The Lubavitchers in Russia who somehow caught wind of the Tomchei Temimim in Samarkand considered it a merit to do whatever they could to help us, even though none of them ever asked what was truly going on in Samarkand.

R. Moshe Katzenelenbogen and R. Leib Chatzernov, both from Moscow, constantly kept an eye out for us. When foreign tourists came, they obtained whatever Chabad booksthey were able and reserved them for us. On one of my visits to Moscow, they produced a HaYom Yom for me. HaYom Yom, an early work of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, is a treasure trove of Chassidic customs, historical tidbits, and profound aphorisms, arranged according to the calendar. When the book arrived, our joy in Samarkand was boundless. We excitedly devoured every line, including the short biographies of the Rebbes printed there. We even read the conditions for being accepted as members of the Machne Israel organization directed by the Rebbe, as detailed at the end of the book. The book's every detail was of the greatest interest to us. After we took photos of every page, we developed the pictures and sent copies to Tashkent.