Desk Clock and Matching Pair of Candelabras of Rebbe Maharash of Lubavitch – With Letter of Authenticity by his ...

Desk Clock and Matching Pair of Candelabras of Rebbe Maharash of Lubavitch – With Letter of Authenticity by his Great-Granddaughter Rebbetzin Chana Gurary, "The most beautiful thing in the house was his desk clock and 2 matching candelabras… This is the hardest thing for me to give away"

Desk clock and a pair of matching candelabras which belonged to Rebbe Shmuel Schneerson, the Rebbe Maharash of Lubavitch. Garniture set - pendulum clock and a pair of four-branch candelabras (enclosed: a key for winding the clock, marked "Made in England"). Gilt and patinated bronze. Presumably France, mid-19th century.
Letter of authenticity enclosed (handwritten note, in English), signed in Hebrew by Rebbetzin Chana Gurary (1899-1991), eldest daughter of Rebbe Rayatz and great-granddaughter of the Maharash: "When we packed to leave Lubavitch for the last time, my grandfather was very emotional. He asked me to take care of packing up my great-grandfather's house - the Maharash. The most beautiful thing in the house was his desk clock and 2 matching candelabras. My grandfather then gave it to me as a gift. The Maharash bought it in Paris. This is the hardest thing for me to give away…". The letter is dated November 12, 1989.

Rebbe Maharash (1834-1883), the fourth rebbe of the Chabad dynasty, was the first Chabad rebbe to visit France. During the years 1868-1881, the Maharash visited France several times, to stay at health spas and consult doctors or for communal matters. According to the enclosed letter, this elegant set was purchased during one of the visits of the Maharash to Paris.

For one hundred and two years (1813-1915), Chabad Chassidut was centered in the town of Lubavitch, Belarus. In autumn 1915, during WWI, the Germans approached Smolensk, close to Lubavitch, compelling Rebbe Rashab and his entourage to flee the town, which was home to his great-grandfather, the Mitteler Rebbe since 1813. After several days of wandering, he settled in Rostov-on-Don, in south-western Russia.

His son, the Rayatz, describes at length in his diary, the deliberations that preceded the decision to leave Lubavitch, the Rashab's instruction to pack up the possessions of Beit Rebbi, the journey with all the baggage, and eventually, the arrival and settling in Rostov:

"Rumor has it that we are moving, to where and when - nobody knows, not even us. Just that my father [the Rashab] has said that we need to make the necessary preparations to travel and pack up what needs taking with…The station master did a lot for us, he instructed to receive all our baggage, which amounted to 97 poods [a Russian unit of weight; over 1500 kg in total], and he himself stood there when it was loaded onto the wagons that would travel with us. He told the baggage guard to keep a careful watch on the baggage, that it arrives safely… The cost of the journey is high… we're traveling in five, seven, nine wagons, to the residence where we have been allocated rooms… the Jewish community of Rostov is in great excitement about our arrival" (MiBeit HaGenazim, pp. 26-36).

Based on the enclosed letter of authenticity, upon fleeing Lubavitch, the Rebbe Rashab instructed his eldest granddaughter Rebbetzin Chana Gurary to pack up the belongings of his father, the Rebbe Maharash, and at that time, he gave her this clock and the matching candelabras as a gift.

The Rashab lived in Rostov for four years. During this time, a civil war was raging in Russia, and Rebbe Rashab devoted himself to improving the material and spiritual state of Russian Jewry. He sent his disciples to Bukhara and Georgia, built mikvaot, aided war refugees and orphans, and made every effort to maintain the Jewish ember. On 2nd Nissan 1920, Rebbe Rashab passed away, and was succeeded by his only son, Rebbe Rayatz, who led the movement during a time of sweeping social and political changes, and amidst the heightened religious persecution in Russia following the Communist revolution.

Clock: 41.5 cm. Candelabras: 43 cm. Good condition. The mechanism of the clock was not examined. Minor damages. One branch of a candelabra is slightly bent. Color slightly faded.