Editing The Rebbe Maharash (section)

== Marriages ==
His first marriage took place in 5607 (1847), when he was just 14 years old, to Shterna Schneersohn, the daughter of his brother Rabbi Chaim Shneur Zalman. The wedding celebration was held on Friday of Parshas Nasso, the 8th of Sivan 5608. However, tragedy struck during the sheva brachos when the bride fell ill, and she passed away three months later. To help console the young groom in his grief, his father, the Tzemach Tzedek, arranged for him to have a special room adjacent to his own study chambers. This arrangement allowed him to enter his father's holy presence whenever he wished, and during these visits, his father showed him precious manuscripts from previous Rebbes, including some that were not shown to his other sons.

A year after his loss, an important match was proposed. Rebbetzin Sheina, the widow of the Mitteler Rebbe, approached her son-in-law, the Tzemach Tzedek, suggesting a match between the Rebbe Maharash and one of her two orphaned granddaughters, Gitel and Rivkah, who were the daughters of her daughter Sarah and son-in-law Rabbi Aharon of Shklov.

When the Tzemach Tzedek raised the question about the dowry, noting that another match was being proposed from the town of Liepli with a dowry of twenty thousand rubles, Rebbetzin Sheina gave a profound response: "Since 'the wife of a scholar is like the scholar himself' (eshes chaver k'chaver), I am giving the groom forty years of being an eshes chaver."

The Tzemach Tzedek agreed to her suggestion and chose the younger daughter, Rebbetzin Rivkah, from between the two sisters. The older sister, Gitel, graciously forfeited her right as the firstborn and gave her blessing for her younger sister to marry first. The Tzemach Tzedek also ensured Gitel's future by later arranging a good match for her with Rabbi Lampert of Nezhin.

The wedding took place in 5609 (1849). On his wedding day, the Tzemach Tzedek instructed the Rebbe Maharash to go to the kitchen and seek a blessing from his grandmother, Rebbetzin Sheina, who was busy there. When he went to request the blessing, she initially responded strictly that the day was still long and she would bless him at the chuppah. When the groom returned with this response, his father instructed him to go back and insist on receiving the blessing immediately.

When Rebbetzin Sheina realized the groom would not relent, she asked for water to wash her hands, placed them on his head, and in the presence of two witnesses, blessed him with these words: "May it be G-d's will that all the spiritual powers I inherited from my husband should rest upon your head."

During the wedding celebration, the Tzemach Tzedek was in a state of great joy and delivered many Chassidic discourses (maamarei Chassidus). It was well known that the Rebbe Maharash conducted himself with wealth and dignity.