Lazar]] | [[David Nachshon]] | [[Tzivos Hashem]] | [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]] | [[Kfar Chabad]] | [[shluchim]] | [[Moshiach Campaign]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“We must not see in the establishment of the state [of Israel] the beginning of redemption, for the Messiah has not yet come. … When in 5708 [1948] you changed the name ‘the Land of Israel’ to ‘the State of Israel,’ you stole from the People of Israel the name that was written in the Torah… Zion and Jerusalem are not ours. This is not the Zion for which we yearned.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1958)<ref name="Heilman2010p198">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 198.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“We don’t want to wait anymore; we want Moshiach [Messiah] now.” (slogan promoted by the Rebbe)<ref name="Heilman2010p212">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 212.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“If I were asked in this generation who was the most suitable [candidate for Messiah], beyond any question in my mind, it would be the Rebbe.” (Yehuda Krinsky)<ref name="Heilman2010p214">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 214.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“How can it be that until this moment, we have not been able to bring about the coming of the Messiah? … What else can I do so that the Children of Israel will cry out and demand the Messiah come… I have to hand over the task to you: Do all you can to bring the righteous Moshiach, mamesh.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 27 Nisan 1991)<ref name="Heilman2010p231">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 231.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“The Time for Your Redemption Has Arrived.” (full-page advertisement in the ''New York Times'', 19 June 1991)<ref name="Heilman2010p233">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 233.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>In fact, the prime mover in all this was not the elderly grandfather but his son, Shalom, the boy’s uncle, a Lubavitcher Hasid in constant but secret and indirect contact with his Rebbe, Menachem Mendel. It was the latter’s desire to see this child, and any others he could, “redeemed” from the secular state…<ref name="Heilman2010p199">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 199.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>This growing insistence on the imminence of the Messiah was also a denial of death. Ernest Becker has argued that to deny death is at its root “to deny one’s lack of control over events”… The messianic campaign accomplished this both for the Rebbe and for his Hasidim.<ref name="Heilman2010p220">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 220.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Aiming to unite the entire Jewish people, he in fact created conditions that exacerbated splits among them. … Ironically, many of those who opposed this move, particularly in America, were the same Jews to whom Lubavitcher shlichim had been reaching out…<ref name="Heilman2010p225">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 225.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Here then was the Rebbe at the peak of his powers. The war meant to usher in the messianic age had been fought and won. … No doubt this victory, for which he and his followers took credit, increased his hubris.<ref name="Heilman2010p228">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 228.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The man who was now silenced and paralyzed seemed to be the incarnation of a failed prophecy, his situation a demonstration that their faith in his promises was mistaken. … Because of this, it was critical for them… to deny their disappointment and rev up their enthusiasms.<ref name="Heilman2010p238">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 238.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 8: On a Mission from the Rebbe in His Afterlife ==

Examines the aftermath of the Rebbe’s death on Gimmel Tammuz 1994, the split between meshikhistn (those who insist he remains the Messiah and will return) and those who practice “restrained messianism,” the legal and practical dispute over control of 770 Eastern Parkway, the institutionalization and expansion of the shluchim network, examples of outreach successes and failures, and longer-term questions about the movement’s ability to sustain itself without a living rebbe.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Yehuda Krinsky]] | [[Avremel Shemtov]] | [[Berel Lazar]] | [[Baruch Shlomo Cunin]] | [[Zalman Lipskier]] | [[Yitzhak Fuchs]] | [[Mendel Sharf]] | [[Zalman Schachter-Shalomi]] | [[Shmuley Boteach]] | [[Yosef Vogel]] | [[Mendy Vogel]] | [[Faivush Vogel]] | [[Shimon Lazaroff]] | [[Ari Solish]] | [[Moshe Kotlarsky]] | [[Hirschy Zarchi]] | [[Elkie Zarchi]] | [[Baruch Goodman]] | [[Sarah Goodman]] | [[Gavriel Holtzberg]] | [[Rivka Holtzberg]] | [[meshikhistn]] | [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]] | [[Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch]] | [[770 Eastern Parkway]] | [[Kfar Chabad]] | [[shluchim]] | [[Rohr Jewish Learning Institute]] | [[Gaon Club]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“the real issue in dispute involves conflicting views on how our faith views the passing of the Grand Rebbe Schneerson and whether or not at this time he may be referred to publicly as the Messiah.” (Zalman Lipskier, affidavit)<ref name="Heilman2010p250">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 250.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task, but neither are you free to absolve yourself from it.” (shaliach quoting Avot 2:16)<ref name="Heilman2010p254">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 254.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“a shaliach reflects his Rebbe.” (Moshe Kotlarsky)<ref name="Heilman2010p255">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 255.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“One single Mitzvah can tip the scales and bring the redemption for the entire world… One mezuzah in Bella Unión transforms the entire Bella Unión.” (shaliach in Uruguay)<ref name="Heilman2010p265">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 265.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“We know that the Moshiach is a human being who lives among us. He’s in the world someplace today. I don’t know who Moshiach is. But if you’re talking about the candidacy for it….” (Yehuda Krinsky)<ref name="Heilman2010p277">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 277.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>In many ways, this is precisely what Leon Festinger, Henry Riecken, and Stanley Schachter had argued in their famous study of what happens when prophecy fails. … believers may often intensify their belief and try to convince even more others of its truth, in hopes thereby to persuade themselves and banish doubt.<ref name="Heilman2010p249">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 249.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Perhaps the most visible and in many ways most symbolic expression of these divisions was a dispute over control of the headquarters building at 770 Eastern Parkway. … With no living Rebbe to settle the dispute, different groups of Hasidim continued to battle one another…<ref name="Heilman2010p249">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 249.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>By the late twentieth century the role of shaliach had become a kind of expected and habitualized career path for many Lubavitchers. … it was a brilliant plan. Why revert to competing for followers in Brooklyn… when they could continue to compete for all the Jews in the world?<ref name="Heilman2010p257">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 257.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Lubavitchers increasingly make a practice of creating Jewish events that have high symbolic value. … Symbolic acts are an ideal strategy when the mission proves too complex… for they are dramatic but also relatively simple. These symbolic acts could either be cynically described as public relations stunts or else as acts that have for the Lubavitchers some cosmic or mystical meaning…<ref name="Heilman2010p265">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 265.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The concept of the routinization of charisma was first articulated by Max Weber… Hasidism, particularly Lubavitcher Hasidism, has proved to be a perfect example of these processes. … And then he was gone, with no one in line to replace him—for the first time in Lubavitcher history. This left only the system in place… and of course the mission, but it also left uncertainty and elements of chaos.<ref name="Heilman2010p274">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 274.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Knowingly or unknowingly, Menachem Mendel Schneerson succeeded in building a structure and movement that could survive him and sustain itself for the near term. His “children,” his emissaries, could continue his mission, as he had continued his predecessor’s. But would they not ultimately change it?<ref name="Heilman2010p277">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 277.</ref></blockquote>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Chabad-Lubavitch]]
[[Category:Hasidic Judaism]]
[[Category:Books]]
[[Category:Biography]]

The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson

2026-10-13T11:00:58Z

D-Backup: /* Preface */

{{short description|'''Academic biography of Menachem Mendel Schneerson by Samuel C. Heilman and Menachem M. Friedman'''}}
[[File:The Rebbe.jpeg|thumb|right"500px|The Rebbe, by Heilman and Friedman.]]
'''[[The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]''' is a 2010 scholarly biography by [[Samuel C. Heilman|Heilman, Samuel C.]] and [[Menachem M. Friedman|Friedman, Menachem M.]], published by Princeton University Press. It examines the life of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, the rise of Chabad-Lubavitch messianism, the global network of shluchim, and the movement’s response to Schneerson’s death in 1994.<ref>Heilman, Samuel C. and Friedman, Menachem M., ''The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson'', Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010.</ref>

== Contents ==

* Preface
* 1. Farbrengen: The Gathering of the Emissaries
* 2. Death and Resurrection
* 3. Coming of Age in a Time of Transition
* 4. Entering the Court of Lubavitch
* 5. From Survival to Uforatzto
* 6. On a Mission from the Rebbe in Life
* 7. From Resurrection to Death: We Want Moshiach Now
* 8. On a Mission from the Rebbe in His Afterlife

== Preface ==

The book traces Chabad’s messianic trajectory from the fifth Rebbe [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn|Schneersohn, Shalom DovBer]] through [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn|Schneersohn, Yosef Yitzchak]] to [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson|Schneerson, Menachem Mendel]]. It frames the movement’s post-1950 expansion and the conviction that Schneerson was the Messiah incarnate as a response to modern Jewish history (secularisation, Holocaust, Zionism, and the relocation of Jewry to Western democracies).

Key individuals and groups: [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]], [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]], [[Martin Marty]], [[R. Scott Appleby]], [[David Assaf]], [[Yoram Bilu]], [[Maya Katz]], [[Yehuda Krinsky]], [[Avremel Shemtov]], [[Barry Gourary]], [[Chana Gourary]], [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]], [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]], [[Tomekhei Temimim]].

Significant quotation:
<blockquote>Under the leadership of Rabbi Menachem Mendel, they saw themselves as being on a mission to transform Jewry—and indeed the world. … they also became convinced that their rebbe was the redeemer incarnate.<ref name="Heilman2010">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, pp. xv–xvi.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 1: Farbrengen: The Gathering of the Emissaries ==

Describes the annual kinus shluchim at 770 Eastern Parkway and the continued mission after Schneerson’s death. Covers the historical origins of Chabad outreach, the role of couples as shluchim, post-1989 expansion into the former Soviet Union, and practices at the ohel (including pidyones, bibliomancy, and video presence).

=== Individuals and groups ===

* [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
* [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
* [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]]
* [[Schneur Zalman of Liadi|Zalman, Schneur]]
* [[Ba’al Shem Tov]]
* [[Abraham Hecht]]
* [[Shaltiel Lebovic]]
* [[Hirschy Zarchi]] and [[Elkie Zarchi]]
* [[Shalom Greenberg]] and [[Dina Greenberg]]
* [[Asher Federman]] and [[Henya Federman]]
* [[Shalom Lipskar]]
* [[Berel Lazar]]
* [[Yehuda Krinsky]]
* [[Moshe Kotlarsky]]
* [[Berel Shemtov]], [[Avremel Shemtov]], [[Leizer Shemtov]]
* [[Ari Solish]]
* [[Abba Refson]]
* [[Yisrael Shmotkin]]
* [[770 Eastern Parkway]]
* [[Kfar Chabad]]
* [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]]
* [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]]
* [[Tomekhei Temimim]]
* [[Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia]] (via Lazar)

=== Significant quotations ===

<blockquote>our job is to make a dwelling place for God in the lower world. … We try to make the world a more and more godly place, until the coming of the Moshiach.</blockquote> (Rabbi Shaltiel Lebovic)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>He has nothing to fear. He’s going to go and he’s going to come back and everything will be all right.</blockquote> (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn to a mother of a student sent to Poland, 1939)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>I am happy to provide a synagogue and kosher meal for religious Jews visiting Shanghai. But if I were not here, the observant Jew would still pray on his own … the Jews who are not observant, however, are praying because I and Dina are here … They are the reason ChaBaD has come here.</blockquote> (Shalom Greenberg)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>Those who do not remember the Rebbe in life are ‘bigger Hasidim’ even than those who did, because they have to work harder to bring him back. … the Rebbe gives a person the strength he needs. … a tsaddik lives more today than yesterday.</blockquote> (Berel Shemtov)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>Charity … hastens and immediately causes the true and complete redemption.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

== Chapter 2: Death and Resurrection ==

Recounts the death of [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] on 10 Shvat 5710 (28 January 1950) at [[770 Eastern Parkway]], the succession contest between sons-in-law [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] and [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], and Schneerson’s eventual acceptance of the leadership on the first yahrzeit. Analyses the construction of continuity through claims that the Previous Rebbe remained present, the role of the ohel, and the later library lawsuit that sealed Schneerson’s symbolic and legal control.

=== Individuals and groups ===

* [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
* [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
* [[Shmaryahu Gourary]]
* [[Chana Gourary]]
* [[Barry Gourary]] (Shalom DovBer Gourary)
* [[Moussia Schneerson]] (Chaya Mushka)
* [[Nechama Dina Schneersohn]]
* [[Chaim Lieberman]]
* [[Shmuel Levitin]]
* [[Shalom DovBer Eichorn]]
* [[Abraham (Aba) Seligson]]
* [[Eli Simpson]]
* [[Baer Rivkin]]
* [[Zalman Schachter]]
* [[Chaim Hodakov]]
* [[Yehuda Leib Groner]]
* [[Yitzchak Hendel]]
* [[Avraham Sender Nemtzov]]
* [[Yoel Kahan]]
* [[Israel Jacobson]]
* [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]]
* [[Vaad Hapoel of Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]]
* [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]]
* [[United Lubavitcher Yeshivas]]
* [[Tomekhei Temimim]]
* [[Old Montefiore Cemetery]]
* [[770 Eastern Parkway]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“Jews,” he declared upon his arrival in North America in 1940, “we must repent and save our children and ourselves from the danger. We have to observe Sabbath and the laws of kashruth. Men must put on tefillin and women must go to the mikveh… children must get a religious education.” His motto had been “l'altar l'tshuvah, l'altar l'geula” — “repentance immediately, redemption immediately.” (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn)<ref name="Heilman2010p35">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 35.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>But we do have a Rebbe. What difference does it make where he is, in this world or the other world? (Menachem Mendel Schneerson to Zalman Schachter, 1950)<ref name="Heilman2010p42">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 42.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Although we have not earned it, and have not toiled for it… nevertheless, ‘all those who are seventh are most beloved,’ and therefore there are no inherent limitations that should cause an individual [of this seventh generation] to say that this status is beyond him…</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, ma’amar of 10 Shvat 5711)<ref name="Heilman2010p49">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 49.</ref>

<blockquote>I am only a stand-in.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p62">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 62.</ref>

<blockquote>wild men think that to die is to leave completely, this is not so.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p62">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 62.</ref>

<blockquote>It should be understood the war [conflict] is not only over the seforim [books], but rather oif dem benkel—‘over the seat’ of power.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson on the library case)<ref name="Heilman2010p55">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 55.</ref>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak had died intestate; he left neither a will that indicated who would receive his property… nor a “moral” will that indicated who should lead the community of Hasidim after him. There were unsubstantiated rumors that there had been a will (naming Barry, his beloved grandson) but that it had disappeared, perhaps eliminated intentionally.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p33">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 33.</ref>

<blockquote>While Shmaryahu Gourary was swooning, his brother-in-law… Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was sobbing. … The intensity of his mourning made a deep impression on the community. This man, who had seemed to be distant… was now evidently more openly broken up than Shmaryahu Gourary over the loss of their Rebbe.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p32">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 32.</ref>

<blockquote>In the end, the victor is presented by the Hasidim as the most deserving leader who is truly ordained for the role. Any lingering doubts are simply banished… The key was always to ensure continuity. This happened during 1950 and into 1951 in Lubavitch. And, when it was over, as the new Rebbe would later put it, “they put the key into [my] pocket.”</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p41">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 41.</ref>

<blockquote>This theme would become a recurring leitmotif of the reign of Rabbi Menachem Mendel… The Messiah would be brought by the seventh generation in the ChaBaD dynasty, and they were that generation. … This address… served as the basis of the entire Messiah campaign and the justification for all its missionizing and other activities.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p48">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 48.</ref>

<blockquote>Menachem Mendel had not invented this idea of talking to a dead rebbe… For Rabbi Menachem Mendel, it became the basis of his legitimacy. Perhaps it was why he would never stray further than a short car ride away from the cemetery…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p59">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 59.</ref>

<blockquote>These very same arguments were invoked within the community years later, after Menachem Mendel himself had died with his own promises of redemption unfulfilled.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p61">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 61.</ref>

<blockquote>Menachem Mendel Schneerson understood that the library was more than just a collection of books, and that the struggle over it with his nephew and sister-in-law was about his leadership. … When Menachem Mendel was affirmed as having that possession, he was finally judged to belong symbolically and legally to that succession.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p55">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 55.</ref>

<blockquote>Unlike Menachem Mendel, whose appeal emerged at this time, Gourary suddenly appeared to many people to lack personal charisma. … He was not one who would attract more followers to the movement or lead them toward the day of redemption…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p56">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 56.</ref>

== Chapter 3: Coming of Age in a Time of Transition ==

Traces Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s childhood and youth from Nikolayev to Yekaterinoslav (later Dnepropetrovsk), his exposure to secular education and Zionist/socialist currents, his apprenticeship and university studies, the family’s move into the Lubavitcher court in Leningrad, the 1927 arrest of Yosef Yitzchak, and the couple’s life in Riga and Berlin prior to the 1928 wedding. Emphasises the tension between Hasidic expectations and Schneerson’s pursuit of secular knowledge, and the retrospective hagiographic framing of these years.

=== Individuals and groups ===

* [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
* [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]]
* [[Chana Schneerson]]
* [[Yisrael Aryeh Leib Schneerson]] (Leibel)
* [[DovBer Schneerson]] (Bereke/Berel)
* [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
* [[Shmaryahu Gourary]]
* [[Chaya Moussia Schneerson]]
* [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]]
* [[Avraham Lavut]]
* [[Meyer Shlomo Yanofsky]]
* [[Abraham Shlonsky]] and [[Vardina Shlonsky]]
* [[Zalman Wilenkin]]
* [[Israel Eidelsohn]] (Bar Yehuda)
* [[Hayyim Zuta]]
* [[Shmarya Levin]]
* [[Emanuel Burstein]]
* [[Semion Dimanstein]]
* [[Chaim Lieberman]]
* [[Chaim Hodakov]]
* [[Meir Hildesheimer]]
* [[J. J. Weinberg]]
* [[Joint Distribution Committee]] (JDC)
* [[Yevsektsiya]]
* [[OGPU]]
* [[Vaad L’Chizuk HaTorah V’Hadat B’Russia]]
* [[Mahane Israel]]
* [[Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary]]
* [[Tomekhei Temimim]]
* [[Friedrich Wilhelm University]] (Humboldt)

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>superior “in Torah and the fear of God” but also as someone who “knows and understands worldly matters.”</blockquote> (Fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe on Levi Yitzchak)<ref name="Heilman2010p69">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 69.</ref>

<blockquote>I am not leaving under duress—far from it! I am doing exactly what I planned to do. … Know that I shall be with you always … know that what you are seeing is a neshamah [soul], as it exists in Gan Eden [paradise] clothed in a body.</blockquote> (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn)<ref name="Heilman2010p82">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 82.</ref>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>The life story of a Hasidic rebbe is often shrouded in hagiography. … Every past act and event must be shown retrospectively to have led inexorably to his eminence and greatness… The farther back in the rebbe’s life one goes, the more difficult this becomes, and the more pressing is the need to shroud these distant events in hagiography, myth, mystery, and reconstructed memory.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p65">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 65.</ref>

<blockquote>Like so much else in his story, even the date of his birth is ambiguous. While the accepted birthday, according to his own word, was Sabbath eve, April 18, 1902… his Soviet passport indicates an earlier date, March 2, 1895…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p66">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 66.</ref>

<blockquote>Despite his attachment to Lubavitcher Hasidism… Levi Yitzchak Schneerson did not send his sons to the Tomekhei Temimim yeshiva… According to one internal Lubavitcher source, Levi Yitzchak did not “permit” his son Mendel to go to the yeshiva in Lubavitch.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p71">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 71.</ref>

<blockquote>To this end they hired Israel Eidelsohn, a confirmed socialist and Zionist… Many years later Menachem Mendel as Lubavitcher Rebbe would adamantly and publicly oppose this position [of defining Jewishness by personal choice].</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p72">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 72.</ref>

<blockquote>Later Lubavitcher histories claim with hindsight that this move to Leningrad, the early connection with the court of the sixth Lubavitcher rebbe, and the marriage to Yosef Yitzchak’s daughter prove beyond any doubt the strength of Menachem Mendel’s Hasidic attachments. … It is entirely unclear, however, whether becoming his father-in-law’s successor was in the young man’s plans.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p75">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 75.</ref>

<blockquote>The fact that two were out together until the early hours of the morning is glossed over in Lubavitcher accounts of the events. Such behavior would certainly have distinguished them from a traditional Hasidic couple…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p79">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 79.</ref>

<blockquote>Apart from Yosef Yitzchak and Lieberman… none of the other family members were detained or imprisoned. Mendel remained untouched—and all the efforts in which internal sources describe his being active or wanted by the police remain undocumented.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p80">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 80.</ref>

<blockquote>We find no reliable answers for Mendel’s choice of Berlin. … Notwithstanding the claims of Lubavitchers that he spent much time there on missions for the Rebbe, Berlin was not a place where Mendel went to act in his capacity as a Hasid.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p84">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 84.</ref>

<blockquote>A story repeated among Lubavitchers that Menachem Mendel Schneerson received rabbinic ordination (semikhah) while in Berlin from Rabbi J. J. Weinberg… has no apparent evidentiary basis.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p87">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 87.</ref>

<blockquote>With this marriage, he would not only gain a wife but shift his status from that of a cousin of the Lubavitcher rebbe to being his son-in-law. In time, that status would prove far more important than having studied in Berlin.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p89">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 89.</ref>

== Chapter 4: Entering the Court of Lubavitch ==

Describes the November 1928 wedding of Menachem Mendel Schneerson and Chaya Moussia Schneersohn in Warsaw, the couple’s subsequent life shuttling between Berlin and the Lubavitcher court in Riga, Mendel’s continuing university studies as an auditor, Yosef Yitzchak’s efforts to draw him into court activities, and the tensions surrounding secular education, appearance, and Hasidic expectations.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Chaya Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] | [[Chana Schneerson]] | [[Sheina Schneersohn]] | [[Mendel Horensztajn]] | [[Moshe Horensztajn]] | [[Chaya Mushka Horensztajn]] | [[Abraham Mordecai Alter]] (Gerer Rebbe) | [[Yitzhak Menachem Mendel Danziger]] (Aleksander Rebbe) | [[Meir Shapiro]] | [[Meir Hildesheimer]] | [[J. J. Weinberg]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]] | [[Tomekhei Temimim]] | [[Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary]] | [[Friedrich Wilhelm University]] | [[Tseirey Agudas Yisroel]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“The crowd of guests is completely different from those seen at other [Hasidic] Rebbes’ weddings. One sees no shtraymls or the black round velvet hats [typical of Hasidim]. Most are Jews clothed in European dress and only a small number is dressed in high silk caps.” (Moment)<ref name="Heilman2010p97">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 97.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“a young man of refined features, with an intelligent demeanor” (Moment on the groom)<ref name="Heilman2010p100">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 100.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>“sympathetic face and a small dark beard” (Haynt)<ref name="Heilman2010p100">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 100.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The Torah remains only with those who give their life for it. Diligence in studying the depths of Torah is what causes that Torah to remain in a person’s mind. (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn at the wedding)<ref name="Heilman2010p101">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 101.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Where… did his son “acquire this practice?” … “You are not a Samson in strength.” Such is not “the way of Torah or of repentance.” (Levi Yitzchak Schneerson on Mendel’s fasting)<ref name="Heilman2010p106">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 106.</ref></blockquote>
'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Unlike her sister, whose age at marriage was in line with the common custom of Hasidic daughters, Moussia… was at almost twenty-eight marrying at an extraordinarily late age for Hasidic brides. … unlike the husband of her older sister… Mendel… was not now nor ever had been a student at the Lubavitcher yeshiva, but someone pursuing university studies…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p91">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 91.</ref>

<blockquote>In all the internal Lubavitcher hagiographies, before his marriage and during what might be called a courtship, Mendel is always referred to as “the one intended to be the groom,” a title that has no precedent in Jewish tradition and law.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p91">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 91.</ref>

<blockquote>Mendel’s actions suggest he was determined to enter the court and marry Moussia, but they also suggest he was not ready to be a Hasid like all others.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p93">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 93.</ref>

<blockquote>The Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak, however, did not manage to persuade his new son-in-law to abandon completely his aspirations for secular study (which in principle he appeared to oppose) in Berlin. Perhaps this double life as both a Hasid and a student at the university was a reflection of Mendel's desires to please both Moussia and her father.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p94">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 94.</ref>

<blockquote>Weddings are also ceremonies that symbolize continuity and point to the future. If the new bridegroom was to be a new leader… this wedding would be the most suitable opportunity to present him to the court and the Jewish world. … But could this bride and groom serve as the vehicles for such a cultural celebration…?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p96">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 96.</ref>

<blockquote>If Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn wanted to impress the Hasidic world with his position as a Hasidic leader who would attract other Hasidim, this was the wrong crowd and wedding with which to do that.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p98">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 98.</ref>

<blockquote>Are these the directions of a father to a son who knows what is expected of a Hasidic groom…? Or are these words of guidance given by a father who is very much a rabbi and is addressing a son who he knows has embarked on a life's journey that has taken him to the heart of secular culture…?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p99">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 99.</ref>

<blockquote>Did he want to make such a toast with a son-in-law standing with him who was not one of the temimim, who had not spent time in a yeshiva, who was headed back to the university in Berlin…?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p101">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 101.</ref>

<blockquote>Did he mean that this mixing of Torah and secular learning was alright for the bride and groom because otherwise they “would be even worse”? … Or was he trying to warn them against the way of life they had apparently chosen?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p102">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 102.</ref>

<blockquote>In a sense, they lived a kind of bifocal life: in one they were young newlyweds in Berlin, students tasting the cosmopolitan life of the German capital… On the other hand, they were still firmly connected to the family and court from which they came…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p104">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 104.</ref>

<blockquote>That Mendel managed to switch easily from one mind-set to the other… must have impressed itself on him and confirmed a belief that one could be physically and culturally distant from the court… yet still remain connected to it… It would be a lesson he would many years later share with his shluchim…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p106">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 106.</ref>

== Chapter 5: From Survival to Uforatzto ==

Covers the wartime rescue of Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn and his family from Nazi-occupied Poland, the arrival of Menachem Mendel and Moussia Schneerson in New York in 1941, the impact of the Holocaust and personal losses on Mendel’s thinking, the intensification of messianic themes, and the launch in 1958 of the Uforatzto campaign that sent young shluchim outward to “burst forth” and reach assimilated Jews.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Chana Gourary]] | [[Barry Gourary]] | [[Sheina Schneersohn]] | [[Mendel Horensztajn]] | [[Nechama Dina Schneersohn]] | [[Shterna Sarah Schneersohn]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]] | [[Chaim Hodakov]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Max Rhoade]] | [[Sam Kramer]] | [[Arthur Rabinovitz]] | [[Stephen Wise]] | [[Louis Brandeis]] | [[Robert A. Wagner]] | [[William Borah]] | [[Ernst Bloch]] | [[Breckinridge Long]] | [[Zalman Shmotkin]] | [[Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Bentzion Shemtov]] | [[Yaakov Lipskar]] | [[Yoel Teitelbaum]] | [[Mahane Israel]] | [[Hakriya v’Hakedusha]] | [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]] | [[Tomekhei Temimim]] | [[Uforatzto Campaign]] | [[shluchim]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“The sufferings I endured in prison in Russia do not compare to the torments of the 12 weeks I spent under their rule.” (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn)<ref name="Heilman2010p130">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 130.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Gevalt [for heaven's sake], the Messiah told the Ba'al Shem Tov that he would come with him when he spreads the wellsprings to the outside. And this task was given to us, to lead—and what are we doing about it? We are suffering in exile even though the Rebbe sh'lita in his maymer promised that the redemption would come quickly in our days.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1948)<ref name="Heilman2010p139">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 139.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“We need engineers and chemists, but engineering and chemistry are not the most important things.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p141">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 141.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“the seventh's primary quality lies in his being seventh. In other words, he is cherished not on account of his choice, desire, or spiritual service but because he is seventh—and this is something that he is born into.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Basi L'Gani)<ref name="Heilman2010p150">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 150.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Don't convince yourselves that you can live off the fat of the land and reside in these few blocks... There is a 'desolate land' which is thus far undeveloped spiritually. ... If you have not used your treasures for this, it must bother you.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson on Uforatzto)<ref name="Heilman2010p158">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 158.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Key, however, was the fact that American officials... had been somehow persuaded... that the Lubavitcher Rebbe was “a sort of Pope” of the Jews... Indeed, in one communication to American officials, Rhoade actually compared him to St. Francis of Assisi.<ref name="Heilman2010p131">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 131.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Neither Mendel Schneerson nor Mendel Horensztajn... had served as rabbis in any professional capacity. Both had been engaged in engineering studies... Tragically... Mendel Horensztajn and his family as Polish citizens remained disqualified for U.S. visas...<ref name="Heilman2010p133">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 133.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>These are not the words and sentiments of a man planning a career in France... This “Gevalt” is a cry from the heart of a man whose life has been turned upside down and around... The messianic message of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak... actually fit Mendel's own situation: it solved the dilemma of what the future would hold for a barren couple.<ref name="Heilman2010p139">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 139.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>When Menachem Mendel Schneerson later took up his own “Moshiach” campaign, he would reframe the messages of his predecessors so that these questions became moot. He made clear that redemption did not require any further death and suffering as a prerequisite... His was a messianism of promise.<ref name="Heilman2010p146">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 146.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>From being a somewhat mediocre mechanical and electrical engineer he would become an outstanding social and spiritual engineer who would offer his recipe for the redemption of all the Jewish people. To a significant number of his Hasidim, he would by the end appear to be the Messiah himself.<ref name="Heilman2010p149">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 149.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>This was a radically new view—that observant Jews could be surrounded by unbelievers and the unobservant but would change the environment rather than assimilating into it. He believed this possible based on his own experience of being distant from the heart of Jewish life and yet remaining tied to his Hasidic roots.<ref name="Heilman2010p159">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 159.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>His shluchim would be sent to those who were nearly lost in the depths of the spiritual dust, communicating teachings of inspiration and Judaism and thereby try to kindle the light of their Judaism... That was what it meant for this Rebbe to spread the wellsprings.<ref name="Heilman2010p162">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 162.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 6: On a Mission from the Rebbe in Life ==

Examines the expansion of Schneerson’s outreach after 1951, the shift from survival to the mitzvah campaigns and Uforatzto, the deployment of shluchim and Chabad Houses, public symbols such as tefillin and Hanukkah menorahs, relations with Israel and Zionism, the role of women, and the personal isolation of the Rebbe amid his growing global stature.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Shlomo Carlebach]] | [[Zalman Schachter]] | [[Avremel Shemtov]] | [[Chaim Hodakov]] | [[Yoel Teitelbaum]] | [[Zalman Shazar]] | [[Yitzchak Rabin]] | [[Menachem Begin]] | [[Ariel Sharon]] | [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] | [[Moshe Dayan]] | [[Hershel Hecht]] | [[Shlomo Riskin]] | [[Joseph B. Soloveitchik]] | [[Moshe Feinstein]] | [[Tzivos Hashem]] | [[Mahane Israel]] | [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]] | [[Kehot Publication Society]] | [[Kfar Chabad]] | [[shluchim]] | [[Uforatzto Campaign]] | [[Mitzvah Campaign]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“the house of Israel is on fire (May God have mercy), and the young generation, as things now stand, is largely trapped. You are surely not unaware of the ‘dry’ statistics of intermarriage and assimilation in this country [the United States] and the subject is similar in other countries.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1964)<ref name="Heilman2010p164">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 164.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“I thought he was my soldier,” the Rebbe wrote to the parents, “and that I could assign him. … However it emerges that before he makes a decision, he must listen to his mother and his family. Obviously, this is not the behavior of a soldier…” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p168">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 168.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“It would be worthwhile for you to start visiting the colleges.” (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn to Carlebach and Schachter)<ref name="Heilman2010p168">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 168.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“in the current situation, we must pay great care to see to it that every Jew will put on tefillin, for this is a mitzvah that has great power to bring the Jews out from their difficulties in peace.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1967)<ref name="Heilman2010p187">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 187.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Not only may you do this, but you must do it.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson to Shlomo Riskin on women dancing with the Torah)<ref name="Heilman2010p179">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 179.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Ale khsidim zaynen dem Rebns kinder”—“all Hasidim are the Rebbe’s children.” (Moussia Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p195">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 195.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Unlike the fifth and sixth rebbes, who had remained within the cocoon of Lubavitch even when they were on the run, this Rebbe had been on the periphery. … Menachem Mendel… could see the future because he had been living in it. He had been in Montparnasse and he had been in Berlin…<ref name="Heilman2010p165">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 165.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Menachem Mendel Schneerson wanted an alternative army to the Zionist one, one that did not move by firepower but was driven by spiritual power, one that he commanded and which brought not destruction before victory but mitzvahs before redemption.<ref name="Heilman2010p175">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 175.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>This was a radically new view—that observant Jews could be surrounded by unbelievers and the unobservant but would change the environment rather than assimilating into it. He believed this possible based on his own experience…<ref name="Heilman2010p159">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 159.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>When after six days the unanticipated military triumph of the Israelis led not only to survival but also to their regaining the ancient Temple Mount… the Rebbe could claim the victory as his, arguing that it was the sight of soldiers donning tefillin that had miraculously frightened the enemy.<ref name="Heilman2010p187">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 187.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Indeed, the only person Menachem Mendel could really talk to and with whom he could expansively share his inner thoughts and feelings was a dead man, his father-in-law… Given this sort of personal isolation and solitude… was he getting lost in a culture of messianic delusion?<ref name="Heilman2010p195">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 195.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 7: From Resurrection to Death: We Want Moshiach Now ==

Traces the intensification of explicit messianism from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, including the “We Want Moshiach Now” campaign, the Yosele Schumacher affair, relations with Israeli leaders, the library lawsuit, the death of Moussia Schneerson, the “who is a Jew” controversy, the Gulf War, the failed expectations of 1991–92, and the Rebbe’s stroke on 2 March 1992.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Barry Gourary]] | [[Chana Gourary]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Avremel Shemtov]] | [[Yehuda Krinsky]] | [[Yoel Kahan]] | [[Zalman Shazar]] | [[Menachem Begin]] | [[Yitzhak Shamir]] | [[Yitzhak Rabin]] | [[Moshe Dayan]] | [[Menachem Elazar Schach]] | [[Shalom Schumacher]] | [[Yosele Schumacher]] | [[Berel Lazar]] | [[David Nachshon]] | [[Tzivos Hashem]] | [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]] | [[Kfar Chabad]] | [[shluchim]] | [[Moshiach Campaign]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“We must not see in the establishment of the state [of Israel] the beginning of redemption, for the Messiah has not yet come. … When in 5708 [1948] you changed the name ‘the Land of Israel’ to ‘the State of Israel,’ you stole from the People of Israel the name that was written in the Torah… Zion and Jerusalem are not ours. This is not the Zion for which we yearned.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1958)<ref name="Heilman2010p198">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 198.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“We don’t want to wait anymore; we want Moshiach [Messiah] now.” (slogan promoted by the Rebbe)<ref name="Heilman2010p212">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 212.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“If I were asked in this generation who was the most suitable [candidate for Messiah], beyond any question in my mind, it would be the Rebbe.” (Yehuda Krinsky)<ref name="Heilman2010p214">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 214.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“How can it be that until this moment, we have not been able to bring about the coming of the Messiah? … What else can I do so that the Children of Israel will cry out and demand the Messiah come… I have to hand over the task to you: Do all you can to bring the righteous Moshiach, mamesh.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 27 Nisan 1991)<ref name="Heilman2010p231">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 231.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“The Time for Your Redemption Has Arrived.” (full-page advertisement in the ''New York Times'', 19 June 1991)<ref name="Heilman2010p233">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 233.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>In fact, the prime mover in all this was not the elderly grandfather but his son, Shalom, the boy’s uncle, a Lubavitcher Hasid in constant but secret and indirect contact with his Rebbe, Menachem Mendel. It was the latter’s desire to see this child, and any others he could, “redeemed” from the secular state…<ref name="Heilman2010p199">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 199.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>This growing insistence on the imminence of the Messiah was also a denial of death. Ernest Becker has argued that to deny death is at its root “to deny one’s lack of control over events”… The messianic campaign accomplished this both for the Rebbe and for his Hasidim.<ref name="Heilman2010p220">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 220.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Aiming to unite the entire Jewish people, he in fact created conditions that exacerbated splits among them. … Ironically, many of those who opposed this move, particularly in America, were the same Jews to whom Lubavitcher shlichim had been reaching out…<ref name="Heilman2010p225">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 225.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Here then was the Rebbe at the peak of his powers. The war meant to usher in the messianic age had been fought and won. … No doubt this victory, for which he and his followers took credit, increased his hubris.<ref name="Heilman2010p228">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 228.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The man who was now silenced and paralyzed seemed to be the incarnation of a failed prophecy, his situation a demonstration that their faith in his promises was mistaken. … Because of this, it was critical for them… to deny their disappointment and rev up their enthusiasms.<ref name="Heilman2010p238">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 238.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 8: On a Mission from the Rebbe in His Afterlife ==

Examines the aftermath of the Rebbe’s death on Gimmel Tammuz 1994, the split between meshikhistn (those who insist he remains the Messiah and will return) and those who practice “restrained messianism,” the legal and practical dispute over control of 770 Eastern Parkway, the institutionalization and expansion of the shluchim network, examples of outreach successes and failures, and longer-term questions about the movement’s ability to sustain itself without a living rebbe.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Yehuda Krinsky]] | [[Avremel Shemtov]] | [[Berel Lazar]] | [[Baruch Shlomo Cunin]] | [[Zalman Lipskier]] | [[Yitzhak Fuchs]] | [[Mendel Sharf]] | [[Zalman Schachter-Shalomi]] | [[Shmuley Boteach]] | [[Yosef Vogel]] | [[Mendy Vogel]] | [[Faivush Vogel]] | [[Shimon Lazaroff]] | [[Ari Solish]] | [[Moshe Kotlarsky]] | [[Hirschy Zarchi]] | [[Elkie Zarchi]] | [[Baruch Goodman]] | [[Sarah Goodman]] | [[Gavriel Holtzberg]] | [[Rivka Holtzberg]] | [[meshikhistn]] | [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]] | [[Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch]] | [[770 Eastern Parkway]] | [[Kfar Chabad]] | [[shluchim]] | [[Rohr Jewish Learning Institute]] | [[Gaon Club]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“the real issue in dispute involves conflicting views on how our faith views the passing of the Grand Rebbe Schneerson and whether or not at this time he may be referred to publicly as the Messiah.” (Zalman Lipskier, affidavit)<ref name="Heilman2010p250">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 250.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task, but neither are you free to absolve yourself from it.” (shaliach quoting Avot 2:16)<ref name="Heilman2010p254">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 254.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“a shaliach reflects his Rebbe.” (Moshe Kotlarsky)<ref name="Heilman2010p255">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 255.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“One single Mitzvah can tip the scales and bring the redemption for the entire world… One mezuzah in Bella Unión transforms the entire Bella Unión.” (shaliach in Uruguay)<ref name="Heilman2010p265">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 265.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“We know that the Moshiach is a human being who lives among us. He’s in the world someplace today. I don’t know who Moshiach is. But if you’re talking about the candidacy for it….” (Yehuda Krinsky)<ref name="Heilman2010p277">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 277.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>In many ways, this is precisely what Leon Festinger, Henry Riecken, and Stanley Schachter had argued in their famous study of what happens when prophecy fails. … believers may often intensify their belief and try to convince even more others of its truth, in hopes thereby to persuade themselves and banish doubt.<ref name="Heilman2010p249">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 249.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Perhaps the most visible and in many ways most symbolic expression of these divisions was a dispute over control of the headquarters building at 770 Eastern Parkway. … With no living Rebbe to settle the dispute, different groups of Hasidim continued to battle one another…<ref name="Heilman2010p249">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 249.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>By the late twentieth century the role of shaliach had become a kind of expected and habitualized career path for many Lubavitchers. … it was a brilliant plan. Why revert to competing for followers in Brooklyn… when they could continue to compete for all the Jews in the world?<ref name="Heilman2010p257">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 257.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Lubavitchers increasingly make a practice of creating Jewish events that have high symbolic value. … Symbolic acts are an ideal strategy when the mission proves too complex… for they are dramatic but also relatively simple. These symbolic acts could either be cynically described as public relations stunts or else as acts that have for the Lubavitchers some cosmic or mystical meaning…<ref name="Heilman2010p265">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 265.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The concept of the routinization of charisma was first articulated by Max Weber… Hasidism, particularly Lubavitcher Hasidism, has proved to be a perfect example of these processes. … And then he was gone, with no one in line to replace him—for the first time in Lubavitcher history. This left only the system in place… and of course the mission, but it also left uncertainty and elements of chaos.<ref name="Heilman2010p274">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 274.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Knowingly or unknowingly, Menachem Mendel Schneerson succeeded in building a structure and movement that could survive him and sustain itself for the near term. His “children,” his emissaries, could continue his mission, as he had continued his predecessor’s. But would they not ultimately change it?<ref name="Heilman2010p277">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 277.</ref></blockquote>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Chabad-Lubavitch]]
[[Category:Hasidic Judaism]]
[[Category:Books]]
[[Category:Biography]]

The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson

2026-10-13T11:00:13Z

D-Backup: /* Notes */

{{short description|'''Academic biography of Menachem Mendel Schneerson by Samuel C. Heilman and Menachem M. Friedman'''}}
[[File:The Rebbe.jpeg|thumb|right"500px|The Rebbe, by Heilman and Friedman.]]
'''[[The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]''' is a 2010 scholarly biography by [[Samuel C. Heilman|Heilman, Samuel C.]] and [[Menachem M. Friedman|Friedman, Menachem M.]], published by Princeton University Press. It examines the life of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, the rise of Chabad-Lubavitch messianism, the global network of shluchim, and the movement’s response to Schneerson’s death in 1994.<ref>Heilman, Samuel C. and Friedman, Menachem M., ''The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson'', Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010.</ref>

== Contents ==

* Preface
* 1. Farbrengen: The Gathering of the Emissaries
* 2. Death and Resurrection
* 3. Coming of Age in a Time of Transition
* 4. Entering the Court of Lubavitch
* 5. From Survival to Uforatzto
* 6. On a Mission from the Rebbe in Life
* 7. From Resurrection to Death: We Want Moshiach Now
* 8. On a Mission from the Rebbe in His Afterlife

== Preface ==

The book traces Chabad’s messianic trajectory from the fifth Rebbe [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn|Schneersohn, Shalom DovBer]] through [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn|Schneersohn, Yosef Yitzchak]] to [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson|Schneerson, Menachem Mendel]]. It frames the movement’s post-1950 expansion and the conviction that Schneerson was the Messiah incarnate as a response to modern Jewish history (secularisation, Holocaust, Zionism, and the relocation of Jewry to Western democracies).

Key individuals and groups: [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]], [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]], [[Martin Marty]], [[R. Scott Appleby]], [[David Assaf]], [[Yoram Bilu]], [[Maya Katz]], [[Yehuda Krinsky]], [[Avremel Shemtov]], [[Barry Gourary]], [[Chana Gourary]], [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]], [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]], [[Tomekhei Temimim]].

Significant quotation:
<blockquote>Under the leadership of Rabbi Menachem Mendel, they saw themselves as being on a mission to transform Jewry—and indeed the world. … they also became convinced that their rebbe was the redeemer incarnate.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, pp. xv–xvi.</ref>

== Chapter 1: Farbrengen: The Gathering of the Emissaries ==

Describes the annual kinus shluchim at 770 Eastern Parkway and the continued mission after Schneerson’s death. Covers the historical origins of Chabad outreach, the role of couples as shluchim, post-1989 expansion into the former Soviet Union, and practices at the ohel (including pidyones, bibliomancy, and video presence).

=== Individuals and groups ===

* [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
* [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
* [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]]
* [[Schneur Zalman of Liadi|Zalman, Schneur]]
* [[Ba’al Shem Tov]]
* [[Abraham Hecht]]
* [[Shaltiel Lebovic]]
* [[Hirschy Zarchi]] and [[Elkie Zarchi]]
* [[Shalom Greenberg]] and [[Dina Greenberg]]
* [[Asher Federman]] and [[Henya Federman]]
* [[Shalom Lipskar]]
* [[Berel Lazar]]
* [[Yehuda Krinsky]]
* [[Moshe Kotlarsky]]
* [[Berel Shemtov]], [[Avremel Shemtov]], [[Leizer Shemtov]]
* [[Ari Solish]]
* [[Abba Refson]]
* [[Yisrael Shmotkin]]
* [[770 Eastern Parkway]]
* [[Kfar Chabad]]
* [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]]
* [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]]
* [[Tomekhei Temimim]]
* [[Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia]] (via Lazar)

=== Significant quotations ===

<blockquote>our job is to make a dwelling place for God in the lower world. … We try to make the world a more and more godly place, until the coming of the Moshiach.</blockquote> (Rabbi Shaltiel Lebovic)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>He has nothing to fear. He’s going to go and he’s going to come back and everything will be all right.</blockquote> (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn to a mother of a student sent to Poland, 1939)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>I am happy to provide a synagogue and kosher meal for religious Jews visiting Shanghai. But if I were not here, the observant Jew would still pray on his own … the Jews who are not observant, however, are praying because I and Dina are here … They are the reason ChaBaD has come here.</blockquote> (Shalom Greenberg)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>Those who do not remember the Rebbe in life are ‘bigger Hasidim’ even than those who did, because they have to work harder to bring him back. … the Rebbe gives a person the strength he needs. … a tsaddik lives more today than yesterday.</blockquote> (Berel Shemtov)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>Charity … hastens and immediately causes the true and complete redemption.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

== Chapter 2: Death and Resurrection ==

Recounts the death of [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] on 10 Shvat 5710 (28 January 1950) at [[770 Eastern Parkway]], the succession contest between sons-in-law [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] and [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], and Schneerson’s eventual acceptance of the leadership on the first yahrzeit. Analyses the construction of continuity through claims that the Previous Rebbe remained present, the role of the ohel, and the later library lawsuit that sealed Schneerson’s symbolic and legal control.

=== Individuals and groups ===

* [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
* [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
* [[Shmaryahu Gourary]]
* [[Chana Gourary]]
* [[Barry Gourary]] (Shalom DovBer Gourary)
* [[Moussia Schneerson]] (Chaya Mushka)
* [[Nechama Dina Schneersohn]]
* [[Chaim Lieberman]]
* [[Shmuel Levitin]]
* [[Shalom DovBer Eichorn]]
* [[Abraham (Aba) Seligson]]
* [[Eli Simpson]]
* [[Baer Rivkin]]
* [[Zalman Schachter]]
* [[Chaim Hodakov]]
* [[Yehuda Leib Groner]]
* [[Yitzchak Hendel]]
* [[Avraham Sender Nemtzov]]
* [[Yoel Kahan]]
* [[Israel Jacobson]]
* [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]]
* [[Vaad Hapoel of Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]]
* [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]]
* [[United Lubavitcher Yeshivas]]
* [[Tomekhei Temimim]]
* [[Old Montefiore Cemetery]]
* [[770 Eastern Parkway]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“Jews,” he declared upon his arrival in North America in 1940, “we must repent and save our children and ourselves from the danger. We have to observe Sabbath and the laws of kashruth. Men must put on tefillin and women must go to the mikveh… children must get a religious education.” His motto had been “l'altar l'tshuvah, l'altar l'geula” — “repentance immediately, redemption immediately.” (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn)<ref name="Heilman2010p35">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 35.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>But we do have a Rebbe. What difference does it make where he is, in this world or the other world? (Menachem Mendel Schneerson to Zalman Schachter, 1950)<ref name="Heilman2010p42">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 42.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Although we have not earned it, and have not toiled for it… nevertheless, ‘all those who are seventh are most beloved,’ and therefore there are no inherent limitations that should cause an individual [of this seventh generation] to say that this status is beyond him…</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, ma’amar of 10 Shvat 5711)<ref name="Heilman2010p49">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 49.</ref>

<blockquote>I am only a stand-in.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p62">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 62.</ref>

<blockquote>wild men think that to die is to leave completely, this is not so.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p62">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 62.</ref>

<blockquote>It should be understood the war [conflict] is not only over the seforim [books], but rather oif dem benkel—‘over the seat’ of power.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson on the library case)<ref name="Heilman2010p55">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 55.</ref>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak had died intestate; he left neither a will that indicated who would receive his property… nor a “moral” will that indicated who should lead the community of Hasidim after him. There were unsubstantiated rumors that there had been a will (naming Barry, his beloved grandson) but that it had disappeared, perhaps eliminated intentionally.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p33">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 33.</ref>

<blockquote>While Shmaryahu Gourary was swooning, his brother-in-law… Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was sobbing. … The intensity of his mourning made a deep impression on the community. This man, who had seemed to be distant… was now evidently more openly broken up than Shmaryahu Gourary over the loss of their Rebbe.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p32">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 32.</ref>

<blockquote>In the end, the victor is presented by the Hasidim as the most deserving leader who is truly ordained for the role. Any lingering doubts are simply banished… The key was always to ensure continuity. This happened during 1950 and into 1951 in Lubavitch. And, when it was over, as the new Rebbe would later put it, “they put the key into [my] pocket.”</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p41">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 41.</ref>

<blockquote>This theme would become a recurring leitmotif of the reign of Rabbi Menachem Mendel… The Messiah would be brought by the seventh generation in the ChaBaD dynasty, and they were that generation. … This address… served as the basis of the entire Messiah campaign and the justification for all its missionizing and other activities.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p48">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 48.</ref>

<blockquote>Menachem Mendel had not invented this idea of talking to a dead rebbe… For Rabbi Menachem Mendel, it became the basis of his legitimacy. Perhaps it was why he would never stray further than a short car ride away from the cemetery…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p59">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 59.</ref>

<blockquote>These very same arguments were invoked within the community years later, after Menachem Mendel himself had died with his own promises of redemption unfulfilled.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p61">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 61.</ref>

<blockquote>Menachem Mendel Schneerson understood that the library was more than just a collection of books, and that the struggle over it with his nephew and sister-in-law was about his leadership. … When Menachem Mendel was affirmed as having that possession, he was finally judged to belong symbolically and legally to that succession.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p55">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 55.</ref>

<blockquote>Unlike Menachem Mendel, whose appeal emerged at this time, Gourary suddenly appeared to many people to lack personal charisma. … He was not one who would attract more followers to the movement or lead them toward the day of redemption…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p56">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 56.</ref>

== Chapter 3: Coming of Age in a Time of Transition ==

Traces Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s childhood and youth from Nikolayev to Yekaterinoslav (later Dnepropetrovsk), his exposure to secular education and Zionist/socialist currents, his apprenticeship and university studies, the family’s move into the Lubavitcher court in Leningrad, the 1927 arrest of Yosef Yitzchak, and the couple’s life in Riga and Berlin prior to the 1928 wedding. Emphasises the tension between Hasidic expectations and Schneerson’s pursuit of secular knowledge, and the retrospective hagiographic framing of these years.

=== Individuals and groups ===

* [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
* [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]]
* [[Chana Schneerson]]
* [[Yisrael Aryeh Leib Schneerson]] (Leibel)
* [[DovBer Schneerson]] (Bereke/Berel)
* [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
* [[Shmaryahu Gourary]]
* [[Chaya Moussia Schneerson]]
* [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]]
* [[Avraham Lavut]]
* [[Meyer Shlomo Yanofsky]]
* [[Abraham Shlonsky]] and [[Vardina Shlonsky]]
* [[Zalman Wilenkin]]
* [[Israel Eidelsohn]] (Bar Yehuda)
* [[Hayyim Zuta]]
* [[Shmarya Levin]]
* [[Emanuel Burstein]]
* [[Semion Dimanstein]]
* [[Chaim Lieberman]]
* [[Chaim Hodakov]]
* [[Meir Hildesheimer]]
* [[J. J. Weinberg]]
* [[Joint Distribution Committee]] (JDC)
* [[Yevsektsiya]]
* [[OGPU]]
* [[Vaad L’Chizuk HaTorah V’Hadat B’Russia]]
* [[Mahane Israel]]
* [[Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary]]
* [[Tomekhei Temimim]]
* [[Friedrich Wilhelm University]] (Humboldt)

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>superior “in Torah and the fear of God” but also as someone who “knows and understands worldly matters.”</blockquote> (Fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe on Levi Yitzchak)<ref name="Heilman2010p69">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 69.</ref>

<blockquote>I am not leaving under duress—far from it! I am doing exactly what I planned to do. … Know that I shall be with you always … know that what you are seeing is a neshamah [soul], as it exists in Gan Eden [paradise] clothed in a body.</blockquote> (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn)<ref name="Heilman2010p82">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 82.</ref>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>The life story of a Hasidic rebbe is often shrouded in hagiography. … Every past act and event must be shown retrospectively to have led inexorably to his eminence and greatness… The farther back in the rebbe’s life one goes, the more difficult this becomes, and the more pressing is the need to shroud these distant events in hagiography, myth, mystery, and reconstructed memory.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p65">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 65.</ref>

<blockquote>Like so much else in his story, even the date of his birth is ambiguous. While the accepted birthday, according to his own word, was Sabbath eve, April 18, 1902… his Soviet passport indicates an earlier date, March 2, 1895…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p66">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 66.</ref>

<blockquote>Despite his attachment to Lubavitcher Hasidism… Levi Yitzchak Schneerson did not send his sons to the Tomekhei Temimim yeshiva… According to one internal Lubavitcher source, Levi Yitzchak did not “permit” his son Mendel to go to the yeshiva in Lubavitch.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p71">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 71.</ref>

<blockquote>To this end they hired Israel Eidelsohn, a confirmed socialist and Zionist… Many years later Menachem Mendel as Lubavitcher Rebbe would adamantly and publicly oppose this position [of defining Jewishness by personal choice].</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p72">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 72.</ref>

<blockquote>Later Lubavitcher histories claim with hindsight that this move to Leningrad, the early connection with the court of the sixth Lubavitcher rebbe, and the marriage to Yosef Yitzchak’s daughter prove beyond any doubt the strength of Menachem Mendel’s Hasidic attachments. … It is entirely unclear, however, whether becoming his father-in-law’s successor was in the young man’s plans.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p75">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 75.</ref>

<blockquote>The fact that two were out together until the early hours of the morning is glossed over in Lubavitcher accounts of the events. Such behavior would certainly have distinguished them from a traditional Hasidic couple…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p79">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 79.</ref>

<blockquote>Apart from Yosef Yitzchak and Lieberman… none of the other family members were detained or imprisoned. Mendel remained untouched—and all the efforts in which internal sources describe his being active or wanted by the police remain undocumented.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p80">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 80.</ref>

<blockquote>We find no reliable answers for Mendel’s choice of Berlin. … Notwithstanding the claims of Lubavitchers that he spent much time there on missions for the Rebbe, Berlin was not a place where Mendel went to act in his capacity as a Hasid.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p84">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 84.</ref>

<blockquote>A story repeated among Lubavitchers that Menachem Mendel Schneerson received rabbinic ordination (semikhah) while in Berlin from Rabbi J. J. Weinberg… has no apparent evidentiary basis.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p87">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 87.</ref>

<blockquote>With this marriage, he would not only gain a wife but shift his status from that of a cousin of the Lubavitcher rebbe to being his son-in-law. In time, that status would prove far more important than having studied in Berlin.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p89">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 89.</ref>

== Chapter 4: Entering the Court of Lubavitch ==

Describes the November 1928 wedding of Menachem Mendel Schneerson and Chaya Moussia Schneersohn in Warsaw, the couple’s subsequent life shuttling between Berlin and the Lubavitcher court in Riga, Mendel’s continuing university studies as an auditor, Yosef Yitzchak’s efforts to draw him into court activities, and the tensions surrounding secular education, appearance, and Hasidic expectations.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Chaya Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] | [[Chana Schneerson]] | [[Sheina Schneersohn]] | [[Mendel Horensztajn]] | [[Moshe Horensztajn]] | [[Chaya Mushka Horensztajn]] | [[Abraham Mordecai Alter]] (Gerer Rebbe) | [[Yitzhak Menachem Mendel Danziger]] (Aleksander Rebbe) | [[Meir Shapiro]] | [[Meir Hildesheimer]] | [[J. J. Weinberg]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]] | [[Tomekhei Temimim]] | [[Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary]] | [[Friedrich Wilhelm University]] | [[Tseirey Agudas Yisroel]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“The crowd of guests is completely different from those seen at other [Hasidic] Rebbes’ weddings. One sees no shtraymls or the black round velvet hats [typical of Hasidim]. Most are Jews clothed in European dress and only a small number is dressed in high silk caps.” (Moment)<ref name="Heilman2010p97">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 97.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“a young man of refined features, with an intelligent demeanor” (Moment on the groom)<ref name="Heilman2010p100">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 100.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>“sympathetic face and a small dark beard” (Haynt)<ref name="Heilman2010p100">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 100.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The Torah remains only with those who give their life for it. Diligence in studying the depths of Torah is what causes that Torah to remain in a person’s mind. (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn at the wedding)<ref name="Heilman2010p101">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 101.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Where… did his son “acquire this practice?” … “You are not a Samson in strength.” Such is not “the way of Torah or of repentance.” (Levi Yitzchak Schneerson on Mendel’s fasting)<ref name="Heilman2010p106">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 106.</ref></blockquote>
'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Unlike her sister, whose age at marriage was in line with the common custom of Hasidic daughters, Moussia… was at almost twenty-eight marrying at an extraordinarily late age for Hasidic brides. … unlike the husband of her older sister… Mendel… was not now nor ever had been a student at the Lubavitcher yeshiva, but someone pursuing university studies…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p91">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 91.</ref>

<blockquote>In all the internal Lubavitcher hagiographies, before his marriage and during what might be called a courtship, Mendel is always referred to as “the one intended to be the groom,” a title that has no precedent in Jewish tradition and law.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p91">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 91.</ref>

<blockquote>Mendel’s actions suggest he was determined to enter the court and marry Moussia, but they also suggest he was not ready to be a Hasid like all others.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p93">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 93.</ref>

<blockquote>The Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak, however, did not manage to persuade his new son-in-law to abandon completely his aspirations for secular study (which in principle he appeared to oppose) in Berlin. Perhaps this double life as both a Hasid and a student at the university was a reflection of Mendel's desires to please both Moussia and her father.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p94">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 94.</ref>

<blockquote>Weddings are also ceremonies that symbolize continuity and point to the future. If the new bridegroom was to be a new leader… this wedding would be the most suitable opportunity to present him to the court and the Jewish world. … But could this bride and groom serve as the vehicles for such a cultural celebration…?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p96">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 96.</ref>

<blockquote>If Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn wanted to impress the Hasidic world with his position as a Hasidic leader who would attract other Hasidim, this was the wrong crowd and wedding with which to do that.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p98">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 98.</ref>

<blockquote>Are these the directions of a father to a son who knows what is expected of a Hasidic groom…? Or are these words of guidance given by a father who is very much a rabbi and is addressing a son who he knows has embarked on a life's journey that has taken him to the heart of secular culture…?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p99">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 99.</ref>

<blockquote>Did he want to make such a toast with a son-in-law standing with him who was not one of the temimim, who had not spent time in a yeshiva, who was headed back to the university in Berlin…?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p101">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 101.</ref>

<blockquote>Did he mean that this mixing of Torah and secular learning was alright for the bride and groom because otherwise they “would be even worse”? … Or was he trying to warn them against the way of life they had apparently chosen?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p102">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 102.</ref>

<blockquote>In a sense, they lived a kind of bifocal life: in one they were young newlyweds in Berlin, students tasting the cosmopolitan life of the German capital… On the other hand, they were still firmly connected to the family and court from which they came…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p104">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 104.</ref>

<blockquote>That Mendel managed to switch easily from one mind-set to the other… must have impressed itself on him and confirmed a belief that one could be physically and culturally distant from the court… yet still remain connected to it… It would be a lesson he would many years later share with his shluchim…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p106">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 106.</ref>

== Chapter 5: From Survival to Uforatzto ==

Covers the wartime rescue of Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn and his family from Nazi-occupied Poland, the arrival of Menachem Mendel and Moussia Schneerson in New York in 1941, the impact of the Holocaust and personal losses on Mendel’s thinking, the intensification of messianic themes, and the launch in 1958 of the Uforatzto campaign that sent young shluchim outward to “burst forth” and reach assimilated Jews.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Chana Gourary]] | [[Barry Gourary]] | [[Sheina Schneersohn]] | [[Mendel Horensztajn]] | [[Nechama Dina Schneersohn]] | [[Shterna Sarah Schneersohn]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]] | [[Chaim Hodakov]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Max Rhoade]] | [[Sam Kramer]] | [[Arthur Rabinovitz]] | [[Stephen Wise]] | [[Louis Brandeis]] | [[Robert A. Wagner]] | [[William Borah]] | [[Ernst Bloch]] | [[Breckinridge Long]] | [[Zalman Shmotkin]] | [[Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Bentzion Shemtov]] | [[Yaakov Lipskar]] | [[Yoel Teitelbaum]] | [[Mahane Israel]] | [[Hakriya v’Hakedusha]] | [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]] | [[Tomekhei Temimim]] | [[Uforatzto Campaign]] | [[shluchim]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“The sufferings I endured in prison in Russia do not compare to the torments of the 12 weeks I spent under their rule.” (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn)<ref name="Heilman2010p130">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 130.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Gevalt [for heaven's sake], the Messiah told the Ba'al Shem Tov that he would come with him when he spreads the wellsprings to the outside. And this task was given to us, to lead—and what are we doing about it? We are suffering in exile even though the Rebbe sh'lita in his maymer promised that the redemption would come quickly in our days.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1948)<ref name="Heilman2010p139">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 139.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“We need engineers and chemists, but engineering and chemistry are not the most important things.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p141">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 141.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“the seventh's primary quality lies in his being seventh. In other words, he is cherished not on account of his choice, desire, or spiritual service but because he is seventh—and this is something that he is born into.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Basi L'Gani)<ref name="Heilman2010p150">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 150.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Don't convince yourselves that you can live off the fat of the land and reside in these few blocks... There is a 'desolate land' which is thus far undeveloped spiritually. ... If you have not used your treasures for this, it must bother you.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson on Uforatzto)<ref name="Heilman2010p158">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 158.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Key, however, was the fact that American officials... had been somehow persuaded... that the Lubavitcher Rebbe was “a sort of Pope” of the Jews... Indeed, in one communication to American officials, Rhoade actually compared him to St. Francis of Assisi.<ref name="Heilman2010p131">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 131.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Neither Mendel Schneerson nor Mendel Horensztajn... had served as rabbis in any professional capacity. Both had been engaged in engineering studies... Tragically... Mendel Horensztajn and his family as Polish citizens remained disqualified for U.S. visas...<ref name="Heilman2010p133">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 133.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>These are not the words and sentiments of a man planning a career in France... This “Gevalt” is a cry from the heart of a man whose life has been turned upside down and around... The messianic message of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak... actually fit Mendel's own situation: it solved the dilemma of what the future would hold for a barren couple.<ref name="Heilman2010p139">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 139.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>When Menachem Mendel Schneerson later took up his own “Moshiach” campaign, he would reframe the messages of his predecessors so that these questions became moot. He made clear that redemption did not require any further death and suffering as a prerequisite... His was a messianism of promise.<ref name="Heilman2010p146">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 146.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>From being a somewhat mediocre mechanical and electrical engineer he would become an outstanding social and spiritual engineer who would offer his recipe for the redemption of all the Jewish people. To a significant number of his Hasidim, he would by the end appear to be the Messiah himself.<ref name="Heilman2010p149">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 149.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>This was a radically new view—that observant Jews could be surrounded by unbelievers and the unobservant but would change the environment rather than assimilating into it. He believed this possible based on his own experience of being distant from the heart of Jewish life and yet remaining tied to his Hasidic roots.<ref name="Heilman2010p159">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 159.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>His shluchim would be sent to those who were nearly lost in the depths of the spiritual dust, communicating teachings of inspiration and Judaism and thereby try to kindle the light of their Judaism... That was what it meant for this Rebbe to spread the wellsprings.<ref name="Heilman2010p162">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 162.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 6: On a Mission from the Rebbe in Life ==

Examines the expansion of Schneerson’s outreach after 1951, the shift from survival to the mitzvah campaigns and Uforatzto, the deployment of shluchim and Chabad Houses, public symbols such as tefillin and Hanukkah menorahs, relations with Israel and Zionism, the role of women, and the personal isolation of the Rebbe amid his growing global stature.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Shlomo Carlebach]] | [[Zalman Schachter]] | [[Avremel Shemtov]] | [[Chaim Hodakov]] | [[Yoel Teitelbaum]] | [[Zalman Shazar]] | [[Yitzchak Rabin]] | [[Menachem Begin]] | [[Ariel Sharon]] | [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] | [[Moshe Dayan]] | [[Hershel Hecht]] | [[Shlomo Riskin]] | [[Joseph B. Soloveitchik]] | [[Moshe Feinstein]] | [[Tzivos Hashem]] | [[Mahane Israel]] | [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]] | [[Kehot Publication Society]] | [[Kfar Chabad]] | [[shluchim]] | [[Uforatzto Campaign]] | [[Mitzvah Campaign]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“the house of Israel is on fire (May God have mercy), and the young generation, as things now stand, is largely trapped. You are surely not unaware of the ‘dry’ statistics of intermarriage and assimilation in this country [the United States] and the subject is similar in other countries.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1964)<ref name="Heilman2010p164">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 164.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“I thought he was my soldier,” the Rebbe wrote to the parents, “and that I could assign him. … However it emerges that before he makes a decision, he must listen to his mother and his family. Obviously, this is not the behavior of a soldier…” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p168">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 168.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“It would be worthwhile for you to start visiting the colleges.” (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn to Carlebach and Schachter)<ref name="Heilman2010p168">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 168.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“in the current situation, we must pay great care to see to it that every Jew will put on tefillin, for this is a mitzvah that has great power to bring the Jews out from their difficulties in peace.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1967)<ref name="Heilman2010p187">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 187.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Not only may you do this, but you must do it.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson to Shlomo Riskin on women dancing with the Torah)<ref name="Heilman2010p179">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 179.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Ale khsidim zaynen dem Rebns kinder”—“all Hasidim are the Rebbe’s children.” (Moussia Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p195">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 195.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Unlike the fifth and sixth rebbes, who had remained within the cocoon of Lubavitch even when they were on the run, this Rebbe had been on the periphery. … Menachem Mendel… could see the future because he had been living in it. He had been in Montparnasse and he had been in Berlin…<ref name="Heilman2010p165">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 165.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Menachem Mendel Schneerson wanted an alternative army to the Zionist one, one that did not move by firepower but was driven by spiritual power, one that he commanded and which brought not destruction before victory but mitzvahs before redemption.<ref name="Heilman2010p175">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 175.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>This was a radically new view—that observant Jews could be surrounded by unbelievers and the unobservant but would change the environment rather than assimilating into it. He believed this possible based on his own experience…<ref name="Heilman2010p159">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 159.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>When after six days the unanticipated military triumph of the Israelis led not only to survival but also to their regaining the ancient Temple Mount… the Rebbe could claim the victory as his, arguing that it was the sight of soldiers donning tefillin that had miraculously frightened the enemy.<ref name="Heilman2010p187">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 187.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Indeed, the only person Menachem Mendel could really talk to and with whom he could expansively share his inner thoughts and feelings was a dead man, his father-in-law… Given this sort of personal isolation and solitude… was he getting lost in a culture of messianic delusion?<ref name="Heilman2010p195">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 195.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 7: From Resurrection to Death: We Want Moshiach Now ==

Traces the intensification of explicit messianism from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, including the “We Want Moshiach Now” campaign, the Yosele Schumacher affair, relations with Israeli leaders, the library lawsuit, the death of Moussia Schneerson, the “who is a Jew” controversy, the Gulf War, the failed expectations of 1991–92, and the Rebbe’s stroke on 2 March 1992.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Barry Gourary]] | [[Chana Gourary]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Avremel Shemtov]] | [[Yehuda Krinsky]] | [[Yoel Kahan]] | [[Zalman Shazar]] | [[Menachem Begin]] | [[Yitzhak Shamir]] | [[Yitzhak Rabin]] | [[Moshe Dayan]] | [[Menachem Elazar Schach]] | [[Shalom Schumacher]] | [[Yosele Schumacher]] | [[Berel Lazar]] | [[David Nachshon]] | [[Tzivos Hashem]] | [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]] | [[Kfar Chabad]] | [[shluchim]] | [[Moshiach Campaign]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“We must not see in the establishment of the state [of Israel] the beginning of redemption, for the Messiah has not yet come. … When in 5708 [1948] you changed the name ‘the Land of Israel’ to ‘the State of Israel,’ you stole from the People of Israel the name that was written in the Torah… Zion and Jerusalem are not ours. This is not the Zion for which we yearned.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1958)<ref name="Heilman2010p198">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 198.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“We don’t want to wait anymore; we want Moshiach [Messiah] now.” (slogan promoted by the Rebbe)<ref name="Heilman2010p212">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 212.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“If I were asked in this generation who was the most suitable [candidate for Messiah], beyond any question in my mind, it would be the Rebbe.” (Yehuda Krinsky)<ref name="Heilman2010p214">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 214.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“How can it be that until this moment, we have not been able to bring about the coming of the Messiah? … What else can I do so that the Children of Israel will cry out and demand the Messiah come… I have to hand over the task to you: Do all you can to bring the righteous Moshiach, mamesh.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 27 Nisan 1991)<ref name="Heilman2010p231">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 231.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“The Time for Your Redemption Has Arrived.” (full-page advertisement in the ''New York Times'', 19 June 1991)<ref name="Heilman2010p233">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 233.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>In fact, the prime mover in all this was not the elderly grandfather but his son, Shalom, the boy’s uncle, a Lubavitcher Hasid in constant but secret and indirect contact with his Rebbe, Menachem Mendel. It was the latter’s desire to see this child, and any others he could, “redeemed” from the secular state…<ref name="Heilman2010p199">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 199.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>This growing insistence on the imminence of the Messiah was also a denial of death. Ernest Becker has argued that to deny death is at its root “to deny one’s lack of control over events”… The messianic campaign accomplished this both for the Rebbe and for his Hasidim.<ref name="Heilman2010p220">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 220.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Aiming to unite the entire Jewish people, he in fact created conditions that exacerbated splits among them. … Ironically, many of those who opposed this move, particularly in America, were the same Jews to whom Lubavitcher shlichim had been reaching out…<ref name="Heilman2010p225">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 225.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Here then was the Rebbe at the peak of his powers. The war meant to usher in the messianic age had been fought and won. … No doubt this victory, for which he and his followers took credit, increased his hubris.<ref name="Heilman2010p228">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 228.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The man who was now silenced and paralyzed seemed to be the incarnation of a failed prophecy, his situation a demonstration that their faith in his promises was mistaken. … Because of this, it was critical for them… to deny their disappointment and rev up their enthusiasms.<ref name="Heilman2010p238">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 238.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 8: On a Mission from the Rebbe in His Afterlife ==

Examines the aftermath of the Rebbe’s death on Gimmel Tammuz 1994, the split between meshikhistn (those who insist he remains the Messiah and will return) and those who practice “restrained messianism,” the legal and practical dispute over control of 770 Eastern Parkway, the institutionalization and expansion of the shluchim network, examples of outreach successes and failures, and longer-term questions about the movement’s ability to sustain itself without a living rebbe.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Yehuda Krinsky]] | [[Avremel Shemtov]] | [[Berel Lazar]] | [[Baruch Shlomo Cunin]] | [[Zalman Lipskier]] | [[Yitzhak Fuchs]] | [[Mendel Sharf]] | [[Zalman Schachter-Shalomi]] | [[Shmuley Boteach]] | [[Yosef Vogel]] | [[Mendy Vogel]] | [[Faivush Vogel]] | [[Shimon Lazaroff]] | [[Ari Solish]] | [[Moshe Kotlarsky]] | [[Hirschy Zarchi]] | [[Elkie Zarchi]] | [[Baruch Goodman]] | [[Sarah Goodman]] | [[Gavriel Holtzberg]] | [[Rivka Holtzberg]] | [[meshikhistn]] | [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]] | [[Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch]] | [[770 Eastern Parkway]] | [[Kfar Chabad]] | [[shluchim]] | [[Rohr Jewish Learning Institute]] | [[Gaon Club]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“the real issue in dispute involves conflicting views on how our faith views the passing of the Grand Rebbe Schneerson and whether or not at this time he may be referred to publicly as the Messiah.” (Zalman Lipskier, affidavit)<ref name="Heilman2010p250">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 250.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task, but neither are you free to absolve yourself from it.” (shaliach quoting Avot 2:16)<ref name="Heilman2010p254">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 254.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“a shaliach reflects his Rebbe.” (Moshe Kotlarsky)<ref name="Heilman2010p255">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 255.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“One single Mitzvah can tip the scales and bring the redemption for the entire world… One mezuzah in Bella Unión transforms the entire Bella Unión.” (shaliach in Uruguay)<ref name="Heilman2010p265">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 265.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“We know that the Moshiach is a human being who lives among us. He’s in the world someplace today. I don’t know who Moshiach is. But if you’re talking about the candidacy for it….” (Yehuda Krinsky)<ref name="Heilman2010p277">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 277.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>In many ways, this is precisely what Leon Festinger, Henry Riecken, and Stanley Schachter had argued in their famous study of what happens when prophecy fails. … believers may often intensify their belief and try to convince even more others of its truth, in hopes thereby to persuade themselves and banish doubt.<ref name="Heilman2010p249">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 249.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Perhaps the most visible and in many ways most symbolic expression of these divisions was a dispute over control of the headquarters building at 770 Eastern Parkway. … With no living Rebbe to settle the dispute, different groups of Hasidim continued to battle one another…<ref name="Heilman2010p249">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 249.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>By the late twentieth century the role of shaliach had become a kind of expected and habitualized career path for many Lubavitchers. … it was a brilliant plan. Why revert to competing for followers in Brooklyn… when they could continue to compete for all the Jews in the world?<ref name="Heilman2010p257">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 257.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Lubavitchers increasingly make a practice of creating Jewish events that have high symbolic value. … Symbolic acts are an ideal strategy when the mission proves too complex… for they are dramatic but also relatively simple. These symbolic acts could either be cynically described as public relations stunts or else as acts that have for the Lubavitchers some cosmic or mystical meaning…<ref name="Heilman2010p265">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 265.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The concept of the routinization of charisma was first articulated by Max Weber… Hasidism, particularly Lubavitcher Hasidism, has proved to be a perfect example of these processes. … And then he was gone, with no one in line to replace him—for the first time in Lubavitcher history. This left only the system in place… and of course the mission, but it also left uncertainty and elements of chaos.<ref name="Heilman2010p274">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 274.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Knowingly or unknowingly, Menachem Mendel Schneerson succeeded in building a structure and movement that could survive him and sustain itself for the near term. His “children,” his emissaries, could continue his mission, as he had continued his predecessor’s. But would they not ultimately change it?<ref name="Heilman2010p277">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 277.</ref></blockquote>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Chabad-Lubavitch]]
[[Category:Hasidic Judaism]]
[[Category:Books]]
[[Category:Biography]]

The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson

2026-10-13T10:58:12Z

D-Backup: /* Notes */

{{short description|'''Academic biography of Menachem Mendel Schneerson by Samuel C. Heilman and Menachem M. Friedman'''}}
[[File:The Rebbe.jpeg|thumb|right"500px|The Rebbe, by Heilman and Friedman.]]
'''[[The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]''' is a 2010 scholarly biography by [[Samuel C. Heilman|Heilman, Samuel C.]] and [[Menachem M. Friedman|Friedman, Menachem M.]], published by Princeton University Press. It examines the life of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, the rise of Chabad-Lubavitch messianism, the global network of shluchim, and the movement’s response to Schneerson’s death in 1994.<ref>Heilman, Samuel C. and Friedman, Menachem M., ''The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson'', Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010.</ref>

== Contents ==

* Preface
* 1. Farbrengen: The Gathering of the Emissaries
* 2. Death and Resurrection
* 3. Coming of Age in a Time of Transition
* 4. Entering the Court of Lubavitch
* 5. From Survival to Uforatzto
* 6. On a Mission from the Rebbe in Life
* 7. From Resurrection to Death: We Want Moshiach Now
* 8. On a Mission from the Rebbe in His Afterlife

== Preface ==

The book traces Chabad’s messianic trajectory from the fifth Rebbe [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn|Schneersohn, Shalom DovBer]] through [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn|Schneersohn, Yosef Yitzchak]] to [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson|Schneerson, Menachem Mendel]]. It frames the movement’s post-1950 expansion and the conviction that Schneerson was the Messiah incarnate as a response to modern Jewish history (secularisation, Holocaust, Zionism, and the relocation of Jewry to Western democracies).

Key individuals and groups: [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]], [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]], [[Martin Marty]], [[R. Scott Appleby]], [[David Assaf]], [[Yoram Bilu]], [[Maya Katz]], [[Yehuda Krinsky]], [[Avremel Shemtov]], [[Barry Gourary]], [[Chana Gourary]], [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]], [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]], [[Tomekhei Temimim]].

Significant quotation:
<blockquote>Under the leadership of Rabbi Menachem Mendel, they saw themselves as being on a mission to transform Jewry—and indeed the world. … they also became convinced that their rebbe was the redeemer incarnate.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, pp. xv–xvi.</ref>

== Chapter 1: Farbrengen: The Gathering of the Emissaries ==

Describes the annual kinus shluchim at 770 Eastern Parkway and the continued mission after Schneerson’s death. Covers the historical origins of Chabad outreach, the role of couples as shluchim, post-1989 expansion into the former Soviet Union, and practices at the ohel (including pidyones, bibliomancy, and video presence).

=== Individuals and groups ===

* [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
* [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
* [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]]
* [[Schneur Zalman of Liadi|Zalman, Schneur]]
* [[Ba’al Shem Tov]]
* [[Abraham Hecht]]
* [[Shaltiel Lebovic]]
* [[Hirschy Zarchi]] and [[Elkie Zarchi]]
* [[Shalom Greenberg]] and [[Dina Greenberg]]
* [[Asher Federman]] and [[Henya Federman]]
* [[Shalom Lipskar]]
* [[Berel Lazar]]
* [[Yehuda Krinsky]]
* [[Moshe Kotlarsky]]
* [[Berel Shemtov]], [[Avremel Shemtov]], [[Leizer Shemtov]]
* [[Ari Solish]]
* [[Abba Refson]]
* [[Yisrael Shmotkin]]
* [[770 Eastern Parkway]]
* [[Kfar Chabad]]
* [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]]
* [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]]
* [[Tomekhei Temimim]]
* [[Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia]] (via Lazar)

=== Significant quotations ===

<blockquote>our job is to make a dwelling place for God in the lower world. … We try to make the world a more and more godly place, until the coming of the Moshiach.</blockquote> (Rabbi Shaltiel Lebovic)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>He has nothing to fear. He’s going to go and he’s going to come back and everything will be all right.</blockquote> (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn to a mother of a student sent to Poland, 1939)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>I am happy to provide a synagogue and kosher meal for religious Jews visiting Shanghai. But if I were not here, the observant Jew would still pray on his own … the Jews who are not observant, however, are praying because I and Dina are here … They are the reason ChaBaD has come here.</blockquote> (Shalom Greenberg)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>Those who do not remember the Rebbe in life are ‘bigger Hasidim’ even than those who did, because they have to work harder to bring him back. … the Rebbe gives a person the strength he needs. … a tsaddik lives more today than yesterday.</blockquote> (Berel Shemtov)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>Charity … hastens and immediately causes the true and complete redemption.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

== Chapter 2: Death and Resurrection ==

Recounts the death of [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] on 10 Shvat 5710 (28 January 1950) at [[770 Eastern Parkway]], the succession contest between sons-in-law [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] and [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], and Schneerson’s eventual acceptance of the leadership on the first yahrzeit. Analyses the construction of continuity through claims that the Previous Rebbe remained present, the role of the ohel, and the later library lawsuit that sealed Schneerson’s symbolic and legal control.

=== Individuals and groups ===

* [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
* [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
* [[Shmaryahu Gourary]]
* [[Chana Gourary]]
* [[Barry Gourary]] (Shalom DovBer Gourary)
* [[Moussia Schneerson]] (Chaya Mushka)
* [[Nechama Dina Schneersohn]]
* [[Chaim Lieberman]]
* [[Shmuel Levitin]]
* [[Shalom DovBer Eichorn]]
* [[Abraham (Aba) Seligson]]
* [[Eli Simpson]]
* [[Baer Rivkin]]
* [[Zalman Schachter]]
* [[Chaim Hodakov]]
* [[Yehuda Leib Groner]]
* [[Yitzchak Hendel]]
* [[Avraham Sender Nemtzov]]
* [[Yoel Kahan]]
* [[Israel Jacobson]]
* [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]]
* [[Vaad Hapoel of Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]]
* [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]]
* [[United Lubavitcher Yeshivas]]
* [[Tomekhei Temimim]]
* [[Old Montefiore Cemetery]]
* [[770 Eastern Parkway]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“Jews,” he declared upon his arrival in North America in 1940, “we must repent and save our children and ourselves from the danger. We have to observe Sabbath and the laws of kashruth. Men must put on tefillin and women must go to the mikveh… children must get a religious education.” His motto had been “l'altar l'tshuvah, l'altar l'geula” — “repentance immediately, redemption immediately.” (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn)<ref name="Heilman2010p35">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 35.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>But we do have a Rebbe. What difference does it make where he is, in this world or the other world? (Menachem Mendel Schneerson to Zalman Schachter, 1950)<ref name="Heilman2010p42">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 42.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Although we have not earned it, and have not toiled for it… nevertheless, ‘all those who are seventh are most beloved,’ and therefore there are no inherent limitations that should cause an individual [of this seventh generation] to say that this status is beyond him…</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, ma’amar of 10 Shvat 5711)<ref name="Heilman2010p49">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 49.</ref>

<blockquote>I am only a stand-in.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p62">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 62.</ref>

<blockquote>wild men think that to die is to leave completely, this is not so.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p62">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 62.</ref>

<blockquote>It should be understood the war [conflict] is not only over the seforim [books], but rather oif dem benkel—‘over the seat’ of power.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson on the library case)<ref name="Heilman2010p55">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 55.</ref>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak had died intestate; he left neither a will that indicated who would receive his property… nor a “moral” will that indicated who should lead the community of Hasidim after him. There were unsubstantiated rumors that there had been a will (naming Barry, his beloved grandson) but that it had disappeared, perhaps eliminated intentionally.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p33">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 33.</ref>

<blockquote>While Shmaryahu Gourary was swooning, his brother-in-law… Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was sobbing. … The intensity of his mourning made a deep impression on the community. This man, who had seemed to be distant… was now evidently more openly broken up than Shmaryahu Gourary over the loss of their Rebbe.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p32">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 32.</ref>

<blockquote>In the end, the victor is presented by the Hasidim as the most deserving leader who is truly ordained for the role. Any lingering doubts are simply banished… The key was always to ensure continuity. This happened during 1950 and into 1951 in Lubavitch. And, when it was over, as the new Rebbe would later put it, “they put the key into [my] pocket.”</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p41">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 41.</ref>

<blockquote>This theme would become a recurring leitmotif of the reign of Rabbi Menachem Mendel… The Messiah would be brought by the seventh generation in the ChaBaD dynasty, and they were that generation. … This address… served as the basis of the entire Messiah campaign and the justification for all its missionizing and other activities.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p48">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 48.</ref>

<blockquote>Menachem Mendel had not invented this idea of talking to a dead rebbe… For Rabbi Menachem Mendel, it became the basis of his legitimacy. Perhaps it was why he would never stray further than a short car ride away from the cemetery…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p59">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 59.</ref>

<blockquote>These very same arguments were invoked within the community years later, after Menachem Mendel himself had died with his own promises of redemption unfulfilled.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p61">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 61.</ref>

<blockquote>Menachem Mendel Schneerson understood that the library was more than just a collection of books, and that the struggle over it with his nephew and sister-in-law was about his leadership. … When Menachem Mendel was affirmed as having that possession, he was finally judged to belong symbolically and legally to that succession.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p55">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 55.</ref>

<blockquote>Unlike Menachem Mendel, whose appeal emerged at this time, Gourary suddenly appeared to many people to lack personal charisma. … He was not one who would attract more followers to the movement or lead them toward the day of redemption…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p56">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 56.</ref>

== Chapter 3: Coming of Age in a Time of Transition ==

Traces Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s childhood and youth from Nikolayev to Yekaterinoslav (later Dnepropetrovsk), his exposure to secular education and Zionist/socialist currents, his apprenticeship and university studies, the family’s move into the Lubavitcher court in Leningrad, the 1927 arrest of Yosef Yitzchak, and the couple’s life in Riga and Berlin prior to the 1928 wedding. Emphasises the tension between Hasidic expectations and Schneerson’s pursuit of secular knowledge, and the retrospective hagiographic framing of these years.

=== Individuals and groups ===

* [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
* [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]]
* [[Chana Schneerson]]
* [[Yisrael Aryeh Leib Schneerson]] (Leibel)
* [[DovBer Schneerson]] (Bereke/Berel)
* [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
* [[Shmaryahu Gourary]]
* [[Chaya Moussia Schneerson]]
* [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]]
* [[Avraham Lavut]]
* [[Meyer Shlomo Yanofsky]]
* [[Abraham Shlonsky]] and [[Vardina Shlonsky]]
* [[Zalman Wilenkin]]
* [[Israel Eidelsohn]] (Bar Yehuda)
* [[Hayyim Zuta]]
* [[Shmarya Levin]]
* [[Emanuel Burstein]]
* [[Semion Dimanstein]]
* [[Chaim Lieberman]]
* [[Chaim Hodakov]]
* [[Meir Hildesheimer]]
* [[J. J. Weinberg]]
* [[Joint Distribution Committee]] (JDC)
* [[Yevsektsiya]]
* [[OGPU]]
* [[Vaad L’Chizuk HaTorah V’Hadat B’Russia]]
* [[Mahane Israel]]
* [[Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary]]
* [[Tomekhei Temimim]]
* [[Friedrich Wilhelm University]] (Humboldt)

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>superior “in Torah and the fear of God” but also as someone who “knows and understands worldly matters.”</blockquote> (Fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe on Levi Yitzchak)<ref name="Heilman2010p69">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 69.</ref>

<blockquote>I am not leaving under duress—far from it! I am doing exactly what I planned to do. … Know that I shall be with you always … know that what you are seeing is a neshamah [soul], as it exists in Gan Eden [paradise] clothed in a body.</blockquote> (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn)<ref name="Heilman2010p82">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 82.</ref>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>The life story of a Hasidic rebbe is often shrouded in hagiography. … Every past act and event must be shown retrospectively to have led inexorably to his eminence and greatness… The farther back in the rebbe’s life one goes, the more difficult this becomes, and the more pressing is the need to shroud these distant events in hagiography, myth, mystery, and reconstructed memory.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p65">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 65.</ref>

<blockquote>Like so much else in his story, even the date of his birth is ambiguous. While the accepted birthday, according to his own word, was Sabbath eve, April 18, 1902… his Soviet passport indicates an earlier date, March 2, 1895…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p66">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 66.</ref>

<blockquote>Despite his attachment to Lubavitcher Hasidism… Levi Yitzchak Schneerson did not send his sons to the Tomekhei Temimim yeshiva… According to one internal Lubavitcher source, Levi Yitzchak did not “permit” his son Mendel to go to the yeshiva in Lubavitch.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p71">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 71.</ref>

<blockquote>To this end they hired Israel Eidelsohn, a confirmed socialist and Zionist… Many years later Menachem Mendel as Lubavitcher Rebbe would adamantly and publicly oppose this position [of defining Jewishness by personal choice].</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p72">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 72.</ref>

<blockquote>Later Lubavitcher histories claim with hindsight that this move to Leningrad, the early connection with the court of the sixth Lubavitcher rebbe, and the marriage to Yosef Yitzchak’s daughter prove beyond any doubt the strength of Menachem Mendel’s Hasidic attachments. … It is entirely unclear, however, whether becoming his father-in-law’s successor was in the young man’s plans.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p75">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 75.</ref>

<blockquote>The fact that two were out together until the early hours of the morning is glossed over in Lubavitcher accounts of the events. Such behavior would certainly have distinguished them from a traditional Hasidic couple…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p79">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 79.</ref>

<blockquote>Apart from Yosef Yitzchak and Lieberman… none of the other family members were detained or imprisoned. Mendel remained untouched—and all the efforts in which internal sources describe his being active or wanted by the police remain undocumented.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p80">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 80.</ref>

<blockquote>We find no reliable answers for Mendel’s choice of Berlin. … Notwithstanding the claims of Lubavitchers that he spent much time there on missions for the Rebbe, Berlin was not a place where Mendel went to act in his capacity as a Hasid.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p84">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 84.</ref>

<blockquote>A story repeated among Lubavitchers that Menachem Mendel Schneerson received rabbinic ordination (semikhah) while in Berlin from Rabbi J. J. Weinberg… has no apparent evidentiary basis.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p87">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 87.</ref>

<blockquote>With this marriage, he would not only gain a wife but shift his status from that of a cousin of the Lubavitcher rebbe to being his son-in-law. In time, that status would prove far more important than having studied in Berlin.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p89">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 89.</ref>

== Chapter 4: Entering the Court of Lubavitch ==

Describes the November 1928 wedding of Menachem Mendel Schneerson and Chaya Moussia Schneersohn in Warsaw, the couple’s subsequent life shuttling between Berlin and the Lubavitcher court in Riga, Mendel’s continuing university studies as an auditor, Yosef Yitzchak’s efforts to draw him into court activities, and the tensions surrounding secular education, appearance, and Hasidic expectations.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Chaya Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] | [[Chana Schneerson]] | [[Sheina Schneersohn]] | [[Mendel Horensztajn]] | [[Moshe Horensztajn]] | [[Chaya Mushka Horensztajn]] | [[Abraham Mordecai Alter]] (Gerer Rebbe) | [[Yitzhak Menachem Mendel Danziger]] (Aleksander Rebbe) | [[Meir Shapiro]] | [[Meir Hildesheimer]] | [[J. J. Weinberg]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]] | [[Tomekhei Temimim]] | [[Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary]] | [[Friedrich Wilhelm University]] | [[Tseirey Agudas Yisroel]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“The crowd of guests is completely different from those seen at other [Hasidic] Rebbes’ weddings. One sees no shtraymls or the black round velvet hats [typical of Hasidim]. Most are Jews clothed in European dress and only a small number is dressed in high silk caps.” (Moment)<ref name="Heilman2010p97">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 97.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“a young man of refined features, with an intelligent demeanor” (Moment on the groom)<ref name="Heilman2010p100">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 100.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>“sympathetic face and a small dark beard” (Haynt)<ref name="Heilman2010p100">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 100.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The Torah remains only with those who give their life for it. Diligence in studying the depths of Torah is what causes that Torah to remain in a person’s mind. (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn at the wedding)<ref name="Heilman2010p101">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 101.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Where… did his son “acquire this practice?” … “You are not a Samson in strength.” Such is not “the way of Torah or of repentance.” (Levi Yitzchak Schneerson on Mendel’s fasting)<ref name="Heilman2010p106">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 106.</ref></blockquote>
'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Unlike her sister, whose age at marriage was in line with the common custom of Hasidic daughters, Moussia… was at almost twenty-eight marrying at an extraordinarily late age for Hasidic brides. … unlike the husband of her older sister… Mendel… was not now nor ever had been a student at the Lubavitcher yeshiva, but someone pursuing university studies…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p91">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 91.</ref>

<blockquote>In all the internal Lubavitcher hagiographies, before his marriage and during what might be called a courtship, Mendel is always referred to as “the one intended to be the groom,” a title that has no precedent in Jewish tradition and law.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p91">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 91.</ref>

<blockquote>Mendel’s actions suggest he was determined to enter the court and marry Moussia, but they also suggest he was not ready to be a Hasid like all others.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p93">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 93.</ref>

<blockquote>The Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak, however, did not manage to persuade his new son-in-law to abandon completely his aspirations for secular study (which in principle he appeared to oppose) in Berlin. Perhaps this double life as both a Hasid and a student at the university was a reflection of Mendel's desires to please both Moussia and her father.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p94">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 94.</ref>

<blockquote>Weddings are also ceremonies that symbolize continuity and point to the future. If the new bridegroom was to be a new leader… this wedding would be the most suitable opportunity to present him to the court and the Jewish world. … But could this bride and groom serve as the vehicles for such a cultural celebration…?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p96">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 96.</ref>

<blockquote>If Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn wanted to impress the Hasidic world with his position as a Hasidic leader who would attract other Hasidim, this was the wrong crowd and wedding with which to do that.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p98">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 98.</ref>

<blockquote>Are these the directions of a father to a son who knows what is expected of a Hasidic groom…? Or are these words of guidance given by a father who is very much a rabbi and is addressing a son who he knows has embarked on a life's journey that has taken him to the heart of secular culture…?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p99">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 99.</ref>

<blockquote>Did he want to make such a toast with a son-in-law standing with him who was not one of the temimim, who had not spent time in a yeshiva, who was headed back to the university in Berlin…?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p101">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 101.</ref>

<blockquote>Did he mean that this mixing of Torah and secular learning was alright for the bride and groom because otherwise they “would be even worse”? … Or was he trying to warn them against the way of life they had apparently chosen?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p102">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 102.</ref>

<blockquote>In a sense, they lived a kind of bifocal life: in one they were young newlyweds in Berlin, students tasting the cosmopolitan life of the German capital… On the other hand, they were still firmly connected to the family and court from which they came…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p104">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 104.</ref>

<blockquote>That Mendel managed to switch easily from one mind-set to the other… must have impressed itself on him and confirmed a belief that one could be physically and culturally distant from the court… yet still remain connected to it… It would be a lesson he would many years later share with his shluchim…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p106">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 106.</ref>

== Chapter 5: From Survival to Uforatzto ==

Covers the wartime rescue of Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn and his family from Nazi-occupied Poland, the arrival of Menachem Mendel and Moussia Schneerson in New York in 1941, the impact of the Holocaust and personal losses on Mendel’s thinking, the intensification of messianic themes, and the launch in 1958 of the Uforatzto campaign that sent young shluchim outward to “burst forth” and reach assimilated Jews.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Chana Gourary]] | [[Barry Gourary]] | [[Sheina Schneersohn]] | [[Mendel Horensztajn]] | [[Nechama Dina Schneersohn]] | [[Shterna Sarah Schneersohn]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]] | [[Chaim Hodakov]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Max Rhoade]] | [[Sam Kramer]] | [[Arthur Rabinovitz]] | [[Stephen Wise]] | [[Louis Brandeis]] | [[Robert A. Wagner]] | [[William Borah]] | [[Ernst Bloch]] | [[Breckinridge Long]] | [[Zalman Shmotkin]] | [[Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Bentzion Shemtov]] | [[Yaakov Lipskar]] | [[Yoel Teitelbaum]] | [[Mahane Israel]] | [[Hakriya v’Hakedusha]] | [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]] | [[Tomekhei Temimim]] | [[Uforatzto Campaign]] | [[shluchim]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“The sufferings I endured in prison in Russia do not compare to the torments of the 12 weeks I spent under their rule.” (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn)<ref name="Heilman2010p130">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 130.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Gevalt [for heaven's sake], the Messiah told the Ba'al Shem Tov that he would come with him when he spreads the wellsprings to the outside. And this task was given to us, to lead—and what are we doing about it? We are suffering in exile even though the Rebbe sh'lita in his maymer promised that the redemption would come quickly in our days.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1948)<ref name="Heilman2010p139">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 139.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“We need engineers and chemists, but engineering and chemistry are not the most important things.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p141">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 141.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“the seventh's primary quality lies in his being seventh. In other words, he is cherished not on account of his choice, desire, or spiritual service but because he is seventh—and this is something that he is born into.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Basi L'Gani)<ref name="Heilman2010p150">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 150.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Don't convince yourselves that you can live off the fat of the land and reside in these few blocks... There is a 'desolate land' which is thus far undeveloped spiritually. ... If you have not used your treasures for this, it must bother you.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson on Uforatzto)<ref name="Heilman2010p158">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 158.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Key, however, was the fact that American officials... had been somehow persuaded... that the Lubavitcher Rebbe was “a sort of Pope” of the Jews... Indeed, in one communication to American officials, Rhoade actually compared him to St. Francis of Assisi.<ref name="Heilman2010p131">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 131.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Neither Mendel Schneerson nor Mendel Horensztajn... had served as rabbis in any professional capacity. Both had been engaged in engineering studies... Tragically... Mendel Horensztajn and his family as Polish citizens remained disqualified for U.S. visas...<ref name="Heilman2010p133">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 133.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>These are not the words and sentiments of a man planning a career in France... This “Gevalt” is a cry from the heart of a man whose life has been turned upside down and around... The messianic message of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak... actually fit Mendel's own situation: it solved the dilemma of what the future would hold for a barren couple.<ref name="Heilman2010p139">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 139.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>When Menachem Mendel Schneerson later took up his own “Moshiach” campaign, he would reframe the messages of his predecessors so that these questions became moot. He made clear that redemption did not require any further death and suffering as a prerequisite... His was a messianism of promise.<ref name="Heilman2010p146">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 146.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>From being a somewhat mediocre mechanical and electrical engineer he would become an outstanding social and spiritual engineer who would offer his recipe for the redemption of all the Jewish people. To a significant number of his Hasidim, he would by the end appear to be the Messiah himself.<ref name="Heilman2010p149">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 149.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>This was a radically new view—that observant Jews could be surrounded by unbelievers and the unobservant but would change the environment rather than assimilating into it. He believed this possible based on his own experience of being distant from the heart of Jewish life and yet remaining tied to his Hasidic roots.<ref name="Heilman2010p159">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 159.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>His shluchim would be sent to those who were nearly lost in the depths of the spiritual dust, communicating teachings of inspiration and Judaism and thereby try to kindle the light of their Judaism... That was what it meant for this Rebbe to spread the wellsprings.<ref name="Heilman2010p162">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 162.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 6: On a Mission from the Rebbe in Life ==

Examines the expansion of Schneerson’s outreach after 1951, the shift from survival to the mitzvah campaigns and Uforatzto, the deployment of shluchim and Chabad Houses, public symbols such as tefillin and Hanukkah menorahs, relations with Israel and Zionism, the role of women, and the personal isolation of the Rebbe amid his growing global stature.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Shlomo Carlebach]] | [[Zalman Schachter]] | [[Avremel Shemtov]] | [[Chaim Hodakov]] | [[Yoel Teitelbaum]] | [[Zalman Shazar]] | [[Yitzchak Rabin]] | [[Menachem Begin]] | [[Ariel Sharon]] | [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] | [[Moshe Dayan]] | [[Hershel Hecht]] | [[Shlomo Riskin]] | [[Joseph B. Soloveitchik]] | [[Moshe Feinstein]] | [[Tzivos Hashem]] | [[Mahane Israel]] | [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]] | [[Kehot Publication Society]] | [[Kfar Chabad]] | [[shluchim]] | [[Uforatzto Campaign]] | [[Mitzvah Campaign]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“the house of Israel is on fire (May God have mercy), and the young generation, as things now stand, is largely trapped. You are surely not unaware of the ‘dry’ statistics of intermarriage and assimilation in this country [the United States] and the subject is similar in other countries.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1964)<ref name="Heilman2010p164">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 164.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“I thought he was my soldier,” the Rebbe wrote to the parents, “and that I could assign him. … However it emerges that before he makes a decision, he must listen to his mother and his family. Obviously, this is not the behavior of a soldier…” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p168">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 168.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“It would be worthwhile for you to start visiting the colleges.” (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn to Carlebach and Schachter)<ref name="Heilman2010p168">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 168.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“in the current situation, we must pay great care to see to it that every Jew will put on tefillin, for this is a mitzvah that has great power to bring the Jews out from their difficulties in peace.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1967)<ref name="Heilman2010p187">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 187.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Not only may you do this, but you must do it.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson to Shlomo Riskin on women dancing with the Torah)<ref name="Heilman2010p179">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 179.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Ale khsidim zaynen dem Rebns kinder”—“all Hasidim are the Rebbe’s children.” (Moussia Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p195">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 195.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Unlike the fifth and sixth rebbes, who had remained within the cocoon of Lubavitch even when they were on the run, this Rebbe had been on the periphery. … Menachem Mendel… could see the future because he had been living in it. He had been in Montparnasse and he had been in Berlin…<ref name="Heilman2010p165">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 165.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Menachem Mendel Schneerson wanted an alternative army to the Zionist one, one that did not move by firepower but was driven by spiritual power, one that he commanded and which brought not destruction before victory but mitzvahs before redemption.<ref name="Heilman2010p175">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 175.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>This was a radically new view—that observant Jews could be surrounded by unbelievers and the unobservant but would change the environment rather than assimilating into it. He believed this possible based on his own experience…<ref name="Heilman2010p159">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 159.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>When after six days the unanticipated military triumph of the Israelis led not only to survival but also to their regaining the ancient Temple Mount… the Rebbe could claim the victory as his, arguing that it was the sight of soldiers donning tefillin that had miraculously frightened the enemy.<ref name="Heilman2010p187">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 187.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Indeed, the only person Menachem Mendel could really talk to and with whom he could expansively share his inner thoughts and feelings was a dead man, his father-in-law… Given this sort of personal isolation and solitude… was he getting lost in a culture of messianic delusion?<ref name="Heilman2010p195">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 195.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 7: From Resurrection to Death: We Want Moshiach Now ==

Traces the intensification of explicit messianism from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, including the “We Want Moshiach Now” campaign, the Yosele Schumacher affair, relations with Israeli leaders, the library lawsuit, the death of Moussia Schneerson, the “who is a Jew” controversy, the Gulf War, the failed expectations of 1991–92, and the Rebbe’s stroke on 2 March 1992.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Barry Gourary]] | [[Chana Gourary]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Avremel Shemtov]] | [[Yehuda Krinsky]] | [[Yoel Kahan]] | [[Zalman Shazar]] | [[Menachem Begin]] | [[Yitzhak Shamir]] | [[Yitzhak Rabin]] | [[Moshe Dayan]] | [[Menachem Elazar Schach]] | [[Shalom Schumacher]] | [[Yosele Schumacher]] | [[Berel Lazar]] | [[David Nachshon]] | [[Tzivos Hashem]] | [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]] | [[Kfar Chabad]] | [[shluchim]] | [[Moshiach Campaign]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“We must not see in the establishment of the state [of Israel] the beginning of redemption, for the Messiah has not yet come. … When in 5708 [1948] you changed the name ‘the Land of Israel’ to ‘the State of Israel,’ you stole from the People of Israel the name that was written in the Torah… Zion and Jerusalem are not ours. This is not the Zion for which we yearned.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1958)<ref name="Heilman2010p198">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 198.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“We don’t want to wait anymore; we want Moshiach [Messiah] now.” (slogan promoted by the Rebbe)<ref name="Heilman2010p212">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 212.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“If I were asked in this generation who was the most suitable [candidate for Messiah], beyond any question in my mind, it would be the Rebbe.” (Yehuda Krinsky)<ref name="Heilman2010p214">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 214.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“How can it be that until this moment, we have not been able to bring about the coming of the Messiah? … What else can I do so that the Children of Israel will cry out and demand the Messiah come… I have to hand over the task to you: Do all you can to bring the righteous Moshiach, mamesh.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 27 Nisan 1991)<ref name="Heilman2010p231">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 231.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“The Time for Your Redemption Has Arrived.” (full-page advertisement in the ''New York Times'', 19 June 1991)<ref name="Heilman2010p233">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 233.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>In fact, the prime mover in all this was not the elderly grandfather but his son, Shalom, the boy’s uncle, a Lubavitcher Hasid in constant but secret and indirect contact with his Rebbe, Menachem Mendel. It was the latter’s desire to see this child, and any others he could, “redeemed” from the secular state…<ref name="Heilman2010p199">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 199.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>This growing insistence on the imminence of the Messiah was also a denial of death. Ernest Becker has argued that to deny death is at its root “to deny one’s lack of control over events”… The messianic campaign accomplished this both for the Rebbe and for his Hasidim.<ref name="Heilman2010p220">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 220.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Aiming to unite the entire Jewish people, he in fact created conditions that exacerbated splits among them. … Ironically, many of those who opposed this move, particularly in America, were the same Jews to whom Lubavitcher shlichim had been reaching out…<ref name="Heilman2010p225">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 225.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Here then was the Rebbe at the peak of his powers. The war meant to usher in the messianic age had been fought and won. … No doubt this victory, for which he and his followers took credit, increased his hubris.<ref name="Heilman2010p228">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 228.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The man who was now silenced and paralyzed seemed to be the incarnation of a failed prophecy, his situation a demonstration that their faith in his promises was mistaken. … Because of this, it was critical for them… to deny their disappointment and rev up their enthusiasms.<ref name="Heilman2010p238">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 238.</ref></blockquote>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Chabad-Lubavitch]]
[[Category:Hasidic Judaism]]
[[Category:Books]]
[[Category:Biography]]

The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson

2026-10-13T10:38:49Z

D-Backup: /* Chapter 5: From Survival to Uforatzto */

{{short description|'''Academic biography of Menachem Mendel Schneerson by Samuel C. Heilman and Menachem M. Friedman'''}}
[[File:The Rebbe.jpeg|thumb|right"500px|The Rebbe, by Heilman and Friedman.]]
'''[[The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]''' is a 2010 scholarly biography by [[Samuel C. Heilman|Heilman, Samuel C.]] and [[Menachem M. Friedman|Friedman, Menachem M.]], published by Princeton University Press. It examines the life of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, the rise of Chabad-Lubavitch messianism, the global network of shluchim, and the movement’s response to Schneerson’s death in 1994.<ref>Heilman, Samuel C. and Friedman, Menachem M., ''The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson'', Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010.</ref>

== Contents ==

* Preface
* 1. Farbrengen: The Gathering of the Emissaries
* 2. Death and Resurrection
* 3. Coming of Age in a Time of Transition
* 4. Entering the Court of Lubavitch
* 5. From Survival to Uforatzto
* 6. On a Mission from the Rebbe in Life
* 7. From Resurrection to Death: We Want Moshiach Now
* 8. On a Mission from the Rebbe in His Afterlife

== Preface ==

The book traces Chabad’s messianic trajectory from the fifth Rebbe [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn|Schneersohn, Shalom DovBer]] through [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn|Schneersohn, Yosef Yitzchak]] to [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson|Schneerson, Menachem Mendel]]. It frames the movement’s post-1950 expansion and the conviction that Schneerson was the Messiah incarnate as a response to modern Jewish history (secularisation, Holocaust, Zionism, and the relocation of Jewry to Western democracies).

Key individuals and groups: [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]], [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]], [[Martin Marty]], [[R. Scott Appleby]], [[David Assaf]], [[Yoram Bilu]], [[Maya Katz]], [[Yehuda Krinsky]], [[Avremel Shemtov]], [[Barry Gourary]], [[Chana Gourary]], [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]], [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]], [[Tomekhei Temimim]].

Significant quotation:
<blockquote>Under the leadership of Rabbi Menachem Mendel, they saw themselves as being on a mission to transform Jewry—and indeed the world. … they also became convinced that their rebbe was the redeemer incarnate.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, pp. xv–xvi.</ref>

== Chapter 1: Farbrengen: The Gathering of the Emissaries ==

Describes the annual kinus shluchim at 770 Eastern Parkway and the continued mission after Schneerson’s death. Covers the historical origins of Chabad outreach, the role of couples as shluchim, post-1989 expansion into the former Soviet Union, and practices at the ohel (including pidyones, bibliomancy, and video presence).

=== Individuals and groups ===

* [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
* [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
* [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]]
* [[Schneur Zalman of Liadi|Zalman, Schneur]]
* [[Ba’al Shem Tov]]
* [[Abraham Hecht]]
* [[Shaltiel Lebovic]]
* [[Hirschy Zarchi]] and [[Elkie Zarchi]]
* [[Shalom Greenberg]] and [[Dina Greenberg]]
* [[Asher Federman]] and [[Henya Federman]]
* [[Shalom Lipskar]]
* [[Berel Lazar]]
* [[Yehuda Krinsky]]
* [[Moshe Kotlarsky]]
* [[Berel Shemtov]], [[Avremel Shemtov]], [[Leizer Shemtov]]
* [[Ari Solish]]
* [[Abba Refson]]
* [[Yisrael Shmotkin]]
* [[770 Eastern Parkway]]
* [[Kfar Chabad]]
* [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]]
* [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]]
* [[Tomekhei Temimim]]
* [[Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia]] (via Lazar)

=== Significant quotations ===

<blockquote>our job is to make a dwelling place for God in the lower world. … We try to make the world a more and more godly place, until the coming of the Moshiach.</blockquote> (Rabbi Shaltiel Lebovic)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>He has nothing to fear. He’s going to go and he’s going to come back and everything will be all right.</blockquote> (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn to a mother of a student sent to Poland, 1939)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>I am happy to provide a synagogue and kosher meal for religious Jews visiting Shanghai. But if I were not here, the observant Jew would still pray on his own … the Jews who are not observant, however, are praying because I and Dina are here … They are the reason ChaBaD has come here.</blockquote> (Shalom Greenberg)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>Those who do not remember the Rebbe in life are ‘bigger Hasidim’ even than those who did, because they have to work harder to bring him back. … the Rebbe gives a person the strength he needs. … a tsaddik lives more today than yesterday.</blockquote> (Berel Shemtov)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

<blockquote>Charity … hastens and immediately causes the true and complete redemption.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010" />

== Chapter 2: Death and Resurrection ==

Recounts the death of [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] on 10 Shvat 5710 (28 January 1950) at [[770 Eastern Parkway]], the succession contest between sons-in-law [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] and [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]], and Schneerson’s eventual acceptance of the leadership on the first yahrzeit. Analyses the construction of continuity through claims that the Previous Rebbe remained present, the role of the ohel, and the later library lawsuit that sealed Schneerson’s symbolic and legal control.

=== Individuals and groups ===

* [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
* [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
* [[Shmaryahu Gourary]]
* [[Chana Gourary]]
* [[Barry Gourary]] (Shalom DovBer Gourary)
* [[Moussia Schneerson]] (Chaya Mushka)
* [[Nechama Dina Schneersohn]]
* [[Chaim Lieberman]]
* [[Shmuel Levitin]]
* [[Shalom DovBer Eichorn]]
* [[Abraham (Aba) Seligson]]
* [[Eli Simpson]]
* [[Baer Rivkin]]
* [[Zalman Schachter]]
* [[Chaim Hodakov]]
* [[Yehuda Leib Groner]]
* [[Yitzchak Hendel]]
* [[Avraham Sender Nemtzov]]
* [[Yoel Kahan]]
* [[Israel Jacobson]]
* [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]]
* [[Vaad Hapoel of Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]]
* [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]]
* [[United Lubavitcher Yeshivas]]
* [[Tomekhei Temimim]]
* [[Old Montefiore Cemetery]]
* [[770 Eastern Parkway]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“Jews,” he declared upon his arrival in North America in 1940, “we must repent and save our children and ourselves from the danger. We have to observe Sabbath and the laws of kashruth. Men must put on tefillin and women must go to the mikveh… children must get a religious education.” His motto had been “l'altar l'tshuvah, l'altar l'geula” — “repentance immediately, redemption immediately.” (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn)<ref name="Heilman2010p35">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 35.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>But we do have a Rebbe. What difference does it make where he is, in this world or the other world? (Menachem Mendel Schneerson to Zalman Schachter, 1950)<ref name="Heilman2010p42">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 42.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Although we have not earned it, and have not toiled for it… nevertheless, ‘all those who are seventh are most beloved,’ and therefore there are no inherent limitations that should cause an individual [of this seventh generation] to say that this status is beyond him…</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, ma’amar of 10 Shvat 5711)<ref name="Heilman2010p49">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 49.</ref>

<blockquote>I am only a stand-in.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p62">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 62.</ref>

<blockquote>wild men think that to die is to leave completely, this is not so.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p62">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 62.</ref>

<blockquote>It should be understood the war [conflict] is not only over the seforim [books], but rather oif dem benkel—‘over the seat’ of power.</blockquote> (Menachem Mendel Schneerson on the library case)<ref name="Heilman2010p55">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 55.</ref>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak had died intestate; he left neither a will that indicated who would receive his property… nor a “moral” will that indicated who should lead the community of Hasidim after him. There were unsubstantiated rumors that there had been a will (naming Barry, his beloved grandson) but that it had disappeared, perhaps eliminated intentionally.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p33">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 33.</ref>

<blockquote>While Shmaryahu Gourary was swooning, his brother-in-law… Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was sobbing. … The intensity of his mourning made a deep impression on the community. This man, who had seemed to be distant… was now evidently more openly broken up than Shmaryahu Gourary over the loss of their Rebbe.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p32">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 32.</ref>

<blockquote>In the end, the victor is presented by the Hasidim as the most deserving leader who is truly ordained for the role. Any lingering doubts are simply banished… The key was always to ensure continuity. This happened during 1950 and into 1951 in Lubavitch. And, when it was over, as the new Rebbe would later put it, “they put the key into [my] pocket.”</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p41">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 41.</ref>

<blockquote>This theme would become a recurring leitmotif of the reign of Rabbi Menachem Mendel… The Messiah would be brought by the seventh generation in the ChaBaD dynasty, and they were that generation. … This address… served as the basis of the entire Messiah campaign and the justification for all its missionizing and other activities.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p48">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 48.</ref>

<blockquote>Menachem Mendel had not invented this idea of talking to a dead rebbe… For Rabbi Menachem Mendel, it became the basis of his legitimacy. Perhaps it was why he would never stray further than a short car ride away from the cemetery…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p59">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 59.</ref>

<blockquote>These very same arguments were invoked within the community years later, after Menachem Mendel himself had died with his own promises of redemption unfulfilled.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p61">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 61.</ref>

<blockquote>Menachem Mendel Schneerson understood that the library was more than just a collection of books, and that the struggle over it with his nephew and sister-in-law was about his leadership. … When Menachem Mendel was affirmed as having that possession, he was finally judged to belong symbolically and legally to that succession.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p55">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 55.</ref>

<blockquote>Unlike Menachem Mendel, whose appeal emerged at this time, Gourary suddenly appeared to many people to lack personal charisma. … He was not one who would attract more followers to the movement or lead them toward the day of redemption…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p56">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 56.</ref>

== Chapter 3: Coming of Age in a Time of Transition ==

Traces Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s childhood and youth from Nikolayev to Yekaterinoslav (later Dnepropetrovsk), his exposure to secular education and Zionist/socialist currents, his apprenticeship and university studies, the family’s move into the Lubavitcher court in Leningrad, the 1927 arrest of Yosef Yitzchak, and the couple’s life in Riga and Berlin prior to the 1928 wedding. Emphasises the tension between Hasidic expectations and Schneerson’s pursuit of secular knowledge, and the retrospective hagiographic framing of these years.

=== Individuals and groups ===

* [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
* [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]]
* [[Chana Schneerson]]
* [[Yisrael Aryeh Leib Schneerson]] (Leibel)
* [[DovBer Schneerson]] (Bereke/Berel)
* [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]]
* [[Shmaryahu Gourary]]
* [[Chaya Moussia Schneerson]]
* [[Shalom DovBer Schneersohn]]
* [[Avraham Lavut]]
* [[Meyer Shlomo Yanofsky]]
* [[Abraham Shlonsky]] and [[Vardina Shlonsky]]
* [[Zalman Wilenkin]]
* [[Israel Eidelsohn]] (Bar Yehuda)
* [[Hayyim Zuta]]
* [[Shmarya Levin]]
* [[Emanuel Burstein]]
* [[Semion Dimanstein]]
* [[Chaim Lieberman]]
* [[Chaim Hodakov]]
* [[Meir Hildesheimer]]
* [[J. J. Weinberg]]
* [[Joint Distribution Committee]] (JDC)
* [[Yevsektsiya]]
* [[OGPU]]
* [[Vaad L’Chizuk HaTorah V’Hadat B’Russia]]
* [[Mahane Israel]]
* [[Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary]]
* [[Tomekhei Temimim]]
* [[Friedrich Wilhelm University]] (Humboldt)

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>superior “in Torah and the fear of God” but also as someone who “knows and understands worldly matters.”</blockquote> (Fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe on Levi Yitzchak)<ref name="Heilman2010p69">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 69.</ref>

<blockquote>I am not leaving under duress—far from it! I am doing exactly what I planned to do. … Know that I shall be with you always … know that what you are seeing is a neshamah [soul], as it exists in Gan Eden [paradise] clothed in a body.</blockquote> (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn)<ref name="Heilman2010p82">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 82.</ref>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>The life story of a Hasidic rebbe is often shrouded in hagiography. … Every past act and event must be shown retrospectively to have led inexorably to his eminence and greatness… The farther back in the rebbe’s life one goes, the more difficult this becomes, and the more pressing is the need to shroud these distant events in hagiography, myth, mystery, and reconstructed memory.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p65">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 65.</ref>

<blockquote>Like so much else in his story, even the date of his birth is ambiguous. While the accepted birthday, according to his own word, was Sabbath eve, April 18, 1902… his Soviet passport indicates an earlier date, March 2, 1895…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p66">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 66.</ref>

<blockquote>Despite his attachment to Lubavitcher Hasidism… Levi Yitzchak Schneerson did not send his sons to the Tomekhei Temimim yeshiva… According to one internal Lubavitcher source, Levi Yitzchak did not “permit” his son Mendel to go to the yeshiva in Lubavitch.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p71">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 71.</ref>

<blockquote>To this end they hired Israel Eidelsohn, a confirmed socialist and Zionist… Many years later Menachem Mendel as Lubavitcher Rebbe would adamantly and publicly oppose this position [of defining Jewishness by personal choice].</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p72">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 72.</ref>

<blockquote>Later Lubavitcher histories claim with hindsight that this move to Leningrad, the early connection with the court of the sixth Lubavitcher rebbe, and the marriage to Yosef Yitzchak’s daughter prove beyond any doubt the strength of Menachem Mendel’s Hasidic attachments. … It is entirely unclear, however, whether becoming his father-in-law’s successor was in the young man’s plans.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p75">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 75.</ref>

<blockquote>The fact that two were out together until the early hours of the morning is glossed over in Lubavitcher accounts of the events. Such behavior would certainly have distinguished them from a traditional Hasidic couple…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p79">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 79.</ref>

<blockquote>Apart from Yosef Yitzchak and Lieberman… none of the other family members were detained or imprisoned. Mendel remained untouched—and all the efforts in which internal sources describe his being active or wanted by the police remain undocumented.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p80">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 80.</ref>

<blockquote>We find no reliable answers for Mendel’s choice of Berlin. … Notwithstanding the claims of Lubavitchers that he spent much time there on missions for the Rebbe, Berlin was not a place where Mendel went to act in his capacity as a Hasid.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p84">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 84.</ref>

<blockquote>A story repeated among Lubavitchers that Menachem Mendel Schneerson received rabbinic ordination (semikhah) while in Berlin from Rabbi J. J. Weinberg… has no apparent evidentiary basis.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p87">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 87.</ref>

<blockquote>With this marriage, he would not only gain a wife but shift his status from that of a cousin of the Lubavitcher rebbe to being his son-in-law. In time, that status would prove far more important than having studied in Berlin.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p89">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 89.</ref>

== Chapter 4: Entering the Court of Lubavitch ==

Describes the November 1928 wedding of Menachem Mendel Schneerson and Chaya Moussia Schneersohn in Warsaw, the couple’s subsequent life shuttling between Berlin and the Lubavitcher court in Riga, Mendel’s continuing university studies as an auditor, Yosef Yitzchak’s efforts to draw him into court activities, and the tensions surrounding secular education, appearance, and Hasidic expectations.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Chaya Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] | [[Chana Schneerson]] | [[Sheina Schneersohn]] | [[Mendel Horensztajn]] | [[Moshe Horensztajn]] | [[Chaya Mushka Horensztajn]] | [[Abraham Mordecai Alter]] (Gerer Rebbe) | [[Yitzhak Menachem Mendel Danziger]] (Aleksander Rebbe) | [[Meir Shapiro]] | [[Meir Hildesheimer]] | [[J. J. Weinberg]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]] | [[Tomekhei Temimim]] | [[Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary]] | [[Friedrich Wilhelm University]] | [[Tseirey Agudas Yisroel]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“The crowd of guests is completely different from those seen at other [Hasidic] Rebbes’ weddings. One sees no shtraymls or the black round velvet hats [typical of Hasidim]. Most are Jews clothed in European dress and only a small number is dressed in high silk caps.” (Moment)<ref name="Heilman2010p97">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 97.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“a young man of refined features, with an intelligent demeanor” (Moment on the groom)<ref name="Heilman2010p100">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 100.</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>“sympathetic face and a small dark beard” (Haynt)<ref name="Heilman2010p100">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 100.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The Torah remains only with those who give their life for it. Diligence in studying the depths of Torah is what causes that Torah to remain in a person’s mind. (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn at the wedding)<ref name="Heilman2010p101">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 101.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Where… did his son “acquire this practice?” … “You are not a Samson in strength.” Such is not “the way of Torah or of repentance.” (Levi Yitzchak Schneerson on Mendel’s fasting)<ref name="Heilman2010p106">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 106.</ref></blockquote>
'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Unlike her sister, whose age at marriage was in line with the common custom of Hasidic daughters, Moussia… was at almost twenty-eight marrying at an extraordinarily late age for Hasidic brides. … unlike the husband of her older sister… Mendel… was not now nor ever had been a student at the Lubavitcher yeshiva, but someone pursuing university studies…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p91">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 91.</ref>

<blockquote>In all the internal Lubavitcher hagiographies, before his marriage and during what might be called a courtship, Mendel is always referred to as “the one intended to be the groom,” a title that has no precedent in Jewish tradition and law.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p91">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 91.</ref>

<blockquote>Mendel’s actions suggest he was determined to enter the court and marry Moussia, but they also suggest he was not ready to be a Hasid like all others.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p93">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 93.</ref>

<blockquote>The Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak, however, did not manage to persuade his new son-in-law to abandon completely his aspirations for secular study (which in principle he appeared to oppose) in Berlin. Perhaps this double life as both a Hasid and a student at the university was a reflection of Mendel's desires to please both Moussia and her father.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p94">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 94.</ref>

<blockquote>Weddings are also ceremonies that symbolize continuity and point to the future. If the new bridegroom was to be a new leader… this wedding would be the most suitable opportunity to present him to the court and the Jewish world. … But could this bride and groom serve as the vehicles for such a cultural celebration…?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p96">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 96.</ref>

<blockquote>If Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn wanted to impress the Hasidic world with his position as a Hasidic leader who would attract other Hasidim, this was the wrong crowd and wedding with which to do that.</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p98">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 98.</ref>

<blockquote>Are these the directions of a father to a son who knows what is expected of a Hasidic groom…? Or are these words of guidance given by a father who is very much a rabbi and is addressing a son who he knows has embarked on a life's journey that has taken him to the heart of secular culture…?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p99">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 99.</ref>

<blockquote>Did he want to make such a toast with a son-in-law standing with him who was not one of the temimim, who had not spent time in a yeshiva, who was headed back to the university in Berlin…?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p101">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 101.</ref>

<blockquote>Did he mean that this mixing of Torah and secular learning was alright for the bride and groom because otherwise they “would be even worse”? … Or was he trying to warn them against the way of life they had apparently chosen?</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p102">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 102.</ref>

<blockquote>In a sense, they lived a kind of bifocal life: in one they were young newlyweds in Berlin, students tasting the cosmopolitan life of the German capital… On the other hand, they were still firmly connected to the family and court from which they came…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p104">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 104.</ref>

<blockquote>That Mendel managed to switch easily from one mind-set to the other… must have impressed itself on him and confirmed a belief that one could be physically and culturally distant from the court… yet still remain connected to it… It would be a lesson he would many years later share with his shluchim…</blockquote><ref name="Heilman2010p106">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 106.</ref>

== Chapter 5: From Survival to Uforatzto ==

Covers the wartime rescue of Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn and his family from Nazi-occupied Poland, the arrival of Menachem Mendel and Moussia Schneerson in New York in 1941, the impact of the Holocaust and personal losses on Mendel’s thinking, the intensification of messianic themes, and the launch in 1958 of the Uforatzto campaign that sent young shluchim outward to “burst forth” and reach assimilated Jews.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Chana Gourary]] | [[Barry Gourary]] | [[Sheina Schneersohn]] | [[Mendel Horensztajn]] | [[Nechama Dina Schneersohn]] | [[Shterna Sarah Schneersohn]] | [[Chaim Lieberman]] | [[Chaim Hodakov]] | [[Israel Jacobson]] | [[Max Rhoade]] | [[Sam Kramer]] | [[Arthur Rabinovitz]] | [[Stephen Wise]] | [[Louis Brandeis]] | [[Robert A. Wagner]] | [[William Borah]] | [[Ernst Bloch]] | [[Breckinridge Long]] | [[Zalman Shmotkin]] | [[Zalman Schneersohn]] | [[Bentzion Shemtov]] | [[Yaakov Lipskar]] | [[Yoel Teitelbaum]] | [[Mahane Israel]] | [[Hakriya v’Hakedusha]] | [[Agudas Chassidei ChaBaD]] | [[Tomekhei Temimim]] | [[Uforatzto Campaign]] | [[shluchim]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“The sufferings I endured in prison in Russia do not compare to the torments of the 12 weeks I spent under their rule.” (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn)<ref name="Heilman2010p130">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 130.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Gevalt [for heaven's sake], the Messiah told the Ba'al Shem Tov that he would come with him when he spreads the wellsprings to the outside. And this task was given to us, to lead—and what are we doing about it? We are suffering in exile even though the Rebbe sh'lita in his maymer promised that the redemption would come quickly in our days.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1948)<ref name="Heilman2010p139">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 139.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“We need engineers and chemists, but engineering and chemistry are not the most important things.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p141">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 141.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“the seventh's primary quality lies in his being seventh. In other words, he is cherished not on account of his choice, desire, or spiritual service but because he is seventh—and this is something that he is born into.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Basi L'Gani)<ref name="Heilman2010p150">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 150.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Don't convince yourselves that you can live off the fat of the land and reside in these few blocks... There is a 'desolate land' which is thus far undeveloped spiritually. ... If you have not used your treasures for this, it must bother you.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson on Uforatzto)<ref name="Heilman2010p158">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 158.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Key, however, was the fact that American officials... had been somehow persuaded... that the Lubavitcher Rebbe was “a sort of Pope” of the Jews... Indeed, in one communication to American officials, Rhoade actually compared him to St. Francis of Assisi.<ref name="Heilman2010p131">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 131.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Neither Mendel Schneerson nor Mendel Horensztajn... had served as rabbis in any professional capacity. Both had been engaged in engineering studies... Tragically... Mendel Horensztajn and his family as Polish citizens remained disqualified for U.S. visas...<ref name="Heilman2010p133">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 133.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>These are not the words and sentiments of a man planning a career in France... This “Gevalt” is a cry from the heart of a man whose life has been turned upside down and around... The messianic message of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak... actually fit Mendel's own situation: it solved the dilemma of what the future would hold for a barren couple.<ref name="Heilman2010p139">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 139.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>When Menachem Mendel Schneerson later took up his own “Moshiach” campaign, he would reframe the messages of his predecessors so that these questions became moot. He made clear that redemption did not require any further death and suffering as a prerequisite... His was a messianism of promise.<ref name="Heilman2010p146">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 146.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>From being a somewhat mediocre mechanical and electrical engineer he would become an outstanding social and spiritual engineer who would offer his recipe for the redemption of all the Jewish people. To a significant number of his Hasidim, he would by the end appear to be the Messiah himself.<ref name="Heilman2010p149">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 149.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>This was a radically new view—that observant Jews could be surrounded by unbelievers and the unobservant but would change the environment rather than assimilating into it. He believed this possible based on his own experience of being distant from the heart of Jewish life and yet remaining tied to his Hasidic roots.<ref name="Heilman2010p159">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 159.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>His shluchim would be sent to those who were nearly lost in the depths of the spiritual dust, communicating teachings of inspiration and Judaism and thereby try to kindle the light of their Judaism... That was what it meant for this Rebbe to spread the wellsprings.<ref name="Heilman2010p162">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 162.</ref></blockquote>

== Chapter 6: On a Mission from the Rebbe in Life ==

Examines the expansion of Schneerson’s outreach after 1951, the shift from survival to the mitzvah campaigns and Uforatzto, the deployment of shluchim and Chabad Houses, public symbols such as tefillin and Hanukkah menorahs, relations with Israel and Zionism, the role of women, and the personal isolation of the Rebbe amid his growing global stature.

=== Individuals and groups ===

[[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]] | [[Moussia Schneerson]] | [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn]] | [[Shmaryahu Gourary]] | [[Shlomo Carlebach]] | [[Zalman Schachter]] | [[Avremel Shemtov]] | [[Chaim Hodakov]] | [[Yoel Teitelbaum]] | [[Zalman Shazar]] | [[Yitzchak Rabin]] | [[Menachem Begin]] | [[Ariel Sharon]] | [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] | [[Moshe Dayan]] | [[Hershel Hecht]] | [[Shlomo Riskin]] | [[Joseph B. Soloveitchik]] | [[Moshe Feinstein]] | [[Tzivos Hashem]] | [[Mahane Israel]] | [[Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch]] | [[Kehot Publication Society]] | [[Kfar Chabad]] | [[shluchim]] | [[Uforatzto Campaign]] | [[Mitzvah Campaign]]

=== Significant quotations ===

'''From primary sources / contemporary statements:'''

<blockquote>“the house of Israel is on fire (May God have mercy), and the young generation, as things now stand, is largely trapped. You are surely not unaware of the ‘dry’ statistics of intermarriage and assimilation in this country [the United States] and the subject is similar in other countries.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1964)<ref name="Heilman2010p164">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 164.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“I thought he was my soldier,” the Rebbe wrote to the parents, “and that I could assign him. … However it emerges that before he makes a decision, he must listen to his mother and his family. Obviously, this is not the behavior of a soldier…” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p168">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 168.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“It would be worthwhile for you to start visiting the colleges.” (Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn to Carlebach and Schachter)<ref name="Heilman2010p168">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 168.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“in the current situation, we must pay great care to see to it that every Jew will put on tefillin, for this is a mitzvah that has great power to bring the Jews out from their difficulties in peace.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1967)<ref name="Heilman2010p187">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 187.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Not only may you do this, but you must do it.” (Menachem Mendel Schneerson to Shlomo Riskin on women dancing with the Torah)<ref name="Heilman2010p179">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 179.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>“Ale khsidim zaynen dem Rebns kinder”—“all Hasidim are the Rebbe’s children.” (Moussia Schneerson)<ref name="Heilman2010p195">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 195.</ref></blockquote>

'''Analytical quotations from the authors:'''

<blockquote>Unlike the fifth and sixth rebbes, who had remained within the cocoon of Lubavitch even when they were on the run, this Rebbe had been on the periphery. … Menachem Mendel… could see the future because he had been living in it. He had been in Montparnasse and he had been in Berlin…<ref name="Heilman2010p165">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 165.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Menachem Mendel Schneerson wanted an alternative army to the Zionist one, one that did not move by firepower but was driven by spiritual power, one that he commanded and which brought not destruction before victory but mitzvahs before redemption.<ref name="Heilman2010p175">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 175.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>This was a radically new view—that observant Jews could be surrounded by unbelievers and the unobservant but would change the environment rather than assimilating into it. He believed this possible based on his own experience…<ref name="Heilman2010p159">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 159.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>When after six days the unanticipated military triumph of the Israelis led not only to survival but also to their regaining the ancient Temple Mount… the Rebbe could claim the victory as his, arguing that it was the sight of soldiers donning tefillin that had miraculously frightened the enemy.<ref name="Heilman2010p187">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 187.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Indeed, the only person Menachem Mendel could really talk to and with whom he could expansively share his inner thoughts and feelings was a dead man, his father-in-law… Given this sort of personal isolation and solitude… was he getting lost in a culture of messianic delusion?<ref name="Heilman2010p195">Heilman and Friedman, ''The Rebbe'', 2010, p. 195.</ref></blockquote>

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Chabad-Lubavitch]]
[[Category:Hasidic Judaism]]
[[Category:Books]]
[[Category:Biography]]

The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson

2026-10-13T10:33:10Z