In light of Rabbi Chodakov’s letter regarding the apartment for the Lews, we were not surprised to find that everything was in order. Situated on Eastern Parkway, almost exactly opposite 770, the apartment was in a truly ideal spot. It was on the sixth floor but, fortunately, there was an elevator. Unfortunately, there were no beds in the apartment! There was also no other furniture; not even a chair! There was no gas, no electricity; all it had were the bare walls. Hindy was beside herself with disappointment. Mr. S.R., a good boy in charge of hachnosas orchim (hospitality), was on hand. He promised to attend to all these details at once. (We spent fifteen days in Brooklyn and the day before we left he was still attending to these “small details.”)

The first priority was to get the children settled in after their long journey from England, at least temporarily, for this first evening.

S.R. got to it right away. He had another apartment available, this one on Empire Boulevard. Though that would be a significant walk to 770, we really did not have much of a choice, so we took that one instead. It was smaller than the original one, but otherwise almost identical: sixth floor, no beds, no furniture, no gas and no electricity! Fortunately, Shmuel’s sister, who lives in Boro Park, brought over bedding – sufficient, at least – to get the children fixed for the night.

(The next day they moved back to the Eastern Parkway apartment with the bedding. The three boys Yossi, Mendel and Pinchas moved into the Rebbe’s apartment with Roselyn and me.)

After maariv, at about 10:00 p.m., when the Rebbe left 770, I stood outside the door. The Rebbe asked me, “Where is Mrs. Jaffe?”

I replied that she was upstairs in the apartment.

The Rebbe remarked, “I have already seen one ainikel [grandchild]. Are the others here too?”

I confirmed that all eight of our Lew grandchildren had arrived, as per the Rebbe’s directive.

The Rebbe added, “In ah gutte sho’oh” (in an auspicious time).

Rabbi Klein telephoned the Rebbetzin and informed her of our arrival. He added that he had a copy of my diary for her (installment 6).

The Rebbetzin was delighted. She asked whether everything was in order. She sent us a message that she was looking forward to our telephoning her tomorrow to make an appointment to visit her.

Rabbi Chodakov was very pleased with my diary. He suggested that I divide my next issue into chapters, with an index for reference. I did not manage the index, but now you know who is responsible for the division into chapters.

I am still not quite sure whether this is a good idea. I have a fan in Kfar Chabad, Israel, who mainly loves the “chatty pieces” but is not too interested in the words of Torah contained therein. Another reader in Brooklyn divulged to me that she really enjoyed the Torah. She said it was the first time she ever understood the Rebbe’s sichas! Now each will know, based on my chapter headings, which parts they might avoid….