Vignettes of Rebbetzin Chana’s Life and Legacy

Jews close to the war front were forced to flee eastward, and the Rebbe’s hometown, Yekaterinoslav, received a large influx of refugees.

I would like to record several of the episodes that I remember. There are many other and greater episodes, yet according to my understanding, it is the small incidents that reveal the greatness and the loftiness of his soul.

In 1947 Rabbi Menachem Mendel returned to Paris, there to be reunited with his mother, Rebbetzin Chana. It was two decades since they had last seen each other.

The Rebbe and his mother would talk casually, with the Rebbe slightly bent over to listen to her.

In a rare public moment, the Rebbe can be seen shedding tears as he says the kaddish prayer.

A rich and descriptive Yiddish writer, she records many events from the struggle to maintain Judaism in the Soviet Union, and the difficulty she endured during her husband’s arrest and subsequent exile.