In the Halls of the Sorbonne

Paris, late 1930s
Rabbi Yoel Reitzer lives in Antwerpen, Belgium. His father, Moshe Zev Reitzer was studying to become a pharmacist at “the Sorbonne,” attending some of the same classes as the Rebbe in the late 1930’s.

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…My father was from Grosswardein, a little town which at one time was part of Hungary, at another time it was part of Romania. He was called up to the military draft. He had a brother who had already moved to France to escape the draft. He advised my father to also come to France, so my father came to France. In the Old Country my father had studied at the Yeshiva of Maharam Brisk, one of the greatest Yeshivos in Hungary. But he had no livelihood, so he decided to study something. Otherwise he couldn’t make a living in Paris.

He studied at the Sorbonne. There he met a Jew - at the time he didn't even know who he was; later he became the Lubavitcher Rebbe. My father was in awe of him, the Rebbe would come straight to the lectures; and he didn't speak with anyone, he would come in, and as soon as the lecture ended, he would leave. He [my father] was very impressed by him he was extremely careful - my father told me - to guard hi eyes, not to see anything impermissible, He spoke to almost no one, and if he did say something, it was very brief.

There, he got to know the Rebbe a little. My father was a Torah Jew. He was still single. Apparently, the Rebbe appreciated him.

One day, the Rebbe said, "would it not be a good idea... There are a number of young boys wandering around in Paris, they have nowhere to study Torah, we need to ensure that they remain good Jews. Would you teach them privately?"

My father agreed. For my father it was a windfall, as well, because he deeded to eat [livelihood]. The [future] Rebbe pulled it together; this child, another one. Later, my father had a class at night with a whole group of boys - my father used to say, that when he left Paris, he went to Lyon - later when he hot engaged - the children were really crying - my father really loved children had a deep love of Torah. The children became very attached to him….

Daily Talmud Class

On January 30, 1933 Hitler was elected the German Chancellor. For a couple who was foreign and Jewish, it was time to get out of Germany. The Rebbe and his wife Chaya Mushka moved to Paris, where the Rebbe continued his studies at the University for Polytechnic at Mont Rouge and the prestigious University of Paris, known as “the Sorbonne.” David Fakler studied with the Rebbe.

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“The Rebbe gave a daily shiur (torah class) in Gemara. Everyone, even very secular Jews were drawn to the ‘Lubavitcher’, as the Rebbe was known at the time. When they spoke of him, they would say: “oh, the Lubavitcher - a unique man. He is not like all the other rabbis, people are drawn to him.””
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Chabad Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson in Paris gives daily shiur in Talmud Pletzel 25 Rue des Rosiers הרבי מליובאוויטש בפריז צרפת נותן שיעור גמרא (תלמוד) בכל יום פלעצל

Rebbe Crosses Boarder Illegally

After escaping Nazi-occupied Paris, the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson spent many perilous months in Vichy, France.

The holiday of Sukos was approaching, and the next worry was how to obtain the items necessary for the holiday mitzvos (precepts). The Chabad custom dating back to the first Rebbe is to specifically use an Esrog from the region of Calabria in Italy. Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Rubenstein, a prominent Rabbi from Paris was also in Nice at that time.

“Rabbi Rubinstein told me, that the [Lubavitcher] Rebbe wanted to cross the border from France to Italy. In general, every Jew had to be ‘invisible.’ but to cross the border was an unthinkable danger. So the Rebbe asked Rabbi Rubinstein, if from the standpoint of Jewish law it was permissible to risk his life by crossing the border illegally, to acquire an Esrog from Calabira, Italy.

“Rabbi Rubinstein answered, of course, that it was out of the question; he would have to suffice with a regular Esrog... Not long after, the Rebbe disappeared for a few days. It came to light that he had indeed made his way across the border. When the Rebbe returned, his face was beaming, as he arrived with Esrog in hand. The Rebbe was very happy to enable the Jews in Vichy to fulfill the Mitzvah at its best, according to this exeptional custom.”

During world war II the Chabad, Lubavitcher Rebbe makes a dangerous, move to illegally cross boarder from Vichy, France to Italy to get an Esrog from Calabira, Mesiras Nefesh for a custom, Minhag, mesirat nefesh