Part I Here
The
Mazkir continues:
Since the question came up we should tell that when The
Rebbe married Sumner Redstone’s daughter she was
frum, shomer Shabbos, kashrus, etc. and Mr. Redstone, who was not
frum, even
koshered his home out of respect and even to this day keeps a kosher kitchen for the three grandchildren, who all went to
yeshiva and remain
frum, a daughter and two sons, one of whom went to
Mir and is now in law school and learning at
Chaim Berlin. The
Rebbe did agree to work with Mr. Redstone at his request in various businesses, and was very successful, and also continued as a rav in congregations at the same time. When the divorce came, partly because Mr. Redstone’s daughter became less
frum not because The
Rebbe became more
frum, the fact is that The
Rebbe unfortunately left with much less money than he had going in, in the divorce agreement giving up almost everything he had earned in return for the children to be kept in
Yeshiva and a
frum environment.
Boruch HaShem The
Rebbe has been successful at rebuilding since then.
Going back to the
Chassidus; none of the late
Rebbe’s sons felt worthy to be
memalei mekomo, but all three wanted
R’ Yitzchok Aaron to accept that, and there is a
chumash from the late
Rebbe that was later discovered and names
R’ Yitzchok Aaron as being
mamshich. One uncle,
R’ Shmuel Yitzchok, was not successful at convincing him to move from
Rav to
Rebbe, but The
Rebbe took over his position as Chaplain of the City of Boston when he passed away in 1974. But the other uncle,
R’ Boruch Korff, was diagnosed with cancer shortly after the divorce from Redstone’s daughter and was successful, with the help of many other
Rebbes in the family who called to get
R’ Yitzchok Aaron to accept being
Rebbe. The
shidduch with the
Shomrei Emunim’s daughter was made by the
Skolier Rebbe. The
Shomrei Emunim Rebbe did not go to the
chasunah because it was in America and he doesn’t go to America, but the
Shomrei Emunim Rebbetzin (who was the daughter of
R’ Mordechai, the
Zvhiler Rebbe of
Yerushalayim, and a great granddaughter of
R’ Shlomke Zvhiller, and a third cousin to
R’ Yitzchok Aaron) did come to Boston for the
chasunoh. And by the way, more on the question of how The Rebbe grew up and the
frumkeit, after learning at
Chaim Berlin he learned in
Eretz Yisroel and received
smicha at the age of 21 from the
Zvhiler Rebbe, R’ Mordechai, and as it turned out twenty years later ended up marrying
R’ Mordechai’s granddaughter, who is his present
Rebbetzin. The
Shomrei Emunim Rebbe accepts them and the grandchildren, but there is a lot of politics there and they aren’t following
Shomrei Emunim hanhogos and
chumros so people make a big deal out it. Some
chasidim like to make stories and make splits, but the children are also close to the
Shomrei Emunim Rav (the
Shomrei Emunim Rebbe’s oldest son) who visits them and they visit him, and when the
Shomrei Emunim Rebbetzin was
niftar last year the children walked with the family and
chassidim behind the
Aron and The
Zvhil-Mezbuz Rebbetzin sat in her home in
Yerushalayim and many of the
chasidim and cousins came.
The
Shomrei Emunim Rebbe is not happy that his daughter wears a sheitel and doesn’t shave her head and wear a
tichel, but the daughter is following our
Rebbe’s shitah and in
Zvhil/Mezbuz of prior generations they did not shave. (In fact, if you look at the picture of the late
Rebbe’s wife on your website blog that was taken in
Zvhil yet you can see that she doesn’t cover her hair – the times were different and times change, and we can’t judge by today’s standards. For example, many
Rebbes, including the late
Zvhil-Mezbuz Rebbe, R’ Yaakov Yisroel, used to wear ties, but today people say it’s
ossur or too modern?)
By the way, the comment was correct about a daughter of the
Shomrei Emunim Rebbe going to the
Lubavitcher Rebbe and refusing to take the dollar. It wasn’t The
Rebbetzin (who also went) but one of her sisters, and the reason wasn’t disrespect, but because they were raised that men and women don’t hand things to each other.
Lastly, I am also attaching:
- a picture of the late
Rebbe’s tisch at the
chasunoh of his son
R’ Nuchem (the present
Rebbe’s father) – there are many
Rebbes there who are all cousins. In answer to one comment, it was not the norm back then for cousins who were not father/son/brother to wear
shtreimelach at a relative’s
simchah like it has become today;
- a picture of the present
Rebbe with his cousins the late
Talner Rebbe of Boston and the
Zvhil-Klausenberg Rebbe of Union City;
- a picture of the late
Rebbe’s ohel in Boston;
- and a picture of the late
Rebbe that is almost identical to how the present Rebbe looks.
The bottom line though going back to your original posting is that we all mourn the assimilation and problems that are found in every
Chassidic dynasty in every generation since the
Baal Shem Tov. But as The
Rebbe explains there is a strength and reassurance in the
yichus that always brings
einiklach back, and we pray that any
yeridah is for the sake of
aliyah and we know that whatever
agmas nefesh the late
Rebbe suffered he is having much
nachas now from his grandson and great grandchildren.
I hope you find this useful and clearing up all of the confusion. If there is something we haven’t answered let me know and I will try to help.
Lazar Silbert
(The first four pictures attached – each labeled starting “47”, are pictures of R’ Nuchem’s chasunah in 1947. Note the picture of the Kallah, the present Rebbe’s late mother, coming to visit and sit with the Rebbes at their table, something that was certainly accepted back then but has been erased today with revisionism)
(PICTURES TO APPEAR TOMORROW,
IY"H. THAT WAY YOU'LL COME BACK TOMORROW...)
