Large Netilat Yadayim Bowl of Rebbe Rayatz – From the Time He Resided in Riga, Warsaw and Otwock - With Certificate ...

Large Netilat Yadayim Bowl of Rebbe Rayatz – From the Time He Resided in Riga, Warsaw and Otwock - With Certificate of Authenticity Signed by His Daughter Rebbetzin Chana Gurary

Netilat yadayim bowl of Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson –Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch.
Large brass bowl.
Letter of authenticity enclosed (handwritten note, in English), signed in Hebrew by Rebbetzin Chana Gurary (1899-1991), eldest daughter of Rebbe Rayatz: "I hereby gift... the copper washing bowl my father used for Netilas Yadayim in Riga, Warsaw, and Otwock. My mother packed it up at the beginning of the Second World War. It arrived before Pesach 1942. It was damaged and bent at the rim. My father gave it to me". Dated 5th November, 1989.

For one hundred and two years (1813-1915), Chabad Chassidut was centered in the town of Lubavitch, Belarus. In 1915, during WWI, Rebbe Rashab fled Lubavitch and settled in Rostov-on-Don, in south-western Russia. On 2nd Nissan 1920, Rebbe Rashab passed away, and was succeeded by his only son, Rebbe Rayatz. In 1924, after repeated persecutions by the authorities, Rebbe Rayatz left Rostov-on-Don and moved to Leningrad (St. Petersburg). In 1927 he was arrested and imprisoned by the Soviet authorities for his religious activities, and following his release on 12th-13th Tammuz, left Leningrad with part of his family, eventually settling in Riga, Latvia.
Rebbe Rayatz arrived in Riga on 25th Tishrei 1927 and resided there for six years. In 1933 he moved to Warsaw and later, in 1935, to the nearby town Otwock. In each place he lived, the Rayatz devoted himself to strenghning and preserving Judaism.
In 1939, with the outbreak of WWII, Rebbe Rayatz, his mother Rebbetzin Shterna Sarah, his wife Rebbetzin Nechama Dina and his daughter Rebbetzin Chana and her husband, R. Shemaryahu Gurary were stranded in Warsaw under German occupation, their lives in great danger. During these perilous times, the Rayatz was forced to flee from house to house, seeking shelter from the bombings, and rumors spread that he was caught and executed by the Germans. After the intervention of the US government, and with the assistance of several German officers, the Rayatz succeeded in fleeing Warsaw, together with an entourage of about 20 family members and friends. After several months of travail and wandering, they left occupied Europe in Adar I, 1940 and sailed to the US.
Based on the enclosed letter, the present bowl was used by Rebbe Rayatz for netilat yadayim for more than twelve years, 1928-1940, during his stay in Latvia and Poland - in Riga, Warsaw and Otwock.

When Rebbe Rayetz fled to Warsaw in 1939, he left his large library and possessions in his home in Otwock. The rebbe's assistant R. Chaim Lieberman relates that while fleeing Otwock, they were only able to save the Rebbe's manuscripts, leaving behind his books and his many household items. Upon reaching Riga, the Rebbe sent a letter to R. Yisroel Jacobson requesting his assistance in bringing his library and possessions to NY. After much effort and lobbying, and after another year and a half of maneuvering the packages from place to place, the items finally arrived in NY.
As described in the enclosed letter of authenticity, this bowl for netilat yadayim was damaged and its rim was slightly bent during the transport of the possessions of the Rayatz from Europe to the US in 1941-1942.

Size: approx. 14X48 cm. Bends and minor damage.