Despite the dismay caused by the theft of these valuables, the wedding was celebrated with much joy
The Tzemach Tzedek, Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1789–1866), was the third Lubavitcher Rebbe. His seven sons were sometimes referred to as the “seven branches of the menorah.” Most went on to establish Chabad branches across White Russia. However, the oldest son, Rav Baruch Shalom, and the youngest, Rav Shmuel, stayed in Lubavitch, with the latter assuming the mantle of leadership. Destiny ordained that their descendants would unite to rebuild Chabad-Lubavitch in the 20th century.
Named for the Tzemach Tzedek, Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994) met his future father-in-law, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rav Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson (known as “the Rayatz”) in 1922 in Rostov, Russia. Following their 1927 exit from the Soviet Union, the shidduch was formalized between young Rav Menachem Mendel — who would succeed his father-in-law as the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe — and his cousin, the Rayatz’s daughter Chaya Mushka. The wedding date was set for 14 Kislev 1928, and was to be held in Warsaw.
The ceremony, held at Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim, drew some uninvited guests — pickpockets. Rav Eliyahu Chaim Althaus, shomer for the chassan, recorded this in his diary:
Thousands of people gathered [together] and jostling one another [creates] an opportune time [for thieves] to pick peoples’ pockets and… strip them of their expensive ornaments. It is all done secretly, very quickly and professionally. With my own eyes, I saw that some of the victims of theft were there at the chuppah with cuts in their clothing, and I can wholeheartedly [attest about] the thief that his knife was exceedingly sharp and smooth, and there was no reason to suspect the slightest flaw or feeling of roughness, heaven forbid. And there [was] no suspicion of causing pain to living creatures with their work, because the “slaughtered” one, who was robbed, did not feel a thing during the… thievery, even… when the knife entered his pocket and when it left…
Create a free account to keep reading.
