Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka changed trajectory of Chabad: Yahrtzeit 22 Shevat, 2023- R Chaim Dalfin

so good morning today we're actually not going to learn Tanya but we're going to fabrein because it's a very special day in the Chabad calendar it's the yard site the 35th yard site of the Robinson schneerson a daughter of the Frida cadabra and his wife and granddaughter shop so I want to share with you a little bit about her and to begin by telling you that she was not someone who was seen much at all in the public the first time that I saw this Robinson this woman was in 1980 I remember it like now I was standing on Eastern Parkway uh in either the the service lane or the whatever they had the loch vitamin parade and they shut down that street for several hours and someone pointed out to me look up there and it was the house next door which today is the library the library is there and uh well the library offices and an extension of the library is there because there's a library under 770 in the basement and uh I saw someone standing at the window I was Far Away didn't get a clear picture that was the only time that I that I saw this that Rapid City Live you know alive in in the 50s and 60s she would come or 70s and 70s she would come to her sister Hannah garari in who lived in the third floor of 770 and from time to time and she would they would see her come in and out but also not much one of the reasons that she was so private I believe a it's by Nature didn't want to make a scene of herself and I'm talking about cover you know it means private you didn't see your neighbor out of fabranging and you'd never saw her at davening in 770 I mean you never saw you never saw I mean you know let's make a comparison let's take the figure the submar of young title Baum's wife Fagan right not Not only was she active she like she when the summer never passed away they were Satan would consider her like the red but the extension and during his lifetime she was very very active and many people came to the house and to see their their Shot Bar of and you know they greeted her too you know I'm saying much more involved even in Chabad history take for example the rebara Shop's wife whatever it's a standard son of snares and she was very active in in committees in in hassed funds in in having um uh funds for the Yeshiva Baker image didn't have much and she provided food and and clothing but this Rapid City was was really uh obtrusive not seen not heard from so only after her passing did things come out like someone said shop as a shoe um just to accept to another laboratory he said I didn't even know there was an rabbits until 1988 after she passed away and the devil started to speak about her every single shop it's not about her but about lessons we take from the Parsha that that that and and her to to do more title mitsues and never quoted the deposit and the living will make the heart attentive now this this phenomena has not yet been studied not that I know of and I'm sure one day there's going to be an academic PhD a dissertation written on her and her style and how she fits into the annals of Chabad and convinced it has to be but as far as I know it's not been done yet and it's it's definitely there's definitely what to write about but what type of person was she from what we heard later I want to begin with the with with that ever's comment that he made to us at that time he was called assemblyman Dove heiken he lives here in Borough Park Flatbush he was an assembly of State Assembly for many many years he's the one that you see sometimes in the news he's very outspoken against anti-Semitism his mother his mother parents being I think Holocaust Survivors nothing being Holocaust Survivors is very outspoken and he did a lot for our communities for many years so Dove went by one of the days um during Shiva for the rembertson everyone had a chance to go by the river gave a dollar and and sometimes someone would say something like you know the Comfort there ever so the Vikings went by and he said a few words to The Rebel you know you know comforting him and the rebel said to him and and I don't remember the verbatim quote but close to it people underestimate people underestimate her closeness uh is Sir could you please take yes sir please mute yourself anyway yes sir we have a medical consultation Dr Velva would you like to give your opinion on this too anyway so so you hear that listen to this comment the rep is said yes she was really underestimated and and when I heard this it really really opened my I started to think wow I mean that's that's like saying people didn't appreciate my wife so what does that mean what does that mean they're ever didn't say more I'm gonna I'm going to share with you what I think okay so take it or leave it because she was so quiet and behind the scenes and not known the Jewish World the Hasidic world the litfish world the world of Orthodoxy you know didn't consider her to be a kind of a real Reba's wife a Remington of a rebel one second my [ __ ] the mothership if you're if you're a real rabbit sin get involved you know and if but when you're not involved they look down at you they look down at her so that's what the rep is said they did they underestimated who she was let me finish and then I'll take your question my ship so the question is what did she do that was worth notoriety was worth you know to be just in the annals of Chabad well number one she's the rapper's wife that's the most important thing at Sadiq Rebecca his wife is special not gonna say you know I'm not about a prophet I don't know what level that's not my the point that's number one number two she was a daughter of the previous rather that had three daughters she was the middle daughter Hannah was the oldest music was this the middle and she had us they had a sister Shayna who never was killed in Treblinka in 1942. married to Mendel hornstein a relative of theirs from the marash anyway anyway that's number two so her up being the wife of the Bible being the daughter of the Frida Kadabra and in her own right in her own right she was someone who kept a low profile for the following and at eenstein's al-sabi Steins I think says this as well so you know it there's what to think about after 1950 right we celebrated the previous rappers yard Center Utah a few weeks ago after you tried there were two son-in-laws left right the two son-in-laws the older one was Rabbi shimario garari married to Hannah the daughter and the younger one was the rebel married to the reputation now naturally the older one should become red and we've discussed this a lot and there's a lot more to discuss and I really urge you I wrote an entire book on this called Rashad and Reba Rashad it stands for rubbish my yogurti uh I have it over there anyway so so because initially there was some controversy you know a year or two she didn't want to upset her older sister the entire time and what she did is she kept a low profile in other words let's take for example uh if she would come to 770 for Rosh Hashanah right the women would clear the place for her give her a place up front surrounded with bodyguards she hated that she didn't want that and she knew that her sister sitting upstairs in the third floor of the same building is is being eaten up inside she's the older sister who consider himself you know an important figure in in the South shallots in the dynasty of Chabad and she's upstairs by herself at a table and her sisters is is given the red carpet and this would have been every time and everywhere you you know how Hasidic Judaism became to the Chagrin of some that I'm not taking a position that it became kind of you know uh a pictorial for New York Times magazine so that when a rabbit goes you have to have bodyguards and fancy um cars and and an Entourage well do you know that whenever a shop would go in the morning to the mixer he he told the Bianco Lando of nabrath the former Wrath of neighborlando Orlando's Heckscher he told them I don't want you coming because he was like uh he was a Rover and and he for a while he was like a shamish to the river so he said you stay here in shul I can go myself and I heard the spider I'm telling you now from Rabbi Gaffney of twas formerly of the neighbor Brock who had the yeshiven quacks so zangazunt is an older man already he told me this because he spoke to Rabbi Lando rebelanda told him that deliver us that he had to do all kinds of tricks to be able to go along behind the rabbit to walk with the rabbi as he walks to the Midfield and he would make us appeared or walk back from the McPherson he would make his beard wet implying you know that he's also was in the micro so that he's walking back from the Midfield he's not there because he's just accompanying the river I mean such tricks you know so what do we see that in Lubavitch for sure this whole idea of entourages and pictures and and and and bodyguards was disgusting and I'm using that word disgusting the Reba our rabba several times this is after the swirl returned you remember the the on hey tables there was the there was the announcement that the library that was taken belongs to Chabad just sift and rule that way right but then it took a while for them to get back to 770. well this is online by the way you'll see so the truck comes and it drops off on a big shutdown of a growner everyone's bringing out boxes into the library then at some point that ever was going to go to I think the oil and a bunch of people standing outside including bacharin and he started to give it to them because what are you doing here this is the way he celebrates for him it's online you can't you can't hear all the words but it was and everyone ran away like mice they ran they ran whatever hated this idea of you know I'm going to the oil now so yes people lined up and he gave them to Tucker and there were times they needed brokers but it's called celeb watching celeb watching yes I don't want to say that has to show them to say about it you know but Sadiq so today it's it's it's it's the in thing I just just this Shabbos someone was telling me how I don't want to say who because you know is that ever today he's considered whatever but he did photo he he he went to see certain Rapunzel to have photo shoots I mean that's that was the perception of certain symptoms I wasn't there the point is that this was never never in khabar something that we made that was important and the fact was the Scottish discussed we discussed it we it was disgusted anyway the point is she knew that her sister would be very upset so she kept the low profile that's a very important to understand this person but again primarily it was because by Nature she wasn't that type of person so yes the rabbits of failure of software Abuelo's wife was a more outgoing person and enjoyed that the publicity you know was not now there was a heimbush I had some very good friends in Crown Heights what do I mean she really enjoyed speaking Volvo Russian if she had a woman or someone who came to see her who spoke Russian she could she loved talking Russian they say that in her house she had Russian newspapers and whoever is not a mute yourself please she had Russian newspapers and French newspapers because they lived in France for seven years so she knew French in general when she shopped for dishes and clothing it was of the best quality so the word that I used for her years ago is that she was an elegant lady an elegant woman a classy woman she was not the type of episode that when you looked at her you saw Antiquated the Judaism from the 2000 years ago in a cave in Haifa she was an individual who dressed well she had the finest China her house was uh spotless superb organized and when a guest came both a man or a woman to say hello to her she greeted them with the greatest honor another thing children those children of people she knew who would bring their children to her for a bracha she she gave them all these treats well she treated them like children in other words I want to end the coming to a rabbitson you know she she tried making them feel very comfy very comfy you know in other words this whole thing I'm going to visit a rabbits and how am I going to dress and how am I going to look and what am I gonna say she tried to break that down so you shouldn't feel that way especially children she took a great interest in in the the pride of Lubavitch and this these two things I'm going to tell you now are probably the two most important things as far as what she did as a Robinson as the rabbit's wife for the world of Le babish the world of Chabad number one during that year 50 to 51 after her father passed away right and I mentioned to you there was a controversy who should be the rabbit and I remember he didn't want to beat up I'm telling you he was so happy doing his work for the Americans and kahas and and the negunim Chabad organizations and learning and davening and being a private person then the pressure comes and says hey uh your father won't pass away the Elder has said them and they say we need and we want you because we know you're a great town and you're you're very friendly with the bahram that we're in 770 in the 40s would tell over and others right so so the rapper was the he was the the go-to man you know the the more friendly person and he didn't want it so they they say I you know I I don't have this in writing but they say that it was his wife this is what's going to celebrate her yard cycle today his wife said to him to the rebel he said if if you don't take over the leadership of the Bible my father's my grandfather's years of of the hard work and the Messina Snapfish in Russia will go to waste it will all dissipate it all fall apart and you have to understand that that comment of 1950 was very very appropriate and real because 1950s not 1994 when I would ever passed away 1994 were middle of a.com era uh affluence is at its peak the Judaism and Orthodoxy is highly on the rise the bowel tuba movement is flourishing right so then you can argue you know lebovich even without the never physically being alive and and other organizations but in this case hey thought there's going to be a mass Exodus and people are going to end up in a psychiatric ward and you can put a lock on above it I interviewed khaims poll Tech in Marion Station Pennsylvania in 1994 I think 495. it's in my book conversations with her ever so and he said he told that the test couple on on Nightline and it's you can see it and it didn't happen now the contrary last night was the Kinesis my daughter of America with my granddaughter five thousand women five thousand women in in a room in a banquet and the stories you hear it's online today you can hear it online not just from the schluchites that have you know very successful Chabad houses but the little tiny ones here and there the speaker last night was a journalist uh what was her name raviv she made a very good point after you know lording the Great accomplishments of of the chabadas that are very successful very known he said I'm here to celebrate those that are not known and she said when you make an event for 50 people and only seven come I I love that that's cavaldi and she gave many examples of what seems to be infantile uh second secondary not important and then failure and what seems that time is failure she says no it's not it's great you got to listen to what you said so anyway anyway in 1994 and now it's almost 30 years later you have this explosion this booming the success the 1950s people didn't have socks like my father running around in the my barot ninetanya [Music] didn't wear socks because he couldn't afford it because right people are in transit camps the refugees from from Yemen from from Europe it was apologize no one knew where is this guy going to end up right so now you can appreciate so what that evidence said to them you don't take over the leadership of Lubavitch of Chabad goodbye it's not going to be what happened today let's be put a lock on the on the door on the shop so that's one very very Vision look at the vision of the woman this lady the vision that she had and they say that that that was the camel that broke that was the camel's back the stroller broke the camel's back that the devil did accept the leadership that's one important you say foundational idea that she did for us in Lubavitch number two was during the swearing case which was a heart-wrenching a a difficult time the most difficult time that we saw the rebel was during those those those days those months those that year for a month straight he he went to the oil every day and you know the devil went to Royal he didn't eat he just drank something he wouldn't eat till at night when he came back and it took a toll on his health and um she was the post Robert krinsky you know was very concerned and he wanted to try to stop it and the never said she'll do just fine she'll do just fine and the deposition is also online or was online I've seen it several times parts of it at least for sure anyway there's one line there that is outstanding where Nate Lewin the our lawyer is the you know has is the posing and asking questions and the opposing attorneys and everyone's listening so so he says Mr schneerson Robertson schneerson how are we interested I don't remember and he says did the swarim did the books belong to your father or to Chabad it's almost a Verbatim quote okay and she says they belong to Chabad because my father belonged to the hasita brilliant answer a real brilliant answer and that answer was used by judge sifton in his in his in his decision as part of his decision that here the daughter who would have been one of two inheritors of the library she says no it's not my private library because my father wasn't private because my father was a rabbit my father was a Sadiq he shouldn't say these words I'm extrapolating and opening it up for you and therefore his entire being as a rep in the satiq of the of the of the Babbage belongs to Hasina you don't have any to him you're not in it but we have plenty of wannabes here in Borough Park in Williamsburg who opened the shop and have no Casita you know and they come come they they hire them they raise money to bring people in they give them children and then they make a Tish once in a while I have her see them I don't have to tell you you know what I'm talking about but if not for them there's no what we call rabbista Vera means rabbit the the rabba hood the rubber Dynasty there's no rapist of it and that episode she said to that Lewin and record it in in in the trial that this Library belongs to hasidim to khabad because my father belonged to Chabad and when we think about it Not only was this a a a a a Genius answer legally in a trial but I I look at it more philosophically what she said about what adebra is and this is relevant to us as we learn khasidis right is not an individual who decided to open up shop it's totally wrong a rep is a Collective Soul what we call in Hebrew clothes and this Collective Soul has every Collective right so he has your sin valvol and Hillel and from myself and motion and Avi and everyone and joining everyone else and Claudia slow that's what a Collective Soul means so this Collective Soul is only a Collective Soul in doing what he needs to do to fulfill God's mission on Earth because the fascinating thought you know it's a fascinating thought so this is the second most important teaching that she shared with this is public the first thing I told you we don't have a public record of it but this we have a public record so you know it can't be denied that she said it you can you can interpret a different League that Grant you know granted I'm not saying I'm this interpretation that I'm sharing is the only interpretation but but clearly this is public so this is a little bit about her now Maisha you wanted to say or ask something go ahead said it wasn't on record what was the first point because the first point was that she told the red but if you don't become if you don't take the leadership that the hasida want you my father and grandfather's Dynasty will will become not it'll be and it'll end and finished and you can close up shop and that she said in 1950 and I I gave you some background to understand that at that time that was a very true statement in other words today today or 1994 you can argue no and the proof is the rabbit physically passed away and there's five thousand women Gathering and doing and there's Chabad all over the world how is that possible to look physical the babita rep is not there some say you can argue that way I don't agree with that argument but I'm saying You could argue but in 1950 it was kipshota it literally was that way clear Maisha clear got lost yeah yeah the question is yeah good question I had was well did I miss what was it the dog Dove hiking Dove hiking though if I can came to the river to be manager Marvel like everyone else and he said some words I forget what he said but he mentioned I think he said to the red but your wife was so special so the rabbit just out of the blue comment to him yes people underestimated her Unison and then Hillel yeah yeah and and you see I didn't see her then and you did I saw my blame her so maybe probably you weren't around 1980 like boy Amber you're talking about 1977 so you were I was there 77 but I didn't see her you prop you were there yes but you know again if you were there 15 years he saw her one time I was there all my life and I saw it one time heal up I just wanted to bolster your point about 1950 versus 1994. most of the hasiduses had been local in Europe and they'd all been dislocated only only a few survived had survived really Consolidated so uh so there were probably hundreds and hundreds of classes that disappeared 100 you know my grandfather always show them I remember like now growing up as a boy you know and a momish he had this little black book that he brought with him I guess from Poland and he would open up and he would say look at this Sadiq and there's a little description all of them were gone killed in the map by the Nazis all of them and my grandfather he didn't know all of them but he he was an Alexander hussard you know so he spoke mostly about Alexander but I I I I I'm seconding what you're saying yeah unfortunately the most were decimated to kill it yeah Alexander kind of got absorbed into another class cedis I don't remember gear gear but but well I wanna I wanna just for the record um during their Heyday in Poland they were rivals uh they were both like almost identicals in many of their things but they were Rivals right you know rival sense are you Alexander Crossing or Gary Huston but Alexander that was really decimated guess survive because the Gary remedy ibrahamas I think went over there to Israel in 1935 so before the war so he was able to make the transition and build this hasidus narrative thrill but but Alexander didn't Alexander Rebel was killed I mean only in the last uh will be I think there's a shoe in in there it's really then but they brought your shalayan and there's something here in Borough Park but it's it's you know it's all relatively speaking small you know yeah available any questions and available as I still uh whether she was a similar private with regards to visiting um and second um that foreign I hear your point I'm not sure I agree with that second point it needs to be looked at because because for example when the fried Carrabba was arrested in in in in Leningrad in 1927 she was there and she they say swallowed some papers and then she did some missions for him but you know so we would have to really you know do a study compared to her sister but I would think that yes she was more private than her sister I I would agree with that at least with the sister that remained alive Hannah the one that Shayna that was killed in Islam I don't know but to your first point and just briefly what was the first Point again quiet what was the first point oh sorry Medina first of all so first of all the Frida cadabra was in America contain you know confined to a wheelchair basically everything was upstairs hit the davening and the learning and the Fabregas and she wasn't in the kitchen she was right there she was not as private because even after you passed away in 1953 times a year she would make a messy bar upstairs you'd just kiss live put him and you'd base Thomas and invite the older hasidim give tea and cake and and had the elders didn't speak a little bit but she hosted it so she was much more kind of you know took a lead role also on the stationary right after the previously passed away but I told you this before the cop says and Below there's the two the two uh son-in-laws also she was blind uh no uh deaf deaf she was deaf for many years many many years so her her ability what was limited but I would I would say that she was more outgoing yeah you have to also understand that she was the daughter of avram schneerson of kishnev who was not there who had a different you know you know the like the house the different kind of house maybe more sophisticated and all of that and um yeah I would say that she was more outgoing I I would agree with that yes uh yes Maisha So speaking of that what about the rabbits and Hannah the the Rashad's wife what was what was heard uh involvement in the community nothing not nothing because didn't accept her husband as their ever her husband was the head of the yeshivas that wasn't her Department um she you know kind of fought all those years until it came out she was the driver behind the whole Library case it wasn't her son Barry it was her she was she she was very unhappy for for all the years um she was a a bright woman um I know that from you know I know that um she considered herself kind of real lebovich I think in a way she looked at her sister as Les Lubavitch and as she was she was with her grandfather she was older only by two years I think than her sister but you know her style she she knew about hasidim she was you know she spoke about bohrim she spoke about the must be him she spoke about the Rapunzel that came to see her father you know so she she considered herself and it's interesting she married a girl and the gurrari is a very sophisticated people you know you know so so she was the one who married garari and and and and married the rebel the rebel was more modest and not you know you know I'm I'm you know this special person you have the guerraris they for very fine people but they have a certain ego and elitism I'm gonna use the word elitism I'm not saying in a terrible way but they do have an elitism and I I think that she had a certain elitism in her view that she is The Real McCoy we have schmuck we'll see everyone tomorrow same time same channel have a great day Shalom bye-bye are made