Rebetsn Surka: the Role of the Tzaddik’s Wife

Abstract

The article examines the reflection in oral stories and written hagiographic collections of the image of Sarah Abramovich (Rebetsn Surka) (1895(?)– 1979), the first wife of the Rybnitser rebbe, Chaim Zanvl Abramovich (1902(?)–1995). The image of the tzaddik's companion differs in the memories of people who knew her in everyday life from the idealized figure of a righteous woman from the collections of stories about her great husband. Particular attention is paid to the atypical functions of the rebbe’s assistant, the gabay, which the rebetsn Surka had to perform for Chaim Zanvl when she lived with him in the Soviet city of Rybnitsa in the years 1941–1973. Rebetsn Surka remained an intermediary, a mediator between the visitors and the tzaddik himself, even after her death, since the followers of her husband still come to her grave in Jerusalem to convey their request through her.