Events and Daily Routine

At 10:00 a.m. the phones started ringing and never seemed to stop until we left for home two weeks later. The BBC wanted to interview us, (they would like to see us singing and dancing! I just felt in that mood!) Reuters wanted to interview me; Martin Weinberg wanted his suitcase. And where was Mrs. Simon? By Thursday, Tammuz 22 (July 6), I had established a routine. Shacharis at 770 was at 9:00 a.m. The students were usually up and learning by 7:30, then had tea and cake. Mondays and Thursdays, the Rebbe came in to hear kriyas hatorah and he always received an aliyah.

There was always so much activity at 770, and I don't mean just all the different minyonim that started before and after the official 9:30 one, (there was an early one at 7:30.) At whatever time you arrived, until 11:30 a.m., you could get a minyan or a borchu or kedusha.

I generally got back home at noon just in time for brunch. Too late for breakfast, yet too early for lunch. Martin Weinberg was still searching for Mrs. Simon. Yes, and he seemed to blame me, too.

At 3:15 p.m. every day the Rebbe davened Mincha and at 9:33 maariv. Yes, 9:33 on the dot. The Rebbe is a terrific timekeeper. He had to have a seder, otherwise he would not get his work done. He says that a good seder halves his work, and it sometimes still takes him twenty-three hours. You can imagine if he had no seder! (Perhaps it is for this very reason that the Rebbe never keeps the minyan waiting at kriyas shema and always is one of the first to finish the amidah.)

Thursday night, Tammuz 22 (July 6), was a yechidus night. The Rebbe's first appointment was at 8:00 p.m. and he had many Manchester people waiting to see him. I had arranged nearly forty meetings for our group, commencing on that night and continuing throughout the following week. These had to fit in with his other appointments. Dayan Golditch went in at 2:45 a.m. and did not leave until 2½ hours later. The Unsdorfers followed and they left at 6:30 a.m.

By the way, the Rebbe speaks many languages fluently.