Frierdiker Rebbe’s Besamim Box and Suitcase on Auction in Jerusalem

A silver besamim box and suitcase used by the Frierdiker Rebbe zt”l in the course of his travels to the sanatoriums in Vienna and Paris during the 1930s shall be exhibited at the beginning of next week at Kedem Auction House in Jerusalem prior to its upcoming auction event.

The suitcase was ostensibly purchased by the Rebbe Rayatz in the course of a journey to the United States in Elul 1929 that extended until Tammuz of 1930. Following the Rebbe’s return, his health began to wane, and he began suffering difficulties with speech and mobility. During the winter of 1935, the Rebbe met Dr. Max Gerson (1881-1959), a Jewish-German physician who developed an innovative therapy based on a strict vegetarian diet and organic sustenance. Upon examining the Rebbe, Dr. Gerson declared that the former’s illness drew from “Extensive suffering and internal afflictions,” and he created a strict diet and regimen for the Rebbe that included substantial periods of rest and reducing his speech.

Between 1935 and 1936, the Rebbe recovered in Dr. Gerson’s Westend Sanatorium in Purkersdorf near Vienna. The sanatorium was located in an ornate building constructed in 1904 by Josef Hoffmann, a reputed Austrian architect. After Gerson relocated to Paris, the Rayatz traveled in the summer of 1936 to the doctor’s new sanatorium in Ville d’Avray, a Parisian suburb. In the course of these visits, the Rebbe was escorted by either a family member or one of his secretaries. His daughter Rebbetzin Chaya Muskha and her husband, the future Rebbe, visited with him, as well. The Rebbe Rayatz tended to take the above suitcase and besamim box, which was crafted in England as a jewelry box, along with him on these travels.

The Rebbe Rayatz described the above at length (Igros Kodesh Rebbe Rayatz, Vol. 4, Letter 1042): “During my return from the United States in the summer of 1930, I was weak and traveled to Marienbad. When I arrived in Riga in time for Rosh Hashanah, [people] already noticed that my speech was not what it was… In the winter of 1935, I traveled to Vienna by train along with world-acclaimed doctors… At the time, there was a doctor, a German refugee, Gerson is his name, who developed an innovative approach and eating regimen—a diet—and I was admitted to his sanatorium near Vienna… For various reasons, Dr. Gerson departed Vienna and resettled in Paris, and in the summer of 1936, I traveled to see him in Paris and lodged in his sanatorium for a period of approximately eight weeks…”

His son-in-law the future Rebbe spoke at length regarding the sacred aura that hovers upon items and material belongings that served a tzaddik during his lifetime. In the course of one particularly memorable speech, the Rebbe quoted his father-in-law, the Rebbe Rayatz: “The place where he learned and toiled in Torah, and all the vessels that he used for his service, his holiness rests upon them.” The Rebbe moreover added that in light of this, “A tzaddik’s life is eternal, and not just spiritually, but also in regard to his physical location and material vessels (i.e. his desk, chair, etc.)…for the holiness of a tzaddik penetrates all his matters (Likutei Sichos, ppgs 19-27).

Addressing the subject of selling items that belonged to the Rebbes, the Kedem Auction House in Jerusalem refers to the book Bechol Beisi Ne’eman Hu (ppgs 539-542) regarding the life and achievements of Hagaon Harav Shneur Zalman Gurarye, legendary Lubavitch philanthropist and one of the Rebbe’s closest confidantes. This book divulges that “R’ Zalman had a remarkable pastime…The treasure trove that he amassed and preserved… items and garments formerly worn by Rebbes. R’ Zalman invested a great fortune and tireless efforts into this rare hobby… Every time that he acquired another item that had formerly graced the home of tzaddikim, he would glow in happiness as if he had just earned enormous profits in his business.” In particular, R’ Zalman invested substantial funds to acquire garments previously owned and worn by the Rebbe Rayatz which he received over the course of many years from Rebbetzin Nechama Dina.

In 1985, in the midst of the Sefarim Affair, the Rebbe delivered a formidable speech, warning whoever had the stolen sefarim to beware since he was sitting on a ticking time bomb. It is told that “Upon hearing this announcement, R’ Zalman was overcome with fear, since a portion of his collectibles included garments formerly owned by Rebbes and tzaddikim that he had purchased directly from the Rebbe’s family which often sold him items that had belonged to the former Rebbe. R’ Zalman immediately compiled a detailed list of all the items in his possession along with the names of the one who had given it to him. Only after receiving [the Rebbe’s] written reply did he relax. The Rebbe responded that he was perfectly entitled to keep everything that he had in his possession, ‘un farnitzen gezunterheit (use them in the best of health!)’”

Meron Eren, CEO of Kedem Auction House, relates that “Throughout the last years, we’ve been fortunate to house hundreds of personal items that previously belonged to generations of Lubavitcher Rebbes. Items range from the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s siddur to a Shas owned by the Tzemach Tzedek to handwritten essays inscribed by the great Lubavitcher Rebbes throughout the generations. In this case, as well, we feel privileged to have these unique items on display, and we’re delighted with the opportunity to research, catalogue and present them to the public prior to putting them up for auction.”