The Rebbe is the most photographed Jewish leader in history, and his picture is ubiquitous in Jewish homes around the world. Yet at a time, photography of the Rebbe was rare. Most of the famous photos of the Rebbe are from the 1980s or 90s, with only a select few official shots approved for publication by the Rebbe’s secretariat in the decades prior.
Several days ago JEM received a rare collection of unique, front-seat photos of the Rebbe from the 1960s. [these pictures were captured by Rabbi Sholom Yisroel Hodakov – son of the Rebbe’s famed secretary Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Aizik Hodakov – who used his unique access to photograph the Rebbe close up on various occasions. Racing against the clock, the JEM team worked quickly in order to publish these photos in honor of Gimmel Tammuz.
Browse here.
