For the sixth Rebbe of Lubavitch, Rav Yosef Yitzchok Schneerson the “Frierdiker” Rebbe or the Rayatz who lived through a period of unprecedented upheaval and transition for the Jewish People, American freedom and liberty were privileges he did not take for granted. During his historic 1929 visit to the United States, the Rebbe addressed the large crowd that greeted him declaring, “May the Almighty bless this great country which has been a [place of] refuge for our Jewish People.”
The Rebbe’s links to the country and to his chassidim there were well-established prior to the 1929 visit. Recognizing the necessity of organizing Chabad communities outside of Russia, the Lubavitcher Rebbe had formed the Agudas Chassidei Chabad of the USA and Canada and remained in constant contact with his followers there. When the Rebbe was jailed by Communist authorities in 1927, it was his American chassidim who mobilized US government officials to lobby the Soviets for his release.
Rav Dovid Kamenetsky brings Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzenski to life. “Everything we have today, the entire yeshivah world, is from Rav Chaim Ozer”
Photos: Eli Cobin, Personal Archives
Walking into Rav Dovid Kamenetsky’s Har Nof apartment, I’m immediately struck by the resemblance to his father, Rav Shmuel, whose picture adorns the living room wall along with a photo of his grandfather, Rav Yaakov. My conversation with this modest talmid chacham, who is also a self-made scholarly historian, shows me just how much his life’s work has been influenced by his illustrious father and grandfather.
The atmosphere that permeated the Kamenetsky home, relates Reb Dovid, instilled a deep connection to Jewish history along with a sense of pride in the rich legacy of the Litvish mesorah.