Story Archives | Anash.org

The Rebbe Put His Hand on Our Shoulders and Danced with Us

Anash — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 13:05:00 +0000

Arriving in 770 as a 12-year-old boy, young Yudel Krinsky was with some friends in the Zal when the Rebbe walked in and asked if they held a Torah. Hearing that they didn't, the Rebbe did hakafos all over, just for them.

The Last Dance in Leningrad, The First in America

Anash — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 02:34:20 +0000

As we approach Simchas Torah, From the Margins of Chabad History presents a series of first-hand accounts of Simchas Torah with the Frierdiker Rebbe. Spanning decades and countries, they take us from the bittersweet farewell to Russia in Leningrad, 5688, to the historic visit to America, 5690, the remarkable celebrations in cosmopolitan Riga, 5693, and finally the iconic scenes at 770 Eastern Parkway.

The Day I Was Asked to Leave 770

Anash — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:48:00 +0000

Rabbi Hershel Zaklos thought he had finally achieved his dream of learning in 770, but after just one day, he was summoned to the Rebbe and told to leave, with a lesson on what it meant to be close to the Rebbe.

He Waited 60 Years for the Alter Rebbe’s Third Shailah

Anash — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:37:10 +0000

Before sending him as rov to Vitebsk, the Alter Rebbe told R. Yitzchak Aizik three shailos. For the 60 years he served as rov, he waited for the third shaila, and when it came, he knew his life's mission was complete.

The Rebbe’s Nachas from Chassidim Caring for Each Other

Anash — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 13:05:00 +0000

When secretary Reb Binyomin Klein brought the Rebbe a note from a chossid about an act of ahavas Yisroel that he witnessed among chassidim, the Rebbe's face lit up with nachas.

Kol Nidrei with the Rebbe in Liadi: An Eyewitness Account

Anash — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 23:52:00 +0000

The latest installment of From the Margins of Chabad History takes us back 150 years to the holy and uplifting atmosphere of Yom Kippur with the Chabad Rebbe of Liadi, Harav Chaim Shneur Zalman Schneerson. A picture of the zal of the Rebbe of Liadi is also uncovered for the first time.

The Tzemach Tzedek’s Trusted Rov Who Fought the Czar’s Chappers

Anash — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 23:47:00 +0000

A renowned rov and senior chossid whom the Tzemach Tzedek entrusted with guiding young Chassidim, R. Aharon Belinitcher was sent to influence communities to excommunicate the Czar’s notorious chappers.

‘The Ignorance Is Truly Shocking’

Anash — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:02:00 +0000

Throughout the early years of the nesius, in correspondence with rabbonim and mechanchim, the Rebbe repeatedly stressed the critical need to incorporate practical halacha in yeshivos and shiurim.

The Rebbe Asked What Nobody Thought To Ask

Mendel — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:52:00 +0000

Veteran mechanech and senior shliach Rabbi Shmuel Lew recalls two personal encounters, decades apart, that revealed the Rebbe’s remarkable attention and care for each chossid.

The Mashpia From Whom Everyone Was in Awe

Anash — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 23:57:00 +0000

Childless for many years, they asked for brachos of the Mezritcher Maggid, R. Avrohom Kalisker, and R. Mendel Vitebsker, without success. At last, the Alter Rebbe connected them with R. Mordechai "Hatzadik," and R. Mordechai "Mashpia" was born.

He Thought He Had Rosh Hashanah All Figured Out

Anash — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 13:33:00 +0000

Having resolved to spend Rosh Hashanah immersed in avodas hatefillah, his plans were suddenly interrupted. “They need you,” he was told, as he faced a real struggle between his own avodah and what Hashem had planned for him.

Accusing the Satmar Rov of Politics?!

Anash — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 13:05:00 +0000

The respect and esteem with which the Rebbe regarded rabbonim was extraordinary. When someone suggested that a certain psak din of rabbonim was motivated by politics, the Rebbe reacted sharply.

I Thought the Rebbe Would Tell Me That Children Are a Blessing

Anash — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 21:02:57 +0000

Overwhelmed while expecting her fifth child, Mrs. Chana Gurary of Montreal reluctantly went to the Rebbe expecting words about the blessing of children, but what the Rebbe told her was far more practical.

Riga, Brownsville, Crown Heights: Rosh Hashanah with the Frierdiker Rebbe

Anash — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:48:00 +0000

As we approach Rosh Hashanah, From the Margins of Chabad History presents contemporary accounts of Rosh Hashanah with the Frierdiker Rebbe in Riga, Brownsville, and Crown Heights. A letter of Rosh Hashanah berachos from the Frierdiker Rebbe to American Jews is also published here, for the first time.

‘If Rabbi Schneersohn Would Behave like All Rabbonim…’

Anash — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:12:00 +0000

The Rov of Minsk and later Leningrad, R. Menachem Mendel Gluskin, fought with mesiras nefesh to preserve Yiddishkeit under Soviet rule. During one NKVD interrogation, he asked why the Communists hated the Frierdiker Rebbe so fiercely, and received a revealing answer.

I Wasn’t Excited to Meet the Rebbe, Then Everything Changed

Anash — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 15:07:00 +0000

After losing her father in a shocking, unsolved murder, young Chana Sharfstein reluctantly accompanied her grieving mother to a yechidus with the Rebbe, expecting little from the visit, until the Rebbe suddenly turned to her.

Chinuch Begins at Home

Anash — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 13:03:00 +0000

When Rebbetzin Sima Ashkenazi began telling the Rebbe about a tense meeting between parents and the seminary hanhala, she got only as far as the word “parents” before the Rebbe interrupted her.

He Gave His Life for His Children’s Chinuch, and Succeeded

Anash — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:19:00 +0000

Dedicated to his children's chinuch, R. Benche Raskin fought the Haskala in his hometown, moved to another city, and early each morning he recited Tehillim and brachos with tears, pleading for ehrliche children. The result: The large Lubavitcher Raskin family.

Not Everywhere is Kfar Chabad on Simchas Torah

Anash — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 13:05:00 +0000

A grand 'Erev Chabad' in Caesarea featured Chassidim singing nigunim and dancing, with some amusing by dancing on their heads. But in a yechidus that followed, the Rebbe explained that not everything that works on Simchas Torah in Kfar Chabad is suitable for the wider public.

When the Rebbe Wouldn’t Accept Two Medical Opinions

Anash — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 19:43:42 +0000

When two doctors recommended removing his lung for cancer, the Rebbe insisted on yet a third opinion. That advice saved his lung, and saved his life years later.

He Saw What the Tzemach Tzedek Did Behind Closed Doors

Anash — Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:34:00 +0000

Called into the Tzemach Tzedek’s room to copy a maamar, R. Shmuel der Shreiber was left spellbound by what he witnessed, spending all night watching the Rebbe learn until he was ultimately sent on his way.

The Rebbe Rejected His Offer to Donate a Year of His Life

Anash — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 13:05:00 +0000

When young Shamshi Yunik was moved to donate years to the Rebbe, the Rebbe rejected his offer and redirected him to the proper way for him to give of his life to the Rebbe.

A Home-Cooked L’chaim and a Wedding on Paper Plates

Anash — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 17:45:58 +0000

Mrs. Mariashi Groner recalls how the Rebbe’s call for simpler l’chaims shaped her own engagement, and how her father carried the same message into her wedding with simple invitations, paper plates, and plenty of joy.

Boys Banned from Ball Playing, But the Rebbe Intervened

Anash — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:04:00 +0000

When boys at 770 were told to stop playing ball, one boy was ready to leave yeshiva altogether. The Rebbe heard about it, and the next day, balls came rolling out the windows of 770.

The Rebbe’s Answer to My Doubt Before the Wedding

Anash — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 20:46:00 +0000

Before his wedding, Rabbi Zushe Winner asked the Rebbe how he could know that his commitment to establish a home on the foundations of Torah and mitzvos was truly sincere, and received an answer that stayed with him for life.

The Cantonist Chossid Who Became the Rebbe’s Gabbai

Anash — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:57:00 +0000

Kidnapped at age seven and freed by 'Chevras Techiyas Hameisim,' R. Yisrael Nachman Mariasin became a devout chossid, a talmid of R. Hillel Paritcher, and ultimately, the Rebbe Rashab's gabbai for yechidus.

‘What Are Bochurim Doing in Such a Place?’

Anash — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 13:03:00 +0000

While strongly encouraging mivtzoim, the Rebbe also cautioned that not every setting was appropriate for every person. When bochurim found an opportunity near a resort, the Rebbe reprimanded them.

The Rebbe Banged on the Bimah with a Message From Above

Anash — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 18:44:35 +0000

As a talmid in 770, R' Yisroel Gordon was sitting in the Zal when the Rebbe walked in and banged on the bimah. He had a message from the Frierdiker Rebbe who received a heavenly message from the Rebbe Rashab.

‘Nu, What Was I Supposed to Do?!’

Anash — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 01:07:00 +0000

As a tomim in Lubavitch and later as a shochet, R. Shamai Vigan was a devout oved Hashem who spent hours each night at krias shema she’al hamita. Crying to the Rebbe Rashab that his sister was in danger, the Rebbe felt compelled to make a miracle for him.

When the Rebbe Opposed the Founding of Touro College

Anash — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 13:05:00 +0000

Before founding Touro College, Dr. Bernard Lander presented his carefully designed plans to the Rebbe in yechidus. But the Rebbe responded with an objection he had not anticipated.