R. Zalman Schneerson of Lodz was a great-grandson of the Mitteler Rebbe who was a great talmid chochom and chossid. As a boy, the Rebbe Maharash had blessed him to be a lamdan and a gevir, both of which materialized. He was a profound oved who served Hashem with great fervor. He passed away in the Lodz ghetto on Yud Beis Tammuz ת”ש (1940).
R. Zalman’s Chassuna took place in 5659 (1899) in Liozna. The Rebbe Rashab attended the Chassuna, was mesader kidushin, and recited several maamorim during the Chassuna and Sheva Brachos.
When R. Zalman would be the chazan in a minyan it was a sight to see. He would read the words with a sweet melody, and with a voice full of pleading emotion. His davening so affected his listeners that they were aroused as if it were the Aseres Yemei Teshuva.
The high esteem in which the Rebbeim held R. Zalman is evidenced in the fact that the Frierdiker Rebbe once sent to him the Baal Shem Tov’s siddur, for him to show to those who would give a significant donation to Tomchei Temimim of Lodz, where R. Zalman lived. Only R. Zalman was allowed to touch the siddur, while the donors, who were required to go to the mikvah beforehand, could only look.
When R. Zalman came to visit the Frierdiker Rebbe for Yud Tes Kislev 5699 (1939), R. Chatche Feigin (the Frierdiker Rebbe’s secretary) admonished the Bochurim for not taking advantage of his presence. He told them, “When R. Zalman would come to Lubavitch, we would surround him to ‘squeeze’ something out of him, but you just go about your regular day...”
When R. Zalman heard this he responded dismissively: “Ah, there is nothing to hear.” During that visit the Frierdiker Rebbe showed R. Zalman special closeness, seating him right at his side during the farbrengen.
(חסידים הראשונים עמ' 140 ואילך)
