Ten-Dollar Bill Given by Rebbe Rayatz as Matanot LaEvyonim – Purim 1940

Ten-Dollar Bill Given by Rebbe Rayatz as Matanot LaEvyonim – Purim 1940

Ten-dollar bill which Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the Rayatz of Lubavitch, gave as Matanot LaEvyonim several days after his arrival in the United States, on Purim 1940.
The bill was issued in 1933 (using the same paper stock as the 1929 bank notes) by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (in 1933, at the nadir of the Great Depression, which caused thousands of banks throughout the continent to go bankrupt and close down, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered a huge infusion of cash into the American economy, in effort to restore the public confidence in the nation's financial system. These banknotes were issued by 12 branches of the Federal Bank – the Federal Reserve or "Fed" for short).
Letter of authenticity enclosed (handwritten note, in English), signed in Hebrew by Rebbetzin Chana Gurary (1899-1991), eldest daughter of Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch: "I hereby gift... the 10 Dollar Federal Reserve bill that my father gave me on Purim 1940 just a few days after we arrived. At the Greystone hotel there weren't any poor people. He wanted that I should go outside and find poor people and give them matanos leaniyim. I redeemed the money and saved this 10 Dollar bill". Dated – 12th November 1989.

Purim 1940
Rebbe Rayatz succeeded his father the Rashab as rebbe of Lubavitch after the latter's passing in 1920, devotedly leading the Chabad movement even after the communist revolution and under increasingly difficult conditions of religious persecution. In 1927, the Rayatz moved to Riga, and in 1933, he settled in Warsaw and later Otwosk (Otwock). 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.
On Monday, 8th Adar II 1940, after sailing the seas for 12 days, Rebbe Rayatz arrived to New York. On 9th Adar II, following a short reception at the port, the Rayatz arrived at his temporary quarters – Room 609 at the Greystone Hotel on Broadway and 91st Street in Manhattan NY.
According to the enclosed letter, Rebbe Rayatfz gave this ten-dollar bill to his daughter Rebbetzin Chana Gurary on Purim 1940, several days after he reached the United States, so that she gives it as Matanot LaEvyonim (Rebbetzin Chana kept the bill she received from her father, and gave a different bill to charity instead).

Fair condition. Folding marks, creases and extensive wear.