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He Thought He Had Rosh Hashanah All Figured Out

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

Accusing the Satmar Rov of Politics?!

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

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

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…’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?’

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

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?!’

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

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.

‘Batlonim That You Are!’ He Screamed at the Hanhala

A talmid of R. Peretz Chein and his son Radatz, R. Dovid Meir Rabinowitz came to Boston in 1896, where he served as rov for 50 years. On a visit to Tomchei Temimim in Otvotzk, he nearly fainted, and then berated the hanhala.