Silver kiddush cup used by Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn – Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch, at fabrengens.
Silver cup. Hallmark of Kiev, 1892, and maker's mark - (ИЕЗ [IEZ] - Israel Eseevich Zakhoder). Ornamented with foliate designs.
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 Kiddush cup my father used in Rostov and Leningrad. He gave it to me in 1949". Dated 17th September 1989.

For one hundred and two years (1813-1915), Chabad Chassidut was centered in the town of Lubavitch, Belarus. In autumn 1915, during WWI, while the German enemy was approaching Smolensk, close to Lubavitch, Rebbe Rashab was compelled to flee together with his household the town which was home to his great-grandfather the Mitteler Rebbe since 1813. After several days of wandering, he settled in Rostov-on-Don, in south-western Russia. During this time, a civil war was raging in Russia, and Rebbe Rashab devoted himself to improving the material and spiritual state of Russian Jewry. He sent his disciples to Bukhara and Georgia, built mikvaot, aided war refugees and orphans, and made every effort to preserve the Jewish ember. On 2nd Nissan 1920, Rebbe Rashab passed away, and was succeeded by his only son, Rebbe Rayatz, who led the movement during a time of sweeping social and political changes, and amidst the religious persecution on a rise in Russia following the Communist revolution.
For eight years, Rostov served as the "capital" of Chabad Chassidut, and in the summer 1924, after repeated persecutions by the authorities, Rebbe Rayatz left the city and moved to Leningrad (presently: St. Petersburg). In Leningrad, the Rayatz continued overseeing efforts to preserve the Jewish ember throughout the Soviet Union. He set up an extensive clandestine network of Chabad Chassidim who were sent to anywhere Jews were found, to establish boys' schools and yeshivot, synagogues and mikvaot, and perform circumcisions and kosher slaughtering. The Rayatz was arrested for his activities in the middle of Sivan 1927. Upon his release on 12th-13th Tammuz, the Rayatz left Leningrad and settled in Malakhovka, a suburb of Moscow, and several months later left the Soviet Union entirely and settled in Riga, Latvia, at the end of Tishrei 1927.
Based on the enclosed letter, the present cup was used by Rebbe Rayatz for fabrengens and kiddush for twelve years, 1915-1927, during his exile in Rostov and Leningrad, in Soviet Russia.

Height: approx. 6 cm. Good condition.