COLlive.com and Nissan Mindel Publications present “Archive Gems”, a periodical column sharing guidance from the Rebbe and unknown details of Chabad’s history in the United States.
The material is from the archives of Rabbi Dr. Nissan Mindel, the trusted personal secretary of the Frierdiker Rebbe and the Rebbe, and a renowned Chabad author of literature for young and old for close to 60 years.
Rabbi Shalom Ber Schapiro, Director of Nissan Mindel Publications, was entrusted with these treasured archives by his father-in-law, Rabbi Mindel and it is to his lasting credit that the dissemination of chassidus is thereby being strengthened.
Much of this material will be published in the forthcoming book “Chabad in America Through the Folders of Nissan Mindel,” covering Chabad’s activities in America from 1940 until 1994, as preserved by Rabbi Mindel in his folders.
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The Rebbe would usually send a standard letter of Mazal Tov for special occasions such as the birth of a child, birthday, Bar Mitzvah and wedding. Presented here are Bar Mitzvah greetings sent to Bar Mitzvah boys by the Frierdiker Rebbe and later, by the Rebbe.
The Rebbe would dictate in Yiddish all answers to his letters. Dr. Mindel would then compose these answers in any of the 4 languages which the Rebbe instructed. This was the standard way in which the Rebbe dealt with his correspondence.
The following documents show how the greetings were amended over the years from the Frierdiker Rebbe to the Rebbe in the early years and then the later years.
Presented in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of Levi Yitzchak Samuels, grandson of Rabbi Schapiro and great-grandson of Dr. Mindel.
There are more Nusach of Bar Mitzva letters from the REBE
and em yertze hashem will post them in the future.
And the final letter
Rabbi Scapiro
Wow that’s amazing. Thank you for sharing this. My only question is which letter do we read?
surely there was a reason for the change in nusach between the Rebbe’s bar mitzvah brochah of earlier years and that of more recent years. could it be that the Rebbe was aware that the bracha needed to be kept succinct in order to make it easier for the oilam to follow as it was read at the chagigas ha’bar mitzvah?
Thanks for always sharing!!!