Ribnitzer Rebbe’s Tallis – Bidspirit Ended Auction

The Ribnitzer Rebbe’s Tallis — Sold at Auction for $93,750

This photo album documents a personal tallis attributed to Rav Chaim Zanvil Abramowitz, the Ribnitzer Rebbe zt”l, which was offered as Lot 83 by Atikim on September 6, 2026. The tallis ultimately sold for $75,000, against an opening price of $50,000. The auction carried a 25% buyer’s premium, bringing the price with the stated premium to $93,750, before any other applicable charges.

According to the auction catalog, this was a wool tallis worn by the Ribnitzer Rebbe regularly for his weekday and Shabbos davening during his first year in the United States. He arrived before Pesach 5734 (1974), and the catalog states that he used this tallis for at least six months, and possibly close to a year. In 5735 (1975), he gave it as a gift to R’ Binyamin Eisner, who had been among those close to the Rebbe during his early period in America. The tallis remained carefully preserved by him, and the lot was accompanied by a handwritten letter attesting to its provenance.

The most significant feature is the original tzitzis still attached to the tallis. The auction catalog specifically describes them as “קשורות בחוליות כמנהג צדיקי רוסיא” — tied in chulyos according to the custom of the tzaddikim of Russia. It further states that the original tzitzis remain on the tallis and are tied kasher l’mehadrin.

The auction photographs therefore offer an unusually valuable primary visual record. Rather than a later reconstruction of how the Ribnitzer Rebbe may have tied his tzitzis, we can examine the actual knots, chulyos, spacing, and arrangement preserved on a tallis with documented provenance connecting it directly to him.

The tallis itself is decorated with an ornate atarah braided from silver thread and shows extensive signs of use. The auction house also identified stains on the garment as blood from brissim performed by the Ribnitzer Rebbe, who was renowned for his mesirus nefesh in serving as a mohel under Communist rule in the Soviet Union. The catalog relates one well-known account in which the Rebbe performed a clandestine bris together with R’ Mendel Futerfas, placing those involved at considerable risk.

Whatever value collectors placed on the tallis at auction — ultimately $75,000 — its particular importance for Blue Fringes is different. These detailed photographs preserve another tangible piece of evidence for the tzitzis-tying traditions of the Ribnitzer Rebbe and the Russian tzaddikim, allowing the surviving strings themselves to be studied rather than relying solely on oral descriptions and later testimony.

From https://judaica.bidspirit.com/ui/lotPage/atikim/source/catalog/auction/76826/lot/20943/view?lang=he :