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28 Teves: Birthday of Rebbetzin Chana

In honor of the 28th of Teves, the birthday of Rebbetzin Chana, the mother of the Rebbe MH”M. In honor of her birthday, we present a brief biography of her heroic life • Full Story

Tonight, the 28th of Teves, marks the birthday of Rebbetzin Chana, the mother of the Rebbe MH”M, in the year 5640 (1880).

Rebbetzin Chana was born in the city of Nikolov (Mykolaiv), to her parents Rabbi Meir Shlomo Yanovsky, the Rabbi of Nikolov (Mykolaiv) and Rebbetzin Rochel, the daughter of Reb Yitzchak Pusnitz, Rabbi of Dubrinka.

In her youth, her parents gave her a Chassidishe education from a young age. In those days, the city of Nykolaiv was home to a lively community of Chabad Chassidim. When a new Ma’amer Chassidus was received from Lubavitch, Rebbetzin Chana would copy it in a beautiful handwritten form for the benefit of the Chassidim.

Rebbetzin Chana was gifted with an extraordinary musical talent, which she inherited from her father Rabbi Meir Shlomo, who even composed some Chabad Nigunim.

Her Marriage

At the age of twenty, she married Reb Levi Yitzhak Schneerson, the match was suggested by the Rebbe Rashab.

The date of the wedding was set for the Thursday after Shavuos, but due to the Rebbetzin’s illness, her father wanted to postpone the wedding. Her father, Rabbi Meir Shlomo Yanovsky, sent a special messenger to the Rebbe Rashab to get his consent to postpone the wedding, but the Rebbe ordered the wedding to take place on time and gave his blessing.

The wedding took place on Friday the 11th of Sivan 5660 (June 8, 1900).

After the wedding, the Rebbe Rashab sent a letter to the Chasson’s father, Rabbi Baruch Shneur Schneerson, and this was in addition to the telegram he sent on the wedding day itself.

Rebbetzin Chana gave birth to three sons: Menachem Mendel, DovBer and Yisrael Aryeh Leib.

Her eldest son, Menachem Mendel, was born on the Yud Alef Nissan 5762 (1902). On that day the Rebbe Rashab sent six telegrams to the child’s father, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak, each with blessings and various instructions.

Throughout the decades of her husband’s rabbinate and public activity, she stood by him and even when he was banned and exiled by the communist government, she followed him to his place of exile.

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After the Second World War, she left Russia on “the Chasidic Railroad Line” and arrived in Pocking, Germany, from where she migrated to Paris.

The Rebbe travelled to Paris to accompany her to New York and since then she has lived in Crown Heights.

Rebbetzin Chana’s wandering and suffering had finally come to an end, and a new era of her life now began. Slowly, the scars of decades of oppression began to be replaced with joy and tranquility.

Every day without fail the Rebbe would visit his mother, during which he would usually prepare for her a glass of tea.

Finally, her newly found life, and the joy she took in her illustrious son, seemed to somewhat erase years of misery and heartbreak.

It was during this period that Rebbetzin Chana wrote her remarkable memoirs, beginning with the memorable words: “I am not a writer, nor the daughter of a writer . . .” These memoirs were later published in A Mother in Israel.