The Portrait of The Alter Rebbe

Portrait of the Alter Rebbe

The portrait of the Alter Rebbe was painted during his first imprisonment in 5559 (1799). In the summer of 5622 (1862), the Rebbe Maharash traveled to the Tsar's village (now Pushkina), near S. Petersburg, to locate the grandson of the investigator who had kept the portrait in his home. The Maharash found him, and the grandson agreed to hand it over. The portrait was brought to Lubavitch, where a copy was made. It remains unclear whether the original was painted in color or in black pencil, as is the case with all surviving copies.

Discovery of the Portrait

The original portrait was first located by the Maharash in 5622 (1862) in the Tsar's village (now Pushkina), near Saint Petersburg, in the possession of the grandson of the investigator who had held it. The Maharash persuaded him to lend the portrait in exchange for government bonds valued at ten thousand rubles. Accompanying the Maharash was Rabbi Yisrael Chaikin, who was entrusted with the portrait and responsible for returning it to its owner once a copy had been made.

The portrait arrived in Lubavitch in strict secrecy. One chassid, however, reported having heard the Tzemach Tzedek — Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, the third Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch — say to his son the Maharash: "The portrait is authentic, just as I remember him in his middle years — and yasher koach for this." The same chassid testified that "after about two or three years" — 5624–5625 (1864–1865) — it had already become known among the chassidim that one of the senior noblemen in Saint Petersburg had painted the Alter Rebbe — Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad-Lubavitch — while he sat in prison.

Rebbetzin Rivkah, wife of the Maharash, was also permitted to view the portrait, on condition that she not speak of it further. After the copy was completed, the portrait was returned to its owner.

The earliest surviving copy of the original portrait is a large-format print from the first printing, made by Rabbi Shmarya Schneersohn. This copy is held by the Lubavitch Library in New York and is periodically displayed to visitors at the library's exhibitions.

Testimony on the Portrait's Authenticity from the Diaries of the Frierdiker Rebbe

The Frierdiker Rebbe — Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the sixth Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch — is the term by which chassidim refer to the Previous Rebbe. In the eighth issue of the journal HaTamim, the well-known portrait of the Alter Rebbe was printed along with a note explaining that following its earlier appearance in HaTamim (issue 2, p. 7), many letters had arrived challenging the attribution of the portrait to the Alter Rebbe. The first time the portrait had been published publicly — in 5648 (1888) — by Rabbi Shmarya Schneersohn, it had already sparked debate in the Jewish press of the day, with some casting doubt on its authenticity.

In response, the editorial board of HaTamim turned to the Frierdiker Rebbe for clarification. He provided them with excerpts from notes he had written beginning in 5656 (1896), recording what he had heard regarding the portrait. These accounts make the authenticity of the portrait clearly evident.

The Frierdiker Rebbe's Record

The record contains five accounts and proofs of the portrait's authenticity:

1) The testimony of two elderly chassidim from Bobruisk who had personally known the Alter Rebbe and identified the portrait as his likeness.

2) The Maharash had seen this portrait as early as 5615 (1855), in Saint Petersburg.

3) Rebbetzin Rivkah, wife of the Maharash, had seen the original portrait in Lubavitch in 5622 (1862), when it was brought on deposit for two weeks to the Tzemach Tzedek. In 5656 (1896) she recounted:

When the portrait of the Alter Rebbe was published, and I saw it, I recognized it clearly as a copy of the portrait I had seen then.

4) The testimony of a chassid who in 5622 (1862) heard the Tzemach Tzedek say to his son the Maharash:

The portrait is authentic, just as I remember him in his middle years.

The same chassid also testified that several years later — 5624–5625 (1864–1865) — it had already become known among the chassidim that one of the prominent noblemen in Saint Petersburg had painted the Alter Rebbe while he sat in prison. 5) A remark of the Tzemach Tzedek (in Yiddish):

Az ich kuk oyf dem feter R' Chaim Avraham ze'ah ich dem zeide, zayn klaster ponim iz vi dem zeidens — When I look at my uncle Rabbi Chaim Avraham, I see my grandfather; his facial features are those of my grandfather.

It was likewise transmitted among the elder chassidim that Rabbi Chaim Avraham, son of the Alter Rebbe, bore a striking facial and physical resemblance to the Alter Rebbe himself — a point they cited as corroborating testimony from those who had known Rabbi Chaim Avraham personally (noting only that "Rabbi Chaim Avraham's nose lacked a certain line" found in the portrait).

The Rebbe's Reference to the Portrait of the Alter Rebbe

When Rabbi Yaakov Katz asked the Rebbe about the authenticity of several portraits of the Chabad Rebbes, the Rebbe replied simply that of the Alter Rebbe and the Tzemach Tzedek, "there are the well-known portraits."

In a letter published in Igros Kodesh, vol. 18, p. 226, the Rebbe wrote:

Regarding what you wrote about a stamp bearing the portrait of [the Alter Rebbe] — in my view the matter is inadvisable, since stamps pass through many hands and so on, in addition to the unavoidable practice of striking the stamp, which would affect the portrait.

A marginal note in that volume clarifies that the reference is to a proposal to issue a postage stamp bearing the portrait of the Alter Rebbe.

See Also

• Portraits and Likenesses of the Chabad Rebbes