Hundreds of Babov-45 Hasidim in London were swept up in excitement as the rebbe arrived for a historic religious visit capped by the cornerstone ceremony for the community’s new main study house. He landed at Heathrow Airport, where leaders of the building fund welcomed him warmly.
During the stay, the rebbe lodged in the homes of prominent community benefactors, including the Donner family and the home of the head of the Bialaava community, who acquired naming rights for the building as "Ohel Nachum." Fundraising gatherings for the building fund were held in the homes of donors and activists, including Rabbi David Stern, the grandson of the Babov holy rebbe known as the Kedushas Tzion, as well as at the homes of Rabbi Shalom Kahn and Rabbi Mendel Landau.
The rebbe also made courtesy visits to London rabbinic leaders, including Rabbi Shmuel Frischwasser of Sasov, Rabbi Shmuel Binyamin Krais, and Rabbi Yechezkel Rappaport. He paid a sick visit to Rabbi Baruch Chana Greenfeld, the head and leader of Babov-45 in London, who is in a weakened condition.
The cornerstone laying drew thousands of Hasidim and local Haredi residents, along with major British Torah figures such as Rabbi Yitzchak Padwa, head of the "Cheishev HaEphod" court and chief dayan of the United Haredi Communities, and Rabbi Zev Feldman of "Etz Chaim." Speakers included descendants of the Kedushas Tzion, Rabbi Shmuel Frischwasser and Rabbi Leib Stemפל, before the rebbe delivered the main address calling to expand the boundaries of holiness. He then personally poured the concrete for the cornerstone, assisted by the Vizhnitz London rebbe, Rabbi Shmuel Friedman, deputy chief rabbi of London, and the building committee leaders.
