On Sept. 16, 1929, two years after escaping a death sentence imposed upon him by the Soviet Communist regime, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory—arrived in New York for a tour of the United States. It must have been exciting for the Chassidim in America. They had played an important role in winning the Rebbe’s freedom from the Soviet Union, and they had not seen him in years, if at all.

My great-grandfather, Chaim Elchonon Fogelman, hadn’t seen Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak since he became Rebbe; the last time they had met, my great-grandfather was still a student at the yeshivah in the village of Lubavitch.

Two weeks later, in Brooklyn, N.Y., Chaim Elchonon’s wife, Chava, went into labor. Children didn’t come easy for her. She was married for 11 years before she had her first baby. A doctor once told her that if she were to have any children at all, she would die in childbirth. Now she was having her third. The child who was born is my grandfather, whom we call Zaidy.
Years later, she showed Zaidy the doctor’s obituary in the paper. She outlived him by decades and went on to spend her years surrounded by her grandchildren.

Zaidy’s mother kept this journal, documenting all sorts of things about his birth...

“On October 9th, he was named Samuel E. Fogelman, after his paternal grandfather. Had a big bris which was attended by about 40 people, including the Libovatzer Rebbe who was sandek. The Rebbe’s staff was also there.” - Zaidy’s baby book

The Yiddish-language Morgen Journal reported on the bris, which took place in the Hall of the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital at 545 Prospect Place. After the ceremony, everyone proceeded to the Ohel Yitzchak synagogue across the street, where the festive meal took place. The paper notes the guests, among whom were Rabbi Shmaryahu Gourarie, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak’s elder son-in-law; and Rabbi Mordechai Dubin, an influential member of the Latvian Sejm (parliament). An appeal was held for the Rebbe’s yeshivah in Warsaw. The article lists all the contributions.

Zaidy’s father joined the Rebbe on a trip to the White House in Washington, D.C., where they met President Herbert Hoover to discuss the plight of Russian Jewry. Here, the group poses for a photo on Pennsylvania Avenue. (From left: Abe Rabinowitz; Chaim Elchonon Fogelman, vice president of Agudas Chassidei Chabad of America; Chaim Zalman Kramer, president of Agudas Chassidei Chabad of America; the Rebbe; Rabbi Shmaryahu Gourarie.)

Zaidy’s mother bought a special lace outfit for his bris and kept it through the years. Until today, we cherish the little outfit that he wore while sitting on the Rebbe’s lap. His son wore it on the day of his bris, and so did every one of his grandsons and great-grandsons. The girls wear it as a veil when they stand under the chuppah.

I was decked out in the same dress for my bris. I was his first grandson, but Zaidy’s deep emotion hasn’t changed. At every bris and chuppah, he takes us along with him on a journey to a place that the soul feels, but words cannot describe.

To my knowledge, the sixth Rebbe was only sandek three times. His son-in-law and eventual successor, the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—was once asked to be sandek at a Bris. When he asked his father-in-law for advice, the former told him, Zolst em halten shtark. (“You have to hold onto him well”). Until today, Zaidy feels blessed to have had such a merit, and feels the Rebbe’s support throughout his life.
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