Editing Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Son of The Rebbe Maharash) (section)

== Transfer of His Grave to the Land of Israel ==
This chapter requires rewriting. You are invited to contribute to Chabadpedia and rewrite it.

In Corsica, there is a law that every grave is destined to be plowed twenty years after its establishment. This was expected to happen with the grave of Rabbi Mendel. In 5715 (1955), the Rebbe instructed Rabbi Binyamin Eliyahu Gorodetsky to transfer Rabbi Mendel's body from the island of Corsica in France to the Holy Land, Rabbi Gorodetsky fulfilled the instruction and sent the coffin on a ship that made its way to Haifa. At the same time, Rabbi Efraim Wolf received instructions to photograph the body before it was lowered for burial and to send the photograph to the Rebbe. The ship arrived at the port of Haifa on a cold and rainy winter night of 5716 (1956), and the burial was conducted at a late hour at the ancient cemetery in Tzfat. Under the prevailing conditions, Rabbi Wolf could not find a photographer who would be willing to come in the middle of the night and take the requested photograph. However, Rabbi Efraim himself examined the condition of the body and noticed that the body remained intact despite the fact that about fifteen years had passed since Rabbi Mendel's passing! Shortly afterwards, Rabbi Wolf traveled to 770, and upon entering 'yechidus' (private audience), the Rebbe asked to hear the details about the burial and the condition of Rabbi Menachem Mendel's body.

The continuation of the story is in 5739 (1979). Shortly after Rabbi Levi Bistritzky was appointed as the Rabbi of Kfar Chabad in the holy city of Tzfat, two elders of Chabad chassidim in the Holy Land asked to speak with him about a most confidential matter. When they met, they told him that now that a Chabad rabbi had been appointed in the city, they could reveal a secret they had kept for many years; Rabbi Mendel Schneersohn, the brother of the Rebbe Rashab, was buried in the old cemetery in Tzfat, and they warned him that according to the Rebbe's instructions, this matter must be kept confidential. After they went down to the cemetery and pointed out the location, they told him the sequence of events: about his passing in 5702 (1942) in France, about the law of plowing graves, and about the transfer of the body in 5716 (1956) to the holy city of Tzfat. However, since Rabbi Menachem Mendel's daughter was living in France and did not lead a religious lifestyle, and it was known that she would oppose his transfer to the Holy Land, the transfer was carried out with absolute secrecy and confidentiality. In order to prevent any suspicion that the daughter might sense something, the tombstone was returned to its previous place, and instructions were also given that in Tzfat he should be buried without a tombstone so that no one would realize at all that he was buried there. At the place of burial near the ground, there was concrete, and whoever came to the place would find what appeared to be a sidewalk in the middle of the cemetery.

==== Erection of a Tombstone ====
The existing situation bothered Rabbi Bistritzky, and he asked the Rebbe: a. Whether to leave the current situation - a grave without a tombstone, or perhaps the situation had already changed, and a tombstone could be erected? b. If the answer would be to make a tombstone, what title should be written on it. On that very day, an answer was received from the Rebbe: To the question of whether to leave the situation as it is, he answered: "This is contrary to the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch." And he added to make a tombstone promptly. Regarding the title - "As written in 'Hakriah V'hakedusha' (?) and in the talk of my father-in-law, the Rebbe."

After receiving the answer, they went through all the issues of "Hakriah V'hakedushah" and nothing was found about Rabbi Menachem Mendel. But in one of the talks of the Rebbe Rayatz, the desired title was found. It is understood and obvious that a tombstone was immediately ordered, and after it was built, Rabbi Bistritzky asked the Rebbe whether to conduct a tombstone unveiling ceremony as is customary, or to do it without publicity. The answer received was to conduct a tombstone unveiling ceremony.

For this purpose, Anash (members of the Chabad community) went together to the cemetery. Rabbi Bistritzky made sure that the event was documented. And since he was about to travel to Beis Chayeinu (770), he took the pictures with a detailed report. In the report, it was written among other things that the cost of the tombstone would be paid by Anash of the holy city of Tzfat. And he submitted the report to the secretariat.

On that very day, Erev Shabbat Kodesh, he received a phone call with an urgent summons from Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Aizik Hodakov. Rabbi Hodakov related that the Rebbe had expressed his desire to pay for the tombstone, and added that the Rebbe had asked to make contact immediately, even before the onset of Shabbat in Tzfat, to inform that there was no need to collect money from the young married men. On Sunday, Rabbi Hodakov called Rabbi Bistritzky once again and showed him a personal check from the Rebbe for five hundred dollars made out to Machne Israel. Rabbi Hodakov explained that the Rebbe did not write the check in his name (Rabbi Bistritzky's own) knowing that he would not use the check but would keep it for himself and pay the cost of the tombstone from his own pocket, therefore he wrote the check in the name of Machne Israel and asked to show him the check and exchange it for cash.

After the passing of Rabbi Menachem Mendel's daughter - she too was buried in the new cemetery in the holy city of Tzfat.

On the 13th of Iyar 5771 (2011), his tombstone was renovated through the efforts of the Chassidim's Union for Greeting Moshiach.

==== His Death Certificate ====
In the summer of 5771 (2011), two young men went on a central mission to the island of Corsica. They knew that Rabbi Mendel lived his last years here on the island and decided to try to clarify this at the local government offices. They approached the local Ministry of Interior, and after investigation and inquiry, they received a copy of the local death certificate, according to which the date of death is the 23rd of Tishrei 5702 (1942). (Despite the discovery of the certificate, it is not clear whether this is indeed the exact date of death, since one of the Jews on the island told those young men that he knows that a cleaning worker found Rabbi Menachem Mendel in his house after he had passed away, and it is not known whether he died on that day or at a certain time before, and the date on the death certificate is the date on which he was found in his house).