Hundreds of anash and bochurim marked the anniversary of 28 Sivan, the day the Rebbe and Rebbetzin arrived in New York after escaping Nazi-occupied Europe, with a Melava Malka and farbrengen on Motzei Shabbos in 770.

Amongst the speakers were Harav Yosef Yeshaya Braun, Rabbi Sholom Ber Shapiro, Rabbi Dovid Nachshon, and Rabbi Binyomin Zilbershtrom.

A special teshura was distributed, containing rare, newly released documents from the office of attorney Mr. Asher Rabinowitz concerning the rescue of the Rebbe and Rebbetzin.

Besides the central Motzei Shabbos farbregen, a large Seudas Shabbos, doubling as a Seudas Hodaah, was arranged for all English-speaking bochurim on Friday night.

The farbrengen started with dvar malchus by a 770 bochur, and was emceed by a bochur from Oholei Torah. Rabbi Shlomo Cunin, the Rebbe’s head shliach to the West Coast, keynoted the farbrengen. Following birkas hamazon, the farbrengen continued, with mashpiim and shluchim inspiring bochurim the whole Shabbos.

As in tradition, a large banner announcing Chof-Ches Sivan was hung for the day on the western wall of 770, arranged by the bochurim to mark the day.

One chossid shared with a bochur that this year’s renewed focus on Chof-Ches Sivan brought him back to 5751, the 50th anniversary of the Rebbe and Rebbetzin’s arrival in America. He recalled the tremendous excitement surrounding the occasion, when the Rebbe and the chassidim marked the milestone with a major campaign. The Rebbe delivered a special two-part sicha, and a commemorative kovetz was published in addition to numerous sichos and maamorim connected to the day. The publications recounted the story of the Rebbe’s escape from war-torn Europe and the Holocaust, and the anniversary was marked with a festive seudah and farbrengen attended by chassidim.

Another bochur related that while in a Crown Heights shul, he overheard local baalei batim discussing the previous night’s activities. They spoke enthusiastically about the bochurim farbrenging late into the night and about the large Chof-Ches Sivan banner that had been put up in 770, noting the visible excitement surrounding the occasion.

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