Barry Gurary

Barry (Sholom Dovber) Gourary (11/2/1923-15/3/2005, New-Jersey). Son of Shemaryahu Gurary and Chana daughter of R. Joseph Isaac Schneersohn of Lubavitch. Barry was born in Russia in 1923. It is most likely that his birth was in Leningrad. His grandfather, the sixth Chabad Rebbe, showed great love to him, and, at times, indicated that he hoped that Barry would eventually become the Rebbe of Chabad. On the occasion of Barry's Bar Mitzvah, his grandfather delivered one of the longest and most inspiring talks of his tenure as Rebbe. After the family emigrated to America in 1940, Barry did not display a strong interest in being involved in his grandfather, and father's work. He focused on his own pursuits, prominent among them being photography.

After the death of his grandfather in 1950, he did not follow follow his uncle R.Menakhem Mendel and eventually left Chabad.

Barry's grandfather collected a vast library during his lifetime, which included several rare volumes. In 1984, some 34 years after his grandfather's death, Barry tried to take possession of some of those volumes claiming a right to an inheritance. He clandestinely entered the storage area where the volumes were kept and removed several, including a first print Passover haggadah worth over $50,000, and a Siddur (Jewish prayer book) that was said to have belonged to the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Chassidism. His uncle, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Chabad Rebbe, was infuriated by these actions. He demanded that the volumes be returned. When Barry refused, he demanded that the matter be ajudicated in secular court. Schneerson argued that the volumes were not the personal possession of Barry's grandfather, but the communal property of the Lubavitch Chassidim. The organizational body that represents Lubavitch Chassidim - Agudas Chassidei Chabad, filed suit to retrieve the books.

During the court hearing Barry's father supported his uncle's side, while his mother his. In 1986, the court ruled in favor of ACC, and that ruling was upheld on appeal in 1987. The stolen volumes were returned to the library.

Because of Barry's demonstrated disinterest in his gradnfather's work during his grandfather's lifetime, and the subsequent erosion of his religious practices for the duration of his lifetime, and especially because of the hostile confrontation between himself and the Lubavitch Chassidim, he was never a candidate to serve as the Rebbe of Chabad.

Sources

http://www.mentalblog.com/2005/03/rabbi-barry-gourary-passed-away.html