The Yechidus-Room Oil Lamp of the Rebbe Maharash of Lubavitch

The Yechidus-Room Oil Lamp of the Rebbe Maharash of Lubavitch

An oil lamp which was hung in the Yechidus-Room of Rabbi Shmuel Schneerson, the Rebbe Maharash of Lubavitch.

Cast iron. The lamp consists of an oil pan with four fonts, and a suspension hook.

Letter of authenticity enclosed (handwritten note, in English), signed in Hebrew by his great granddaughter, Rebbetzin Chana Gurary (1899-1991), eldest daughter of Rebbe Rayatz: "I hereby gift... the iron hanging lamp used by the Rebbe Maharash in his Yechidus room. After my great-grandfather the Maharash passed away that room was used for other purposes as well. I myself packed this up when we were leaving Lubavitch. My grandfather the Rashab told me to keep it as a memory of Lubavitch". Dated – February 25, 1990.

The escape from Lubavitch

For one hundred and two years (1813-1915), the center of Chassidut Chabad was located in the town of Lubavitch, Belarus. In autumn 1915, during WWI, the German forces approached the city of Smolensk, near Lubavitch, forcing Rebbe Rashab to flee the town, which was home to his ancestors since the Mitteler Rebbe settled there in late 1813. After a journey lasting several days, the Rebbe Rashab, together with his family and his entourage, settled in the town of Rostov-on-Don, in south-western Russia.

The Rashab's son, Rebbe Rayatz, describes at length in his diary, the deliberations that preceded the decision to leave Lubavitch, the Rashab's instruction to pack up the possessions of "Beis Rebbe", the difficult journey with a great amount of baggage, and eventually, the arrival to Rostov:

"Rumor has it that we are moving, to where and when - nobody knows, not even us. Just that my father [the Rashab] has said that we need to make the necessary preparations to travel and pack up what needs taking …The station master did a lot for us, he instructed to receive all our baggage, which amounted to 97 poods [a Russian unit of weight; over 1500 kg in total], and he himself stood there when it was loaded onto the wagons that would travel with us. He told the baggage guard to keep a careful watch on the baggage, that it arrives safely… The cost of the journey is high… we're traveling in five, seven, nine wagons, to the residence where we have been allocated rooms… the Jewish community of Rostov is in great excitement about our arrival" (MiBeit HaGenazim, pp. 26-36).

Based on the enclosed letter of authenticity, upon fleeing Lubavitch, the Rebbe Rashab instructed his eldest granddaughter Rebbetzin Chana Gurary to pack up the belongings of his father, the Rebbe Maharash, and at that time, he gave her this lamp as a keepsake.

Maximum height (with the suspension hook): 44 cm. Maximum basin diameter: 14 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes.