The wedding of the Rebbe and the Rebbetzin took place on 14 Kislev 5689 (1928) in Warsaw. On the day preceding the wedding, thousands of Jews flocked to the railway station in Warsaw to welcome the kallah’s father, the previous Rebbe, and his family. Throughout the day, a multitude of Chasidim, hailing from all of Poland, Lithuania, Russia and other countries arrived in the capital.
At eight o’clock that evening, in the presence of the talmidim of the Yeshiva Tomchei T’mimim in Warsaw, in the hall of the yeshiva, the previous Rebbe celebrated the meal of the “Chosson Mohl,” a feast for the yeshiva talmidim. This was also intended for any person who was in need of a meal.
In the middle of the meal, the previous Rebbe said a ma’amar (chassidic discourse). Midnight came and went, and the meal was still in progress. The previous Rebbe then expressed his desire to dance with the t’mimim – the yeshiva talmidim. At once they formed a circle in the center, and the previous Rebbe and the talmidim danced for a long while.
The next day, the 14th of Kislev, at five in the evening, the Kabbolas Ponim began in the yeshiva. The chuppah, in the courtyard of the yeshiva, was attended by 5,000 people.
On the 14th of Kislev, 5714, 25 years later, the Rebbe said: “The day that bound me to you, and you to me…”
Following their wedding, the Rebbe and the Rebbetzin lived in Berlin. When the Nazi regime took power in the spring of 1933, they moved to Paris.
In 1939, Germany triggered World War II by launching a blitzkrieg against Poland. In May 1940, France was invaded by German forces and surrendered within four weeks. A French puppet regime led by Marshal Philippe Petain was established in Vichy, and the Rebbe and the Rebbetzin, like most Jews, traveled to Vichy and then to Nice, choosing to live there rather than under direct Nazi occupation in Paris and the surrounding areas.
In the course of their travels, they witnessed a devastating bombardment. As people ran in every direction, the Rebbetzin noticed an explosive shell heading towards a man next to her. Quickly pushing him to the ground, the Rebbetzin saved the man’s life. Recounting this story, the Rebbetzin characteristically said, “True, I saved his life, but for pushing a Jew one must do teshuvah.”
Escaping the Nazis in 1941, the Rebbe and the Rebbetzin boarded the ship Serpa Pinto and set sail from Lisbon, Portugal, for the United States of America.
On the 28th of Sivan, they arrived safely on the shores of America.
After the passing of the previous Rebbe on Yud Shvat 5710, the Rebbe adamantly refused to accept the mantle of nesius. It was his wife, the Rebbetzin, who, notwithstanding the great personal sacrifice this would entail, prevailed upon him to accept the position with all its public and private hardships.
A princess by nature, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka carried the mantle of her revered and exalted position in a most humble and unpretentious fashion. All her life she was the personification of what Dovid HaMelech said – “Kol k’vudoh bas melech penima – The entire honor of a king’s daughter is within.” When calling the Rebbe’s office at “770,” or calling a high school girl ill in her dormitory room, she always referred to herself simply as: “Mrs. Schneerson from President Street.”
Gentle and courteous to everyone, the Rebbetzin saw her role as one wholly devoted to the work of her husband. Even when she relayed advice to those seeking his guidance through her, she would repeat his wording with precision, making sure that it was understood exactly as the Rebbe intended.
On the significance of naming a child after the Rebbetzin, the Rebbe once said: “…We can demonstrate that ‘her children are alive’ by our taking a lesson from her conduct, and conducting ourselves in her spirit, in a manner of self-sacrifice.”
