Yud Dalet Kislev - Looking for stories I may have missed

chatz

Fri, Dec 09 2011, 1:38 pm

I have material in front of me, but no fax or real time, so here's some randomness:
-Marriage took place on 14th Kislev 5689 / Nov 27, 1928 in Warsaw [Rebbetzin CM passed away in Shvat 5748, so do the math from there]
-The Rebbe's parents (R' Levik & Rebbetzin Chana) did not attend - they were stuck in Yekatrinoslav, behind the Iron Curtain (where they made their own celebration - whole story, but is printed in a couple of places)
-Original idea was from the Rebbe Rashab.
-They lived in Berlin then Paris then came to the USA
-They were very strict in Kashrus. The Rebbe ate nothing prepared outside their home, only what the Rebbetzin personally prepared.
At a time when no Jewish baked bread was available in Paris, the Rebbe walked nightly to a certain bakery to throw a piece of wood in to the oven and light it at 2 am (so it could be pas yisroel) (bakery was located in an area without street lighting, no public transporation so late at night)
During a certain period the Rebbetzin walked several km almost daily in order to watch a cow being milked

The Rebbetzin once related on a trip, German border officials queried the personal details she had noted on her entry form. She had written that the family names of her husband, of both her parents, and even of her grandparents, were all Schneersohn! (made them suspicious - the Germand Yimoch Shimom later went to their apartment in Paris to investigate (after they had already left for the US))

Dr. Menachem Mentzer related the following:
Once he was stuck in Paris, on the way to the US. It was the day before Sukos and he was despairing of finding a suka. He went to the JEwish quarter and encountered a young man. He asked him where he could get kosher food and he replied - come home with me and be a welcome guest.
He accepted and the visit left a strong impression on him. Thirty years later, he had yechidus with the Rebbe - as soon as he entered, the REbbe greeted him with a smile, saying "We know each other!" Dr. Mentzer had no idea what the Rebbe was talking about. The Rebbe continued, "We once hosted you in our suka at our home in Paris."

They left Paris before Shavuos 1940, escaping to Vichy and eventually to the US

*All info from the book on the Rebbetzin, out in stores in Hebrew, partially out in English, with the remaining english parts soon to be printed
There's more, but I'm not sure if its what you're looking for, its 2.5 hours to shabbos, and im nursing Smile