Why Begin the Day with ‘Veahavta Lereacha Kamocha’

Welcome to our weekly program, "The Inside Story of Chabad in America," through the Mindel archives.

The coming week is Yud Beis Tammuz, the Geula, the day of redemption — Yud Beis Tammuz by Chassidim. The month of Tammuz is called — even though Chazal tell us that Tammuz and Av are called "Choidesh Aveilus," the month of mourning, because this is the beginning of the destruction, the Churban Beis Hamikdash — Chazal say that the greatest Yom Tov will be when Eliyahu HaTishbi will come. So specifically, this is in the month of Aveilus — that means that this is a taste of the Geula, a taste of what's going to happen, as the Rebbe says many times, that where there is the greatest darkness, there is the greatest goodness and light. So even though it's Aveilus, there is a minhag that on Shabbos people taste the food of the next Shabbos in advance — so too, when Moshiach will come, it will be the biggest Yom Tov.

Now, I once heard from mashpiim that by Chassidim there are four Yomim Tovim — not only by Chassidim, I mean for everybody, but Chassidim brought it out, this is what is called the Yomim Tovim. What is it? The first Yom Tov is Purim, a time of simcha, a time of joy, because the goyim wanted to kill the Jewish bodies. Haman was hung, and this is the nes of Purim. So they saw that they couldn't get rid of the Jewish bodies, so they came to a new idea — let's go after the Jewish neshama, let's get rid of the soul. That's the Yom Tov of Chanukah.

Chanukah came after Purim, as it says — everybody knows that the Torah is divided into three: there's Chukim, there's Eidos, there's Mishpatim. Eidos are laws like Shabbos — if the Torah wouldn't tell you, you wouldn't know why you keep Shabbos. Now we know why we keep Shabbos, because the Torah tells us — that's called Eidos. Then there is Mishpatim, logical laws, that even if the Torah wouldn't tell you, you would still know — like don't kill, don't steal, be honest. Then there are Chukim, laws that have no reason — you do them simply because Hashem said so, and when you do that, you get rid of the sitra achra [unclear]. And this is what they wanted, and we got rid of that. So they saw that they couldn't get rid of the Jewish bodies, they couldn't get rid of the Jewish neshamos — let's get rid of the pnimius haneshama, the essence of the soul. That's the Yom Tov of Yud Tes Kislev.

If there wouldn't have been a Yom Tov of Yud Tes Kislev — which everybody knows the Yom Tov — then I wouldn't be here, you wouldn't be here. Maybe physically, but there wouldn't be any Yiddishkeit nowadays, Hashem should keep this world. So they saw that they couldn't get rid of the Jewish bodies, they couldn't get rid of the Jewish neshamos, they couldn't get rid of their pnimius — let's go and get rid of the Rebbe himself, let's kill the Rebbe. And this is what they wanted to do Yud Beis Tammuz, to get rid of the Rebbe [Frierdiker Rebbe], and baruch Hashem, this is the nes of Yud Beis Tammuz. So Yud Beis Tammuz is called the Geula.

Now, this — Tammuz is Aveilus — as I'll say why it's Aveilus: because we're in Golus for sinas chinam, hatred for no reason, jealousy, hatred. In order to build the Beis Hamikdash is by Ahavas Yisroel, by doing the opposite. Jews always do the opposite — you know they say, when you say "Shalom Aleichem" to me, I say "Shalom Aleichem" to you, so you answer first "Aleichem" then "Shalom." Why don't you also say "Shalom Aleichem"? Because you're a Yid, you have to say the opposite — I say "Shalom Aleichem," you have to say "Aleichem Shalom." But that's not the real answer. The real answer is because we always want to begin with Shalom — I begin with Shalom, and whoever answers also ends off with Shalom. But the only way to do it is the opposite of sinas chinam.

Therefore the Frierdiker Rebbe was also born in this month, the month of Yud Beis Tammuz, the annual — this is also his Bar Mitzvah. We all know the story: on the day of the Frierdiker Rebbe's Bar Mitzvah, [the Rebbe Rashab] said to the Frierdiker Rebbe, "My son, today is your Bar Mitzvah, you can ask me whatever you want and I will answer you." Can you imagine that? His Bar Mitzvah — I'm sure he knew Chassidus, he knew Kabbalah, he could have asked him the deepest inyonim. What did he ask him? Why do we say, before davening every morning, that we accept upon ourselves the mitzvah of loving a fellow Jew, plain Yiddishkeit — he could have asked him anything, so why did he ask him that?

So I heard from a mashpia once — I don't know where he heard it from — that since we need Ahavas Yisroel to build the Beis Hamikdash, we need Ahavas Yisroel. So this is what bothered the Frierdiker Rebbe — that's why he asked this question, why do we say "Harini mekabel" — because Tammuz is a month of Geula, a month of Geula, so in order to build it you have to speak about Ahavas Yisroel. This is what I heard.

But the Rebbe Rashab answered him an answer which is not the Geula answer, but I'll tell you what the Rebbe Rashab answered him. The reason we say "Harini mekabel" in the beginning, before davening, is: when a son needs something from his father, he wants something and he doesn't know whether his father will give it to him or not. What does he do? He wants to please his father, he wants to do something his father loves, likes — then his father will give him whatever he wants. The same thing — the Rebbe Rashab said to him, our Father [in Shamayim], Hashem, give us a parnassah, give us, shema koleinu, listen to us, give us the geulah — in order for Avinu, our Father, to give us, we want to please Him. How do we please Him? By saying beforehand that we love every Yid — because the Aibishter loves every single Yid. And that's what the Rebbe Rashab answered him.

Anyway, this is the question — this is going back to the Geula, and this is why they can't ask this question — "Harini mekabel" — he could have asked other questions.

Another thing: this month, Yud Beis Tammuz, is the yahrzeit of Rabbi Nissan Mindel. Rabbi Nissan Mindel was devoted to the Rebbe. He was born in Nissan — that's why his name was Nissan — based on the instructions of the Rebbe Rashab [unclear]. And he passed away on Yud Beis Tammuz. He had a great [unclear] — he could have been the biggest professor, but he chose Chabad, he chose to be with the Rebbeim — this was his life. So Yud Beis Tammuz is his yahrzeit.

So I want to say to the kinderlach: in honor of the Geula, in honor of Rabbi Mindel's yahrzeit, we finally finished a book that Rabbi Mindel wrote, and this book is being sold on Kingston Avenue. You'll probably soon be able to buy it all over the world. This is a collection of what Rabbi Mindel already wrote in the Talks and Tales, which the Rebbeim — the Frierdiker Rebbe and the Rebbe — valued very much. This is called "The Gallery of the Great" — this is the cover of the book, and it's going to be in the stores in a week. You'll be able to buy it in the bookstores.

This is annotated from the Rebbe — this is like, everything he wrote, the Rebbe went through it with references, because the Rebbe took from Talks and Tales — he made the Hayom Yom, a book of two volumes, from Talks and Tales. The Rebbe was meicha on the whole thing — the five volumes of "The Storyteller" — the Rebbe looked over, and the Rebbe also looked over this "Gallery of the Great," among the other things he wrote that the Rebbe looked over.

So "Gallery of the Great" is about scholars, teachers, leaders, from the time of [unclear] until the twentieth century. The Talks and Tales — I think he wrote it for around fifty years — they have stories, they have everything, so he took the best, and this is what we finished now, "Gallery of the Great," and this is what you can buy in the stores. [Stories of] Kabbalists, he has from Kabbalah, other biographies, he has from Mishnah, he has from all kinds of people, from Mizrachi people, from all over.

Even though this is from Talks and Tales, which was originally written for children — and by the way, we are now in the eightieth year since the Rebbe came. What did the Rebbe start when he came to America? What was his first thing that he did? Publication — with Rabbi Nissan Mindel — the Tanya, the Talks and Tales. This was the Rebbe's work to change America. The Frierdiker Rebbe said that when you read the Talks and Tales, especially when you read "Wonders of Nature," which was written by Rabbi Dr. Nissan Mindel, it gives him Yiddishe nachas. Can you imagine, the Frierdiker Rebbe says that when you read the Talks and Tales, "Wonders of Nature," he gets Yiddishe nachas? Can you imagine that? This book is for everybody — so "Gallery of the Great" is part of it.

Next Thursday night we will continue our Thursday night program. Thank you.