Farbrengen 19 Kislev 5743, Kfar Chabad

02:16 Speaker 1 But, uh...

03:13 Speaker 2 They’re with me, they’re here. No, they haven’t finished, they haven’t finished. Another song, just—

03:40 Speaker 1 My teachers and rabbis, honored President of the State, Mordechai Ater[unclear], esteemed and holy gathering. Today, 19 Kislev, is the day of the release of our teacher and Rebbe, the Alter Rebbe, author of the Shulchan Aruch and the Tanya, Rabbi Schneur Zalman, may the memory of this righteous and holy man be a blessing. In the year 5559, more than 184 years ago, as he was reciting the verse “He redeemed my soul in peace” in Tehillim—the portion of Tehillim for Tuesday—it was Tuesday, the day on which “it was good” was said twice, in the week of Parshas Vayishlach, on 19 Kislev. It was the yahrzeit of his teacher and Rebbe, the Maggid of Mezritch, the foremost disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, who passed away on this day in 5533. And that same day, toward evening, the Rebbe was released from his imprisonment among non-Jews. The story is known, and the anguish is known: by the time the Rebbe was able to reach the chassidim, it was already 20 Kislev, much as this hour connects the close of 19 Kislev with the night of 20 Kislev. On this day, on 19 and 20 Kislev, the days of our Rebbe’s redemption—from the hour the Rebbe was redeemed in 5559 until this very hour, and onward until the coming of the righteous Redeemer, speedily in our days—these days are remembered and celebrated. Each and every year, in every generation, the gathering of celebrants keeps growing, and today its presence is felt at the ends of the earth. If a Jew is at the edge of the heavens or even at the end of the earth, the light of Chassidus and of the Rebbe’s redemption reaches him. We have merited that His Holiness the Rebbe shlita, who carries on the path of the Baal Shem Tov, the Maggid of Mezritch, and his teacher and Rebbe, the Alter Rebbe, sent a telegram for this celebration. And the Rebbe puts it in words understood by those who speak the language: the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus. The telegram that His Holiness the Rebbe shlita

07:57 Speaker 5 sent to the great farbrengen in Kfar Chabad, and here also for all those taking part in the great gatherings for 19 Kislev [unclear]. L’chaim, l’chaim, and blessings. May Hashem grant that each and every person live and stand here in peace, in the fullest sense, and succeed in making the vessels for this through [unclear], through Torah, melody, and [unclear], and through prayer. And all this in a way of “You shall spread forth,” beginning with the campaigns—all of them, every one of the campaigns. May this Rosh Hashanah have an effect throughout the year [unclear], and may it bring us to the coming of King Moshiach. May Hashem our G-d redeem us from exile with the true and complete Geulah. [unclear]

09:13 Speaker 6 Thank you. And as the Rebbe’s words that we read last Shabbos say: “Your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread forth to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.” To the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. To the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. To the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.

09:45 Speaker 5 One.

09:46 Speaker 6 Ah, and you shall spread forth, and you shall spread forth, and you shall spread forth, and you shall spread forth to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. To the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. To the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. To the west, to the north and to the south. Ah, and you shall spread forth, and you shall spread forth, and you shall spread forth, and you shall spread forth to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. To the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. To the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Hey! And you shall spread forth, and you shall spread forth, and you shall spread forth, and you shall spread forth to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. And you shall spread forth, and you shall spread forth, and you shall spread forth to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. And you shall spread forth to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. And you shall spread forth, and you shall spread forth, and you shall spread forth to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. To the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. To the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.

11:44 Speaker 7 With your permission, my teachers and rabbis, perhaps I could begin on a personal note? Forgive me; these are somewhat private matters, and they say you don’t reveal what happens behind closed doors. As we were just singing, “Your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread forth to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed through you and through your descendants.” Not very long ago, a former student of mine called me late at night. He couldn’t reach me, so he called again and said, “Teacher, you have to come.” There was a bris. Now, if there’s a bris and I’m busy, why must I be there? “Because thanks to you, teacher—to a conversation we had at about this very hour—thank G-d, we’ve had another child.” I remembered that, and I must mention it in gratitude, because a year ago, at this hour, a Jew stood here in this very place—and every Jew is precious. Every Jew has within his soul a part of G-d above, literally. If there are nine Jews as great as Moshe and Aharon but no tenth, there is no minyan. Whoever comes as the tenth makes it holy. Here in this holy place, a precious Jew stood and spoke about “You shall spread forth to the west and to the east” and “they shall be blessed through you,” and, quite simply, “Your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth.” That is the blessing. Everyone treads on dust; everyone steps on it. Dust lies below and bears everything, but everything grows and rises from the dust, and it cannot be stopped. And since I’m speaking of “You shall spread forth,” perhaps this isn’t quite according to protocol. But we are at a farbrengen of chassidim, among a family of chassidim, and according to protocol, the distinguished guest must either open or close. We open with a blessing, and “their end is bound to their beginning.” For practical reasons, the honored President of the State shlita would like to bless us and share his words and his blessing. And we, on behalf of everyone here, can bless him too—for “do not regard an ordinary person’s blessing lightly.” May Hakadosh Boruch Hu bless him to fulfill his role with joy and a glad heart. With your permission, my teachers and rabbis, esteemed gathering, honored President of the State—please.

15:46 Speaker 8 Honored rabbis! My teachers and rabbis! I see everyone here, from the young to the old, thank G-d... And it’s a pity that you’re sitting here and can’t see... Your eyes are shining. I see such brightness in your eyes here, and that alone is a source of great joy. Thank G-d, I come here every year, and I leave with a treasure, a basket full of the fruits of the land: words of wisdom and words of Torah, words of moral guidance, words of Chassidus, and joy as well. When I start to come in here, my head is full of worries. There are reasons to worry. But when you leave a place with such an atmosphere of warmth, even the problems and troubles seem smaller. I always leave here carrying words of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, and with a good feeling in my heart. And there’s something interesting: every time I want to say something to you, I think perhaps I can offer a new insight. But I find myself saying the same things each time. What can I do? When I see Chabad, those are the things that come to mind. And I’ll tell you something I value especially, something I feel here. If I’ve said it before, then I’ve said it before; I’ll say it again. There are many things we say but don’t know how to put into practice. We say we believe in aliyah, in welcoming new immigrants. Well, how do you do that? When it comes to actually welcoming an immigrant, people don’t know how. Ahavas Yisroel—loving the entire Jewish people. Many people love the Jewish people, but they don’t love individual Jews quite as much. Chabad loves the Jewish people, each and every Jew as he is, whether he comes from the north, the south, the east, or the west. That is a quality that brings hearts together: loving people as they are, tall or short, from here or from there. There is no barrier, no partition, no divide—not between you and the state, between you and the army, or between you and the communities of Israel. No, a child

20:11 Speaker 8 If he’s crying, let him cry. That’s how it is. Everyone standing here was once a baby and cried, and look—they grew up very nicely. How do you say it? That’s how it is. Thank you very much. And there’s a second thing I want to say. Perhaps you don’t know it. Why? Because a person to whom a miracle happens does not recognize his own miracle. Each of us has a positive side and a negative side, good and bad. I think there may be a few who are completely righteous and a few who are completely wicked. As they say, the Hebrew word for “community,” tzibbur, is an acronym for tzaddikim, beinonim, and resha’im—the righteous, the intermediate, and the wicked. Most people can go either way. And I look around and see this: A teacher, Reuven, comes to teach a class at school, and the children disrupt the lesson. They don’t learn and don’t make progress. When another teacher, Shimon, comes to teach those very same children, they are diligent, devoted, quiet, and disciplined. What happened? Aren’t they the same children? You see it in the army, too. Under one commander, a company of soldiers shirks its duties, grows lazy, and isn’t particularly eager to do what it’s supposed to do. Under another commander, those same soldiers are as brave as lions: devoted, volunteering, getting things done. What happened? Are they different people? Did they change? They aren’t different people, and they didn’t change. Rather, the first commander brought out their negative side, while the second brought out the good in them. One teacher, Reuven, cannot bring out the good in the children, while Shimon comes along and brings out the best in a person. For many years, I myself met with all sorts of people. In the company of one person, I would feel irritated, impatient, troubled. I don’t want to say anything more. And in the company of another person, I feel uplifted. I feel inspired by him. It depends on us; it depends on the leaders of the generation, its leaders, its representatives, and those at its helm. What do we bring out of this people, out of its heart, its spirit, its soul? Do we bring out, G-d forbid, the negative

23:57 Speaker 8 within it, or the spark? The spark within it, which catches fire and gives light. And this is your great merit: You take people who, in some cases, who knows where they might have ended up, and you educate them and draw them close with love. You look for the good in them, uncover the spark, and kindle it—and then there is light. We are soon coming to Chanukah. Whether according to Beis Shammai or according to Beis Hillel—the halachah follows Beis Hillel, but the reasoning based on the miracle grows stronger even according to Beis Shammai. The fact that so much remains, that there are still days ahead and the jar of oil must hold enough for the miracles still to come—that, too, is a miracle. Both according to Beis Shammai and according to Beis Hillel, it is a great miracle. I wish you, and all of us, that we merit to uncover the hidden light in the hearts of every Jew. And on this day, I wish that we soon merit to see the Rebbe here in our land as well. All the best.

25:38 Speaker 9 Amen and amen.

25:44 Speaker 8 Heyda, heyda, heyda, mama, heyda, heyda, heyda. Shh. Usually I’m happy to spend several hours here, and I don’t feel the time passing. Unfortunately, I still have something to do in Jerusalem this evening. I ask your forgiveness for not staying with you longer—and I’m the one missing out. But I have to leave now. See you, G-d willing, next year, and perhaps even sooner. All the best to you.

31:44 Speaker 10 Please sit down. Children, make room for him. You children, sit down too. Please sit down. Shh. In the Rebbe shlita’s telegram, in the Rebbe shlita’s telegram, he writes to all the participants in the great Yud Tes Kislev farbrengens, shlita: “L’chaim, l’chaim and blessings.” And whoever can, should pour another l’chaim, quite literally. That is what the Rebbe asks. The Rebbe says l’chaim to us, and we answer him, “L’chaim and blessings!” L’chaim!

33:15 Speaker 11 L’chaim.

33:21 Speaker 10 Chassidim asked: Why say “l’chaim and blessings”? Why not—if there’s a blessing, why not? There are several versions. The elder chassidim said that the Hebrew phrase “l’chaim u’livrachah”—“to life and blessing”—contains the words “lev rakah,” a soft heart. When your heart is soft and you drink mashke, it could make it hard.

33:54 Speaker 11 You can drink here. You can drink here. You can drink here.

34:20 Speaker 10 L’chaim and blessings—and a soft heart. “I will remove the heart of stone from within you and give you a heart of flesh.” That is what a soft heart is about, and that is the blessing in “l’chaim and blessings.” “To all the participants”—that’s lamed, kaf, lamed. It’s for all the participants. And they say that... Shh... All of Israel comprises Kohanim, Levi’im, and Yisraelim. Chassidus comes to reveal that a Kohen has something a Levi does not; a Levi has something a Kohen does not; and a Yisrael has something neither a Kohen nor a Levi has. Each person shines with his own light and radiates according to the light of his soul, and the blessing is for us all. And if there is no Kohen here, let a Levi come up—not only in place of a Kohen, but in honor of the Torah. And “a good neighbor is better than a distant brother.” From the great city of Tel Aviv, the Chief Rabbi of the holy city of Tel Aviv–Jaffa, who belongs to the tribe of Levi. The role of the Levi’im is “they shall join you and serve you”—to bring an accompaniment, so that all the people accompany holiness, purity, Torah, and mitzvos. With your permission, honored rabbis, the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Rabbi Chaim David Halevy, will offer his blessing for the Yud Tes Kislev celebration. Honored Chief Rabbi, please.

36:55 Speaker 3 Honored Rabbi Mordechai Atar [?], honored rabbis, distinguished presidium, and holy and distinguished audience. Gentlemen, anything genuine, anything alive, must be felt. You have to feel it, not merely understand it. And I must admit: I came to know Chassidus through reading and study. I have thought a great deal about Chassidus and its teachings. I know all the branches of Chassidus, but I had never truly felt it, because, to my regret, I was not born a chossid. I had never felt or experienced how a chossid feels. I never had that privilege until something happened to me, and for once I felt what Chassidus is. And not just Chassidus, but specifically Chabad Chassidus. This is a personal story, a small personal story. But you’ll soon see how it connects to a larger story, and to things that seem clear and simple, things each of us knows well. On that occasion, I came to understand them in depth. Here is what happened. This is a truly personal story that I have told no one, certainly not an audience this large. This is the first time I am telling it in public. My son wanted very much to study medicine, and he went to study in Italy because he couldn’t get into a program here. He spent a year there, and at the end of that year I happened to be there on public business. I went to visit him and see how he was doing. He was studying in Siena. When I visited him, I saw his distress and suffering. I saw that he wasn’t eating, that he had no food. All the time he was eating dry kosher food that we sent him from here, from Israel, and he couldn’t eat properly. I said to him, “Tell me, my son, what’s going on?” He said, “There’s no kosher food here. I can’t eat anything. Shabbos and weekdays, Yom Tov—everything—I live on dry food.” I said to him, “This is impossible. Either find a solution or

39:21 Speaker 3 come back to Israel.” He said, “There is one possibility, but it’s difficult. I would have to move from here to another city in Italy, Bologna.” I asked him, “What’s the difference between here and Bologna?” He said, “There’s a kosher cafeteria there, a shul, Torah classes—there are good things there.” I asked, “Who does all this in Bologna?” He said, “There’s a Chabad rabbi there who was sent by the Rebbe, and he organizes everything.” I told him, “Do whatever you can. If you can move there, move. If you can’t, come back to Israel. Your health over the next seven years is more important than your studies.” He made the effort and did move to Bologna. There he had a kosher cafeteria and ate a hot meal. He had davening with a minyan and a rabbi. He had a Shabbos full of meaning, with Torah classes, a sermon, and the weekly parsha.

40:15 Speaker 3 And you can see the great difference. In Siena, there were young men who observed Torah and mitzvos, but they broke down. Well, how long can a person hold out? In Bologna, it was the opposite. Young men came there to study who had not been observant, and something rubbed off on them from the atmosphere they saw on that campus—an atmosphere of Torah and yiras Shamayim. So I began to understand and appreciate the importance of Chabad. I know, I read in the newspaper that the Rebbe sends shluchim to campuses and to far-flung Jewish communities throughout the world. When you read it in the newspaper, you understand it, but you don’t feel it. I felt it when it touched me—me or my son, it’s the same thing. When it touched me, I understood it. And look at something remarkable. When I returned from Siena, I went back to Rome, intending to fly home the next day. That day I said, “I’m already here; I’ll take the opportunity to get to know the city a little.” The opportunity presented itself. I went to see the city as a tourist, with a guide, of course, and the guide took me to ancient Rome, where the archaeologists had uncovered all its ancient buildings. We looked at all the beautiful buildings and all those things that aren’t really important, though they were beautiful to see, and then we reached the triumphal arch. It’s the famous arch the Romans built when they return—

41:52 Speaker 4 I ask for quiet upstairs in the women’s section.

41:56 Speaker 3 When that wicked Titus returned from the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the Beis Hamikdash, they gave him a magnificent reception there—a victory celebration! And that triumphal arch they built in his honor had been uncovered, and I saw it standing there. I knew the arch from textbooks. I saw the menorah; I saw the sacred vessels carved into the stones of the arch, and I stood there. I don’t know myself how long I stood, but apparently I stood for quite a while, absorbed in thought. Until the guide who had tak—who had—who had taken me said, “Well, sir?” It was as though I woke from a trance. I said, “Let’s go.” The guide said to me, “No, tell me why you stopped only here. We saw so many beautiful things. Why did you stop only here?” I thought to myself: What will this non-Jew understand? He won’t understand a thing. I told him, “It’s not important.” “No,” he said, “I need to know.” I said, “You won’t understand me.” I could see the cross on his chest. What would this non-Jew understand of me? He said, “No, I must know.” I told him, “Listen and I’ll explain. Try to understand. You know, this arch was built by your ancestors nearly two thousand years ago, when they destroyed my homeland, my country, burned my capital and burned my Beis Hamikdash. I’m a Jew from the Land of Israel, a son of the people who were trampled, a son of the people defeated in that war. And you are a son of the people who won. Now I was thinking about it deeply: whose triumphal arch is this? Whose victory is it? The Romans’ or the Jews’? The Romans no longer exist. That Rome, that Roman culture, certainly no longer exists. It was a pagan Rome. If Titus were to rise from his grave now and see you,” I told him, “would he recognize you? Would he know who you are? How could he

44:04 Speaker 3 recognize you? He worshipped idols, while you hold to that faith, with that... cross on your chest. He wouldn’t recognize you at all; he wouldn’t know who you were. But know this: if Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, lehavdil, were to rise from his grave and see me, he would recognize me immediately. He would know exactly who I am. He would know that I am a descendant of the very people he led and guided in the way of Torah and in the way of those same mitzvos that we have continued to observe from that day until today. It’s exactly the same; there is no difference between me and him. Of course there is a great difference, but in the way of Torah, in the way of Judaism, there is no difference. He would recognize me immediately. So this is certainly not a triumphal arch for the Romans. It is a triumphal arch for the Jews. That Rome is lost; that Rome is gone; that Rome has been wiped out. But that same Jewish people, exactly the same people, without any difference—that people exists. That people lives. That people has returned to its land, built it, reestablished its homeland, and will rebuild its Beis Hamikdash as well. And this victory is the victory of the Jewish people. This arch reminded me of the victory of the Jewish people.” I said nothing more than that to the non-Jew, but of course, in my heart I was thinking at that moment what a remarkable connection there was between what I had heard yesterday and what I was seeing today: that same observance of Torah and mitzvos. My friends, these are things every bar mitzvah boy says. “Our nation is a nation only by virtue of its Torah”—that is what Rabbeinu Saadia Gaon said. Everyone knows it. These are simple things, as the Ramchal says at the beginning of his book. Simple, simple things require a great deal of reflection and thought. It is simple, very simple, that “our nation is a nation only by virtue of its Torah.” But one needs to feel it, to experience it, to act on it, to work

45:55 Speaker 3 and to toil for it. I said to myself: this is exactly what the Rebbe does. This is what the Rebbe does to strengthen Torah and the observance of mitzvos among the Jewish people. And at that moment I felt something I had never been able to feel before, not through reading and not through study: what Chassidus is, and what Chabad Chassidus is in particular. My friends, I won’t weary you; I won’t go on at length. I could speak with you for hours about the great and remarkable experiences I have had of Torah and mitzvos, and how they truly sustain the Jewish people. Perhaps I’ll tell you one more thing, something very characteristic and very, very interesting. There is a lesson in it for us, because, unfortunately, to our sorrow, some people today think: We have, boruch Hashem, a state. We are all happy with it, proud of it, and honored by it. It is what sustains the people. My friends, that is a mistake. When Rabbeinu Saadia Gaon said, “Our nation is a nation only by virtue of its Torah,” he said it after there was a state. That is how the Maharal of Prague explains it. The Maharal says that beyond all the marks of nationhood, it is its Torah alone. We have no substitute—only this Torah. And I felt that on another occasion. I’ll tell you something that moves a person’s heart to a deep understanding of the observance of Torah and mitzvos. It was in ’57. I was in New York. The Sinai War broke out then, and I met a fine, pleasant Jew there who was distressed. He said, “We need to pray for mercy.” I asked him, “For what?” He said, “The State of Israel is at war.” I told him, “I’m sure it will win.” I saw that he was sad. I asked him, “What is it? Do you have family there? Relatives? Look, my whole family is in the Land of Israel. I’m not worried. I’m sure that, with Hashem’s help, the Israel Defense Forces will win. I have no doubt. Do you have relatives there?” He said, “No, no, no, I don’t have relatives. But,” he said to me, “Chacham, there, a Jew from Aram Tzova”

47:54 Speaker 3 They call him Chacham, not Rabbi—Chacham. “You should know that here in America, we cannot survive without the State of Israel. In Aleppo, we could have survived another two thousand years without a state. In America, we cannot. Our survival here, the survival of my children here, is thanks to the state. They exist thanks to the state.” I did not pay much attention to those words. I did not grasp them. It was my first time abroad; I did not know what life was like there. Twelve years later, I was in South America. I happened to be there on the night of Yom Kippur. It is a long story, never mind, but I gave a long, stirring sermon there before a very large gathering, and my words bore fruit. That is a long story. But when I left the synagogue, the gabbai walked me to my hotel, and to my sorrow, I saw people leaving the synagogue, getting into cars, buses and trams, and riding away on the night of Yom Kippur. I said to him, “How can this be? I know that Shabbos is actually more stringent than Yom Kippur, but these are ordinary Jews with little Jewish knowledge. They know this one holy, awe-inspiring day. How can they desecrate it?” He said to me, “You consider them Jews too?” I said, “What do you mean, ‘Jews too’?” “They are assimilated, children of assimilated parents. Their parents already lived in mixed marriages, and they are children of mixed marriages and are married to non-Jewish women.” I was shaken. I said to him, “Then why do they come to the synagogue on the night of Yom Kippur? What draws them to the synagogue?” He said, “They have just one connection: the State of Israel. The State of Israel keeps them Jewish.” At that moment I remembered what that Jew had told me twelve years earlier, but I was distressed by the thought that, G-d forbid, a state might be a substitute for Torah. I said to him, “Listen, my son, let me give you an analogy. A person is, G-d forbid, badly hurt in a road accident. He is taken to a hospital intensive care unit. They treat him; his body is shattered.

49:54 Speaker 3 They work tirelessly to save his life, but in the meantime he cannot eat or drink—he is gravely injured. They give him an IV and nourish him through it. Would anyone imagine that an IV is the natural way for a person to receive nourishment? Of course not. As long as he is critically ill, he is nourished that way, and as soon as he recovers, he will go back to eating like everyone else. I told him, “That is how it is with us, the Jewish people. Our true nourishment is Torah and mitzvos. But we fell ill; we suffered mortal wounds. First, through the Haskalah. The Haskalah dealt us a terrible, devastating blow. Then, through the Holocaust. We suffered grievous wounds, and so Hakadosh Boruch Hu, who sees the end of all generations, said, ‘I—’”

00:07 Speaker 1 And you shall spread out, and you shall spread out, and you shall spread out, and you shall spread out, and you shall spread out westward and eastward and northward and southward, westward and eastward and northward and southward, westward and eastward and northward and southward, westward and eastward and northward and southward. Westward and eastward and northward and southward.

00:59 Speaker 2 In his remarks, the distinguished head of the rabbinical court, the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, reminded us: “The Rebbe sent a shliach, and a person’s agent is like the person himself.” It is a bit presumptuous of me to ask the Rebbe to respond and bless the distinguished Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, but we rely on the words of our Sages. If the Chief Rabbi called him a shliach of the Rebbe, and a shliach can be relied on to carry out... the blessing and the honor. To hear the rabbi’s words from the Rebbe’s shliach in the holy city of Tel Aviv–Jaffa, the Chief Rabbi’s neighbor, seated beside him: Rabbi Yosef Gerlitzky, please.

02:22 Speaker 3 Gut Yom Tov, l’chaim, l’chaim! In a letter the Alter Rebbe wrote on the occasion of his Geulah on 19 Kislev—a long letter printed in several books—he also mentions that, because of the Geulah, “all the ends of the earth saw,” and “the officials in all the provinces of the king saw the salvation of our G-d,” and through this, His great name was magnified and sanctified. Seemingly, when we are speaking of something so great—the beginning of “your wellsprings will spread outward,” the wellsprings of Chassidus, which prepare for the coming of Moshiach—what comparison is there between the essential matter of spreading the teachings of Chassidus and the fact that non-Jews, too, saw the salvation of our G-d? And what is the connection between 19 Kislev and the Festival of Geulah, and the fact that officials in all the provinces of the king also saw the salvation of our G-d and witnessed miracles and wonders? Today, too, in our own time, in the seventh generation of the Rebbe shlita, we see that in addition to the spread of the teachings of Chassidus, in addition to the mitzvah campaigns, we also see something remarkable: non-Jews, non-Jews in the literal sense—whether the president of the United States, the prime minister of Canada, or many others—praise the Rebbe and designate a special day in honor of the Rebbe’s birthday, an Education Day, a day of reflection, and the like. Seemingly, one might wonder: What is the connection between the teachings of Chassidus and the Chabad Rebbeim, and the fact that non-Jews, too, recognize the greatness of Chassidus? But the truth is, let’s not argue: regarding the teachings of Chassidus, “those who taste it merit life.” After all, we know that in the future the Torah of Moshiach will be revealed, and today’s Torah is called mere breath in comparison with the Torah of Moshiach. As Rashi says on the verse in Shir Hashirim, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth”: Rashi says that in the future, the reasons for the Torah’s teachings will be revealed. So today, in accordance with the ruling in the Shulchan Aruch that one must taste every dish on Erev Shabbos, we likewise taste the teachings of Chassidus before the coming of Moshiach. Likewise, the fact that non-Jews, too, will see and recognize the greatness of Hashem is connected with the complete Geulah. As it says

05:56 Speaker 3 in Yeshayahu’s prophecy about the future, “Kings will be your foster fathers, and their princesses your nurses.” And the Rambam says that this is so the Jewish people will be able to sit and study in peace; non-Jews, too, will recognize the greatness of Hashem and observe the commandments because Moshe Rabbeinu commanded them to do so. Therefore, when the teachings of Chassidus prevailed and approval was given for “your wellsprings will spread outward,” that aspect of “all the ends of the earth saw the salvation of our G-d” also began—not only Jews, but non-Jews as well. And we see this in the Rambam: when he speaks about Moshiach, after writing, “He will build the Beis Hamikdash in its place,” he writes, “He will gather the dispersed of Israel.” He then writes, “Then I will transform the peoples to a pure language, so that they will all serve Him together.” May it be Hashem’s will that by standing firm for the integrity of the Jewish people, the integrity of the Land, and the integrity of the Torah, together with the teachings of Chassidus, we merit to taste it already today, be rid of all the troubles caused by the nations, and see “Kings will be your foster fathers, and their princesses your nurses” in the literal sense. Yesterday I heard—last night there was a 19 Kislev celebration in Tel Aviv—I heard a story. Someone was talking about Moshiach and said: What is it with Chabad and Moshiach? “May this be a year of the Geulah of Moshiach.” What’s going on? The entire Jewish people believe in the coming of Moshiach. They told a story about a small town in Russia where there was once a fifty-year-old Jew who no longer had the strength to work. They gave him a job: he would sit about two kilometers outside town and wait for Moshiach to come. When Moshiach came, he would run into town and tell everyone to go out and greet him. A Jew approached him and asked, “Reb, how much do you earn from this job? You sit and wait for Moshiach. How much do you earn?” He said, “A few pennies, not much.” So the man asked him: Why is this job worth your while? You sit outside town all the time for a few pennies? He said: Listen, it isn’t much, but it’s a permanent job. That is the difference between Chabad chassidim and belief in the coming of Moshiach as it is commonly understood. Belief in the coming of Moshiach is

08:36 Speaker 3 not just belief in the abstract. It is belief that today, today Moshiach will come, especially when the Rebbe says explicitly that 5743 will be a year of the Geulah of Moshiach. So may we soon merit this through the Rebbe’s campaigns—whether the Torah campaign, tefillin, mezuzah, tzedakah, a home filled with Jewish books, “Yavneh and its sages,” kashrus, family purity, and Shabbos candles. And last but not least, a letter in a Sefer Torah for every Jew. May we soon merit to be with the Rebbe, and may the Rebbe accompany us, immediately, now, speedily in our days. And you shall spread out westward and eastward and northward and southward; and you shall spread out. Together, together. And you shall spread out westward and eastward and northward and southward; and you shall spread out westward and eastward and northward and southward. And you shall spread out westward and eastward and northward and southward; and you shall spread out westward and eastward and northward and southward. Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ta-da.

12:32 Speaker 4 Yesterday, when we took a Sefer Torah out of the ark and read the weekly parsha, and when we reached the sixth reading... the Torah tells us: “Esav took his wives, his sons and his daughters, all the members of his household, his flocks and all his animals, and all the possessions he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to another land, away from his brother Yaakov.” That is one verse, and before I read the second verse... If someone could open another door—all the doors are open, and anyone who wants to speak, everything is open. Ladies and gentlemen, young people, students, old and young: all the doors are open. And I ask those upstairs in the women’s section, please, please. And you little ones—don’t you understand Hebrew?

15:00 Speaker 5 Why is there an Oscar[?] here? You can sit here, you can sit. Don’t leave this spot. You’re speaking into the microphone here. Can you sit quietly? Can you sit quietly? Sit, sit, sit. Sit.

15:19 Speaker 4 “Esav took his wives, his sons and his daughters, all the members of his household, his flocks and all his animals, and all the possessions he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to another land, away from his brother Yaakov.” That is one verse. “For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they lived could not support them because of their flocks.” A child. A child... a small child. Could we ask those upstairs to be quiet? A small child, five years old and beginning to study Scripture. A small child. A child. A small child, five years old and beginning to study Scripture, reads this verse: Yaakov is re-returning from Lavan and going back to his father. Just before this, the child read: “Yaakov came to his father Yitzchak at Mamre, Kiryas Arba, which is Chevron, where Avraham and Yitzchak had lived.” He returns to the land, and Esav gets up and takes his wives, sons, daughters, the members of his household, his flocks and animals, his possessions—everything, everything he had acquired in the land of Canaan. And where does he go? Wherever he goes. So the child looks in Rashi: Wait, wait, where is he going? “And went to another land—to live wherever he could find a place.” He leaves here. Where to? I don’t know. Why does he leave? “The land where they lived could not support them.” Rashi asks: What does it mean that the land could not support them? Rashi says: It could not provide enough pasture for their animals. They had many animals and there was not enough room, and that is why Esav left. And the Midrashic interpretation is: “Away from his brother Yaakov”—because of the debt document represented by the decree, “Your descendants will be strangers,” which rested upon Yitzchak’s descendants. He said: I will leave here; I want no share either in the gift of this land or in paying off the debt. Or he left because he was ashamed that he had sold the birthright. That is the end of Rashi’s words. The Rebbe shlita asks in this Shabbos’s sicha: Why does Rashi bring the Midrash? The plain meaning of the verse is clear. There is no room, not enough pasture. Yaakov gets up—Esav gets up and leaves, and leaves it to Yaakov. Why do we need

19:35 Speaker 4 Why bring the Midrash? The Midrash not only doesn’t help with the plain meaning of the verse... it actually supports it. The verse gives a straightforward reason: why does he leave? There isn’t enough pasture. Why does Rashi have to bring in a Midrash from so far afield? There’s a debt to be paid, there’s the birthright, there’s shame. What does any of that have to do with the plain meaning of the verse, and how does it fit? The Rebbe shlita says: A five-year-old learning Chumash says, “Rebbe, I don’t understand what happened here. Where were you? Where have you been until now? Who even knows you? Where are you coming from, Yaakov? You’re coming from exile, from Iraq, from the rivers. How long have you been away from the land? Did you build up the land? Did you drain the swamps, plant vineyards, sow, plow, build—did you do anything to develop the land? Nobody even saw you. You spent fourteen years with Shem and Ever. You spent twenty-two years in Babylonia, in Iraq. You found yourself people there. You got married there. Your children are from there. Now you come back here, and I’m supposed to pack up and leave?” Why does Esav leave? Maybe he has somewhere better to go. “I’ve got nothing against you. I just have a better place.” But Rashi says, “He went to a land.” They asked him, “Esav, where are you going?” “Excuse me,” he said, “I’m going wherever the wind takes me. I’ll find somewhere, some place. I don’t know.” So if you don’t know, why are you leaving here? Do you have a better place? Count them together: his wives, his sons, his daughters, the members of his household, his flocks, his cattle, his possessions. He had seven things. For years, for generations, he built up the land. His wives, his children—they’re all from here. And you, Yankele, come along from exile with wives and children, and I’m supposed to pack up? Rebbe, I don’t understand it.” Look at Rashi. Rashi says: “I don’t understand it either. There’s no straightforward explanation here.” So if there’s no

22:42 Speaker 4 straightforward explanation, there’s Pardes: pshat, remez, drush. Let’s turn to the Midrashic interpretation. Ah, a Midrashic interpretation—that’s fine. Gentlemen, it isn’t a free-for-all. Everything comes with payments. Who wants a refrigerator? Please, go ahead. A Peugeot 400, 500, four—what’s the number? Whatever you want, please, no problem. A cottage, a villa, two stories—whatever you want. Please sign here, please sign, no problem. We have the contracts, we have the stamps—sign. You’ll pay. Excellent. And then... read the small print at the bottom: If you miss your payments, they take everything from you, absolutely everything. And where will you go? Wherever the wind takes you. Nobody cares. That’s your problem, as they say here in Israel—do your own laundry. Did you pay? Did you settle the debt? No. Out he goes, through the door or the window. The bailiffs come to seize his things, and he’s already fleeing so they won’t put him in handcuffs. He didn’t pay the debt. Esav settled here, but when the bill came due and Yaakov returned—“Your offspring will be strangers”: did you go into exile, did you pay off the debt, did you make the payments? No. Yaakov doesn’t even need to speak to him. Esav packs up and flees wherever the wind takes him. “He went to a land”: he leaves everything behind because of his brother Yaakov, and now Yaakov returns. The owner is back. There is an owner. “In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth.” “He told His people the power of His deeds, to give them the inheritance of the nations.” It isn’t a free-for-all. There are debts to be paid. If you’ve paid, fine, stay here. You haven’t paid? He doesn’t need to say a word to him. And why is he fleeing? Who was here in shul on Shabbos? Shhh... When was it? Avraham Avinu passed away at the age of 175. On the very day Avraham Avinu passed away, “Yaakov cooked a stew” of lentils, “that red, red stuff” that Esav gobbled up. That was the day Avraham Avinu passed away. And that was when he sold the birthright. And suddenly Rashi brings it up now—

25:33 Speaker 4 it was because he was ashamed that he had sold the birthright. What does that have to do with this? Esav leaves in shame. He didn’t just happen to pack up and leave. Even with his wealth and possessions, he can’t face Yaakov. What are you? Who are you? You sold everything for a bowl of lentils. That is what we need to know today: a Jew, Yaakov, the children of Israel, are returning from exile. I wasn’t here and I didn’t build, but when the owner returns, Esav flees and will flee from here. And it’s a shame that brazen people come along. It’s a shame that brazen people stand in the way and tell the Arabs and the non-Jews, “Don’t run away. [unclear] We’ll be with you, we’ll live here in peace, it will be a binational state, there’s room for you too.” They wanted to flee; they fled in 5708, they fled during the Six-Day War, they fled on Yom Kippur. And people stand there—who knows who these brazen people are—and tell them, “Don’t go, stay here.” They’re fleeing out of shame. Why do you have to stop them? And my esteemed teachers and gentlemen... Please. My esteemed teachers and gentlemen. Shhh! Whoever remains here has a role, and so I’m sure you’ll give me another three or four minutes and listen to something. After that we’ll sing, and Rabbi Kesselman will deliver a maamar of Chassidus, and whoever’s soul needs to remain here will stay. Whoever feels ashamed flees. No problem. Seven things. Esav takes seven things: his wives, his sons, his daughters, the members of his household, his flocks, his cattle, all his possessions. Rashi says: There was no pasture—only livestock, only animals. Buildings, property, money, gold, an economy, land, real estate. Why does he pack up? Because those seven represent nature, the entirety of nature. Esav took everything nature has to offer and left. And what is eight, above nature? That is Yaakov Avinu, that is the Jews, that is Judaism. And with your permission, help me get to the rabbi’s words, as the days of Chanukah are approaching. We can’t keep quiet any longer.

29:02 Speaker 4 Upstairs. “In the days of Mattisyahu son of Yochanan the Kohen Gadol,” and so on. “And You, in Your great mercy”—what did Hakadosh Boruch Hu do? “You stood by them in their time of distress.” One: “You fought their fight. You judged their cause. You avenged them. You delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, and the many into the hands of the few, and the impure into the hands of the pure, and the wicked into the hands of the righteous.” I have seven levels here, and that is the whole of nature. What is higher than pure? What is higher than righteous? The Greeks thought. But a Greek doesn’t think. A Greek eats coconuts up in the trees. A Jew thinks. And the Hellenizers thought that a healthy body means a healthy soul. Or that whoever has Sparta, or sports, or Olympus, or the Olympics, is strong. Or that whoever kills the babies and throws them away in Sparta, destroying them when they’re young, will build a strong, robust nation of warriors. That is nature. That is seven. We told them: Greeks, seven—you know nature. We’ll go beyond you: the mighty into the hands of the weak. You are many—into the hands of the few. You are impure—into the hands of the pure. You are wicked—you will fall into the hands of the righteous. If there is seven, nature has nothing beyond seven. And the menorah in the Beis Hamikdash—Rabbi Halevi stood astonished at the Arch of Titus when he saw the form of the menorah of the Beis Hamikdash carved into the stone. A Jew told me he had seen someone scratch an inscription there with a nail. It said in Roman, in Latin: “Judea has fallen and Rome endures.” So he wrote the opposite for them: “Judea endures, and nothing remains of Rome except its excavated ruins.” Because a Jew is eternal. A Jew is above nature. A Jew is eight: “And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” A child. Master of the universe and L-rd of lords—can you be quiet upstairs? Can you be quiet upstairs in the women’s section? No answer. Shhh... Can you be quiet here? We’re not reading the Torah now. I’m announcing it again: all the doors are open. Whoever still

33:05 Speaker 4 If you didn’t recite Birchas Hamazon, if you didn’t pay, there’s no making it up. There are Jews who stayed, who came to Kfar Chabad from far away, and they want to hear; they’re waiting for words of the living G-d. We’ve fulfilled our obligation with the ceremony. I’m asking again: don’t force me to stop by turning up the loudspeaker overhead. Can we close the door here? One door has been closed. And now 19 Kislev begins. There are tzaddikim—wonderful. There are the pure, and they break Greece and fight against nature. But if there are already seven—and seven—why do we need one more? “And the wicked into the hands of those who study Your Torah.” Who are they? The ones responsible for tonight’s celebration. It’s shameful, it hurts, but tonight we’re celebrating 20 Kislev. When the Alter Rebbe left prison and was freed from all the non-Jews, from all the seven, a wicked man caught him, one of the wicked caught him, shut the door on him and said: “You’re not leaving here. You got away from the non-Jews.” The Alter Rebbe was alarmed. The Alter Rebbe was concerned, and he said: “I sat there for fifty-three days—fifty-three days, a day for each chapter, a day for each chapter—and suffered what were truly the torments of death. None of it hurt me as much as this night.” When he left the non-Jews and went inside, a chossid lived on the second floor, while downstairs lived a wicked man, one of that wicked lot. He said to him: “You want a crown? You need a crown? You’re shouting that they should give you a crown?” And the Rebbe said: “Those few hours hurt me more than the entire imprisonment by the non-Jews. We can contend with nature, with the seven, with the non-Jews. When a Jew comes, the non-Jew backs down and leaves.” And when the Rebbe went in by mistake—but nothing is chance, nothing is a mistake—the Rebbe gave us the strength to overcome the wicked too. Ladies and gentlemen, a child asked me: “The siddur says there are eighteen blessings. Fine, but I counted nineteen.” “Are you sure you counted?” “Yes, I counted nineteen blessings, and now they’ve printed siddurim with ‘first blessing’ written on the side, ‘second’—

37:16 Speaker 4 “It says nineteen, but at the top it says eighteen. What happened here?” I told him, “Child, child, you’re right. We had eighteen blessings, but afterward we added one more: ‘And for the informers, let there be no hope.’ That’s the addition.” Yes. So he reads it with me: “And for the informers, let there be no hope, and may all the heretics and all the wicked perish in an instant; may all the enemies of Your people be swiftly cut down, and may You swiftly uproot, break, destroy and subdue the kingdom of wickedness, speedily in our days. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who breaks enemies and subdues the wicked.” He says to me, “Teacher, we need eighteen blessings and one curse? Uproot, break, destroy, subdue, break enemies—why do you call it eighteen blessings?” I told him, “Child, there’s truth in what you say, but Moshe is true and his Torah is true, and the words of our Sages are true. This is a tremendous blessing, greater than all eighteen. Why? There’s a pause: ‘May You swiftly uproot, break and destroy the kingdom of wickedness.’ Those are three blessings against the three impure kelipos of the non-Jews: to uproot them, break them and destroy them. But there are wicked Jews, and we bless them: ‘Blessed are You, Hashem, Who breaks enemies and subdues the wicked.’ The wicked must not be broken. If one child is playing with another, twists his arm and says, ‘Do you give in?’ ‘No.’ He twists it again: ‘Do you give in?’ ‘No.’ ‘Do you give in?’ ‘Enough, enough, enough, enough, enough—I give in, I give in, I give in!’ What did you want from him? I wanted him to give in, not to break him, G-d forbid. That’s the blessing concerning the wicked. They’re the ones who have adopted Greek ways, the ones who think they should grovel before the non-Jew—and we need them. ‘And the wicked’—Rabbi Wilimovsky. They’re waiting for Rabbi Wilimovsky, the Rebbe’s partisan. The Rebbe’s partisan. They’re waiting upstairs for the Rebbe’s partisan. Now is the time. ‘And the wicked into the hands of those who study Your Torah.’ Tzaddikim aren’t enough. The pure aren’t enough. Even if you’re a tzaddik, even if you’re pure, you won’t be able to take on the wicked. Who can take on the wicked? Who can take the eight—

41:48 Speaker 4 “that is above nature? Our own people—but only ‘those who study Your Torah,’ those for whom Torah is their business. Ladies and gentlemen, the Jewish people are holy. The Jewish people are pure. The Jewish people are responsible for one another. The Jewish people have every quality, but making Torah your business—what does ‘business’ mean? I was at a great celebration and saw one Jew looking down. I asked him, ‘Sir, are you looking for something? I can see you looking down, searching.’ He smiled at me. ‘Come on, tell me something.’ He said, ‘How did you notice?’ ‘I sensed it. You keep looking for something. Maybe I found it. I’m at the microphone; I’ll announce it.’ He said, ‘Sorry, it’s nothing. I’m in the shoe business, and I need to see what people are wearing. So I’m simply checking everyone: what works, what doesn’t, what’s more popular and what isn’t.’ I told him, ‘Did you come to the celebration, or did you come to sell shoes?’ He said, ‘No, I don’t sell shoes. I’m not a salesman. Shoes are my business. I have to develop them, design them and manufacture them. I can’t do that only while my store is open. It’s my business—in the daytime, at night, at a wedding, at a celebration. I come, I look; I have to think about my business.’ Whoever makes Torah his business will take on the wicked. Whoever makes it his business to spread the wellsprings outward, to put up one more mezuzah. ‘Do you sell mezuzahs?’ ‘No, but my business is getting Jews to put up mezuzahs.’ May the memory of the righteous be a blessing: Rabbi Avraham Fried[?] stood with a Jew for an hour and spoke to him, and spoke to him, and spoke to him about tefillin—before the tefillin campaign. The Jew asked him, ‘Do you sell tefillin?’ He said, ‘No.’ ‘Then why are you talking about it?’ ‘I don’t sell tefillin, but tefillin are my business: that one more Jew should put on tefillin. That’s my business; that’s what I’m occupied with. My business is for one more Jew to put up a mezuzah, one more woman to go to a mikveh, and one more—

44:34 Speaker 4 “child to light a candle before Shabbos begins.” They will take on the wicked, and the important thing is... and the cream and the sugar. We haven’t yet sung “Padah Veshalom Nafshi.” The farbrengen of the number eight, above nature—let’s begin with the song “He redeemed my soul in peace, for many were with me.” Please.

45:03 Speaker 6 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 sits enthroned from of old, forever. G-d will hear and answer them, He Who sits enthroned from of old, forever; those who never change, those who never change, those who never change and do not fear G-d. He raised his hands against those at peace with him. He violated, violated, 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 your burden upon Hashem, and He, and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous one falter, the righteous one falter. 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 will not live out, will not live out half their days. Men of bloodshed, bloodshed and deceit will not live out, will 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, but I will trust in You. But I will trust in You. I will trust, 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, I will trust, I will trust in You.

50:35 Speaker 7 Thanks to the partisan, the Rebbe shlita gave him mashke to pass on.