Pocket watch of Rebbe Shalom Dov Ber Schneerson – the Rebbe Rashab of Lubavitch.
Made by Droz & Perret, St. Imier, Switzerland, after 1874. Open face pocket watch, with crystal case back.
Letter of authenticity enclosed (handwritten note, in English), signed in Hebrew by Rebbetzin Chana Gurary (1899-1991), eldest daughter of Rebbe Rayatz and granddaughter of the Rashab: "I hereby gift… my grandfather's the Rashab's Droz & Perret pocket watch. According to my grandmother he bought it during one of his trips to Germany". Dated – 4th March, 1990. A box which may have also been used by the rebbe or his family is enclosed (the box was given together with the watch, though it is not mentioned in the letter).

"My Timepiece" – The Will and Testament of Rebbe Rashab
Shortly before his passing on 2 Nissan, 1920, in Rostov, Rebbe Rashab of Lubavitch prepared his last will and testament, expressing his wishes with regards to the distribution of his books and other belongings among the members of his family, after his death; in the list of items bequeathed to his son, Rebbe Rayatz, is mentioned a "timepiece", which may have been the present pocket watch (see: Ashkavta DeRebbe, p. 138).
A further mention of a "timepiece" is found in a letter sent by the Rayatz during Elul 5697, to his daughter, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, and her husband, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (the future Lubavitcher Rebbe), in which the Rayatz nostalgically refers to a minor episode, which took place 38 years before, in the year 5659: "when Chanele [Rebbetzin Chana Gurary]… turned one month old on 25th of Elul, it was a fine warm day… I held her bundled up and played with her… the grandfather [Rebbe Rashab] approached us and played with her for a while, he turned the watch before her eyes. She took out her little hands as if trying to grab it, but the little hands were too weak to grab anything." (Igrot of Rebbe Rayatz, no. 5609; Yiddish).

The Rashab's Visits to Germany
Rebbe Rashab (1860-1920), fifth rebbe of the Chabad dynasty and prominent leader of Russian Jewry, was a sickly person who would often travel to various spa towns in Russia and abroad, in order to consult with various specialists. The Rashab also devoted these trips to improving the physical and spiritual state of Jews in general, and Russian Jewry in particular. He travelled to Moscow and St. Petersburg to lobby for the annulment of various decrees against the Jews, participated in rabbinical conferences, sent emissaries to far-flung Jewish communities and ensured the establishment of mikvaot and printing of books. Wherever he went, he toiled to strengthen Torah observance. Some of the places the Rashab visited include France, Austria, Germany, Italy, Czechoslovakia and Crimea.
The Rashab's various visits to Germany are extensively documented in his many letters. His first visit was in 1885, and many more visits followed. The Rashab spent most of the year 5667 (1906-1907) in Würzburg, Germany, officially for medical treatment, though he used this time to strengthen German Jewry, meeting with various rabbis and public figures. In Kislev that same year, he was joined by his son the Rayatz, his daughter-in-law Rebbetzin Nechama Dina, and their three young daughters – Chanah, Chaya Mushka and Sheina. The family remained in Würzburg until Elul 1907, when they returned together to Lubavitch. According to the enclosed letter, the Rashab purchased the present pocket watch during one of his visits to Germany.

Diameter: Approx. 5 cm. Good condition. Mechanism not tested.
PLEASE NOTE: Item description was shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.

Crystal jar owned by Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch.
Cut crystal; sterling silver lid, marked (Stone Sterling Silver Co.), New York, ca. 1896-1904.
Letter of authenticity enclosed (handwritten note, in English), signed in Hebrew by Rebbetzin Chanah Gurary (1899-1991), eldest daughter of Rebbe Rayatz: "I hereby gift... the cut crystal jar with sterling silver top that my father bought and used during his trip to the United States in 1929. He used it for oil to add to his food. He gave it to me when he returned to Europe". Dated – 12 November 1989.

The visit of Rebbe Rayatz to the United States

Some two years after his release from the Soviet prison and settling in Riga, Rebbe Rayatz made a trip to the United States. The purpose of the visit, which lasted for close to a year (Elul 1929-Tammuz 1930), was to raise awareness of the plight of Soviet Jews and to encourage and strengthen American Jewry.
Wherever he went, the Rayatz campaigned to strengthen and fortify Torah observance, and propagandized for Shabbat observance, laying tefillin and establishing Torah classes. He founded Agudas Chassidei Chabad and women's societies to promote Taharat HaMishpacha. On Shabbat, he would hold gatherings and deliver Chassidic teachings, and on weekdays, he would convene various meetings and receive people in private audiences. Towards the end of the trip, the Rayatz met with Herbert Hoover, president of the United States, in the White House (on 14th Tammuz). During their meeting, the Rayatz thanked the president for the freedom of religion given to American Jewry and for the help his government provides to Jews throughout the world.
The Rayatz ended his visit on Thursday, 21st Tammuz 1930. He set sail from the port of New York on SS Bremen and reached Berlin on 27th Tammuz. After spending several weeks in the Marienbad health spa, the Rayatz returned in the middle of Elul 1930 to his home in Riga. According to the enclosed letter, Rebbe Rayatz bought the present Jar during his visit to the United States in 1930.

Base diameter: ca. 7 cm. Height: ca. 10cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes.

A large silver spoon that was placed on the threshold of the "Yichud Room" at the wedding of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka and Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson (the future Lubavitcher Rebbe) - Warsaw, 14th Kislev 1928.
The spoon belonged to the Rebbe Rashab, and was also placed at the threshold of the "Yichud Room" during the weddings of the Rebbe Rayatz's other two daughters – the wedding of his eldest daughter, Rebbetzin Chana, to Rabbi Shemaryahu Gurary (the Rashag), in Rostov on 11th Sivan 1921, and the wedding of his youngest daughter, Rebbetzin Sheina (Sonya), to R. Menachem Mendel Horenstein, in the resort town of Landwarów, on 10th Sivan 1932.

Silver (84), marked: Vilna – 1871; maker's mark: M. Shakov (м. шаковь).

Letter of authenticity enclosed (handwritten note, in English), signed in Hebrew by Rebbetzin Chanah Gurary (1899-1991), eldest daughter of Rebbe Rayatz: "I hereby gift... my grandfather's large silver spoon. At my wedding as well as by my sisters wedding we walked into the yechud room with our right foot first over the spoon. By all three wedding it was used. It arrived in the shipment in the end of World War II. My parents cried when the saw it, because by then we know that my younger sister and brother-in-law had died". Dated – 14th Februar 1989. Enclosed is a wooden box which may have also been used by the Rebbe or his family (the box was given together with the spoon, though it is not mentioned in the letter).

The Silver Spoon in Chabad Weddings
It is customary in Chabad to place a silver spoon on the threshold of the "Yichud Room", over which the bride and groom step when entering the room after the Chuppah (see: "Sefer HaMinhagim", p. 76).

In the Sicha of Shabbat Vayishlach, 14th Kislev 5714 – a Farbrengen held in honor of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's 25th wedding anniversary – the Rebbe described in detail the various customs and rituals performed during his own wedding, and during the weddings of his sisters-in-law (daughters of Rebbe Rayatz): the wording of the wedding invitations, times of the day to hold the reception and Chuppah, inscribing the Ketubah, the procession, the escorts, Kiddushin with a gold ring, breaking the glass, and placing a silver spoon at the threshold of the "Yichud Room", detailing how the newlyweds were instructed to step over the spoon, first the groom, followed by his bride, and not on it (ibid. 200).
With the outbreak of WWII, R. Menachem Mendel and his wife, Sheina Horenstein, traveled to Otwock, to assist R. Menachem Mendel's elderly and sickly parents, R. Moshe and Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Horenstein. On 5th Tevet 1939, the Rayatz and some of his household members fled Warsaw to Riga, Latvia. However, his daughter and son-in-law, who did not hold Latvian citizenships, but only polish citizenships, were forced to stay in Poland. In spite of urgent and intensive efforts by the Rayatz, they did not manage to escape Europe, and were murdered in Treblinka in 1942. To spare Rebbe Rayatz the pain and heartbreak, the news of the death of his daughter and her husband was concealed from him until his passing in 1950.
The present silver spoon arrived in the USA at the end of World War II; in light of that, and of the many reports regarding the horrific scope of murder and destruction of European Jewry, it is reasonable to assume that by that time, Rebbetzin Nechama Dina and her husband, the Rebbe Rayatz, already guessed what had become of their daughter and son-in-law, of whom they did not receive any information since 1942.

Length: 23.5 cm. good condition.