Niggun L'shabbos V'yom Tov 75
On the occasion of his 70th birthday, the Rebbe received thousands of letters from well-wishers across the globe. Among these were several that suggested that perhaps it is time he considered "slowing down" and "taking it easy" after his many fruitful decades as a leader and activist.
The Rebbe's response was that he is launching a campaign to open 71 new Chabad mostos in the course of the coming year.
One of these mostos were recording more nichoach albums. During this, Moshe Teleshevsky asked Reb Mendel Marozov if he had a new niggun for the album. Reb Mendel answered yes, and started singing it.
Reb Mendel Marozov told over the story on where he heard this niggun:
When he was a young bucher, the war broke out. A part of his escape, he traveled to Tashkent. On the train, he noticed a yid with a long yellow beard, came on the train. The yid comes over to him, and asks him:
What's your name?
- Marozov.
and who is chonye to you?
- My father.
Oh! If so, I'm sitting next to you.
Reb Mendel asks this yid for his name, he answered Moshe Charitonov (Aharon and Sholom's Brother). for the duration of the train ride, Reb Moshe taught him this niggun.
Reb Mendel tells Moshe Teleshevsky that this is from Reb Sholom Charitonov.
Reb Mendel Marozov calls up Reb Shamshen Charitonov (Reb Sholom's son) on the phone and asked about his fathers niggun. Reb Shamshem said: It's not my father's style or derech, it's not my father's.
Reb Mendel goes back to Teleshevsky and tells him: it's not from Reb Sholom Charitonov. Teleshevsky answers: Who cares?! It's a nice niggun.
A couple days later, Reb Shamshen calls up Reb Mendel Marozov and says: i found this niggun in the sheet music that my father (Reb Sholom) wrote.
This doesn't mean that Reb Sholom composed it, But it does mean that he knows about it.