20 Marcheshvan Conference 5765

00:00 L’chaim, l’chaim. We’re here now at a chassidic farbrengen for 20 Cheshvan, following on from what we’ve spoken about here before concerning the Rebbe’s holy sichos, and especially on the auspicious day of 20 Cheshvan, the birthday of the Rebbe Rashab. And with the weekly parsha and, in particular, its haftarah, in which Batsheva made the declaration: “May my lord King David live forever.” There are many interpretations of this verse, but the interpretation everyone agrees with and believes is that we see David Hamelech’s words living and enduring forever. For years, for generations, we’ve seen how right David was. Earlier, people mentioned the Rebbe’s sichos about the integrity of Eretz Yisroel, spoken out of pain, but also with ruach hakodesh and prophecy about the future. I want to share my personal feeling; I’m not imposing it on anyone. Since we’re at a chassidic farbrengen, it’s permissible to say what’s in one’s heart. Last week there was a vote in the Knesset about the disengagement. Of course, the vote went against the Rebbe’s position. But דווקא after I heard the results, I felt joy in my heart. Why was I so happy? Because for the first time in fifty years, the Rebbe’s wish was fulfilled in its entirety. Earlier, people mentioned that period and the Rebbe’s sichos about returning territories and the danger to life. They mentioned the question of whether it’s written in the Shulchan Aruch, and then, you’ll see, the ruling of the rabbis. But we remember very well—and today we’re witnessing it—when you come to a rabbi and show him the halachah in the Shulchan Aruch, he says, “That doesn’t apply to our situation.” The halachah in the Shulchan Aruch says one thing, but who says that halachah applies to the matter at hand? The Rebbe once mentioned in a sicha, by way of a joke, that someone once asked a rabbi a question about turmeric. He said, “If turmeric is the subject of a dispute, then the ruling is such and such.”

02:55 And who says turmeric is the subject of a dispute? In any case, years ago, decades ago, and in recent times too, when the issue of danger to life was raised, what did rabbis and halachic authorities say? These were the leading authorities of the generation, and they argued that it was permissible, perhaps even a mitzvah; that it didn’t apply to our situation, and so on and so forth. There’s no need to repeat all the nonsense that was said. But for the first time, last week, the entire religious representation, from Dan to Be’er Sheva, following the instructions of all their rabbis, stated and stood by the Rebbe’s position that it is forbidden. The disengagement is forbidden because it poses a danger to life. I remember how we used to run around to rabbis, halachic authorities, and great Torah scholars, trying to get them to agree, to issue a ruling. It passed by one vote, and another vote, and another vote. I remember we once went to one of the leading halachic authorities of the generation, who is no longer alive. We sat there pleading with him, asking him to sign, to agree. He said to me—he told us this story: “Listen. A young married Torah scholar came to me and asked for an approbation for his book. So I looked through what he’d written. A few days later, he came back, and I asked him, ‘Listen, I saw one place in your book where you raise a question about the Rema. The Rema cites a Rashba, and seemingly the Rashba doesn’t say that. You understand the Rashba differently from the way the Rema did. Elsewhere in the book, I saw you cite someone in Bnei Brak who, in a recent publication, quotes a Ramban, and then you ask: How could the Ramban rule such a thing? That left me puzzled by your approach: How could such a great scholar understand the Ramban that way? With the Rema, you understood the Rashba differently, but with this scholar you don’t say that the Ramban should be understood differently. He’s a great scholar. How, how did he understand the Ramban that way?’ So the young man says to me, ‘Rabbi, what can I do? The Rema doesn’t have people like that in Bnei

05:34 Brak.’” That’s what he answered me. In other words, he could challenge the Rema, but he was afraid to take on someone in Bnei Brak. And that rabbi told us, “I’m afraid to sign because there are people like that in Bnei Brak.” Now, last week, we saw how everyone agreed with the Rebbe’s position. Does the Rebbe need their agreement? I don’t know. But the Rebbe wanted it, and he understood it, and he instructed us that this is the way we need to act. And we saw how well it worked: within twenty-four hours, that man was dying—using the term, as was mentioned here earlier, that the Rebbe used for him. How precise the Rebbe was in his choice of words. The Rebbe never said anything disrespectful about a person, even about any living being, yet he called that man “may his name be erased.” We heard the Rebbe say “may his name be erased” about two people in the world: Hitler and that man. And within twenty-four hours, the radio began reporting that he had died, was dying, would die. Just now, before I came here to this gathering, I heard the news that he is in the most advanced state of clinical death. May Hashem help us see him, together with all the enemies of the Jewish people, in the right place. So we see how closely we must hold to the path the Rebbe showed us, whether in matters concerning the integrity of Eretz Yisroel or in anything else. The Rebbe saw everything and sees everything, up to the revelation of Moshiach. For every matter, he gave the advice and the remedy, and saw it in advance. When it comes to the integrity of Eretz Yisroel, the Rebbe showed us how to act. Of course, anyone can come along and say, “I have a better idea.” No one is asking you. If you have a good idea of your own, we would be grateful and accept it. But when we go forward with the strength of

07:50 the Rebbe, we’re certain we’ll win. And we’ve seen that it worked, boruch Hashem. This is only the beginning, and we’ll see the true and complete Geulah, the good Geulah, and the revelation of the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach. That’s how it is with the integrity of Eretz Yisroel. In all communal matters, too, we must keep the Rebbe’s words. And if you don’t know—Hashem will help—but who gave you permission? Who gave you the authority to come up with new advice, new things? I was once present on Simchas Torah, after Simchas Torah, during the distribution of kos shel brachah. You know how it worked: the Rebbe would give each person some wine from the cup of blessing, and... There were Torah scholars there, people pouring drinks, all sorts of people. Someone didn’t want to go. They would pour out a drink and put it on the table, and the Rebbe would pour from the cup, and someone wanted to go give him a cup of wine. He put down the cup and gave him a cup in his right hand. I was standing there; I remember how it happened. A Jew came by who understood that the Rebbe was supposed to give him a cup of wine, but the Rebbe hadn’t given him one there. So he took one himself, from the table. He was entitled to some wine—good for him. What? The Rebbe quietly said to him, “Why does it bother you if he helps me?” Everyone understands the question and the answer. The Rebbe didn’t ask for help. The Rebbe didn’t ask for advice. The Rebbe asked for one thing: Do what I ask of you. Don’t invent new things, don’t invent new ideas, don’t invent new ways. Enough, enough. [unclear] That is the path to success. We’ve already seen success, [unclear]. We will merit complete victory. When we speak about strengthening the family, there is much to say on the subject. We can approach it from many angles, but what

10:16 matters to us, what matters to our situation, what matters to our parents, what matters in our day and in the period we’re living through now—what does “family” mean? What are the boundaries of family? On the one hand, family is a good thing; I don’t think anyone has a problem with that. But there is something else about family. In a family, as is customary among Jews, at any rate—not among Arabs and Americans—there are limits, there are limits. You can argue; you can disagree. It’s not that arguing is forbidden, but there are limits. How far can an argument go? How far can you go in the measures you take? There is a red line: you know, this far and no further. With my brother, with my son, even with my cousin. No further. I won’t call in the others. That’s what family means. That’s one aspect of family. And another thing—perhaps this, too, can be learned. I learned it from the Rebbe. Among the Jewish people, there is such a thing as family honor, family honor, the honor of the family. If someone wants to cause harm that could damage the honor of this family, he is hurting me. We must protect the family’s honor. [unclear] And every one of us has to protect that; it has to be foremost in our minds. We can argue; we can fight. [unclear] You can even hit each other with a bottle at kiddush. But that’s at kiddush.

12:37 You’re allowed to give it, yes. I didn’t say that. I said a milk bottle, not that kind of bottle. Sorry—with a milk bottle. But I hope my headline doesn’t end up on the internet: “A ruling that one person may hit another with a bottle.” I protest that! In any event, that wasn’t what I meant. Though even if it happens, it’s not so terrible. But in any event, in the heat of the moment, [unclear]. Once you step outside, though, there’s the family’s honor; there’s the integrity of the family. Imagine—let me imagine—Chabad going out into the world divided, split, torn to pieces. One person pulls this way, another pulls that way, another pulls yet another way. How does a person looking on see it? Even if the disagreement is a substantive one, even if there’s room for this argument or for that argument. In the end, even King Shaul, after King David—after Shmuel, not David—took the kingship from him, said, “Honor me now before the elders of my people.” How will the public see it? What will they see? How does the world look at it? That’s one meaning of the family’s honor. Another thing: parents—and you too, and everyone—want to be at the head, to be in charge. That didn’t start today. But there are degrees to it. How far? How far do I go? How far am I prepared to go, in general, to achieve what I believe is right? Is it worth doing what someone once did when he wanted revenge on the bedbugs, so he burned down the house? True, once he burned down the house, there were no more bedbugs. Everyone understands how sad that is. I’m not talking right now about the positive side of the family. That’s not what proves it. There’s a great deal to delve into in halachah, and specifically in... What is the definition of a partition? A partition separates what’s outside, and it also defines what’s inside. A sukkah’s walls are made to turn the space inside into a sukkah. On Shabbos,

15:37 perhaps it’s different—the reverse. They face outward, separating the inside from the outside. In any event, there’s an outer aspect and an inner aspect. First, let’s start with the outer aspect. Each person should know for himself. If he doesn’t know, let him ask a rav; let him ask his mashpia. First, let him think: Does what I’m doing now truly bring me honor? Does it bring honor to the Rebbe? Or does it not? And if it does not, who gave you permission to desecrate the Rebbe’s holy name among [unclear] and non-Jews? Rather, we should leave this gathering stronger, more encouraged—encouraged toward unity, unity outwardly and unity inwardly. As the Rebbe said many times in his sichos, the unity of chassidim [unclear]. We see that apparently Sancheriv understands this, and it’s precisely on this point that he [unclear]. Today, [unclear]; he doesn’t care about them. He knows this is where his end will come. We need to learn from him. He [unclear]; that’s where we need to fight. Today is an auspicious day, the Rebbe Rashab’s birthday. I’ll just tell you something I heard from a man who is now one of the leading figures in Jerusalem. He once told me that his grandfather, who lived in Jerusalem, made it his project to travel—this was a hundred years ago—to go abroad and see the tzaddikim of the generation. In those days there was much to see, much to see. He made a circuit through Poland, Galicia, Romania, Hungary, and Russia. He went around and saw [unclear], and he saw the radiance on the faces of all the great Torah scholars and Chassidus leaders of the generation before the First World War. He told him: “Listen, I saw the faces of all the great Torah scholars of that era. Faces

18:23 like the one I saw before him just now, I never saw.” That’s what he told me. His [unclear] was also a rav, a rav in Rechovot, and was the rosh yeshivah of Yeshivas Hadarom. His name was Bratzlan[?], Gedalia Bratzlan[?]. He once told me that around the year 5680 he was in Rostov. As is known, that was the period when the Novardok yeshivah began its wanderings, and it too moved to Rostov. He told me this several times. I also used to give a Tanya class at Yeshivas Hadarom, and we would go in to see him after the Tanya class on Thursday nights. Listen, he was a delightful Jew, a fascinating Jew. You could talk Tanya with him all night. He told us that while he was studying in 5680, he would often go on Friday night to hear the Rebbe Rashab’s maamar. He was the son of Rabbi Bratzlan[?]—those who’ve heard of him know that he was one of the leading roshei yeshivah of the previous generation. But he didn’t let that hold him back. He went to see, to hear—to see the... to hear the maamar. He said he stood there for an hour, an hour and a half, listening to the maamar. He said, “I didn’t understand much of what the Rebbe was saying. But one thing,” he told me, “I cannot forget.” It remains before my eyes. He began describing it to me; he also had a gift for vivid description. Seeing the way the Frierdiker Rebbe looked at the Rebbe Rashab, while the Rebbe Rashab was still [unclear]—he would say it with his eyes open. The Frierdiker Rebbe stood facing him. To see the Frierdiker Rebbe’s bittul toward the Rebbe Rashab. Let’s put it this way: obviously, that’s as it should be. We didn’t see that ourselves. But in any event, the merit of the Rebbe Rashab—[unclear]. He had already established [unclear] the life of Lubavitch [unclear] for the entire community

20:44 of Chabad, [unclear]. That is what we all aspire to. May it be Hashem’s will that, together, we all uphold the Rebbe Rashab’s words, follow the Rebbe Rashab’s ways and his explicit teachings, and merit to reach the time of Moshiach Tzidkeinu.