On the Rebbe’s Father’s Yahrtzeit: Over a Century of Kaddish and Mishnayos
When Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson passed away in Soviet exile, the Rebbe turned to Colel Chabad in Jerusalem to arrange Kaddish and Mishnayos for his father's neshama — the same request Jews around the world have been making of Colel Chabad for well over a hundred years.
by COLlive Editor · COLlive
When Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson passed away in Soviet exile, the Rebbe turned to Colel Chabad in Jerusalem to arrange Kaddish and Mishnayos for his father’s neshama — the same request Jews around the world have been making of Colel Chabad for well over a hundred years.
On Chof Av, Chassidim mark the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, father of the Rebbe, who passed away in exile in Alma-Ata — today Almaty, Kazakhstan — after years of imprisonment and banishment at the hands of the Soviet regime.
On Chof Av, Chassidim mark the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, father of the Rebbe, who passed away in exile in Alma-Ata — today Almaty, Kazakhstan — after years of imprisonment and banishment at the hands of the Soviet regime.
Read the full story of the Rebbe’s father and his unique connection with Colel Chabad.
Immediately after the heartbreaking news reached him, the Rebbe sent a telegram to Colel Chabad in Jerusalem (pictured below), requesting that Kaddish and Mishnayos for his father begin without delay, as well as to pray for the health of his mother. In the months that followed, additional correspondence went back and forth regarding the precise date of the yahrtzeit, so that every observance would be marked properly.
The Rebbe’s telegram to Colel Chabad in Jerusalem, asking that Kaddish be said and Mishnayos learned all year for his father, Reb Levi Yitzchok ben Zelda Rachel — and that they daven for the health of his mother, Rebbetzin Chana.
View the Mishnayos being learned this year for the Rebbe’s father.
That request was not an unusual one. For well over a century, Jews from every corner of the world have turned to Colel Chabad to arrange Kaddish and Mishnayos for the souls of their loved ones. Long before online forms and email, names were carefully handwritten into large memorial ledgers. Families wrote in from Europe, North Africa, America, Australia and beyond, asking that a Jew in Eretz Yisroel recite Kaddish, learn Mishnayos, and remember a loved one on each yahrtzeit.
Some even make the arrangements for themselves — ensuring that after 120 years, Kaddish and Mishnayos would continue in their merit.
Today the original ledgers are preserved and maintained as precious historical records, while the mitzvah itself continues through modern technology. Every Kaddish and Mishnayos request is recorded, monitored and followed throughout the year, and before each yahrtzeit families receive a reminder along with a customized Mishnayos booklet.
Colel Chabad is honored to introduce its newly enhanced Kaddish & Mishnayos Memorial platform, making it easier than ever for Jews around the world to ensure that Kaddish is recited and Mishnayos are learned in memory of parents, relatives and loved ones.
Just as generations before us entrusted Colel Chabad with this sacred responsibility — including the Rebbe himself, following the passing of his father — that commitment continues today with the very same care, dignity and devotion.
May the merit of Torah learning, Kaddish and acts of remembrance bring an aliyah for the neshamos of all those in whose memory they are performed.
Click here to arrange Kaddish, or annual yahrtzeit observances for your loved ones.
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