Crystal Plate Used by Rebbe Rayatz during Pesach – Purchased Upon his Arrival in the US, by Rabbi Shlomo Aharon ...

Crystal Plate Used by Rebbe Rayatz during Pesach – Purchased Upon his Arrival in the US, by Rabbi Shlomo Aharon Kazarnovsky

Crystal plate used by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, the Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch, during Pesach 1940.

Produced by the Cambridge Glass Company, Ohio, [second half of the 1930s]. The plate is divided into two equal parts, and decorated with medallions and flowers (Rose Point etching).

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 split dish used by my father during Pessach 1940. We were in Lakewood at the time, he ate cooked vegetable dishes from it. It was part of the Rosepoint set of dishes we used that Pessach". Dated - March 4, 1990. Enclosed is a wooden box, which was likely used in "Beit Rabbi" (the box was given together with the present plate, but is not mentioned in the letter of authenticity).

Chabad Rebbes used to place their most valuable utensils on the Seder table, in commemoration of the "great possessions" the Israelites took with them upon leaving Egypt.

The First Pesach of Rebbe Rayatz in the United States

When WWII broke out in 1939, Rebbe Rayatz, his mother Rebbetzin Shterna Sarah, his wife Rebbetzin Nechama Dina and his daughter Rebbetzin Chana and her husband, R. Shemaryahu Gurary, were living in perilous conditions in German-occupied Warsaw. After several months of travail and wandering, on Tuesday 9th Adar II, the Rayatz and his family finally reached American shores. After 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.

Immediately thereafter, the Agudas Chasidei Chabad invested great efforts in finding an appropriate permanent residence for the rebbe and his family. R. Shlomo Aharon Kazarnovsky headed the committee established for this purpose.

Rebbe Rayatz and his family celebrated the first Pesach in the USA in Lakewood, NJ. They remained for close to a month in Lakewood, 8th Nissan to 7th Iyar 1940, then returning to Greystone Hotel in New York on 7th Iyar 1940.

With the approach of Rebbe Rayatz's first Pesach in the United States, R. Shlomo Aharon Karzanovsky purchased for him several crystal dishes from the Cambridge Glass company [For other dishes which R. Karzanovsky bought for the Rayatz for Pesach, see Kedem Online Auction 35, items no. 8 and 9 (a pair of plates and pair of cups), and Kedem Online Auction 38, items no. 11 and 12 (Candlesticks and a pitcher)]. According to the enclosed letter, Rebbe Rayatz used the present plate on Pesach 1940, in the resort town of Lakewood.

On 19th Elul 1940, after some six months of temporary residence, the Rayatz and his family moved to their new home at 770 Eastern Parkway in the center of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. There, the Rayatz rebuilt the Chabad court and its institutions, heading them until his passing on 10th Shevat, 1950.

Maximum diameter: 20 cm. Good condition.

PLEASE NOTE: Item description was shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.