To clarify:

RYA Leiba’s second wife’s name was Sara Liba.

All four of her grandparents were descendants of the Alter Rebbe: Two of them (R Yisroel Noach and Devorah Leah) were children of the Tzemach Tzedek; and the other two (R Schneur Zalmanson and Freida) were children of R Yekusiel Zalman and Rivka, a daughter of the Miteler Rebbe.

Thus, in two ways was she a second cousin with R Boruch Schneur, the Rebbe’s grandfather. She was first married to R Yitzchok Isaac Menuchin, and then to RYA Leiba.

Thus, the questions raised in this article — Did the Rebbe personally request the approval through Reb Yisrael Asher? Did Reb Yisrael Asher act on his own initiative? Was he perhaps prompted by someone else? And if so, for what reason did he or they want the Rebbe to visit? — are even more pronounced.

Note:

* The article spells his last name as “Leiba”. In a letter of the Rebbe Rashab (IGK 5 p. 6) which describes RYA’s unfortunate financial situation, his last name is written “ליבא”. In Eretz Yisroel it was typically written “ליבו” (such as on the documents for Reb Leivik’s potential move to EY). Finally, his stepson Moshe Menuhin (Sara Liba’s son from her first marriage) called him “Israel Libo” (The Menuhin Saga, p. 8).

— Menachem Berkowitz