Bidspirit auction | Historic Personal Ledger from the

Historic Personal Ledger from the Admor Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn of Lubavitch (Raya”tz) Documenting His First Year on American Shores; 1949 Personal notebook belonging to Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, known by all as the “Rayatz, ” listing his income and expenses during his first year in the United States. This meticulous and organized notebook was completely handwritten in the neat handwriting of the Rayatz. The Rayatz began recording his income and expenses on the 9th of Adar, 1940, the very day he stepped foot on American soil, and concluded on the 20th of Shvat, 1941. This record accompanied the Admor throughout all of his first endeavors in America, beginning with his first payment to a Manhattan hotel for temporary lodging, and concluding with a list of donations intended for the famous Chabad house at 770 Eastern Parkway. Some of the income recorded details the donations from Chassidim, rabbis, philanthropists, women’s organizations and charity from cities in America and beyond. The Rayatz also recorded exactly what each donation was intended for. Some of the expenses recorded regard assistance for refugees, visas for survivors, assistance for students of the Mir Yeshiva, “Ezras Vilna, ” the “Tomchei Temimim fund, ” “Ezras Achai Temimim, ” Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan’s yeshiva, the building of a mikvah in Washington and much more. There are several small notes with various calculations handwritten by the Rayatz in pencil included between the pages of the ledger . Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880-1950)  known as the “Rayatz” was the sixth Admor of the Chabad dynasty and began serving in this capacity 1920. He worked tirelessly to strengthen religious observance in communist Russia, establishing an underground network of Talmudei Torah and yeshivos. He was ultimately imprisoned as a result of these unlawful activities and sentenced to death, but was later miraculously released. In 1940, he immigrated to the United States where he continued leading the large and growing Chabad Chassidus. An in-depth study of this fascinating, historic notebook will divulge much about the Rayatz’s early activities in America and the first steps he took in founding the great Chabad empire. 118 pages, pages 3-5 and 21-73 are blank | 23 x 16 cm | Spiral notebook in its original binding | Cased in prestigious leather | Case: 30 x 20 cm Provenance: Admor Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn of Lubavitch (Raya”tz) The Samuel Kramer Estate.  Rabbi Shaul Shimon Deutsch - Admor of Liozna and founder of the Living Torah Museum, Brooklyn N.Y. Kestenbaum Auction House ,  New York. June 2016. Item no. 236.