United States District Court, Eastern District of New York.

Barry (Shalom Dov-Baer) Gourary (1923-2005) was the only grandchild of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, R. Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880-1950). Gourary's relationship with his grandfather's successor, R. Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was a source of struggle and friction to himself, the wider Gourary-Schneerson family, and ultimately the Chabad-Lubavitch community as a whole. The mass of documents here relate to the lawsuit brought over the question of true title to the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s library. The Chabad movement, led by R. Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994), argued that the library was the communal property of the Lubavitch Chassidim and not the personal possession of any one person. Indeed the detail of the case subsequently turned into a far more explosive issue that questioned the notion of leadership (“Rebbe’ship”) as a whole. At the lengthy bench trial many prominent witnesses, including Elie Wiesel, testified, and many fascinating insights concerning Chabad Chassidic history were revealed. Ultimately, Judge Sifton ruled in favor of the Chabad movement, the followers of which celebrate the verdict’s anniversary on the 5th of Teveth, a day known as “Didan Notzach” [Our ruling is victorious]. The present lot contains almost two-and-a-half-feet of stacked papers, totaling many thousands of pages. A detailed inventory of the archive is available upon request. <<Please note, viewing of this lot is upon request (subject to approval) and by 24-hour advance appointment only.>>