As Recalled by Mrs. Esther Serebryanski
Mrs. Esther Serebryanski circa 1950s
My parents, Rabbi Moshe Mordechai and Basya Magnes — educators who devoted their lives for the sake of Judaism — weren’t Lubavitch, but they shared its values. Although my mother passed away when I was twelve, she gave me a strong foundation.
After completing high school, I wandered around; I went to college for a while, and worked here and there. My older sister had gotten married to a Lubavitcher boy, but I was still footloose and fancy-free.
One day in the 1950s, she and her husband decided that I had to go see the Lubavitcher Rebbe [Rabbi MenachemMendel Schneerson, zt”l], and they made an appointment for me. Now, I’m an independent-minded person and don’t like people doing things for me, especially not my sister, who could be bossy, as older sisters sometimes are. I resented this intrusion into my life and felt that my self-reliance was being attacked. But then I thought: You know what? I would like to meet the Rebbe.
