Here’s My Story: Snapshot of a Chasid

Rabbi Gavriel Schapiro

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An enormous percentage of the photos and videos of the Rebbe that we have today were taken by my cousin, Levi Yitzchak Freidin – also known as “Levi Itche.” As Levi Itche passed away in 1992, I would like to relate here – from what I personally witnessed – how this came about and how a relationship between him and the Rebbe developed.

Levi Itche lived in Holon, a largely secular city in Israel; he was not a Chabad chasid, per se, although he came from an illustrious line of Chabad chasidim in Russia. Because of this, the Rebbe asked Rabbi Efroyim Wolf, who ran the Chabad-Lubavitch network in the Holy Land to hire him as a photographer, which was his profession. In 1975, after working for Lubavitch for a couple of decades, Levi Itche decided to visit the Rebbe in New York. I got a call asking if he could stay with me; I agreed, and he arrived just before the High Holidays.

When he came, he had no idea what the place was all about and no idea what would be happening here during Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah. But he was a professional photographer and when he began to see the dramatic scenes taking place all around him, he was moved to record them. He was very enthusiastic, with a very lively personality, and he really responded to the Rebbe.

He began taking pictures as the Rebbe came and went, which got a rise out of the yeshivah students who would accompany the Rebbe, and who felt that photographing the Rebbe up close was not respectful. Indeed, in the early years of his leadership, the Rebbe largely avoided being photographed. Even later, when he became somewhat more amenable to it, it was not a common thing to do. However, Levi Itche wanted to take good pictures, not just snapshots, and to do this he would need to stand close to the Rebbe. This is why the students would give him a hard time and, at first, I had to accompany him to fend them off, and to advise him on when he could to take pictures without offending people.

To record the farbrengens, he used three-minute reels which were quite expensive and which then had to be spliced together. When he went home, he had a whole film put together of activities and celebrations from the month of Tishrei which he planned to show in numerous places in Israel.

After some months, I was in touch with him and asked him if he was coming back next Tishrei. He didn’t sound enthusiastic about it, because of the harassment he had endured from the yeshivah students, but I persuaded him to come nonetheless. This time, he asked the Rebbe if he was bothering him with his photography. The Rebbe replied that he was not. He got further encouragement one day, when he was taking photos as the Rebbe came out of Chabad Headquarters, and the Rebbe said to him, “Tell the yeshivah students to study Torah as enthusiastically as you work!”

What did he do? He marched right into the study hall, banged on the table to get the students’ attention, and announced: “The Rebbe told me to tell you that you should learn with as much enthusiasm as I take pictures!”

After this, I think they stopped giving him trouble, especially since they saw that the Rebbe was always smiling at him. As a result, he managed to capture some beautiful images of the Rebbe smiling.

Then there was one Sunday when he was taking pictures of the Rebbe handing out dollar bills to stimulate donations to charity, and the Rebbe asked him, “So who is going to take a picture of you getting a dollar?” He didn’t know how to respond and was standing there speechless, so the Rebbe motioned to him to hand over his camera to Chaim Baruch Halberstam, another photographer. He did so and the Rebbe posed with him for a photo.

Being so close to the Rebbe for extended periods, led to his becoming a chasid. Not a chasid of the Rebbe’s teachings per se, but a chasid who has a deep love for the Rebbe himself.

Just one example: Levi Itche knew that the Rebbe was in favor of Jewish men not cutting their beards. For him this was very difficult to do because he lived in a secular community in Israel where he would stand out, and also his wife probably wouldn’t appreciate it much either. But he thought this gesture would make the Rebbe happy, so he did it.

When he first arrived with the beard, he expected the Rebbe to show that he was pleased, but the Rebbe didn’t react at all, which left him feeling very disappointed. It was not until he came back with the beard for a second year, that he got the reaction he had been hoping for – the Rebbe congratulated him warmly on taking on this mitzvah. Seeing that he had made the Rebbe happy, he cried like a child.

His strong emotional reaction puzzled me, until he explained: “You don’t understand how wise the Rebbe is. When I first grew the beard, I wasn’t firm in my decision; I may have even removed it after Tishrei. The Rebbe sensed that. But as soon as he saw that it is here to stay, he congratulated me.”

The Rebbe meant everything to him, and that love of the Rebbe came through his photographs. He exhibited these pictures and screened his films wherever he could, not for the money, but out of love.

His passion yielded some amazing results. On one occasion, a young woman approached him and started speaking to him, but he didn’t understand English, so he pulled me over: “I don’t know who she is. What does she want from me?” I asked the girl and she told me the following story:

“Last year, I was visiting a secular kibbutz in Israel, and Mr. Freidin came and showed us the video of Tishrei by the Rebbe. After I saw that video, I decided to become religious, and the whole year I took on more and more mitzvot. Now I’ve come to be near the Rebbe this Tishrei.”

I figured that the Rebbe would want to hear that story, so I urged Levi Itche to go to the Rebbe and tell him, which he did. Afterwards, I asked him what the Rebbe replied, and he answered, “The Rebbe didn’t say anything; he just smiled. I never before saw such a smile!”

The last time Levi Itche came to New York was in 1992, two weeks before the Rebbe suffered a stroke. On that occasion, presciently, he said to the Rebbe, “The Rebbe has to watch his health because we need a healthy Rebbe.” The Rebbe responded, “And I need healthy chasidim.”

Right after the Rebbe suffered his stroke, Levi Itche also suffered a stroke. His condition made it hard for him to talk, but for several months, he called regularly to inquire about the Rebbe’s condition.

Around this time, he contributed towards a remodeling project at 770, requesting that that the names of his loved ones be listed on the dedication wall. One time he called me in the middle of the night – this was very unusual, because he was always mindful of the time difference between Israel and New York – and he said, “I want to make sure the names are there.” I said, “Don’t worry – I took care of it.”

The next day he passed away.

Since 1978, Rabbi Gavriel Schapiro has served on the editorial staff of Otzar HaChassidim, the institute tasked with preparing Chabad teachings for print, which functions under the auspices of Kehot, the Chabad publishing house. For almost twenty years he hosted Levi Itche Freidin during his visits to New York. He was interviewed in August 2018.