From the COLlive inbox by Sruli Schochet:
Until about 5748, the Rebbe was hardly seen in public in Tefillin. The exception to that rule was on Purim (certainly in the early years), when the Rebbe would daven with the minyan and listen to Megillah in Tallis and Tefillin.
When I was a boy, my father, Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet OBM, told me how in the year 5713 he came across a ‘spy camera’ for sale. It was a very small camera for those years- we are talking 1953- for the purposes of secretly taking pictures.
He purchased one and took some pictures of the Rebbe on Purim that year in Tefillin. He said that back then no one had the chutzpah to stand by davening with a camera and snap pictures so he needed to do it incognito. He positioned himself in a good spot and subtly snapped some photos when no one was looking.
While in Toronto last week for my father’s second yahrtzeit, I came across the pictures and the negatives tucked away in a box in his office.
While many of the pictures did not come out, here are three pictures, two of the Rebbe davening and one during the reading of the megillah. I snapped these pictures on my camera phone and left the originals where they were.
I inquired around and it appears that there are not very many, if at all, pictures of the Rebbe in those early years such as these. Therefore, I thought it would be nice to share with the public.
The Rebbe came out for Shachrit with Tefillin on erev Rosh Hashana and erev Yom Kippur too.
One always saw the Rebbe in Tefillin on Yud Shevat, Chof Av and later on Vov Tishrei…except when these day fell on Shabbos.
How about reproducing the original negative, the picture would be sharper. Thanks for sharing.
I believe the second picture was printed in the album ימי בראשית
WOW! thank you!
The Rebbe was also seen in talis and tefilin on tisha b’av.
Please. He needed to take the picture without the Rebbe noticing anyone taking a picture, not that he needed to hide his identity.
As far as pictures are concerned, beautiful.
I remember sitting on that window ledge behind the rebbe during the Shabbes farbraingens as a 6 or 7 year old with my feet hanging down and the Rebbe would turn around to answer my lichayim.
I’ll agree that the word “incognito” is not being used correctly here. The title could be changed to “Clandestine Photos of the Rebbe.”
Instead of saying, “…he needed to do it incognito,” you could say, “…he needed to do it surreptitiously.”
Nice photos.
…if he was wearing a mask while taking the pictures, he was ‘incognito’! 😉
Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing!