Farbrengen 11 Nissan 5751, Kfar Chabad

06:03 Speaker 1 My friends, chassidim, men, women and children. My teachers and gentlemen, the rabbis, the Rebbes, the guests on their way to us. Before we begin, my teachers and gentlemen: with the birth of the Rebbe shlita, as we all know and feel, the whole world was filled with light and joy. Generations filled with happiness and joy. The Rebbe’s joy enters the heart of every Jew, wherever they may be. The Rebbe’s joy spreads a precious light to every corner of the earth. Come, chassidim and Temimim, soldiers of Tzivos Hashem, let us express our happiness, welcome this joy, and begin with a song of welcome. Let us sing and rejoice with all our might. “This is the day Hashem has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Let us welcome the Rebbe shlita to our Holy Land with joy. The orchestra, the song, and the whole crowd. Play a joyous niggun, gentlemen, play a niggun with the Rebbe shlita. Together, gentlemen, gentlemen, gentlemen, gentlemen. Ashrei lachem, brachah, atli di, atli di, atli di, atli di, di, di, di, di. Ashrei lachem, brachah, atli di, atli di, atli di, di, di, di, di. Ashrei kuli, atli di, di, di, di. Di, di, di, di, ashrei lachem, brachah,

12:18 Speaker 2 [unclear] because I was afraid [unclear]. [unclear] and you’ll close it [unclear]. [unclear] we can’t help you [unclear]. [unclear] how to be close. [unclear] even before planning [unclear]. [unclear] exactly like [unclear]. [unclear] found dollars [unclear]. [unclear]. [unclear] how to be close.

13:44 Speaker 2 We want Moshiach, we want Moshiach, we want Moshiach now. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Moshiach, I believe. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Moshiach, I believe. We want Moshiach, we want Moshiach now, we want Moshiach, we want Moshiach now, we want Moshiach, we want Moshiach now. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Moshiach, I believe. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Moshiach, I believe. We want Moshiach, we want Moshiach now. We want Moshiach now.

15:19 Speaker 5 My brothers and friends, chassidim. Our hearts are full of joy and happiness as we welcome, at our great celebration this evening, our most important guests, whom we have awaited and hoped to see for generations—and the guest of honor, who broke through the barriers and made sure to bring them to us. Celebrating today with the guest of honor, in the guest of honor’s village, are new arrivals representing the thousands who have come from Russia. Welcome. The Chabad chassidim have decided to give the first honor to the new arrivals who are here with us, who have had the privilege of rejoicing with us, as we have had the privilege of rejoicing with them: to open our farbrengen and celebrations in their honor. This time, we will be the ones who must listen, even if we do not understand. We invite here one of the great and distinguished mashpi’im of the Chabad chassidim in Israel, Rabbi Mordechai Kozliner shlita, to offer words of welcome to the new arrivals from Russia. Rabbi Kozliner, please. Thank you.

17:00 Speaker 6 When it’s a birthday, we say “mazel tov”—that’s our custom. So we can all say a big mazel tov, and it is very much connected to the fact that today we have a real mazel tov: our brothers have come to us. And I have a great honor—l’chaim. I have the great honor, on this evening—I won’t call it a gala evening, but it is a holy evening—they asked us to begin with our brothers who have come from the Soviet Union. L’chaim, l’chaim. Now, to speak, to explain. You already know everything; everything has already been explained. But the very fact that you are welcomed as brothers, as members of the family—not just brothers, but brothers who are family members. There is such a thing. When you are in Israel, you will know what it means to be brothers who are family members. That very fact speaks for itself. But what I wanted to tell you: our Chabad Rebbe taught us that everything must be connected to something festive and holy. So we are connecting all this now with the fact that you are invited to Nazareth, where there will be a big Seder. There will be two Sedarim. That will be on the first night. On Friday evening will be the first night of Pesach; there will be two Sedarim at Beis Chabad, and a big Seder at the ulpan. L’chaim, l’chaim, l’chaim.

18:53 Speaker 7 Thank you in Russian and spasiba in Hebrew to Rabbi Mordechai Kozliner for his words, which undoubtedly warmed hearts, as we could see from the reactions of the new arrivals who came—who came here to join us. I want to take this opportunity, before the entire gathering, to thank those Chabad people, the Chabad mobile units in Nazareth, who are caring for the new arrivals from Russia with warmth, love, and a welcoming heart. They are the ones who arranged to bring them here to our celebration. Those mobile units that spread light throughout the country—the Chabad mobile units in our Holy Land—deserve our praise and thanks. I ask, gentlemen, that those gathered at the entrance come inside, to celebrate our gathering together as one person with one heart. And on behalf of everyone here, we warmly welcome His Holiness the Rebbe of Sassov shlita, who has come to take part in our celebration. Gentlemen, Chabad chassidim have always known—not just in theory, but in practice—that one must fear no one but Hashem, and they knew how to sing it in every situation. “There is nothing besides Him”—“Nie boyusya.” Chassidic cantor Reb Zalman Levin will sing “Nie boyusya” with the entire crowd and the orchestra. Please.

21:06 Speaker 8 I fear no one—s-sorry. I fear no one, and I believe no one, only G-d alone. Once more. I fear no one, and I believe no one, only G-d alone. No, no, I fear no one, I fear no one, only G-d alone. No, no, I fear no one—ha!—no one, only G-d alone. No, no, I fear no one, I fear no one, only G-d alone. No, no, I fear no one, I fear no one, only G-d alone. [unclear], for His kindness endures forever. [unclear], for His kindness endures forever. Ra rai ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya. Ra ra ra ra ra ra ra. Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya. Hey ya ya ra ra ra ra ram. [unclear]—ra ra ya ya ya ya hey ra ra ra. [unclear], [unclear], for His kindness endures forever. Ra ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya. Hey ya ya ya ya ya yi yi. Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya. For His kindness endures forever. Ya ya ya.

25:49 Speaker 9 For the sake of Your people, and to have mercy on Your inheritance, please, please, please, please, O G-d, please, O G-d, hear our prayer. Be with Your people, and have mercy on Your inheritance, please, please, please, please, O G-d, please, O G-d, hear our prayer. Please, please, please, please, O G-d, hear, please, O G-d, hear our prayer. Please, please, please, please, and pleasantness, pleasantness and pleasantness forever. Pleasantness, pleasantness, pleasantness, pleasantness and pleasantness, pleasantness and pleasantness forever.

27:33 Speaker 10 Thank you very much. Thank you, and yasher koach to the Shir V’Shevach orchestra for warming our hearts—and this is only the beginning of the warmth. We will, of course, reach the great fire and flame as well. The esteemed mara d’asra... the esteemed mara d’asra, the distinguished scholar and chossid Rabbi Mordechai Ashkenazi shlita; our esteemed Torah scholars and leaders, the great figures of Torah and yiras Shamayim, the rebbes, heads of yeshivos, rabbis and dayanim who are here with us and those still on their way; elder chassidim and mashpi’im; our dear brothers arriving from Russia; honored guests; the Temimim; the children of Tzivos Hashem—all children of the Rebbe shlita; this holy and distinguished gathering. “A prayer of Moshe, the man of G-d”—“Let us sing and rejoice all our days.” Today is a great and luminous day for our entire people, 11 Nissan, the birthday of the Rebbe shlita—may he enjoy long and good years. My brothers and friends, our awareness of the great miracle of our generation and the wonder of the Rebbe’s extraordinary leadership is not confined to this evening or to any particular time. It is not limited to any date. As we say in Psalm 90, “Let us sing all our days.” It has accompanied us and our entire people for a generation. It beats in the hearts of tens and hundreds of thousands of Jews every day of the year and every hour of the day. And now, let us all rise and warmly welcome the great and righteous scholar Rabbi Binyamin Zilber, a member of the presidium of the Council of Torah Sages. Welcome in Hashem’s name to the great farbrengen of 11 Nissan, the Rebbe shlita’s ninetieth year, one hundred and twenty. And yet, ladies and gentlemen, together with hundreds of thousands of Jews in every corner of the world, we await this great and holy day with reverence and feelings of joy and gratitude. On this day we will all sing a song of praise to the Master of the Universe: “My mouth shall speak the praise of Hashem.” We will praise Him for that rare moment of grace less than a year ago, which lit up the darkness of the night of exile and the era of the footsteps of Moshiach with Divine light. Ladies and gentlemen, on this day words fall away. In their place

31:24 Speaker 10 comes a mighty song from the soul, bursting from the depths of the hearts of hundreds of thousands of Jews—tzaddikim and baalei teshuvah, great Torah scholars and ordinary people. All of them give thanks and sing for the wonder of this day and the miracle of this hour. Together with the sweet singer of Israel, in the psalm that all the chassidim will begin saying tomorrow morning, Psalm 90, in the Rebbe’s ninetieth year, let us all say together, “Let us sing and rejoice all our days.” Ladies and gentlemen, this holy and distinguished gathering: last year—last year, ladies and gentlemen, and for those who could not hear until now—at this time last year, we were all filled with anxiety. Fear gripped the people living in Zion. There was talk of negotiations with the enemies of our people, Heaven forbid. We were alarmed with warnings that before long, G-d forbid, the Jewish population would become a minority amid an Arab majority throughout the Land of Israel. You remember these things, ladies and gentlemen; they are still fresh in our minds. And now, today, thank Hashem, compared with this week a year ago, reality has proved those alarmists wrong. Look at the cities and communities of the Negev. The communities of the Galilee are filling, thank Hashem, with Jews from among the new arrivals. There is no doubt that they will reach—and have already reached—Judea and Samaria as well. Look and see, ladies and gentlemen, look and see how, in a short time, with Hashem’s help, the Jewish population of our Holy Land is growing stronger and increasing by tens and hundreds of thousands, bli ayin hara—and there is more to come. Ladies and gentlemen, for us chassidim, this was no secret at all. We knew it clearly from that great farbrengen at which the Rebbe shlita announced to us, in three words—or perhaps five—“It will indeed be a year of miracles.” And for the miracles and wonders, ladies and gentlemen, that we felt in our own bodies. For the miracles and wonders, ladies and gentlemen, that we felt in our own flesh during this recent period, when tensions reached their peak. The plastic sheeting and adhesive tape were still rustling in our ears. The media was full of commentary, and no one knew how events would really unfold. But one righteous man stood up, one tzaddik

35:20 Speaker 10 in the entire generation, and said: Ladies and gentlemen, these are clear and unequivocal words. There is nothing to fear, no reason for concern. Eretz Yisroel is the safest place in the whole world. There will be wonders, the Rebbe says. Men, women and children walked confidently through the streets of Israel and Jerusalem. Boys and girls were actually playing in its streets. The Rebbe instilled that confidence in them. The miracles happened, the wonders were seen, and there will be still greater wonders, the Rebbe shlita assures us. The Rebbe foresaw it all when he announced: “It will be a year in which I will show him wonders.” For us chassidim, ladies and gentlemen—for us fortunate ones—I think an outstanding debt remains. We have not done enough to publicize these miracles and wonders and give thanks for them. The Kfar Chabad committee hosting us chose this auspicious and pure day, the birthday of that righteous and pure leader, the Rebbe shlita, to gather for a joyous farbrengen and give thanks and praise to Hashem, in the spirit of “My mouth shall speak the praise of Hashem.” The Hebrew word for “my mouth” has a numerical value of ninety. “My mouth shall speak the praise of Hashem”: the ninety-year-old Rebbe speaks Hashem’s praise. The verse continues, of course, “And all flesh shall bless His holy name.” Let us all offer a blessing and raise a prayer for Moshe, the man of G-d. May Hashem strengthen the Rebbe shlita and grant him good health. May he continue, with true nachas, to lead his students, his chassidim and all of the Jewish people toward his heart’s purest desire: the true and complete Geulah, immediately, now. Amen, may it be so. And we begin with a word from the Rebbe. We will open our great celebration with the Rebbe shlita’s blessing for this farbrengen. I have the honor of inviting the elder of the Chabad rabbis in our Holy Land, the distinguished scholar and chossid Rabbi Dovid Chanzin shlita, to bring the Rebbe shlita’s blessing to the farbrengen. Please rise and hear the Rebbe’s blessing.

38:48 Speaker 11 The Rebbe shlita was informed that a large farbrengen was being planned for the bright day of 11 Nissan, and the response was: “I will mention it at the Ohel. May they report good news, and the time is auspicious.” We have gathered here now to celebrate the birthday of our Rebbe shlita. Birth is, in essence, a revelation. Before a person is born, he already exists in his entirety; it is only that we do not know of him. When he is born, he is revealed. Revelation is light. When Moshe Rabbeinu was born, it is written explicitly in the Torah. The Rebbe’s revelation is really something that happens every day, but we cannot hold celebrations every day. So we mark it on his birthday. Throughout these many decades, the Rebbe has been revealed more and more from day to day, and he reveals things to the Jewish people. First of all, in Torah: through his Torah insights, in both the revealed and inner dimensions of Torah, in the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. He reveals to Jews—to each individual and to the Jewish people as a whole—their virtue, their greatness and the special qualities they possess. It is not for nothing that Hakadosh Boruch Hu chose us from among all the nations. We have a special mission: to make this world a dwelling place for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, so that all the inhabitants of the world will recognize and acknowledge that “to Me every knee shall bend,” that Hakadosh Boruch Hu rules over all the nations. The Jewish people were given the Torah with its 613 mitzvos at Mount Sinai, and at that same event, through Moshe Rabbeinu, all the nations were given the obligation to observe the seven Noahide laws. The Torah was given to everyone, and it illuminates everyone. The Rebbe shlita’s whole being is bound up with the first letter written in the Torah, the beis of Bereishis. The world was created for the Jewish people, who are called “first,” and for the Torah, which is called “first.” The Rebbe shlita’s whole being is Torah and the Jewish people. He lights our way, shows us the path and tells us in advance what is to come. And what he says

42:54 Speaker 11 comes to pass. We must be strong and trust in Hashem that no harm will befall the Jewish people, including us among them. We must strengthen our complete trust and thank Hashem that, in our generation—a generation of uncertainty and confusion, not knowing what to do or how—Hakadosh Boruch Hu has given us this giant, the Moshe Rabbeinu of our generation, a faithful shepherd who guides us and leads us where we need to go. May Hashem help that, very soon, Moshiach will be revealed—as the Gemara puts it, “Moshiach will be revealed.” He is here. According to what the Gemara says in Sanhedrin and another tractate, he will be revealed when the curtain is removed, so that all can see him. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu send Moshiach very soon to redeem us and all the Jewish people from exile. May the Third Beis Hamikdash be built very soon, and may we merit to go up for the festival pilgrimage this very Pesach. Hakadosh Boruch Hu can do this; anything is possible. Hashem’s salvation comes in the blink of an eye! Especially when we see tremendous events taking place in a moment—or, one might say, in a short time. And together with our Rebbe shlita, may we be in the holy city of Jerusalem and in the Third Beis Hamikdash, built very soon, together with all the Jewish people in the true and complete Geulah, after which there will be no exile.

45:27 Speaker 12 Yasher koach to the distinguished chossid Rabbi Dovid Chanzin for bringing us the Rebbe shlita’s words and for his own warm, chassidic words. With the honor due to Torah and Chassidus, I am privileged to invite the Sassover Rebbe shlita to offer his blessing to the farbrengen. Please. Ladies and gentlemen, we ask the audience, in honor of the farbrengen and to give the Rebbe shlita nachas, to join us. On behalf of the rabbis and the entire holy congregation, we warmly welcome our esteemed friend, the Rishon LeZion and Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu shlita. Welcome to the great farbrengen marking the Rebbe shlita’s ninetieth year. Welcome, welcome. King David says in Tehillim: “Add days to the days of the king; may his years be like generation after generation.” Two things are written here: days and years. Perhaps we can offer a thought, a simple explanation of the words of this verse. It has been said of people devoted to Hashem that they managed to fill all their hours and all their days with meaning. But there are people who carry the burden of all of Israel, for whom all the hours of the day are not enough to look after every Jew, wherever he may be. There is no need to recount at length the hundreds and thousands of stories—and, without exaggeration, even tens of thousands—of people the Rebbe shlita sent to others to bring them back to the right path and save them from ruin. They were not only saved; they returned completely to the good and pure path. Their fruits are their children and grandchildren, generation after generation without end. That is eternity. “Add days to the days of the king”: may Hakadosh Boruch Hu grant him strength and health, ever greater strength to continue spreading and increasing purity, holiness, Torah, Chassidus and fear of Hashem among all of Israel, and to strengthen the Jewish people both spiritually and materially, together. And may Hakadosh Boruch Hu grant us the merit

49:20 Speaker 12 that, in his merit, on this holy birthday, when a gift was sent to us from Heaven years ago, these prayers will be fulfilled as we stand before the coming of Moshiach. The end of the night is its darkest time, and now this light goes before us, illuminating the way. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu help us merit, with Hashem’s help, to go forth to meet Moshiach Tzidkeinu during this very month of Nissan. May we all merit to sit together in the holy city of Jerusalem and see the Beis Hamikdash built, the offerings brought, and the kohen standing at his post, with Moshe Rabbeinu leading all of Israel and Moshiach Tzidkeinu at our head, speedily in our days, amen. “The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom.” Yasher koach for the wise words of the Sassover Rebbe shlita, for us, for the Rebbe and for all the Jewish people. The host of this great farbrengen—the host of this great, pure and holy farbrengen, and there are no more words for it—is Kfar Chabad. It is the Kfar Chabad that the Rebbe holds so dear, the Kfar Chabad that opened windows onto the dark alleyways of every Jew, wherever he might be, to let in the light of Chassidus. Its mara d’asra is here with us. We are honored to invite the mara d’asra, the distinguished chossid Rabbi Mordechai Ashkenazi shlita. Please.

51:33 Speaker 3 Honored Rishon LeZion and Chief Rabbi of Israel shlita, honored ministers, Torah scholars, rabbis, members of Knesset, and esteemed congregation. We are filled with great joy, each and every one of us, that we have merited to see our teacher and Rebbe, the Nasi of our generation, reach the age at which, according to the ancient chassidic custom, we begin reciting chapter 90 of Tehillim. It is no coincidence that the chapter is associated with the word tzaddik. As the Rebbe shlita notes in his letter, in a number of places the letter tzadi is spelled out tzadi-daled-yud-kuf. This alludes to “the tzaddik, the foundation of the world.” Indeed, our teacher and Rebbe shlita is the foundation and pillar of our generation. Nor is it a coincidence that the chapter begins with the verse, “A prayer of Moshe, the man of G-d.” As the Midrash says in Yalkut Shimoni on this verse, there is a well-known question: “the man of G-d”—how can both descriptions apply together? If he is a man, he is not G-d; and if he is G-d, he is not a man. The Midrash gives a number of explanations and opinions on the meaning of the verse. One explanation says: from his waist down, a man; from his waist up, G-dly. Another explanation draws on what the Torah says, as we learned in Parshas Nedarim, about a woman who makes a vow. Her making the vow is not enough; she also needs her husband’s consent. If her husband agrees, he upholds the vow, and it stands. If he annuls it, the vow does not stand. The Midrash says that “A prayer of Moshe, the man of G-d” is like the verse, “Her husband may uphold it, and her husband may annul it.” Such is the power of the tzaddik, the power of the man of G-d: as though he were the husband with respect to G-d—“Her husband may uphold it, and her husband may annul it.” There is no need to speak at length or to illustrate the point. Each of us has seen the miracles, the wonders, the great things that the man of G-d, the Rebbe shlita, has brought about. “Her husband may uphold it, and her husband may annul it.” When, G-d forbid, there was talk

54:43 Speaker 3 of decrees contrary to the good of the Jewish people, “her husband may annul it.” He always found a way to stop them: whether through the recitation of Tehillim, gatherings of young schoolchildren in various places, assemblies, Torah gatherings, gatherings of children, of men, or of women. He showed how to avert, how to avert decrees against the Jewish people, G-d forbid. We saw this throughout the forty years of his leadership, each year and each time in a different way. And so it is with “her husband may uphold it.” When it comes to raising up the Jewish people and saving them—not only, G-d forbid, averting decrees—we saw how he foresaw the Year of Miracles and then the Year of Wonders. Every child and every Torah student saw the great wonders we have witnessed over the past half-year. He alone stood up and said there was nothing to fear, no one to fear; the safest place was in the Land of Israel. Boruch Hashem, we saw and merited it. Each of us saw the wonders experienced in every home and by every one of us. It is no coincidence that, in his most recent letter, he said that we stand before great days, and that if, G-d forbid, Moshiach has not yet come before Pesach, we will see more miracles and wonders. What has happened until now will be small and insignificant compared with what we will all yet merit to see together. My teachers and friends, some have indeed wondered what the source is for celebrating a birthday. Perhaps that objection rests on what the Gemara says: “They took a vote and concluded that it would have been better for a person not to have been created than to have been created.” If so, what is the great joy of a birthday? But the words of Tosafos in Tractate Avodah Zarah, 5a, are well known: all this applies to ordinary people. When it comes to tzaddikim, however, their presence benefits them

56:58 Speaker 3 and benefits the world in which they live. We need no further illustration of our great privilege, the privilege of our generation, that the Rebbe shlita is among us. May he be granted many long and good years and lead us to Moshiach Tzidkeinu. May we merit, this very year, to eat from the festival and Pesach offerings in the Third Beis Hamikdash, as it says at the end of the Song of the Sea: “The Sanctuary, Hashem, that Your hands established.” The Midrash there speaks of the greatness of this Beis Hamikdash. The first two were made by human hands and were destroyed. But “the Sanctuary, Hashem, that Your hands established”—“May the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us; establish the work of our hands for us, and establish the work of our hands.” The Midrash says that “May the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us” refers to the Third Beis Hamikdash, the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d, which will endure forever and ever. L’chaim, l’chaim!

58:04 Speaker 4 Yasher koach and many thanks to the mara d’asra, the distinguished chossid Rabbi Mordechai Ashkenazi shlita. We invite the entire audience to join the rabbi in saying l’chaim. And we ask the orchestra to sing together with the audience as we say l’chaim; let us sing and rejoice with all our strength, with our bodies and all 248 limbs. Ladies and gentlemen.