Parshas Pekudei

One Yud-Tes Kislev in Leningrad the Rebbe said in the mid­dle of a far­bren­gen, “I want the Yid­den that my grand­fa­ther and great -grand­fa­ther looked upon to sit near me. I re­ceive from them. ”

When the pos­si­bil­ity be­came known that the Rebbe Rashab might come to Podobranka for Rosh Hashanah, 5677 (1916), my zeide said he would run there on foot to see him.

As is known, the Rebbe would give his lulav and es­rog to the chas­sidim to per­form the mitzva. What many don’t know is that this came about through a heart­felt and brazen re­quest by R. Zal­man. It was Sukkos 5712 (1951), the first Tishrei since the Rebbe had for­mally ac­cepted the ne­sius. On the morn­ing of the first day of Sukkos, R. Zal­man ap­proached the Rebbe and said, “In Leningrad the daled minim [four species ] were hard to get, and we would re­cite the bracha mitzva over the [Frierdiker ] Rebbe’s lulav and es­rog. I am there­fore ask­ing per­mis­sion to con­tinue this prac­tice and be given such a zechus. ” [R. Zal­man had also used the Rebbe Rashab’s lulav and es­rog in Ros­tov.]

The Rebbe ac­qui­esced, and R. Zal­man was de­lighted. Not one to keep his ex­cite­ment to him­self, R. Zal­man told his fel­low chas­sidim and they asked to be given the same op­por­tu­nity. Per­mis­sion was granted, and this evolved into a stan­dard prac­tice of chas­sidim us­ing the Rebbe’s very own lulav and es­rog each year.