Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson, who’s 36th yahrzeit was on Chof Beis (22) Shvat, was born in Babinovitch, near the Russian city of Lubavitch, on Shabbos, 25 Adar, in 1901. She was the second of three daughters of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn.
When she was born, her grandfather, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom DovBer, was traveling abroad, and he telegraphed her father, “…Mazal tov on the birth of your daughter …if she has not yet been named, she should be called Chaya Mushka (the name of the wife of the Tzemach Tzedek [the third Lubavitcher Rebbe]).”
From her earliest years, the Rebbetzin absorbed the purity and holiness that surrounded her, both in the house of her grandfather and that of her father.
In the autumn of 1915, during World War I, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka and her family left Lubavitch and settled in Rostov. While in Rostov, Rabbi Sholom DovBer became ill, and 19-year-old Chaya Mushka affectionately cared for her grandfather, spending nights at his side. Before his passing in 1920, Rabbi Sholom DovBer blessed Chaya Mushka and left several Chasidic classics to her in his last will.
Her early twenties saw the intensification of the Communist war against the Jewish soul and the beginning of her father’s heroic struggle. During those dark Soviet nights, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok had his daughter Chaya Mushka at his side.
Cognizant of her wisdom and strength, her father involved her in much of his work. Young Chaya Mushka was asked to secretly transport food and supplies to Rostov’s Litvish yeshiva, in the knowledge that she could be relied upon for her discerning judgment. Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka did that on a steady basis. The great mesirus nefesh of the Rebbes of Lubavitch is indescribable. The time was one of hunger. People were dying in the street. Yet the Rebbe Reb Sholom DovBer, and the Rebbe Reb Yosef Yitzchok worried about getting food for the local Litvish yeshiva. Moreover, they designated their own daughter and granddaughter for this dangerous task.
Life became increasingly dangerous for the Jews of Rostov, and in the spring of 1924 Chaya Mushka’s family moved to Leningrad, where her involvement continued.
In a document dated December 4, 1924, her father wrote:
“I hereby empower citizen Chaya Mushka (daughter of Yosef) Schneersohn, residing at Machovaya Street 12/22, apartment 10, to receive monies on my behalf or documents that are addressed to me, in all forms, from the government bank and all of its branches and offices, and from other banks, government or communal, or from other organizations or private persons or by telegraph.” Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka was 23 years old at the time.
The persecution was relentless, and in 1927 the notorious Communist police came to arrest the Rebbe in their Leningrad home. Maintaining her composure, she brilliantly managed to alert the future Rebbe (her husband-to-be) who was in the street, calling out, “Schneerson, we have guests.” Understanding her message, the Rebbe was quickly able to notify others to take the necessary precaution and begin the international campaign for her father’s release.
Following his arrest and imprisonment in Leningrad, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok was exiled to Kostroma. Upon his request, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka joined him in traveling to Kostroma. On the 12th of Tammuz, she was the bearer of good news when she notified her family in Leningrad by telephone of her father’s release.
(To be continued)
