Sefer HaToldos Admur Maharash (“Biography of the Rebbe Maharash”) is more than a biographical sketch; it is an insider’s view into the domestic and public lives of the Rebbe Maharash, his sons, his father the Tzemach Tzedek, and his grandfather the Mitteler Rebbe. Against the backdrop of 19th-century Lubavitch, the reader will be privileged to enter the fascinating world of Beis HaRav: the daily lifestyle, the interrelationships among family members, the interactions of the Rebbeim with their chassidim, their intense efforts on behalf of world Jewry, and their farbrengens, sichos and maamarim. One of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s earliest published works, Sefer HaToldos Admur Maharash was culled from the writings of the Rebbe Rayatz, whose rich language and unique narrative style are legendary.

Newly discovered excerpts from the Rebbe Rayatz’s diary reveal precious biographical insights into the life of a most extraordinary woman, the Rebbe Maharash’s wife, Rebbetzin Rivkah. Rebbetzin Rivkah was a living repository of the history of four generations of Lubavitch and the families of the Rebbeim, and the source of much of the information found in the historical and biographical narratives of her grandson the Rebbe Rayatz. These excerpts, compiled under the apt title “Her Husband’s Crown,” are published in the second half of this volume. Here, for the first time, we learn intimate details of the lifestyle in Beis HaRav during its prime years in the village of Lubavitch.