Pictures and Portraits of Our Rebbes

There is great importance to pictures and portraits of our Rebbes in Chabad Chassidus due to the great virtue in visualizing the face of the Rebbe, which can also be fulfilled through a picture.

For some of our Rebbes, the Chabad Admorim, there are drawings or pictures that have reached us: the Alter Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek, the Rebbe Rashab, the Rebbe Rayatz, and the Rebbe. Of the Rebbe Maharash there is no clear drawing or picture (there are drawings attributed to him), but his face can be drawn based on the knowledge that he closely resembled his grandson, the Rebbe Rayatz. Of the Baal Shem Tov, the Maggid of Mezritch, and the Mitteler Rebbe, there is not even a conjecture regarding their facial features.

Visualizing the Rebbe's Face

Extended article – Visualizing the Rebbe's Face

Visualizing the Rebbe's face is one of the ways of hiskashrus (connection) to the Rebbe when the chassid is not physically in the presence of his Rebbe. "Visualizing his face" is accomplished through awakening one's memory or through a picture. Visualizing the Rebbe's face has many virtues and segulos: for 'hiskashrus', giving strength to follow the paths of Torah and mitzvos, removing fears, and awakening thoughts about the person in the picture.

Proper Respect for Pictures of Our Rebbes

To the director of an institution who printed a page with the Rebbe Rayatz's picture at the top alongside two pictures of women who helped the institution, the Rebbe wrote a stern response disapproving of this and even wrote that "I have seen many shocking things - but I admit that this matter is first in 'greatness' among them." He instructed him to remove his name from all the letters and brochures of the institution. The Rebbe also instructed him to fast several times, then go to the Ohel of the Rebbe Rayatz to ask him for forgiveness and atonement, and to regularly study the maamarim of the Rebbe Rayatz until Rosh Hashanah.

The Rebbe's Response to an Institution Director who Printed an Appreciation Page for Women Who Helped the Institution with Their Photos, with the Photo of the Friedeker Rebbe at the Top, with Decipherment

When it was proposed to issue a stamp with the picture of the Alter Rebbe, the Rebbe rejected the idea since the nature of a stamp is that the envelope on which it is affixed gets rolled around, in addition to the fact that people hit the stamp, which would cause disrespect to the picture of the Alter Rebbe.

Drawing of the Baal Shem Tov

The famous portrait mistakenly attributed to the Baal Shem Tov

There is a famous picture attributed to the Baal Shem Tov, which was first distributed in 5663 (1903), but there is doubt about the authenticity of this attribution. The Rebbe said that this picture belongs to another Baal Shem who lived and worked in Deutschland (Germany, see below), not to the Baal Shem Tov.

The Rebbe gave several reasons for this, apart from professional research proving the doubts about the authenticity of the picture, the main one being that the Rebbe Rayatz said there is a kabbalah (tradition) that there is no picture of the Baal Shem Tov.

The Rebbe gave another reason, because according to tradition, the Baal Shem Tov's beard showed the thirteen tikunei dikna (kabbalistic formations), which do not appear in the famous picture.

In a later period it was proven that this picture indeed belongs to another Baal Shem who was in Germany and later in London, named R' Chaim Shmuel Yaakov Falk (5468-5542/1708-1782) who was suspected by R' Yaakov Emden of being a Sabbatean. Another picture attributed to the Baal Shem Tov that is less well-known is a picture printed in the book "Dreisig Doros Yidden in Poland" (New York 5687/1927), but its authenticity and attribution were also questioned.

Portrait of the Maggid of Mezeritch

No portrait of the Maggid of Mezeritch has been found. The Rebbe stated that there is no portrait of the Maggid of Mezeritch.

Portrait of the Alter Rebbe

Expanded article – Portrait of the Alter Rebbe

When the Rebbe Maharash and R' Aharon of Linitsch traveled to Petersburg in 5615 (1855) as emissaries of the Tzemach Tzedek for a government committee meeting concerning communal needs, they also met with the assistant to the Deputy Minister of Interior, who requested to meet with the Rebbe Maharash. During the meeting, the assistant began to draw the Rebbe Maharash, saying that his talent for drawing was inherited from his father – who also had artistic talent and left him a large collection of drawings, among them a portrait of one of the great Jewish rabbis who was accused of treason. His grandfather was the chief investigator and ordered the rabbi to be drawn. After the trial concluded, this drawing was passed down as an inheritance to that gentleman. The Rebbe Maharash asked to see the drawing and was surprised to see a portrait of a man whose face showed great fear of Heaven, with an inscription below containing the name of the Alter Rebbe and his father's name (R' Baruch) from the town of Liozna, and the year 5559 (1798), the time when the Alter Rebbe was in his first imprisonment in Petersburg.

When the Rebbe Maharash returned to Lubavitch, he told his father, the Tzemach Tzedek, about this. The Tzemach Tzedek very much wanted to see the portrait, and when the Rebbe Maharash traveled to Petersburg again in 5619 (1859), the Tzemach Tzedek instructed him to try to find the gentleman who possessed the portrait – and to buy it for a thousand thousand rubles or have a professional artist copy it. The Rebbe Maharash stayed in Petersburg for a month but did not find the gentleman. When he returned to Lubavitch, the Tzemach Tzedek was very disappointed that the portrait had not been found.

In 5621 (1861), the Rebbe Maharash and his brother, Rabbi Chaim Schneur Zalman, traveled again to Petersburg, where they met with a professor named Bartenson, who told them that he had seen the portrait at the gentleman's home, who formerly lived in Petersburg but had moved. The Rebbe Maharash and Rabbi Chaim Schneur Zalman asked him to inform them where he had moved, and after a few months, he sent them the address.

In the summer of 5622 (1862), the Rebbe Maharash traveled to Petersburg again with R' Yisrael Chaikin, where the Rebbe Maharash managed to arrange with the gentleman to borrow the portrait for a month, with a security deposit of ten thousand rubles. R' Yisrael guarded the portrait in a sealed package during the journey (he also returned the portrait to Petersburg).

During the two weeks that the portrait was in Lubavitch, the Tzemach Tzedek would (on weekdays) close the doors of his room, dressed in his Shabbos and Yom Tov clothes and shtreimel with his gartel, place the portrait on his table, and gaze at it for a long time.

In 5648 (1888), a copy of the portrait was published, and the gentleman who owned the original portrait confirmed that the copy precisely matched the original. Similarly, Rebbetzin Rivkah (who was among the select few permitted to view the portrait with the Tzemach Tzedek's approval) testified that the copy was accurate.

Rabbi Shmuel HaLevi Mazinker told the Rebbe Rayatz that he heard the Tzemach Tzedek say to his son, the Rebbe Maharash, in 5622 (1862): "The portrait is authentic as I remember him in his middle years." R' Shmuel added that after a few years, around 5624-5625 (1864-1865), it became known among the Chassidim that one of the important officials in Petersburg had drawn the Alter Rebbe while he was in prison.

In 5698 (1938), the testimony of Boris Schatz, the artist who made the copy in 5687 (1927), was published in the newspaper Ha'aretz, claiming that the portrait was a forgery. The Rebbe Rayatz responded to the Ha'aretz article with a strongly worded letter to one of the article's authors, and also published a collection of stories in the Hatamim journal attesting to the authenticity of the portrait.

In 5769 (2009), the newspaper HaMevaser revealed a new portrait attributed to the Alter Rebbe, which was found with a person who said that the portrait had been passed down in their family for generations.

Picture of the Mitteler Rebbe

The Mitteler Rebbe (Middle Rebbe) is the only one among the Chabad leaders who has no picture or drawing, and his exact facial features are unknown. The Rebbe once remarked that "iz afilu in fantazye oykh nito" = "even in imagination it does not exist."

At one farbrengen (gathering), the Rebbe mentioned the instruction of our Sages that when studying Torah, "one should see the teacher of the teaching as if standing before him," and explained that with all our Rebbes this can be fulfilled by imagining their facial features through pictures that exist of them. The Rebbe also added that even with the Mitteler Rebbe this can be fulfilled, since tzaddikim insert themselves into their teachings (as our Sages said regarding the Holy One, Blessed be He, who inserted His essence into the Torah), and through contemplating his teachings, especially in a visual manner, it is considered as if "the teacher of the teaching stands before him," not just "as if" but "actually" standing before him.

Drawings of the Rebbe Tzemach Tzedek

Regarding the drawing of the Tzemach Tzedek, it is told that there was a non-Jewish artist who knew the Rebbe Tzemach Tzedek and very much wanted to draw him, but the Rebbe Tzemach Tzedek did not agree. The artist cleverly came on Shabbat to the Tzemach Tzedek's house during the time he was delivering a Chassidic discourse when his eyes were closed, so he couldn't see him. The artist observed him carefully to remember his features, ran home, and hurried to draw him. (For this reason, the Tzemach Tzedek appears in the drawing wearing a Shabbat shtreimel.) Later, when the Tzemach Tzedek saw the picture, he was distressed that it was drawn on Shabbat - but 'consoled' himself with the fact that the artist made two mistakes: The first mistake was that he drew the Tzemach Tzedek with the left side of his garment placed over the right, while Jewish custom is the opposite. The second mistake was that he drew the book that the Tzemach Tzedek was holding as a secular book, read from left to right. Some say that the Rebbe once noted that an additional mistake was that in the drawing, the Tzemach Tzedek places his glasses on the book cover - something that would not have been done since it disrespects the book.

In 5647 (1887), the drawing was renovated, the mistakes were corrected, and since then it has been circulated in its corrected version.

In the Lubavitch Library in New York, a print of the Tzemach Tzedek's picture given by Rebbetzin Rivka to the Rebbe Rayatz is preserved. On the back of the picture, the Rebbe Rayatz wrote: "I received this picture as a gift from my grandmother, the righteous Rebbetzin Rivka, of blessed memory, and she told me that this picture is more accurate than the other pictures."

A copy that hung in the house of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman of Kopust was discovered in 5751 (1991) by the librarian Berel Levin at one of his descendants in Moscow, who sent a copy of it to the 'Lubavitch Library' and it was published to the public.

In 5781 (2021), Rabbi Yechiel Ofner discovered in the estate of Mrs. Hinda Gurevich, granddaughter of Rebbetzin Beila Wells, daughter of the Mitteler Rebbe, and his niece, daughter of the sister of the wife of Maharyen of Nezhin, son of the Tzemach Tzedek, another copy of the original drawing, the earliest one, which apparently was drawn at the request of Maharyen himself. The copy was apparently drawn after the passing of the Tzemach Tzedek. In the drawing, the garment was corrected with the right side placed over the left side, and the book was changed to a Hebrew book, even marked with "Tzemach Tzedek." Under the drawing was written in STA"M letters (in the Alter Rebbe's handwriting): "Here is an authentic picture of our master, the righteous Rabbi Menachem Mendel, of blessed memory, from Lubavitch."

Drawings of the Rebbe Maharash

It is not known if there is a definite drawing of the Rebbe Maharash, but there are about four drawings believed to be of the Rebbe Maharash:

1. A photograph exists in the Chabad Chassidim Library. It is said that the Rebbe instructed not to publish it for various reasons.
2. In the newspaper Allgemeiner Journal, a drawing was published by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson whose source is unclear, and it is said that it was drawn by R' Zaltzman who heard from people who saw the Rebbe Maharash. This picture bears a great resemblance to a picture of the Rebbe Rayatz from 5687 (1927), which corresponds to the story about the Rebbe Rayatz's visit to the Holy Land (see below), which took place just two years later - in 5689 (1929).
3. In the Kfar Chabad weekly, a picture was published that was attributed to the Rebbe Maharash. Some doubted this.
4. The Ginzburg family, descendants of the Rebbe Maharash, passed down a drawing from generation to generation with the tradition that it is a drawing of the Rebbe Maharash.

According to tradition, the facial features of the Rebbe Maharash were like those of the Rebbe Rayatz. This is based on a story that the Rebbe Rayatz told and the Rebbe repeated many times:

"When the Baal HaGeulah was in the Land of Israel during his famous visit, a chassid of the Rebbe Maharash came to him for yechidus (private audience), and immediately upon entering the room, he fainted! When asked about the reason for his fainting, he answered: I saw in the Rebbe's face the countenance of the Rebbe Maharash...

He had not seen the Rebbe Maharash for decades, and upon seeing the face of the Rebbe Maharash, he immediately fainted!" — 12 Tammuz 5745 - Hitva'aduyot 5745 Volume 4 page 2456

Following this, the Rebbe said that the image of the Rebbe Maharash can be seen through the image of the Rebbe Rayatz. In a note to the sicha of 10 Kislev 5744, the Rebbe writes, among other things: "Regarding the Rebbe Maharash, of whom there is also no picture (before us, because some say that his picture was found but for some reason was not published)." The Rebbe emphasized the words "before us" and "some say" in the note. On another occasion, the Rebbe said that there is no picture of the Rebbe Maharash.

(It is also possible that the drawings shown above and attributed to the Rebbe Maharash are simply copies of pictures of the Rebbe Rayatz, and people mistakenly attributed them to the Rebbe Maharash.)

Picture of the Rebbe Rashab

The Rebbe Rashab was careful not to be photographed, and usually when he would leave his house, he would be surrounded by tall yeshiva students, in order to hide his figure and prevent the possibility of him being photographed against his will.

When the Rebbe Rashab went on Rosh Hashanah 5666 (1905) to 'Tashlich' at the riverbank as was his custom, he noticed two non-Jewish landowners from "Biela Nar" estate near Lubavitch rowing on the river with a camera in their hands, trying to photograph the Rebbe Rashab and all those standing in the recitation of Tashlich on the riverbank, which caused the Rebbe Rashab distress, and since then he no longer went to Tashlich at the riverbank.

In 5679 (1919), the Rebbe Rashab planned to travel from Rostov to Turkey. At that time, Georgia was an independent country and all its government offices were located in hotels in Rostov. A Jew named Schreiber worked in the Treasury Department and on Rosh Hashanah he prayed in the Rebbe Rashab's synagogue which was close to the hotel. He told Anash that the Georgian government was about to sail by ship to Turkey, as the Bolsheviks were approaching the area. A number of wealthy Chabad chassidim also thought of joining the journey and suggested to the Rebbe Rashab that he also emigrate with them. The idea was proposed to Rebbetzin Shterna Sarah Schneersohn who gave her consent, as did the Rebbe Rashab.

For the purpose of issuing the visa, the Rebbe Rashab was photographed. The photograph was taken on the ninth of Av of that year. Before the voyage, when the ship was ready and a large part of the household items had already been sold, the Rebbe Rashab came out of his room and told his family that he had changed his mind and decided not to travel. He added and requested that they not continue to ask why, and he remained in Rostov.

Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka remarked several times that the famous picture does not depict the true face of the Rebbe Rashab. When Rabbi Nachum Yitzchak Kaplan heard this, he drew the features of the Rebbe Rashab according to the guidance of Rabbi Avraham Drizin with a shtreimel on his head, and after corrections by the Rebbetzin - the Rebbetzin expressed her satisfaction.

In 5780 (2020), a new picture was discovered, on which is written in Hebrew "Rabbi Shalom Dovber Schneersohn 5668 (1908)", and in Russian on the postcard "Moscow and 1908". Although the Rebbe Rashab was in Moscow in Iyar 5668 (1908), there were still some who doubted the authenticity of the picture and attributed it to another Jew with the same name or to the Rashab's cousin Rabbi Shalom Dovber of Retzitza.

Images of the Rebbe Rayatz

The Rebbe Rayatz's Photo That the Rebbe Described: "I Have Never Seen Its Equal"

The Rebbe Rayatz, receiving American citizenship, raising his hand as a gesture of allegiance

The Rebbe Rayatz's citizenship ceremony

The first photograph of the Rebbe Rayatz is from before his leadership period, in which he is seen wearing a suit and a kneitch hat. In the summer of 5751 (1991), a drawing of the Rebbe Rayatz's face from 5680 (1920) was sent to the Rebbe. The Rebbe thanked the sender and remarked that the drawing was likely made from memory, and that he especially enjoyed it since he had not been privileged to see images from this period in the life of the Rebbe Rayatz.

During the Rebbe Rayatz's stay in the "Shpalorkeh" prison, the Rebbe Rayatz would pray with "avodah" and contemplation more than was his custom. On one of the first Shabbats of his imprisonment, several guards entered his cell to photograph him, as the practice then was to take photographs of each prisoner from two angles. When the guards arrived with camera in hand, the Rebbe Rayatz was in the middle of Shabbat morning prayers, and had entered into a state of devekut and contemplation, with his tallit covering his face. The guards tried to draw the Rebbe's attention to their arrival and presence, but did not succeed and left the cell.

Later, the guards returned. The Rebbe Rayatz was still in the middle of prayer, but the tallit no longer covered his face. When the Rebbe noticed the guards standing in the cell with all the photography equipment, he waved his hand in a dismissive gesture that frightened the guards, who were startled and left the cell. After some time, the guards returned to the Rebbe's cell and tried to tell him that he must be photographed, but the Rebbe Rayatz explained to them that he was not allowed to be photographed on Shabbat, and the guards left the cell.

At the conclusion of Shabbat, the guards returned to the Rebbe's cell, and the Rebbe agreed to be photographed. The Rebbe sat with his kippah on his head, and arranged his tzitzit garment so that the back tzitzit were also visible, and told the guards that now they could take the photograph. The guards tried to explain to the Rebbe that it was not appropriate for the kippah and tzitzit to be visible in the picture, but the Rebbe told them that if they wanted to photograph him, they would have to do it precisely this way. And indeed, that is how he was photographed.

The Rebbe Rayatz's journey to the United States that took place in 5690 (1930) was documented in the press at that time, and many photographs from it have been preserved, and there are also films (without sound) from this visit that were published by JEM. At Berel Gorareih's bar mitzvah in 5696 (1936), the Rebbe Rayatz gave Berel a camera as a gift. With this camera, Berel photographed the Rebbe Rayatz many times, especially from the period after his arrival in the United States in 5700 (1940). In the summer of 5780 (2020), the camera was sold at public auction.

From the Rebbe Rayatz's arrival in the United States, there are films that were taken then (without sound) and they were published by JEM.

The Rebbe Rayatz's citizenship ceremony in 5709 (1949) was a historic event, as a special law was enacted for the Rebbe so that he could receive citizenship in his home and not in the courthouse. The Rebbe arranged to invite two photographers to the event and asked them to stand on both sides of the table (so that the event would be captured from both angles), and remarked to the photographers to ensure that the intensity of the "flash" would not be too high, so as not to blind the Rebbe Rayatz. The event was also filmed in color (without sound), which was expensive in those days.

The Rebbe Rayatz himself sent his photograph on occasion to chassidim who were staying in refugee camps.

The Rebbe's Attitude Toward Pictures of the Rebbe Rayatz

Rabbi Moshe Groner was a collector of photographs of the Rebbe Rayatz, and each time he would come to the Rebbe, he would present the Rebbe with a photograph. When the Rebbe would receive the photograph in his hands, his face would become serious, and he would ask when and where the photograph was taken – and afterward write in pencil on the back of the photograph the details of the photograph, and encourage Rabbi Moshe to continue. On one occasion, when Rabbi Moshe brought the Rebbe a photograph from the Rebbe Rayatz's funeral, the Rebbe rose from his place, put on glasses and approached the window, and looked at the photograph with great concentration and tears flowed from his eyes. Afterward, the Rebbe asked if there were additional photographs from the funeral, and when Rabbi Moshe answered that he would look, the Rebbe asked if there was a photograph of the coffin being lowered for burial.

The Rebbe referred many times to contemplating the photograph of the Rebbe Rayatz and its influence. Among them: that the fulfillment of shlichus is through the power of seeing and not just a result of learning which is at the level of hearing.

The Rebbe's Photos

Photos of the Rebbe Before Accepting the Leadership

The earliest photo of the Rebbe is from 5664/1904 (at age two and a half) taken in Nikolayev. The photo was discovered when Rabbi Shalom Ber Butman, following Rebbetzin Chana's instructions, visited Mrs. Rachel Schneerson, wife of Rabbi Shalom Shlomo Schneerson, and saw the photo in her home. Rabbi Chanoch Glitzenstein made a copy of the photo and sent it to Rabbi Butman, who gave it to Rebbetzin Chana. When the Rebbe later visited his mother after she received the photo, Rebbetzin Chana told the Rebbe that she had just received a new photo of him. The Rebbe responded, "I'm certainly there without a makif."

The Rebbe at Age Two and a Half (5664/1904)

From before the wedding, there is another photo taken for issuing the Rebbe's passport, and another photo taken for the Rebbe's university studies in Berlin. An additional photo of the Rebbe was taken during the wedding period, and from the time the Rebbe lived in Berlin and Paris, there are several more photos of the Rebbe, some taken while he was beside the Previous Rebbe (Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak). After the Rebbe's arrival in the United States, there are many photos of the Rebbe until his acceptance of leadership, which were taken due to his closeness to the Previous Rebbe and the Chabad community.

After Accepting Leadership

In 5711/1951, a photo of the Rebbe was published that served as the Rebbe's official photo in Chabad publications in the press. Over the years, this photo was changed to another one. This photo was the only one the Rebbe authorized for publication in the early years. On the night following Yom Kippur 5729/1968, during a meal in the Previous Rebbe's house, Rabbi Chaim Baruch Halberstam photographed the Rebbe, but later in the meal, the Rebbe sent a messenger with a message to Rabbi Chaim Baruch that the photography downstairs (in the main hall) was sufficient. In 5730/1970, a Chabad Chasid from London prepared a photo album of the Rebbe called "Challenge" and published two new photos of the Rebbe. When the album was sent to the secretariat, Rabbi Chodakov sent a message to that Chasid stating that: "In all publications printed after receiving our permission, there is only one photo of the Rebbe that we permit to be published, and therefore there should be no change regarding the 'Challenge'."

10 Shevat 5730/1970

In the early years, the Rebbe opposed being photographed during farbrengens, and photos and videos that were taken were done secretly. Only toward the farbrengen of 10 Shevat 5730/1970 did the Rebbe give official permission to photographer Yitzchak Braz to photograph the event, and he seized the opportunity and photographed continuously. Several Chasidim who noticed him tried to rebuke him, but the Rebbe instructed them to leave him alone. He also appeared at the farbrengen held on Saturday night, and in the middle of one of the songs, the Rebbe said with a smile (and immediately the crowd stopped singing): "For every picture he takes, he will need to say l'chaim again. It's endless, he keeps taking pictures." When the Rebbe heard that a total of about one hundred and twenty photos were taken, he remarked: "I thought he would take two or three photos, not one hundred and twenty..."

The Rebbe's first official photo, taken on 30 Shevat 5711/1951 at The Kabbolos Ponim for Rabbi Yehuda Leib Posner

Photographing the Rebbe at Weddings

When photographer Harry (Tzvi Reuven) Triner wanted to photograph the Rebbe during weddings and the marriage ceremony – the Rebbe would cover his face. When Harry complained that this was affecting his livelihood, the Rebbe stopped covering his face, though it was evident that he was not comfortable with it. Since then, Harry was careful to take only one photo. When Chasidim pressed at one of the weddings to take more photos of the Rebbe, Harry took three photos and prepared to take a fourth, when the Rebbe noticed and remarked that he thought three photos were enough, and from then on, the arrangement was that Harry would take three photos.

In 5714/1954, when the Rebbe began conducting weddings only in the yard of 770, Harry received a message from the secretariat that he was permitted to take only one photo. When he later commented that one photo was not enough, he was again allowed to take three photos. At one of the weddings, when the photographer wanted to take a fourth photo of the Rebbe in the lobby, the Rebbe covered his face with a siddur (see photo).

The Rebbe covering his face with a siddur

The only photo of the Rebbe that was in his home, taken during the wedding ceremony of Rabbi Berel Yunik

When Rabbi Berel Yunik showed his wedding album to the Rebbetzin, she was impressed by the photo of the Rebbe standing in front of Rabbi Chodakov who was reading the ketubah, and asked for a copy, which she placed on a dresser in the Rebbe's library in his home. This was the only photo of the Rebbe in his home. The Rebbetzin also mentioned that she did not allow the cleaner who worked in the Rebbe and Rebbetzin's home to clean the photo, and she was careful to clean it herself.

The Rebbe's Questions to Photographers About Their Learning That Day

In the early years, the Rebbe opposed photographing him, so no one dared to photograph the Rebbe, so children were sent to photograph the Rebbe. When the Rebbe noticed a child photographing him, he would ask for the camera. When the Rebbe discovered the child Gershon Shusterman preparing to photograph him as he left a wedding ceremony, the Rebbe asked him if his teacher was satisfied with him, and added, "Is Chassidus for you just photography and collecting pictures?" The Rebbe approached the principal of the Talmud Torah where Gershon studied – Rabbi Tenenbaum – and requested that they test him on the material he was studying in his class, and if he failed the test, Rabbi Tenenbaum would have to confiscate his camera. The next day, Gershon was called for a fifteen-minute test in Rabbi Tenenbaum's room, after which his camera was returned to him.

When a Chabad photographer came to document the 'Kos Shel Bracha' ceremony, the Rebbe asked him if he had studied Torah that day. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Freidin, who was standing nearby, said, "Rebbe, he's fine," to which the Rebbe replied: "I myself saw him talking during the Torah reading."

Similarly, at one of the Chai Elul farbrengens attended by a photographer, the Rebbe asked him if he had studied that day's portion of Tanya. The photographer was stunned, and the Rebbe turned to Rabbi Yoel Kahn and asked him if the photographer had learned Tanya today, and if not – Rabbi Yoel should learn with him. When Rabbi Yoel couldn't find a Tanya, the Rebbe lent him his own Tanya booklet.

A public reference eventually came at the farbrengen of 20 Marcheshvan 5744/1983, in which the Rebbe spoke painfully about those who think that "Chassidus" is "photographing pictures," and quoted the words of the Rebbe Rashab - "don't be preoccupied with externalities."

There are those who think that the concept of "Chassidus" is expressed by standing with a "camera" and constantly taking pictures - how someone walks, how they stand, how they make a certain movement, etc., and they do this once, twice, three times, and so on! And among them - yeshiva students who could be sitting and learning Chassidus! I once approached one of them and asked if he had already learned Tanya that day - [this was around Mincha time - close to the end of the day!...] in addition to standing and taking pictures? And he didn't understand at all what was wanted from him! What is the connection between taking a picture and learning Torah?! - He was busy with the most important thing - taking pictures. And suddenly he's asked if he has already learned Tanya during the day - something he could have done before or after, during a time that isn't day or night! - This is truly a question "not in the realm of understanding" according to his comprehension!

Where did such an "understanding" come from - since "no one opens their mouth to protest"! No one bothers to explain (to himself or to the student) and to remind that the one whose birthday we celebrate constantly demanded "ligt nisht in chitzonius" [don't dwell in externalities]!? And we're talking about the "externalities" of "Chassidus"! But "externalities" of "photography" - this never existed!...

There are those for whom this is a matter of "livelihood"; there are individuals who do it for the sake of "spreading" - meaning, the use of "satellite," films, pictures, etc. is for the purpose of spreading Chassidus; but besides these matters - one needs to know that there is an instruction from the Rebbe Rashab - that his desire is for "pnimiyus" [internality] and not "chitzonius" [externality]!

— Farbrengen of 20 Mar-Cheshvan 5744 (1983). Hisvaaduyos 5744 Vol. 1 p. 485 and on.

It appears that in his words, the Rebbe was referring to an event that took place a few years earlier on Chol HaMoed Sukkos 5738 (1977) when two students stood close to the Rebbe and photographed him.

The Rebbe's Encouragement to Photographers

The Rebbe smiles toward a photographer

Despite the Rebbe's sharp attitude toward those engaged in photography in an inappropriate manner, the Rebbe had a relationship of affection for photographers whose photographs were intended for increasing the spreading of the wellsprings and publicity of Chabad Chassidus and its teachings, when they received the Rebbe's permission and consent to photograph him.

One of the prominent photographers was Levi Yitzchak Freidin. He flew to the Rebbe for the first time before the month of Tishrei 5736 (1975), and since then would come to the Rebbe for the month of Tishrei every year, making sure to document the special events during the month of holidays with the Rebbe's encouragement. Not infrequently, when he photographed the Rebbe as the Rebbe was leaving his home, the Rebbe would invite him to join him for the ride to 770. After returning to Israel, he would hold exhibitions displaying the pictures he had taken, and screenings throughout the country of special video segments he had documented during the month.

In addition, over the years Rabbi Chaim Baruch Halberstam also worked in documenting the life and events in the Rebbe's presence through the organization "Chabad Broadcasting Center" that he established, filming various distributions such as the distribution of dollars and kuntreisim in video and pictures that those passing in the line could purchase after the event. He was also involved in recording the Rebbe's farbrengens and in later years - documenting them on video and broadcasting them on television. During the years when the Rebbe prayed in the main hall all three daily prayers in the presence of the Chassidim and frequently gave sichos and distributed dollars afterward - he documented them with a special camera that was fixed and directed at the Rebbe's place.

Starting from the farbrengen of 19 Kislev 5731 (1970), complete video documentation of the Rebbe's farbrengens began. Following the extent of publicity caused by broadcasting extensive segments from the large farbrengen held on 10 Shevat 5740 (1980) on television, the Rebbe asked Rabbi Hillel David Krinsky to develop this area. As a result, at the farbrengen the Rebbe held before his mother's yahrzeit on 6 Tishrei 5741 (1980), the farbrengen was broadcast to Los Angeles. Following the success of this broadcast, Rabbi Krinsky arranged for the broadcast of the farbrengen the Rebbe held in honor of 19 Kislev that same year on television channels throughout the United States. During the broadcasts, there was a need for simultaneous translation into English for the benefit of those who did not understand Yiddish in which the Rebbe gave the sichos, which was performed by Rabbi Manis Friedman.

Since then, these broadcasts were regularly held on television channels in the United States on the dates: 19 Kislev, 10 Shevat, 11 Nissan, 12 Tammuz, and 20 Menachem Av. In order to operate the entire broadcasting system, the company "Jewish Educational Media" was established. Later, the broadcast destinations were expanded to Israel, England, and more.

Since then, the company has broadcast additional events in the Rebbe's presence such as the Lag B'Omer parade and "Chanukah Live."

During Menachem Begin's visit in 5737 (1977), the Rebbe permitted photography. The explanations and photographs did not stop even when the yechidus began in Gan Eden Ha'Elyon.

See Also

• Image
• Drawing of the Rebbe's face
• Image of the Rebbe's father Rabbi Levi Yitzchak
• Category centralizing photographers who engaged in photographing the Rebbe
• JEM
• Rebbe Drive
• To See Our King

Further Reading

• More Beautiful Than the Original, the story of the painter Rafael Nuriel, Kfar Chabad weekly issue 1863 page 55
• More Than a Thousand Words, 'The Rebbe and the Pictures' following the passing of R' Tzvi (Harry) Trainer, one of the first photographers who photographed the Rebbe, Kfar Chabad weekly issue 1860 page 52
• Pnei Chamah, Drawings and pictures in Chabad teachings, 5782 (2022)

External Links

• Pictures (and drawings) of our Rebbeim - collection of articles by Rabbi Mordechai Menashe Laufer
• Pictures and Drawings - about photographing the Rebbe in the early years, by Rabbi Mordechai Menashe Laufer
• The Rebbe's attitude to photographing his pictures ** • ** Fascinating overview
• Or Pnei Melech Chaim, overview on the attitude of our Rebbeim regarding the photographing of their pictures - first part, in the 'Tishrei in Lubavitch' collection Tishrei 5780 (2019) page 39
• Rabbi Shimon Eisenbach, Some Order: Was the Rebbe satisfied with attaching his picture to various publications?
• The Rabbi asked to hang the Rebbe's picture in his home, and received a surprising answer
• When the Rebbe explained: Why do Chassidim need pictures of the Rebbe?
• Photographing the Rebbe? Not taken for granted. Depends who you are and why you're photographing