“The only person in habad who kept to this mesora, the rosh yeshiva in torah vada’at in brooklyn, was murdered in his own home….”
“Those redifot had as a direct result that the RY died in his home.
After the RY’s petira, the rebbi of habad publicly disavowed any responsibility for the RY’s demise”
This is a blood libel. I will respond, not to Yankel, but to set the record straight for others who may read this:
A Lubavitcher bochur was angry at Rabbi Rivkin and took matters into his own hands. He made a scary phone call to Rabbi Rivkin’s son-in-law and stuffed his lock with woodchips.
The son-in-law, a long-time opponent of Lubavitch, wrote a news story claiming that Lubavitch has a “terror brigade” to enforce what the Rebbe wants.
Afterward, the Rebbe spoke publicly and completely disavowed the bochur’s actions, stating clearly that he went against everything Lubavitch stands for and does not represent the Rebbe in any way. The Rebbe also criticized the article’s author for blaming an entire community for the actions of an individual.
The Forward then retracted the article and apologized for blaming Lubavitch for the vandalism.
That was the end of the incident.
The sicha is recorded (you can listen to it). It took place in Shevat 5735.
Rabbi Rivkin passed away at 84, two years after the incident, and the Rebbe came out to participate in the levaya.