The Missing Descendant of the Alter Rebbe

COL posts a query that seems to have even stumped resident Chabad Historian, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Kaminetzki . . .



A tomb stone reading:

פ"נ

הבחור המופלג והישר

כמר מנחם מענדל

בהרב המפורסם

ה"ר שלום דוב שניאורסאהן ז"ל

נכד הגאון הקדוש הרב מלאדי

בעהמ"ח שלחן ערוך

נפטר בן י"ד שנים ביום ט"ו אייר

שנת תרע"ב לפ"ק

ת.נ.צ.ב.ה

one Menachem Mendel the son of a Sholom Dov and descendant of the Alter Rebbe is buried in the land of the Warrior Saws . . .



Truth be known, we knew of the tomb's existence last year -but we never went managed to go to the cemetery with the individual who knew where to find it.



What I can add to the puzzle is as follows:

While those that seem to know these things claim that this Mendel does not seem to come from the Rashab of Retzitza (He would have been at least in his sixties when this Mendel Was born, as well there is no recorded son of the Rashab of Retzitza known as Mendel -though they recently found a previously unknown daughter of the Mitteler Rebbe, so no note of a child, especially one who passed away at fourteen, does not rule out the possibilities. What I do find to add weight to this argument though, is that the had Mendel been the son of the Admor from Retzitza, some note of it ought to have been made on the stone [It has since been pointed out the word m'fursom most likely suggests that he was the son of the Retzitzer -Mottel] ).



In any event, it still seems, to me at least, that this person -whoever he is- does come from the Tzemach Tzedek.

The name Sholom Dovber is comprised of two names -Sholom, the Tzemach Tzedek's Father, and Dovber, his father in law.

Perhaps someone here would be able to shed more light.

* * *

Tzemach Atlas:

Why couldn't this been a death during a visit? Particularly in light of the fact that he was 14 and could have been in Warsaw for a medical treatment.

Mottel: Besides the better medical treatment that would have been available in Warsaw, many of the outlying cities (Otwock for example) were used as sanatoriums etc. Had someone passed away in the region, Warsaw was the place of choice for kvurah -That's why R' Chaim Brisker, for example was buried there.
(There was even a movement to bring the Rugachover to Warsaw after his passing in Viena)
The young age of our Mendel most likely accounts for our lack of knowledge of his existence.


Taken last year in the Warsaw Cemetery



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