Lubavitch Public Relations pioneer R. Yehudah Krinsky speaks about his career

R. Yehudah Krinsky, longtime aide to the late Lubavitch Rebbe, recently spoke about his career at a gathering, relating some interesting anecdotes.

He reveals (25:55 app.) that his hiring as part of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's staff, way back in the 1950's, was specifically for P.R., public relations purposes. They needed someone who knew English, a native speaker like him. The Rebbe himself was behind it, he says (26:25 app.).

This shows how important P.R., public relations, was, and is, to the late Rebbe and Lubavitch. It is not some professor outsider who is saying it here, it is the Rebbe's close aide himself!

P.S. In the beginning of this video from the 5755 Lubavitch shluchim conference, one can see old, historic images of R. Krinsky, and a look at his years in the Lubavitch movement.

Alter Mirrer R. Moshe Pivovoz z"l recalls glory and mir-acle salvation of Mirrer Yeshiva

About a month ago, R. Moshe Pivovoz, an alter Mirrer Yeshiva talmid from Europe, who lived on the Lower East Side of NYC for many years, was niftar, at the age of ninety six. See posts on it, here, here, and here.

Approximately two years before that, he spoke at length (over an hour and a half), and in great detail, about his life, his memories of life with the Mir Yeshiva, as well as how it miraculously survived the WWII period. The talk was recorded and posted online, for which we express our great gratitude to those responsible.

The recording contains important information, which may not have been reported elsewhere. For example, Rav Pivovoz sings niggunim, songs, sung by the Yeshiva people at that time. He shares the tune for Chad Gadya sung by famous Alter Mirrer R. Shmuel Kharkover (Vilensky) z"l (thirty one minutes into recording).

He sings a beautiful, Yiddish song about the Yidden in golus, at twenty two minutes into the recording, and explains it in English.

At fifty one minutes into the recording he describes Simchas Torah at the Mirrer Yeshiva, and sings niggunim sung there. The old Litvish tunes are quite different than most popular Jewish music today.

Some Mir names heard in the recording, in addition to the above, include
R. Yosef Dovid Epstein, R. Yonah Minsker, R. Elchonon Hertzman, R. Chaim Shmuelevitz, R. Leizer Yudel Finkel, R. Chatzkel Levenstein, R. Avrohom Kalmanovitch, זכרונם לברכה.

You can check it out in video or audio format.

Part one (the major part)

Part two (smaller, conclusion)

Thank you Torahanytime.com