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==Freida Klotzker (daughter of the Alter Rebbe)==

[[File:אוהל אדמו"ר הזקן.jpeg|thumb|The ohel (resting place) of the [[Alter Rebbe]], where Rebbetzin Freida is buried alongside her father]]

'''Rebbetzin Freida Klotzker'''<ref>Her father, the [[Alter Rebbe]], called her "Freida," while his chassidim (devoted disciples) affectionately called her "Freidke." She is referred to by this nickname in several sources, including the newspaper ''HaAch'', year 4, issue 18 (p. 142); ''Shmuos V'Sipurim'', vol. 2; and ''Migdal Oz'' (Kfar Chabad, 5740/1980), pp. 185–186.</ref> (5524–16 Sivan 5573 / 1764–June 14, 1813) was the eldest daughter of the [[Alter Rebbe]] (R' Schneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of Chabad Chassidus).

She was a wise and learned woman, deeply versed in Chassidus (Chabad's mystical teachings), and was especially beloved by her father. Her grasp of Torah and Chassidus was said to surpass even that of her brother, the [[Mitteler Rebbe]] (R' Dovber Schneuri, the second Chabad Rebbe).<ref>''Ateres Malchus'', p. 211 (older edition: p. 55).</ref> She merited to be buried beside her father in the [[Alter Rebbe's ohel]].

She was a co-mother-in-law of R' [[Binyamin Klotzker]], and a co-mother-in-law of R' [[Nachman of Breslov]].

==Biography==

===Early Life===
Rebbetzin Freida was born in [[Vitebsk]] in 5524 (1764) to the Alter Rebbe and his wife [[Rebbetzin Sterna]]. She was named Freida after a great-aunt — a sister of R' Shneur Zalman, the Alter Rebbe's grandfather.<ref>''Ateres Malchus'', p. 211 (older edition: p. 55).</ref>

She was exceptionally close to her father. Every Shabbos after prayers, the Alter Rebbe would deliver a maamar (a formal Chassidic discourse) especially for her — discourses he would not say to the Mitteler Rebbe.<ref name="beisrebbi">''[[Beis Rebbi]]'', Part I, ch. 24 (and note there).</ref> When the Mitteler Rebbe wished to clarify a matter in Chassidus, he would ask his sister to pose the question to their father, and he would listen from concealment — though the Alter Rebbe always understood that it was his son who had prompted the inquiry.<ref name="beisrebbi"/>

On one occasion, the Mitteler Rebbe asked Rebbetzin Freida to request that their father explain the Chassidic meaning of the priestly garments.<ref>The version that he spoke about four priestly garments appears in ''Shmuos V'Sipurim'', vol. 2; while ''Likkutei Sipurim'' records that he spoke about all eight garments of the High Priest.</ref> When the Alter Rebbe had covered most of the garments but had not yet mentioned the avnet (the sash), the Mitteler Rebbe — hiding nearby and sensing his father was about to finish — pulled off his gartel (the prayer sash worn during davening) and tossed it near his sister's feet, so she would remember to ask about the avnet. When Rebbetzin Freida noticed it, she turned to her father and asked him to speak about the sash as well. The Alter Rebbe responded: "It seems your brother Dovber is hiding under your bed, listening to the Torah and Chassidus I am saying to you. Come out, Berel! Come out!" — and said no more.<ref>''Shmuos V'Sipurim'', vol. 2 (older edition: p. 161; newer edition: p. 57).</ref>

As she grew older, her mother [[Rebbetzin Sterna]] entrusted her with managing the household kitchen, and Rebbetzin Freida took charge of the cooking.<ref>''Shmuos V'Sipurim'', vol. 2 (older edition: p. 37; newer edition: p. 55).</ref> On one occasion, when R' [[Shlomo of Karlin]] visited, both mother and daughter wished to cook in his honor. They brought their dispute before the Alter Rebbe, who ruled that Rebbetzin Sterna would do the cooking, but Rebbetzin Freida would add the salt — reasoning that since "can one eat unsalted food?" (Job 6:6), the one who salts the food is considered as if she cooked it.<ref>In the end, Rebbetzin Sterna cooked and inadvertently added salt herself. Rebbetzin Freida, unaware, then added her own portion as agreed. When R' Shlomo was served, he found the dish too salty to eat. The Alter Rebbe, noticing his guest had stopped eating, assumed it lacked salt and added more to R' Shlomo's bowl — only to be told it was already far too salty. The Alter Rebbe tasted it himself but said he had felt nothing: during his years in Mezeritch studying under the Maggid of Mezeritch, he had trained himself not to taste flavors in food. See ''Likkutei Sichos'', vol. 10, p. 106; ''Reshimos Devarim'', vol. 4, p. 148; ''Shmuos V'Sipurim'', vol. 2; ''HaParsha HaChassidis'', vol. 1, p. 390.</ref>

She married R' [[Eliyahu Klotzker (son-in-law of the Alter Rebbe)|Eliyahu Klotzker]], son of R' Mordechai and Mirel Klotzker.<ref>''Shalshelес HaYachas'' and ''Beis Rebbi'', Part I, ch. 24.</ref>

===After Her Marriage===
It is related<ref>''Ateres Malchus'', p. 212 (older edition: p. 69).</ref> that the Alter Rebbe would walk to his daughter's home to deliver Chassidic discourses for her, as was his custom, since she was in frail health. The small trees surrounding her home attracted chassidim who would climb them to listen. Upon noticing this, the Alter Rebbe said to the Mitteler Rebbe, who was also present: "Newspapers they want? Newspapers? Why don't they learn Tanya? Why don't they learn Tanya?" — and concluded: "I tell you, from the Tanya one can become a chassid like Avraham Avinu (the Patriarch Abraham)."

Being a learned woman, Rebbetzin Freida once wrote a letter to her brother the Mitteler Rebbe on the subject of the revelation of the End of Days.<ref>This letter was published in ''Kerem Chabad'' vol. 1 (5747/1987), p. 101.</ref>

After the Alter Rebbe passed away on 24 Teves 5573 (December 27, 1812), her health deteriorated further, and she was moved to a more restful setting.<ref>''Lishmoa Ozen'', p. 29 (alternate edition: p. 32), section on the Alter Rebbe, subsection 25.</ref> Shortly afterward,<ref>From the collected stories of R' Chaim Eliyahu Mishulovin.</ref> the Mitteler Rebbe told R' Aizik of Homel that his sister Freida had dreamed of the Alter Rebbe. In the dream, the Alter Rebbe asked her why she was so overwhelmed. She answered that she saw a radiant garment upon him. He replied that the garment upon R' Shimon bar Yochai shines even more brightly. Chassidim noted with precision that this dream implied that, immediately following the Alter Rebbe's passing, only R' Shimon bar Yochai surpassed him in radiance.

===Passing===
Rebbetzin Freida passed away approximately five months after her father, on 16 Sivan 5573 (June 14, 1813),<ref>''Kitzur Toldos Chabad'', p. 70. However, ''Shalshelес HaYachas'' (Kehot, 5771/2011) records her passing as 17 Sivan.</ref> at the age of 49, during the week of Parshas Beha'aloscha.

As her final days approached, she called several chassidim and asked that after her passing she be buried close to her father's grave in [[Haditsch]]. The chassidim, reluctant to tell her that it was not customary to bury a woman beside a tzaddik (holy person), left without making any promise. In her final moments, she gathered chassidim around her bedside and began reciting the morning prayer: "My G-d, the soul You placed within me is pure..." When she reached the words "and You will one day take it from me," she raised her ten fingers toward heaven and cried out: "Father, wait — here I come already!" — and her soul departed.

The chassidim who witnessed this understood that a woman who merited such a passing was worthy of burial beside the Alter Rebbe. On the way to the cemetery, the wagon carrying her reached a crossroads between Haditsch and Kremenchug. The chassidim decided to let the horses go where they would. Miraculously, the horses turned toward Haditsch — where she was buried beside her father, in fulfillment of her final wish.<ref>''Lishmoa Ozen'', p. 29 (alternate edition: p. 32).</ref>

Her gravestone bears the inscription: "In their lives and in their deaths they were not parted."<ref>''Likkutei Sipurim'', p. 46, section on the Alter Rebbe, subsection 25.</ref>

==After Her Passing==

The shamash (caretaker) of the [[Alter Rebbe's ohel]] in Haditsch, R' Chaim Meir, once received an urgent pidyon nefesh (written petition for a blessing) and rushed inside without first knocking on the door. He found himself suddenly outside, lying on the ground. That night, Rebbetzin Freida appeared to him in a dream and said: "Chaim Meir — is it possible to enter without knocking? Souls come here!" She added: "Chassidim don't believe in dreams, so here is a sign for you." The moment he awoke, a bee stung him in the ear, and he remained deaf in that ear from then on.<ref>''Lishmoa Ozen'', p. 23 (alternate edition: p. 27), section on the Alter Rebbe, subsection 10.</ref>

==Her Spiritual Stature==

The Alter Rebbe said of her that her soul was from the ''alma d'duchrah'' (the spiritual realm of the masculine) — that is, her soul was of a kind that would ordinarily have been placed in a man's body, but for a particular reason it had been placed in a woman's.<ref>''Likkutei Sipurim'', p. 46, section on the Alter Rebbe, subsection 25.</ref>

The [[Tzemach Tzedek]] (R' Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, the third Chabad Rebbe) said:<ref>''Sefer HaMaamarim 5709'' (1949), p. 43.</ref> The Alter Rebbe's aunt, Rebbetzin Devorah Leah, was a great scholar — the Alter Rebbe called her a ''lamdan'' (a title of the highest scholarly distinction at the time), as she studied Rambam, Gemara, and more. For this reason, the Alter Rebbe named his daughter [[Devorah Leah (daughter of the Alter Rebbe)|Devorah Leah]] after her. Rebbetzin Freida, by contrast, manifested her greatness in the realm of heavenly gift and revelation. Both she and Rebbetzin Devorah Leah were named after ancestors, but Rebbetzin Freida's distinction was of a different character — not earned scholarship, but a gift from above.

==Her Teachings==

R' Aharon, son-in-law of the Mitteler Rebbe, related that Rebbetzin Freida would say in the name of her father, the Alter Rebbe:

{{quote|"To encounter the very Essence of the Infinite Light — that is only possible after prayer."}}

R' Aharon added that this was his personal reason for prolonging his prayers — he would wait during davening (prayer) for an encounter with the Infinite Light.<ref>''Sefer HaSichos 5701'' (older edition: p. 42; newer edition: p. 33).</ref>

==Family==

* Her son: R' [[Boruch Klotzker]] — son-in-law of R' [[Binyamin Klotzker]], and father-in-law of a son of R' [[Yaakov Schneersohn]], son of the [[Tzemach Tzedek]].<ref>R' Boruch Klotzker's daughter Freida married R' Yaakov, son of the Tzemach Tzedek.</ref>
* Her son: R' [[Aharon Zaslavsky of Kremenchug]] — a great and humble Torah scholar, son-in-law in his second marriage of R' [[Nachman of Breslov]], and in his third marriage of his own uncle, the [[Mitteler Rebbe]].<ref>''Shalshelес HaYachas'' (Kehot, 5771/2011), p. 15, note 68.</ref>
* She also had a daughter at whose wedding her brother the Mitteler Rebbe proclaimed: "The father (the Alter Rebbe) and Freidke are coming."<ref>''Reshimos HaRavash'', p. 33.</ref>

==Further Reading==
* ''Beis Rebbi'', Part I, ch. 24.
* ''Ateres Malchus'', pp. 209ff.
* ''Lishmoa Ozen'', pp. 29ff.
* ''Likkutei Sipurim'', Part III, subsection 25.
* "A-ba-a, Chake!" — ''Beis Moshiach Weekly'', issue 1316, p. 48.

==Notes==
<references/>

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Freida Klotzker (daughter of the Alter Rebbe) - Revision history

Raphaelwilmowsky at 14:58, 10 June 2026