{"id":310141,"date":"2026-07-30T21:08:50","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T21:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/310141\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T21:08:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T21:08:50","slug":"queens-temimim-prepare-for-journey-to-follow-rebbes-steps-in-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/310141\/","title":{"rendered":"Queens Temimim Prepare for Journey to Follow Rebbe’s Steps in France"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch of Queens\u2019 “Mivtza Torah” concluded with resounding success, rewarding the Temimim with a holy journey retracing the footsteps of our Rebbeim in France. Before departing, the bochurim had a rare meeting with Mrs. Hadassah Carlebach\u2014daughter of Rabbi Schneur Zalman Schneerson of Paris and a relative of the Rebbe. Full Story<\/a> <\/p>\n

Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch of Queens\u2019 \u201cMivtza Torah\u201d concluded with resounding success, rewarding the Temimim with a holy journey retracing the footsteps of our Rebbeim in France. Before departing, the bochurim had a rare meeting with Mrs. Hadassah Carlebach\u2014daughter of Rabbi Schneur Zalman Schneerson of Paris and a relative of the Rebbe. Approaching her 100th birthday, she shared vivid memories of the years she spent in the shadow of the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach and the Rebbetzin in France. Video and photos from the special event.<\/p>\n

Great excitement is felt at Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch, Queens branch: The 5786 \u201cMivtza Torah,\u201d which saw the Temimim diligently study all of Maseches Bava Kamma, alongside perakim of Tanya and Chassidus maamarim by heart, has reached a highly successful conclusion. The crowning achievement of the mivtza is a week-long holy journey\u2014from 13 to 20 Menachem Av\u2014following the path of our Rebbeim, as well as Rashi and the Baalei Tosafos. The itinerary includes Paris, Vichy, Marseille, Nice, Menton, Lyon, Troyes, and Ramerupt. A special, expanded booklet was published for the trip, featuring the history, stories, and photos of every stop along the way.<\/p>\n

However, the true preparation for the journey took place before takeoff: a rare and moving encounter with Mrs. Hadassah Carlebach, who is entering her 100th year\u2014a living witness to the Rebbe\u2019s years in France. In a fascinating Q&A session moderated by Rabbi Velvel Butman, Mrs. Carlebach enthralled the bochurim with firsthand memories spanning from Soviet Russia, to Paris and Vichy during the war years, and her special closeness to Beis Rabbeinu in the years that followed. Videos and pictures of the emotional gathering are attached.<\/p>\n

A Ben Bayis in the Rav\u2019s Home Mrs. Hadassah Carlebach is the daughter of the late Rabbi Schneur Zalman Schneerson, a leader of the Chassidic community in Paris during those years\u2014and a first cousin to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak, the Rebbe\u2019s father. \u201cReb Levik\u2019s father was Reb Baruch Schneur, and my father\u2019s father was Reb Menachem Mendel\u2014and they were brothers,\u201d she explained her lineage to the bochurim.<\/p>\n

She was born in 5687 (1927). Remarkably, she was present at the Yud Beis Tammuz farbrengen as a six-month-old baby. Her early childhood was spent in Malakhovka near Moscow, where her father operated with true mesiras nefesh on behalf of the Frierdiker Rebbe. \u201cMy father worked for the previous Rebbe; his main job was to travel and distribute funds to the underground yeshivos. Learning was forbidden; there were no open yeshivos. Instead of one large yeshiva, there were a few bochurim in every city\u2014a sort of yeshiva ketana in each town\u2014and the melamdim had to be paid.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 5695 (1935), through open Hashgacha Pratis, the family arrived in Paris. Her father held a visa for the United States, but to board the ship, he had to cross Europe to France. \u201cWhen he arrived in France, he saw it was a place that truly needed him. He contacted the Frierdiker Rebbe, and the Rebbe told him: \u2018Yes, stay there.\u2019 And that\u2019s how it happened.\u201d From then on, their home became the central address for Chassidus in Paris. When the Frierdiker Rebbe visited the city, he davened in her father\u2019s shul, farbrenged in their home, and even received Yidden for \u2018yechidus\u2019 there, with Rabbi Schneerson serving as his secretary. The Frierdiker Rebbe stayed in a hotel right next door to their apartment.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at your plate, don\u2019t stare\u201d She recalls her first meeting with the Rebbe around age 10, in 5697 (1937), when the Rebbe came for a bikur cholim visit to her father. \u201cI remember they turned the house upside down, cleaned it from top to bottom, and there was food on the table. And he went into my father\u2019s room.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the outbreak of WWII, a period of wandering began. Worried Jews surrounded her father, pleading: \u201cRabbi Schneerson, please save our children, do something.\u201d He subsequently established a network of kosher Chassidic children\u2019s homes\u2014the first near Vichy, then in Marseille, and post-war, the yeshiva and school in Boissy and Brunoy. (The Temimim are scheduled to visit the latter two stops on their trip).<\/p>\n

In Vichy, where the Rebbe and Rebbetzin had also fled, a particularly moving memory stands out. \u201cThere was one kosher restaurant there, and we ate at that restaurant. The Rebbe and the Rebbetzin sat at a small, separate table, but the room was tiny and the tables were very close. They sat right next to us, and I just sat there with my mouth open, simply staring at them\u2014looking at the daughter and son-in-law of the previous Rebbe. So my father whispered to me: \u2018They are private people. They need their privacy. Look at your plate, don\u2019t stare at them.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Another personal memory brought smiles to the bochurim\u2019s faces: \u201cThe Rebbe overestimated my education and intelligence,\u201d she recounted. \u201cOnce, we crossed paths walking somewhere, and the Rebbe stopped to speak with me. He asked about my studies, and then tested me in algebra: \u2018A train leaves station A traveling at 60 km\/h, and another train leaves station B\u2026 where will they meet?\u2019 To this day, I still can\u2019t solve it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom Nothing \u2013 A Mensch\u201d Mrs. Carlebach dedicated a deeply emotional segment to Rebbetzin Chana, the Rebbe\u2019s mother. When Rebbetzin Chana arrived in Paris in 5707 (1947), Hadassah\u2019s mother shared a room with her. \u201cMy mother told me she was so impressed that whenever the Rebbe came to visit his mother, he stayed a long time. He didn\u2019t just drop in to see her\u2014he genuinely stayed for over an hour each time.\u201d She noted that there are famous photos from those days showing her mother sitting at the table with Rebbetzin Chana and the Rebbe.<\/p>\n

Even after relocating to the United States, she maintained a close relationship with Rebbetzin Chana. \u201cShe was a very motherly and kind-hearted woman. She loved to sing, and I loved to sing. She knew old niggunim, would teach them to me, and we would sing together. When the Rebbe would come visit her, I would naturally disappear to give them privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, whom she would visit annually on Yud Beis Tammuz and Purim, she respectfully declined to elaborate much. \u201cShe was such a private person that I don\u2019t feel comfortable speaking about her.\u201d However, she always shares one detail: \u201cIn whatever situation they found themselves, they knew how to improvise everything\u2014from nothing. As the Rebbetzin once told me: \u2018If we needed to set a table and didn\u2019t have one, we used suitcases. And we had sheets that we used as tablecloths.\u2019 Every situation was given a dignified and proper form.\u201d During her visits, she added: \u201cShe asked about my family, about everything. She cared deeply. But she never, ever spoke about herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added another memory from her time close to Beis Chayeinu: \u201cI was invited to the Yom Tov seudos upstairs with the Frierdiker Rebbe. The Rebbetzin and a group of women waited in the small breakfast room next to the large dining room\u2014and I always left the door slightly open, just so I could see the Frierdiker Rebbe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould the Rebbe be happy with what I am doing?\u201d Mrs. Carlebach concluded the powerful event with a special message for the bochurim embarking on their journey\u2014words that will accompany them at every stop: \u201cI am very impressed that you learned so well, and when you are rewarded like this, may you merit many more such trips. You will find the Rebbe in many different places, but the most important thing is that you find the Rebbe in your own heart. In everything you do, ask yourself: \u2018Would the Rebbe be happy with what I am doing? Is this how the Rebbe would do it?\u2019 And that will give you the brocha to succeed in all your studies and everything you do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Temimim have already landed in France and begun their journey at the holy sites in Paris. A comprehensive, photo-filled report of the trip\u2019s first days will be published tomorrow, iy\u201dH.<\/p>\n


\n
\n <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch of Queens\u2019 “Mivtza Torah” concluded with resounding success, rewarding the Temimim with a holy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[117321,9,24,63,122,124,123,117322],"class_list":["post-310141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-hadassah-carlebach","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-schneur-zalman-schneerson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}