Honey Dish of Rebbe Rayatz – With Letter of Authenticity Signed by His Daughter Rebbetzin Chanah Gurary

Honey Dish of Rebbe Rayatz – With Letter of Authenticity Signed by His Daughter Rebbetzin Chanah Gurary

Honey dish of Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn – Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch.
Sterling silver (marked Sterling 925 Fine; maker's mark – Unger Brothers).
A letter of authenticity is enclosed (handwritten note, in English), signed in Hebrew by Rebbetzin Chanah Gurary (1899-1991): "I hereby gift… the silver Honey dish my grandfather [=father] used during his visit to the United States in 1929. He gave it to me as a gift upon His return to Europe" (the note was signed by Rebbetzin Chanah Gurary, eldest daughter of the Rayatz, but was presumably written by her son Shalom Ber Gurary, who calls the rebbe his grandfather). Dated 14th May 1989.

Some two years after his release from the Soviet prison and settling in Riga, Rebbe Rayatz made a trip to the United States. The Rayatz arrived on Wednesday 13th Elul 1929, accompanied with his son-in-law R. Shemaryahu Gurary (the Rashag), his uncle R. Moshe Horenstein (son-in-law of the Maharash) and R. Mordechai Dubin (a Chabad Chassid, prominent communal activist in Europe, member of the Latvian parliament who was instrumental in attaining the Rayatz's release from prison and exit from Russia). The trip lasted for close to a year (Elul 1929-Tammuz 1930), and its objective was to raise awareness of the plight of Soviet Jews and to encourage and strengthen American Jewry.
After the large reception held in his honor in the port of New York, the Rayatz travelled to the home of R. Eliyahu Simpson in Boro Park, Brooklyn, relocating several days later to a more comfortable and suitable apartment in Crown Heights. On Rosh Hashana, the rebbe and his entourage lodged with Dr. Ackin in nearby Brownsville, due to its proximity to the Agudas Achim Anshei Lubavitch synagogue, which prayed with the Arizal rite. The Rayatz and his entourage held their Rosh Hashana meals in his home. The honey dish was presumably purchased by the Rayatz as soon as he arrived in the United States, in preparation for Rosh Hashana and the Tishrei festivals.

During most of his stay in the United States, the rebbe lodged in his apartment in Crown Heights, NY, yet he paid a few visits to other cities and states throughout the country (Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and others). Wherever he went, he campaigned to strengthen and fortify Torah observance, and propagandized for Shabbat observance, laying tefillin and establishing Torah classes. He founded Agudas Chassidei Chabad and women's societies to promote Taharat HaMishpacha. On Shabbat, he would hold gatherings and deliver Chassidic teachings, and on weekdays, he would convene various meetings and receive people in private audiences. Towards the end of his visit, the Rayatz met Herbert Hoover, president of the United States, and thanked him for the freedom of religion given to American Jewry and for the help his government provides to Jews throughout the world (see next item). The Rayatz ended his visit on Thursday, 21st Tammuz 1930. He set sail from the port of New York on SS Bremen and reached Berlin on 27th Tammuz. After spending several weeks in the Marienbad health spa, the Rayatz returned in the middle of Elul 1930 to his home in Riga.

Height: approx. 6 cm. Diameter: approx. 8 cm. Good condition.