Teddy Bear Bought by Rebbe Rashab as a Gift for His Granddaughters (the Sisters Chanah, Chaya Mushka and Sheina ...

Teddy Bear Bought by Rebbe Rashab as a Gift for His Granddaughters (the Sisters Chanah, Chaya Mushka and Sheina Schneersohn) – "My Father Cut a Small Hole in the Bear's Foot, It Should Not Have a Question of Avodah Zara" – Made by Steiff, Stuffed Toys Manufacturer in Germany – With Letter of Authenticity Signed by the Eldest Sister Rebbetzin Chanah Gurary

Teddy bear purchased by Rebbe Shalom Dov Ber Schneersohn, the Rashab of Lubavitch, as a gift for his granddaughters – the young daughters of Rebbe Rayatz, the sisters Chanah, Chaya Mushka and Sheina Schneersohn.
Fabric and wool, straw stuffing, with movable limbs, made by the stuffed toys manufacturing company of Margarete Steiff in Germany (Missing label), ca. 1900s.
Letter of authenticity enclosed (handwritten note, in English), signed in Hebrew by the eldest sister Rebbetzin Chanah Gurary (1899-1991): "I hereby gift… the German Steif bear that my grandfather the Rashab bought for my sisters and I while he visited Germany. My father [the Rayatz] cut a small hole in the bear's foot it should not have a question of avodah zara". Dated – 12th December 1989.

The Visits of the Rashab to Germany
Rebbe Rashab (1860-1920), fifth rebbe of the Chabad dynasty and prominent leader of Russian Jewry, was a sickly person who would often travel to various spa towns in Russia and abroad, in order to consult with professors. The Rashab also devoted these trips to improving the physical and spiritual state of Jews in general, and Russian Jewry in particular. He travelled to Moscow and St. Petersburg to lobby for the annulment of various decrees against the Jews, participated in rabbinical conferences, sent emissaries to far-flung Jewish communities and ensured the establishment of mikvaot and printing of books. Wherever he went, he toiled to strengthen Torah observance. Some of the places the Rashab visited include France, Austria, Germany, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Crimea.
The Rashab's various visits to Germany are extensively documented in his many letters. His first visit was in 1885, and many more visits followed. The Rashab spent most of the year 5667 (1906-1907) in Würzburg, Germany, officially for medical treatment, though the Rashab used this time to strengthen German Jewry, meeting with various rabbis and public figures. In Kislev that year, he was joined by his son the Rayatz, his daughter-in-law Rebbetzin Nechama Dina, and their three young daughters – Chanah, Chaya Mushka and Sheina. The family remained in Würzburg until Elul 1907, when they returned together to Lubavitch. According to the enclosed letter, the Rashab purchased the present teddy bear for his young granddaughters Chanah, Chaya Mushka and Sheina during one of his visits to Germany (this may have been during his stay in Würzburg, Germany, together with his granddaughters in 1907. For another gift the Rashab bought for his granddaughters in those years, see Kedem Online Auction 34, item 11).

Approx. 30 cm. Fair-good condition. Tears to fabric. Defects to wool (patches missing). Stains and defects.