Farbrengen 19 Kislev 5734, Kfar Chabad

02:43 Speaker 1 Happy Yom Tov! Dear audience, on behalf of the rabbis, all our distinguished guests, and this entire holy gathering, we welcome the presidents of the state among us: the current president, Mr. Katzir, and our friend, former president Reb Schneur Zalman Shazar. The blessing of the many is a source of long life and good years for them both, and we wish them many more years of celebrating 19 Kislev together with us, in complete joy. With that, we open the 175th celebration of the Festival of Geulah, 19 Kislev—the day of liberation of the founder of Chabad Chassidus, the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, author of the Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch. As is customary at a gathering of chassidim, we begin with words from the Rebbe. The chairman of the Kfar Chabad committee, Rabbi Shlomo Maidanchik, will read the Rebbe’s telegram to the gathering. We ask the audience to stand while the telegram is read.

04:55 Speaker 2 To the Kfar Chabad committee and all the participants in the 19 Kislev farbrengen: L’chaim, l’chaim, and blessings. May it be Hashem’s will that, for each and every one, “He redeemed my soul in peace,” and so on, be fulfilled in its entirety, and that they succeed in making the vessels for this. As our Sages explain the verse, this means engaging in Torah—both its revealed dimension and Chassidus—in acts of kindness, and in prayer, in a manner of “you shall spread forth.” And “the righteous shall flourish in his days,” and may the cup of King Moshiach be filled. Good Yom Tov and Shabbos shalom. Signed by the Rebbe, shlita.

06:04 Speaker 1 Every year we gather here to celebrate the Festival of Geulah. On an occasion like this, it is difficult to explain the essence of Chassidus in general, and of Chabad Chassidus in particular. It is a teaching that calls for study, especially before an audience celebrating in such high spirits. It is hard to delve into matters that require careful thought, so I will say a few words—perhaps through a story—about the essence of Chabad Chassidus and what the Alter Rebbe gave himself over for. They tell of one of the Alter Rebbe’s students, a chossid of understanding, a Torah scholar and a man of means, who lost his wealth. He needed to marry off his daughters and could not meet the financial commitments he had undertaken. Bitter and broken, he traveled to the Alter Rebbe to seek his blessing for success. When he finally reached him, entered his room, and told him of his troubles, the Alter Rebbe listened, rested his head on his elbow, as was his custom when deeply absorbed, and said to him in a singsong voice: “All this time you have been saying what you need. But what are you needed for?” This chossid was a man of understanding. He immediately grasped the point and fainted on the spot from emotion. When he came to, he went straight into the study hall, sat down, and studied with deep concentration for several weeks. After a few weeks, the Alter Rebbe called him and said: “Now you are beginning to understand what you are needed for. Go home again, and Hashem will help you. You will succeed in your affairs and with your property,” and so on. This short story can express what Chassidus is about: answering the question, “What are you needed for?”—revealing the inner soul of each and every person. Under the Shulchan Aruch, we are all obligated in the 613 mitzvos, with no distinction in that respect between the greatest of the great, Moshe Rabbeinu, and the least of the least, the last member of the tribe of Dan. The Shulchan Aruch obligates us. But every Jew

09:34 Speaker 1 has a particular mission of the soul. As our Sages relate in the Gemara, the Amoraim would ask one another, “Which mitzvah was your father especially careful about?” Chassidus explains that the word for “careful” is also related to “radiance”—to shining. Being especially careful with a particular mitzvah also refines the soul and makes it shine. That is the role of Chassidus: to reveal what you are needed for. In what does your soul shine most brightly? There is no Jew without a mission of the soul to discover. This is the work of a Rebbe. The Alter Rebbe revealed the inner light of the soul in his students, his chassidim, and those bound to him. That light shone openly within them. This was how he began spreading Chassidus. Leading students of the opponents of Chassidus became attached to him. The Alter Rebbe once said to one of the students who came to him, “Rebbe...” [unclear] After his release from prison, he once met with the Baal Shem Tov’s grandson, Rabbi Baruch of Mezhibuzh. Rabbi Baruch asked him, “What makes you great?” The Alter Rebbe replied, “I showed mesirus nefesh for Chassidus.” Rabbi Baruch asked, “What was the mesirus nefesh?” The Alter Rebbe answered, “I was imprisoned for Chassidus.” Rabbi Baruch responded, “Is that mesirus nefesh? That is greatness. If I were to raise my hand to my forehead”—Chassidus explains the meaning of those words—“I would burn Petersburg down, and I would have no need for all that mesirus nefesh.” The Alter Rebbe answered him: “I have ten students who spend the entire day studying Torah and praying. They have the power to burn Petersburg down. But the purpose of creation is to repair, not to break.” Here lies the essential difference between Chabad Chassidus and the other streams of Chassidus. The purpose of creation is to repair. Breaking things is no great feat. Rejecting things is no great feat. That is not why Hakadosh Boruch Hu created His world. As the story goes, once the Tzemach Tzedek, his grandson, found that the Alter Rebbe had used the lid of a snuffbox as a mirror to check whether his tefillin were in the right place. Someone said to him, “That was the Alter Rebbe’s snuffbox. He broke off the lid so he could use it as a mirror.” His grandson replied, “Grandfather never broke anything. He must have removed the connecting pin and taken off the lid.” The Alter Rebbe did not break things.

12:58 Speaker 1 So those were the main points. And to bring this into the present: we know that before the Alter Rebbe’s passing, the world was in the midst of a tremendous war, Napoleon’s war against Russia. Those first expressions of the mesirus nefesh and strength of spirit that he brought forth among his chassidim—that same mesirus nefesh and strength of spirit stand by us at all times, in every trouble, now as well, and they will stand by us forever. Ah, before we give Rabbi Wilimovsky the floor to offer his blessing, let us have a niggun.

14:21 Speaker 3 He redeemed my soul in peace from the battle against me, for many were with me. He redeemed my soul in peace from the battle against me, for many were with me. G-d will hear and answer them, He Who is enthroned from of old, forever. G-d will hear and answer them, He Who is enthroned from of old, forever. For they do not change, for they do not change, and they do not fear G-d, and they do not fear G-d. He stretched out his hands against those at peace with him; he violated his covenant. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart. His words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords. Cast, cast your burden upon Hashem, and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall. And You, and You, G-d, will bring them down to the pit of destruction. And You, and You, G-d, will bring them down to the pit of destruction. Men of bloodshed and deceit shall not live out, live out half their days. Men of bloodshed and deceit shall not live out, shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, trust in You. But I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You. Trust in You. But I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You. Trust in You. But I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, but I will trust in You, trust, trust—

18:59 Speaker 4 Dr. Dufkin is asked to go outside immediately, to the main entrance, yes? Dr. Dufkin, please go outside.

19:07 Speaker 5 Dr. Dufkin, please go outside. In the meantime, we wish you—if they are calling for you—l’chaim and good health. L’chaim, l’chaim to everyone here, to all the Jewish people, to all the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces. General Gandhi, l’chaim! L’chaim and success!

19:26 Speaker 3 L’chaim, Gandhi.

19:28 Speaker 4 L’chaim.

19:29 Speaker 5 L’chaim to peace in every sense of the word. L’chaim, in every sense of the word. With your permission, Rabbi Wilimovsky, secretary of the Kfar Chabad committee, will offer a blessing. Rabbi Wilimovsky returned this year from visiting the Rebbe, shlita. He was there throughout the month of the festivals, and he will offer a blessing on behalf of the village and on his own behalf. Rabbi Wilimovsky, please.

20:08 Speaker 6 In the presence of this holy gathering, with the leaders of the country in attendance, we celebrate the festival of liberation, 19 Kislev, the day our great Rebbe was freed for the sake of spreading the foundations of Chabad teachings. This is a day of awakening. As the one whose liberation we celebrate put it, and these are his words: “This day shall be established as an everlasting festival among the Jewish people, when thousands of Jewish hearts will be stirred to teshuvah and the service of the heart.” Those are his words. And this is especially so because this year is a year of Hakhel, about which it says, “That they may observe and do all the words of this Torah.” The day of victory of our great Rebbe, the author of Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch, is a victory of holiness for all generations, and especially in the situation in which we now find ourselves, surrounded by struggles in which holiness must prevail over this world. The Rebbe writes in his general letter of 2 Tishrei this year that every soul has a mission, and that mission is to illuminate the world with Torah and mitzvos. The Jewish people have a mission as a holy people, set apart from the nations. Their mission is to illuminate the entire world with holiness. That is what distinguishes the Jewish people from the rest of the world. The Jewish people are holy and eternal. The Torah is eternal, as the Rambam says: “This Torah will never be replaced.” The holiness of the Torah is eternal. We place Jerusalem above our greatest joy. As we stand here today in our Holy Land, the question of the day is: “Why do the nations rage?” Our holy Torah comes and says, “In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth.” Why does it begin with Bereishis? “He declared the power of His works to His people, to give them the inheritance of the nations.” And if the nations of the world come and say, “You are robbers,” we tell them: He created it; by His will He gave it to them, and by His will He took it from them and gave it to the Jewish people. “He declared the power of His works to His people, to give them the inheritance of the nations.” On this day, the day of victory for Chassidus and for our great Rebbe, that victory gives strength to every generation and every time. May it be His will, and may it come to pass, as it is written

24:17 Speaker 6 in chapter 72: “In his days the righteous one shall flourish”—this is Moshiach the King—“and he shall rule from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.” He will redeem us and lead us upright to our land, immediately. L’chaim, and to holiness.

29:17 Speaker 7 Chabad is not only about study and contemplation; it is also about action. The well-known story attributed to the Alter Rebbe and his son, the Mitteler Rebbe, has already been told here on various occasions. Once, the Mitteler Rebbe was sitting in his room, studying with great concentration and depth. His son fell out of his cradle and began to cry, but he was so absorbed in his studies that he did not hear the baby crying. The Alter Rebbe, who lived one floor above him, did hear the crying, even though he too was occupied with study. He came downstairs, picked up the child, put him back in his cradle, calmed him, and then left the room. Later, when he met his son and they spoke, he asked him reproachfully how it could be that he had not heard the baby crying. His son answered, “Believe me, Father, I didn’t hear.” The Alter Rebbe said to him, “What kind of study is it if you cannot hear a baby crying? The whole purpose of studying is to hear the baby cry.” When you are focused on yourself, you are occupied only with yourself. The purpose of study is to hear another person. All the more so when there are babies—not in age or years, but spiritually. The whole purpose of Chassidus is to hear the cry of the soul, the cry of the Jewish child beside us. We need to step outside ourselves a little and listen, care for him, and return him to his cradle, to his source. One of the Jews who devoted himself to this work, a man of mesiras nefesh who was privileged not long ago to emerge from behind the Iron Curtain, spent seventeen years in prison. Perhaps it is permissible to reveal this for the first time. He is elated right now and may not even quite take in what I am saying. He was among those who were granted permission to leave. When he reached the border, he said, “As long as one of my fellow chassidim remains behind, I am not leaving.” He jumped off the train. His family left, and he stayed. He was caught and spent seventeen years in prison. When he was freed, it was 19 Kislev. The first place he went was to a chassidic farbrengen. Reb Mendel Futerfas.

32:16 Speaker 7 L’chaim, l’chaim. L’chaim. Rabbi David Halevi, may he live in peace. L’chaim. L’chaim. I can get the tune wrong. I’ll translate afterward. So that is the Rambam. Yes. With the Rambam. This one or that one? Both. Both. [unclear]. Yes. So here I am; [unclear]. I say, a little mashke. Nu, nu, finish the little bit of mashke. [unclear]. What? [unclear]. Hey, that’s [unclear]. I was there where the Alter Rebbe was freed and Chassidus was freed. [unclear] the victory of holiness over kelipah, over [unclear]. Chassidus had been imprisoned. The Alter Rebbe revealed the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, expounding them at length [unclear], so that everyone could understand that [unclear] a good world. And everything that happens [unclear]. The truth is, “In the beginning, G-d created.” The world is governed through the name Elokim, through nature, through concealment. But the soul [unclear]; the soul must be redeemed. [unclear]. There is a saying in [unclear], in Kabbalah, and a maamar [unclear]. The Alter Rebbe [unclear]. Our Rebbe, may he be well. And our Rebbe said that there would be a victory entirely within the ways of nature. [unclear]. It will be a victory entirely within the ways of nature. [unclear]. The Rebbe said: “If someone comes to kill you, rise early and kill him first.” [unclear]

35:09 Speaker 7 “Rise early and kill him first” [unclear] “someone comes to kill you.” “In the beginning, G-d created,” but [unclear] within the ways of nature. Nu, after all this, it is Hashem who is G-d. It is not “My strength and the might of my hand have brought me this success.” There is a saying from an old chossid, a chossid whom I heard [unclear]. I heard a great deal from him [unclear]. He said this: [unclear] It does not mean saying, “My strength and the might of my hand have brought me this success.” [unclear] “If someone comes to kill you, rise early and kill him first.” [unclear]. And the Rebbe said in those years [unclear]. The Alter Rebbe said [unclear]; may the Rebbe be well. And in Kabbalah [unclear]. But [unclear]. Yes, that is the meaning. The Rebbe’s [unclear] must come about entirely within the ways of nature. And the Rebbe [unclear] Simchas Torah, Tishrei. [unclear] entirely within the ways of nature, entirely. Incidentally, [unclear] will remain whole. [unclear] The Rebbe [unclear] through a child [unclear]. Amen! [unclear]

37:18 Speaker 7 into the heart. And the Rebbe [unclear]. [unclear] a little l’chaim [unclear]. [unclear]. But that is what happened. [unclear]. So the Rebbe’s dream [unclear]. And the Rebbe [unclear] to say l’chaim for the Jewish people. [unclear]. Amen. Amen!

38:12 Speaker 8 I understand you do not expect me to translate his words. Those were words from the heart, so it is difficult. But the inner point is that didan notzach—the victory is ours. The victory will be ours in every sense, and everyone agrees to that. Amen, may it be His will. Before Rabbi Goldschmid’s maamar of Chassidus, they will sing the niggun from Rostov, and afterward there will be a maamar of Chassidus.

00:13 Speaker 1 “He redeemed my soul in peace from the battle against me, for many were with me.” The Gemara in Berachos says about this verse: “Whoever engages in Torah study and acts of kindness and prays with the congregation, I consider it as though he redeemed Me and My children from among the nations of the world.” And as our Sages said: The world stands on three things—Torah, avodah, and acts of kindness. These three things are the foundation of the world. For their sake the soul descended into a physical body and into this material world: to engage in the 613 mitzvos of the Torah, which are clothed in physical matters. To engage in them through thought, speech, and action, and thereby sustain the world. A question arises here. I mean, the question presents itself: Man is the choicest of created beings, the crown of creation. He fulfills the higher purpose—the intent behind the creation of the world—by observing Torah and mitzvos. He fulfills the supreme will, which finds expression in the observance of Torah and mitzvos. If so, why was man created last, after all the other creatures? How can that be? What is the reason? To understand this, to bring the matter within reach of our limited understanding, we must cite the Gemara in Chagigah, which says: “The founding sages, Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel, disagreed.” Beis Shammai say that the heavens were created first and then the earth, as it says, “In the beginning G-d created the heavens,” and afterward, “and the earth.” Beis Hillel, however, say that the earth was created first and then the heavens, as it says, “On the day that Hashem G-d made earth and heavens.” First earth, and then heavens. Yet both are the words of the living G-d, and there is no real disagreement here. Both views are correct. In the Creator’s thought and will, the earth came first. It occupies the central place. It is what fulfills the supreme will, principally through man, who lives in a physical body on this material earth and observes Torah and mitzvos despite the difficulty, out of kabbolas ol. In this way he fulfills the

04:02 Speaker 1 supreme purpose of all creation. Earth came first in Hashem’s thought, and afterward the heavens were created as a means toward the creation of the earth. This is what Beis Hillel are saying: The earth is primary. Beis Shammai speak of the order of creation: first the heavens and then the earth. Here too, the intended goal is the earth. But to achieve the fulfillment of that purpose on earth through man below, the heavens—the spiritual worlds—were created. They undergo successive contractions until the G-dly light is contracted, concealed, and hidden in this lower, physical world, where everything is concealed. And nevertheless, man fulfills the supreme will here. In this he fulfills the supreme purpose. We can see something similar with thought and speech. In Chassidus, thought and speech are described as cause and effect, the activating power and what it produces. Speech receives from thought. What does a person say? What he thought beforehand. His thought determines how to speak and what to say: the substance of the message and the manner of expressing it. Speech receives from thought. So thought is primary, and speech receives from it. And in Hashem’s thought, the earth came first. We see this, too, with a teacher and student. A teacher who wants to convey a new insight to his student certainly has a depth and sophistication of intellect incomparably greater than the student’s intellectual capacity. If the teacher has arrived at a new idea that is very precious to him and wants to convey it to the student, first the essential intellectual point appears in the teacher’s mind—the concentrated core that contains the essence of the idea, the essence of the insight. But to bring that insight to the student, he must find various approaches. He must find analogies and examples. The mashpia must find a way to bring it down. In Chassidus this is called “bringing it down”: bringing the concentrated idea, its essential point, down to the student’s more limited understanding. But someone who lacks deep understanding and does not have the matter clear in his own mind can barely manage it for himself. He cannot convey it to the young student, to the student on a lower level. It is precisely because the idea shines for him in

08:04 Speaker 1 [unclear]

12:29 Speaker 2 A few days ago we celebrated the birthday of our distinguished friend, Reb Schneur Zalman. He has merited to reach the age of “He redeemed in peace”—84, pei-daled—with the five attributes of kindness and the five attributes of severity. The five attributes of severity correspond to “The days of our years are seventy years, and if with strength, eighty years.” May it be Hashem’s will that those 84 years, together with the five, bring the strength that increases his years, as well as a revelation of the five attributes of kindness. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu lengthen his days and years pleasantly and in good health. And now we would like to hear from him.

14:03 Speaker 3 Ladies and gentlemen. The president of our country, the rabbi of the village, esteemed rabbis, leaders of the village, all the members of the village: a good year and heartfelt blessings to you all. This is the first time in all the twenty-six Yud-Tes Kislev celebrations that I have had the privilege of arranging and celebrating here with you that we are not celebrating on Yud-Tes Kislev. This time we have brought it forward a day and are holding it on the evening of 18 Kislev. Usually we never hold it on Yud-Tes Kislev—on the eve of Yud-Tes Kislev. The eve of the fourteenth. With the other festivals, we always make a point of observing the eve. This time, for reasons of scheduling and Shabbos, and so as not to lead to a violation of Shabbos, we are for the first time holding it on 18 Kislev rather than 19 Kislev. In fact, it is the eve of Yud-Tes Kislev. The eve of Yud-Tes Kislev is the secret of Yud-Tes Kislev: “or,” light, has the same numerical value as “raz,” secret. This is the secret of Shabbos. This is the secret of Yud-Tes Kislev. We are focusing here on the heart of it: what Yud-Tes Kislev is for. This year we are emphasizing that purpose in a special way. It is not only that I am here and you are here. Tonight—not tomorrow—you will also hear the Rebbe shlita’s message and address. That is a first. At any rate, it is the first time I have seen it in my life. And that gives us the task of looking into the light of Yud-Tes Kislev, its secret, its essence, its purpose. This year I cannot begin without saying this: It gives me great pleasure that on this Yud-Tes Kislev we are gathered here with the president of the country, who is sitting to my right. For ten years that seemed the natural thing. Before that, the man who was president sat here at the head of the table on Yud-Tes Kislev for fifteen years. But one might have thought—one might have worried—that when that incidental circumstance came to an end, this too would come to an end. I am especially happy to find the president of the country here beside me, because it underscores something. This village was among the first undertakings of the State of Israel. The village was born on the day the state was declared, and one of the state’s first acts was to support it—though it is hard to say who supported whom. The mutual support between the village and the state was something ingrained in the very soul of both.

18:31 Speaker 3 There is great symbolic meaning in the fact that, although one might have thought it was only a coincidence, the bond did not end when my term of office ended. Our sitting together around this table tonight is a heartfelt expression that the bond lives and will live forever. Chassidim customarily say that Yud-Tes Kislev is the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus. It therefore calls for an accounting of the soul, for preparation, for an inward appraisal of our values, and for knowing where we are going and what is at stake. This year I was privileged to have a long visit with the Rebbe shlita. It too came about entirely by chance, without any advance plan. I happened to be in Mexico and was traveling back, so I arranged my trip to stop by for Yud-Beis Tammuz. I went to the Rebbe’s home and was able to sit with him—this time for a long, detailed conversation about all the affairs of the country and about everything... Some people here were there with me, and I am glad to see them here. The experience stayed in my mind, something I carried away as an inheritance for my first year no longer serving as president. It was another kind of provision for my return to civilian life, and the many hours I spent in the Rebbe’s home gave me great support. One of the melodies they sang there with tremendous enthusiasm, as a chorus, which I had the chance to sing along with them—the leader conducted, and everyone gathered there was the chorus, a holy chorus—was “In his days may the righteous flourish, and may there be abundant peace until the moon is no more.” They sang it—I think it was this verse; if I tell you

22:56 Speaker 3 They sang it a hundred and one times—I am not exaggerating. Everyone sang, and I sang with them, all with the tremendous enthusiasm chassidim can reach when they are swept up in ecstasy. I had been thinking a great deal about the matters before us, and about what must be done in these days. And if we are taking stock, then we must take stock of the state, of the land, and of Chabad. When people sing for a long time, there is plenty of time to reflect. You listen, and the whole idea that the Torah has seventy interpretations, seventy faces—you can arrive at them when everyone sings a single verse seventy times or more. So there is an accounting we must now make, an accounting of ourselves as a state. I am not among those whose faith is weak, but neither am I among those whose faith comes easily. There are many doubts, and the clouds are very heavy. We are sure—we want to be sure—that the period of fighting is over. We have paid a heavy price in blood. We have not yet counted all our casualties. Not all our captives have returned. We do not even know how many captives we have, and we do not know who is who—who has met his end and who has not. We are living with the great uncertainty surrounding our loved ones, whose fate we do not know. And we are entering a period in which, as far as we know, the fighting seems to be over. It seems to us that we have set out on a search for peace. I cannot say more than “it seems to us” about that, either, because Hashem has many ways of warning us along this road to peace. But for now, it is as though a gate has opened, a gate leading to peace, and our hearts cry out that we should merit true peace, peace that guarantees security and the ability of our nation to develop. Our hearts cry out, but not one of us can say with certainty whether we are going to Geneva, what we will bring back from Geneva, or what we will achieve there. Is there a wise person among us who can tell

27:19 Speaker 3 us that much? But is there anyone among us who does not understand that our minds will be focused on this undertaking we have embarked upon? And we are all confident that the One Who has helped us until now will continue to help us, and that we will reach a true and secure peace for ourselves and for the State of Israel. We yearn for peace. We want with all our hearts for the bloodshed to stop. But none of us can mislead the public or ourselves by saying that we already know the route, or that the path we are taking is the true and right one that will bring us closer to peace. When I sat in the Rebbe’s home and we sang, “And abundant peace until there is no end”—that is not what it says. “And abundant peace until the moon is no more.” We knew the meaning of “until there is no more” in relation to the moon. The straightforward meaning is “as long as the heavens are above the earth.” “So that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied” is written about us, to whom this land was given “as long as the heavens are above the earth”—anchored in the cosmos, in something that depends neither on us nor on our actions, but on the very foundation of our existence and the world’s existence. “As long as the heavens are above the earth.” That is “until the moon is no more.” It is the same “until there is no more” expressed more clearly elsewhere: “I will pour out blessing upon you until there is more than enough.” The blessing and the peace should be without end. But when you sing this verse and repeat it so many times, you see not just one straightforward meaning or one interpretation: many meanings bound up in it reveal themselves to you. And I must admit that, besides its straightforward meaning, other interpretations of the word “moon” suddenly appearing in the middle of the verse surrounded me as well. I heard: “The moon—that’s syllables, syllables.” First of all, I saw Jerusalem. Those are the initial letters of yareiach, “moon.” And in the ecstasy of the singing, hearing it once, twice, three times, I saw first and foremost a firm stand for the wholeness

32:03 Speaker 3 and sovereignty of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, a city joined together. The one Jerusalem. Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Israel. To stand firm on that under all circumstances, whatever happens in Geneva. To come away from there with great determination that Jerusalem remain the capital of the State of Israel. And as the Jews keep singing, not stopping after one time or even ten, I hear all this that I had just been thinking about Jerusalem. Then I read on through the letters, and I know what the reish stands for: the Heights. The importance of the Golan Heights. The importance of the Golan Heights as a stronghold and shelter for all our farming communities in the valley. G-d forbid that, because of negotiations or any possible alignment and shifting of forces, we should budge from the Heights in the slightest. To move from the Golan Heights would mean exposing all our communities, all Jewish agriculture and Jewish settlement, and everything we have in and around the valley, to danger. So I keep singing, sing it again and with greater enthusiasm, knowing that after Jerusalem we will have to stand with all our strength to keep the Heights in our hands, as a shield and a safeguard for all the surrounding communities and their agriculture. I continue, and the singing goes on with the same enthusiasm, and my thoughts linger on the ches. I know the importance of “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I will give to you.” First, your foot must tread there. After that, you must be determined to hold on to every place your foot has trodden, to defend it and sacrifice yourself for it: “I will give it to you.” We in Chabad have been privileged. We have been privileged not to have begun our work of settlement just now. We began two hundred years ago. The figure whose memory we are celebrating now, the Alter Rebbe, wrote in Tanya about the fiery flames of the Jewish people’s love for Eretz Yisroel. This love, connected to the state—to the Holy Land—burns like flames in the heart.

36:22 Speaker 3 And in the Alter Rebbe’s days—and we now know even more clearly that these efforts took root in the days of the Tzemach Tzedek, his grandson, who also lived during his lifetime—the great beginnings of Jewish settlement in Eretz Yisroel were already underway. We must ensure that what our forebears, the Chabad chassidim in Eretz Yisroel, established there will not be abandoned or betrayed by us. Rather, we must devote our energies to restoring and rebuilding it and bringing it to renewed growth. I am proud that just two weeks ago, on 7 Kislev, we were able to daven in the Tzemach Tzedek shul in Jerusalem’s Old City. We restored it and raised it from its ruins, and it is now a magnificent building with a fine minyan and the potential for growth within the Old City of Jerusalem. This year we began restoring a Chabad settlement in Tzfas. There, too, is a shul of the Tzemach Tzedek. And we said, “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I will give to you.” We will not stop halfway. Since we and our forebears have invested our energies in it, we will not let up or rest until the restoration and rebuilding reach the point where the places our forebears made their heritage remain ours forever, places of life and growth. This year we began rebuilding the ruins associated with the Tzemach Tzedek in Tzfas. It once stood at a high level; I remember it when it had already fallen very low. I am certain that if Chabad, young people, Tzfas itself, and the state—which will promise its assistance—all join in this effort, we will see the righteous flourish again; the Tzemach Tzedek’s legacy will flourish anew as it did in the early years. I thought about this amid all the meanings I heard in the melodies of, of, of—yareiach. Jerusalem, the Heights, and Chabad settlement: wherever it is found, it should emerge anew in splendor, grow and flourish. That depends on us. It does not depend entirely on any political decision. Chabad has known how to grow and develop under every political condition, and it does not depend on politics.

41:01 Speaker 3 I want to see a concerted investment in expanding Jerusalem’s reach, in preserving the Heights as a safeguard and stronghold, and in following every trace of what Chabad chassidim did 170, 190, 150, even 200 years ago. Today only remnants remain. We will follow in their footsteps, reclaim one stronghold after another, invest our energies, live and renew ourselves, until we reach “until the moon is no more.”

42:02 Speaker 4 Gentlemen, before we invite the president of the state to offer his blessing, I want to add my own good wishes and, on behalf of everyone here, wish l’chaim to all the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, wherever they may be. A complete recovery for all the wounded. The release of all the captives, wherever they may be, as soon as possible. And to add to “until the moon is no more” that other verse: “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads in your land, I will give to you”—from the Heights to Beit Keil and everywhere else. May the Master of peace grant us life and peace. L’chaim, l’chaim.

43:18 Speaker 5 Shall we stand? I’ll stand. He said. Yes, yes.

43:41 Speaker 6 Our dear President, my teacher and rabbi Mr. Shazar, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great privilege to be with you this evening. I have not had the privilege of being counted among the Chabad chassidim, but I would like to continue the tradition of our president, Mr. Shazar, and express to you this evening the affection, appreciation, and love that the entire Jewish people feel for the Chabad chassidim, who perhaps represent the best of Judaism. They know how to study Torah, they know how to work, as we see in this village, and they know how to perform acts of kindness and good deeds. In this respect, Chabad chassidim set a fine example for all of us of how good Jews can serve the Creator with joy and combine that service with good deeds, with work, with building the land, with gathering the exiles, and with immigration to the land. So I would like to offer you my wishes, on my own behalf and on behalf of the entire Jewish people. Perhaps you will allow me to add that in these difficult days we are going through—and there is no need to say much about them; everyone here knows what we have been through until now, and who knows what the future holds—we must, through it all, keep our faith in the future of the Jewish people. We must remain truly optimistic, in the hope that the Rock of Israel will continue to guide and direct us in all we do. And anyone sitting here this evening, listening to these wonderful chassidic melodies—these wonderful melodies through which a Jew pours out his heart and speaks to his fellow Jew and to the Creator—knows that the Jewish people are an eternal people. However difficult the days have been, and may yet be, the Creator will guide us in all we do in the future. I am certain that we will emerge from these difficult days with the upper hand, and our prayer is that better days will come, days of—

00:00 Speaker 1 I want to wish you every success once again. You are a fine example for the entire Jewish people. May you continue to bring Chabad chassidim together in Israel, establish many Chabad villages, and serve as an example to us all through your wonderful deeds. May you be blessed.

00:30 Speaker 2 May Hashem bless you from Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem. May Hashem bless you from Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem. May the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us; establish the work of our hands for us, yes, establish the work of our hands. May Hashem bless you from Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem. May Hashem bless you from Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem. May the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us; establish the work of our hands for us, yes, establish the work of our hands. May the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us; establish the work of our hands for us, yes, establish the work of our hands. May the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us; establish the work of our hands for us, yes, establish the work of our hands. May Hashem bless you from Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem. May Hashem bless you from Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem. May the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us; establish the work of our hands for us, yes, establish the work of our hands. May the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us; establish the work of our hands for us, yes, establish the work of our hands. [unclear]. [unclear]. [unclear]. [unclear]. [unclear]. [unclear]. [unclear].