Farbrengen of 19 Kislev 5769, Kfar Chabad

00:09 Speaker 1 Welcome to a farbrengen of chassidim celebrating the Festival of Liberation, 19 Kislev 5769, here in Kfar Chabad. As is the custom of chassidim, we will open with the recitation of the Rebbe’s chapter of Tehillim, Psalm 107, led by the mashpia of the Beis Menachem synagogue, Rabbi Ze’ev Kesselman shlita. Please.

01:22 Speaker 2 Give thanks to Hashem, for He is good; His kindness endures forever. Let those redeemed by Hashem say so, those He redeemed from the hand of the oppressor. He gathered them from the lands, from east and west, from north and sea. They wandered in the wilderness, on a desolate path; they found no inhabited city. Hungry and thirsty, their souls fainted within them. They cried out to Hashem in their distress, and He saved them from their troubles. He led them on a straight path, to reach an inhabited city. Let them thank Hashem for His kindness and for His wonders to mankind. For He satisfied the longing soul and filled the hungry soul with good. Those who sat in darkness and the shadow of death, bound in affliction and iron, had rebelled against the words of G-d and spurned the counsel of the Most High. He humbled their hearts through hardship; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. They cried out to Hashem in their distress, and He saved them from their troubles. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke their bonds. Let them thank Hashem for His kindness and for His wonders to mankind. For He shattered doors of bronze and cut through bars of iron. Fools suffered because of their sinful ways and their iniquities. Their souls loathed all food, and they reached the gates of death. They cried out to Hashem in their distress, and He saved them from their troubles. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction. Let them thank Hashem for His kindness and for His wonders to mankind. Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices and recount His deeds with song. Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do their work on the great waters, saw the works of Hashem and His wonders in the deep. He spoke and stirred up a storm wind, which raised the waves. They rose toward the heavens and plunged to the depths; their souls melted in peril. They reeled and staggered like drunkards, and all their skill failed them. They cried out to Hashem in their distress, and He brought them out of their troubles.

04:15 Speaker 2 He calmed the storm to a stillness, and its waves fell silent. They rejoiced when the waters grew quiet, and He guided them to their desired haven. Let them thank Hashem for His kindness and for His wonders to mankind. Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people and praise Him in the gathering of the elders. He turns rivers into a wilderness and springs of water into parched ground; a fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it. He turns a wilderness into a pool of water and dry land into springs of water. There He settles the hungry, and they establish an inhabited city. They sow fields and plant vineyards, and these yield crops. He blesses them, and they multiply greatly, and He does not diminish their livestock. Then they diminish and are brought low through oppression, evil and sorrow. He pours contempt upon nobles and makes them wander in a trackless waste. But He raises the needy from affliction and makes their families as numerous as flocks. The upright see it and rejoice, while all wrongdoing closes its mouth. Whoever is wise will take note of these things and consider the kindnesses of Hashem. Long live our master, our teacher and our Rebbe, King Moshiach, forever and ever. Long live our master, our teacher and our Rebbe, King Moshiach, forever and ever. Long live our master, our teacher and our Rebbe, King Moshiach, forever and ever. Good Yom Tov, good Yom Tov.

00:03 Speaker 1 A big yasher koach to the mashpia of the Beis Menachem shul, Rabbi Zev Kesselman. Our custom is usually to open the 19 Kislev celebration with a word from the Rebbe. But since we have an important guest here with us... We have an important guest who arrived right on time, and he also needs to leave. He is a true friend of Chabad, helping and assisting wherever he can. I can say from personal experience that whenever he has been asked to help or visit Chabad institutions, he has gladly agreed. Let us now hear from Knesset member Rabbi Meir Porush. Please.

01:04 Speaker 2 L’chaim, l’chaim and blessings. With the chairman’s permission, ladies and gentlemen, had I merited it, perhaps I could have opened with a word from the Rebbe. But you did not ask me to, and of course we are also waiting for the local rabbi to arrive. He has been delayed and is expected any moment. Since I need to leave, and you have honored me with the chance to speak now, I am happy to be here with you, as is my custom, every year. Perhaps once in a while I am abroad. The chairman of the Kfar Chabad committee tells me I was not here last year because I was abroad. So he keeps track of my schedule and remembers better than I do. But generally, I am happy to be here with you on 19 Kislev, Yud-Tes Kislev. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu help us so that we will soon be delivered and merit to see the coming of Moshiach in actuality. The Midrash on Parshas Beshalach—on Parshas Vayishlach, which we read this past week, says right at the beginning of the parsha: Rabbi Pinchas bar Kahana says, “Five times Dovid Hamelech asks Hakadosh Boruch Hu in Tehillim to rise, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu says, ‘I will not rise. I am not rising.’” And the Midrash lists the five times Dovid Hamelech asks Hakadosh Boruch Hu to rise. The first is in Tehillim, chapter 3, verse 8: “Rise, Hashem; save me, my G-d, for You have struck all my enemies on the cheek; You have broken the teeth of the wicked.” The Midrash mentions the second time, in chapter 7: “Rise, Hashem, in Your anger; lift Yourself up against the fury of my foes, and awaken for me the judgment You have commanded.” And the Midrash goes on: the third time is in chapter 9: “Rise, Hashem; let man not prevail. Let the nations be judged before You.” And the fourth time is in chapter 10: “Rise, Hashem; lift up Your hand. Do not forget the humble.” And the fifth time is in chapter 17: “Rise, Hashem; confront him, bring him down. Deliver my soul from the wicked with Your sword.” The Midrash Rabbah on Parshas Vayishlach says, “Five times you

03:54 Speaker 2 call upon Me to rise? Five times you, Dovid Hamelech, ask Me to rise, and I do not rise. I am not rising. And when will I rise?” The Midrash says—Hakadosh Boruch Hu asks, “When will I rise?” The Midrash says that Hakadosh Boruch Hu answers: “When you see the plundering of the poor, the groaning of the needy, then I rise.” And the Midrash brings the verse in Tehillim, chapter 12: “Because of the plundering of the poor, because of the groaning of the needy, now I will rise, says Hashem; I will place him in the safety for which he longs.” It seems to me that this Midrash Rabbah should teach us a lesson in how to live. Dovid Hamelech asks Hakadosh Boruch Hu: Rise! I am in distress; the Jewish people are in distress. And Hakadosh Boruch Hu says, I am not rising. When do I rise, says Hakadosh Boruch Hu? When you see the poor being robbed and the needy being taken advantage of and harmed—then, says Hakadosh Boruch Hu, “Now I will rise, says Hashem.” It seems to me that if I had to say in one sentence—and I really will not take longer than one sentence—what sums up and distinguishes the Chabad movement throughout the generations, from its founding to this very day, it is this: when the leader of Chabad, when the Rebbe saw the poor being plundered, when he saw the needy groaning, then, with all the shturem, it was “Now I will rise, says Hashem.” And in fact, that is the whole Torah. We are in a situation where the poor are being plundered; we are in a situation where the needy are groaning. And robbery is not necessarily material. It can be spiritual robbery. When the poor are being plundered and the needy are groaning, Hakadosh Boruch Hu answers the call, “Rise, Hashem,” and to that Hakadosh Boruch Hu says, “Now I will rise.” Chabad chassidim gather here in Kfar Chabad and gather in every place around the world. And only recently we saw the entire world—not only Jews, but the entire world—unite and see

06:28 Speaker 2 with deep emotion what Chabad, what the Rebbe’s shluchim, are capable of doing. After what happened in Mumbai, with all the coverage of the shluchim, especially the couple murdered there along with several other Jews, people began to hear stories of what a Chabad shliach does in a faraway place like Mumbai. We see what it means that the Rebbe perceived a situation in which the poor were being plundered: Jews were being taken and lost to spiritual destruction. The groaning of the needy. Every possible action must be taken to rise, to rise like a lion, to struggle and to fight. So at today’s farbrengen, as we wish each other “Gut Yom Tov,” let us wish ourselves a better year ahead in spreading Chassidus, so that all of us can act, carry out and fulfill the Rebbe’s directives, the Rebbe’s instructions. And may we merit the answer to the question, “When will Moshiach come?”—“When your wellsprings spread outward.” That is the purpose of the farbrengen. May it be Hashem’s will that this farbrengen bring renewed strength, that we all take action, and that “your wellsprings spread outward.”

07:56 Speaker 3 Yasher koach, and thank you very much. Rabbi Meir Porush, the Chabad shluchim and all Chabad chassidim will continue their work and spread the wellsprings—with your help too, Rabbi. Wherever an institution needs help, may you continue to assist in every way, and may you rise higher and higher so that you can help with whatever is needed. Thank you very much. Two hundred and ten years have passed since the first Festival of Liberation, and each year our understanding grows of the essence of this festival and of that liberation: the Alter Rebbe’s release from imprisonment, the liberation of the teachings of Chassidus, and the day they became a spring that swells and flows powerfully, watering the flocks—the Jewish people—with the inner dimension of the Torah, until the Master comes, the King Moshiach. A year after 19 Kislev, the chassidim did not yet know how to celebrate the day, particularly in light of the Alter Rebbe’s request that the rejoicing not be accompanied by a great commotion. So the chassidim waited to see what would happen. Among other things, some chassidim came to the Alter Rebbe with a proposal to write a Megillah of 19 Kislev, to be read every year. The Rebbe did not agree and said: This day will be established as a permanent festival in Israel, a day on which His great Name will be magnified and sanctified, and countless thousands of Jews will be stirred to teshuvah and service of the heart. In other words, when a megillah is written, people celebrate the miracle that happened back then, at that time. But 19 Kislev does not need a megillah, because every year it is a permanent festival, signifying the spreading of the wellsprings and illuminating Jewish hearts to do teshuvah. And as the Rebbe explained, a permanent festival means a festival that extends throughout the entire year. For years since then, Chabad chassidim have celebrated this day, 19 Kislev, as a festival. And the chassidim do not call it just any festival, but the festival of festivals, the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus. This festival does not belong to Chabad chassidim alone. Everyone who holds the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov dear celebrates on this day. On this day, we celebrate the

10:50 Speaker 3 triumph of the teachings of Chassidus, which became available to everyone. L’chaim, chassidim! L’chaim!

10:59 Speaker 4 Our G-d, King of the universe, by Whose word everything came into being.

11:06 Speaker 3 As chassidim do at a celebration and farbrengen, we will now invite one of the Rebbe’s shluchim to the Holy Land, the director of the Or Simcha institutions in Kfar Chabad, Rabbi Zev Slavin shlita, to share a word from the Rebbe. Please.

11:40 Speaker 4 Gut Yom Tov, Gut Yom Tov. That’s how chassidim sit down to a 19 Kislev farbrengen: they wish each other Gut Yom Tov, and “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year in the study of Chassidus and in the ways of Chassidus.” And as chassidim do when they begin a farbrengen, they start right away with “L’chaim.” L’chaim, l’chaim and blessings. L’chaim. The main point of l’chaim is that “sharing a drink draws people closer.” When chassidim sit together, they say l’chaim to each other. A chossid doesn’t say l’chaim by himself. L’chaim is about a drink that draws people closer. They tell a story about a young man, twenty-three or twenty-four years old, who came every night—and I mean every night, without fail—to a place where people drank mashke. He would order two shots of Chivas Regal, two shots of Chivas. He would drink the first, say l’chaim, and drink the second. Day after day, week after week, month after month, the same ritual, exactly the same thing every day. After a year or two of this, the owner of the place came over and asked him, “Sir, why do you come here every single day? It’s been half a year, a whole year, and every day it’s the same routine, the same two shots. Why two shots? And why alone?” The man told him, “I was a soldier in America, and I had a good friend. Every night, we would say l’chaim together over a small glass of Chivas. That good friend, the one I drank with every night, was killed in the war. So, to remember him and never forget the friendship we had and our custom, I decided that for the rest of my life I would say l’chaim with him. I sit here and drink one glass of l’chaim for myself and one for him.” And he kept doing that for many years. Some fifty years later, when he was already sixty or seventy, he came one day to the place where he always drank and ordered

14:06 Speaker 4 just one glass for the first time. He took the glass and drank it. The owner asked him, “What’s different today? Why are you suddenly having only one glass?” The man, who had once been a soldier, answered, “Listen, I went to the doctor today, and the doctor told me I’m not allowed to drink anymore. So I’ve stopped drinking, but my friend is still drinking.” When we say l’chaim, we say it with a friend. We are now in Kislev, the month of Geulah, at 19 Kislev. “Those days are remembered and relived.” As we mentioned earlier, they even wanted to write a Megillah of 19 Kislev. At every 19 Kislev farbrengen, the Rebbe would recount the history, the story of the miracle that happened to the Alter Rebbe, and draw from it the words of the Megillah, “Those days are remembered and relived.” We need to remember both the broad outlines and every particular of what happened to the Alter Rebbe—and then relive them, bringing them into our daily lives. One of the well-known stories the Rebbe told many, many times concerns the Alter Rebbe while he was still in prison. Word about him had spread; people knew that someone extraordinary, an angelic person, was being held there. There was a minister in the Russian government who was very learned and had many questions about scholarship in general, including Jewish studies. He came to the Alter Rebbe with all kinds of questions. He sat with the Rebbe for a long time, asking and probing. One of his questions, as is well known, concerned what it says in Bereishis: Hakadosh Boruch Hu comes to Adam and asks him, “Where are you?” Then there is Cain and Abel, but with Adam, He began right away with “Where are you?” The minister asked the Alter Rebbe: Didn’t Hakadosh Boruch Hu know where he

16:07 Speaker 4 was? Why did He come and ask him, “Where are you?” The Alter Rebbe immediately answered that Rashi explains it. The minister said, “I know what Rashi says too. I want to know what you say—what your Torah, what Chassidus, says ‘Where are you?’ means.” The Alter Rebbe answered him: When a person reaches his fifties—and he gave the minister’s exact age—Hakadosh Boruch Hu turns to him and says, “Where are you? Vu bistu? How far have you gotten? What have you done with these years? Have you come with your days? Have your days been full? Where are you—vu haltstu?” And the Rebbe emphasizes each time that one of the lessons of Chassidus in general, and of 19 Kislev in particular, is that each and every one of us must make a reckoning, a genuine reckoning of the soul. Where are you? Vu haltstu—in your study of Torah, your study of Chassidus, your conduct in the ways of Chassidus, your dedication to the Rebbe? What you did yesterday isn’t enough for today. The lesson must be that from today onward, we do many times more than we have done until now. By the way, one of the central teachings of Chassidus is this concept of Divine Providence. Nothing happens for no reason. When you think about this story itself, which is connected with 19 Kislev—19 Kislev is called the Rosh Hashanah for the ways of Chassidus, a Rosh Hashanah—you can also reflect on the story of “Where are you?” When was the first “Where are you?” When did Hakadosh Boruch Hu first ask that question? He asked Adam, on Friday, the day Adam was born, the day he was created—the sixth day, which was Rosh Hashanah. In other words, the first “Where are you?” was on the Rosh Hashanah associated with the revealed dimension of Torah, the Rosh Hashanah of an ordinary year. And the second “Where are you?”—the Alter Rebbe’s teaching about it—was on the Rosh Hashanah for the ways of Chassidus. When we are in Kislev, the month of Geulah, and especially, all the more so, when we come to 10 Kislev, 10 Kislev and 19 Kislev, the festivals of liberation, we need to reflect a little on what Geulah really is.

18:07 Speaker 4 Throughout the generations we have always waited for the Geulah, especially in our generation, the Rebbe’s generation, when the Rebbe instilled in us the yearning to pray for and await the Geulah every moment, every single moment. But what really is Geulah? Let’s briefly take a sicha the Rebbe once gave that can help us understand what Geulah is. In that sicha, the Rebbe also emphasizes something remarkable: without Chassidus, without understanding the deeper meaning Chassidus has revealed to us, there are matters in the revealed dimension of Torah—even in straightforward Mishnayos—that are impossible to understand. One of them is an explicit Mishnah that we all repeat all the time, though many, many people don’t know what it means. The Mishnah says in Pirkei Avos, “Whoever says something in the name of the person who said it brings Geulah to the world,” as it says, “And Esther told the king in Mordechai’s name.” Since Esther said it in Mordechai’s name and thereby brought about the Geulah, anyone who says something in the name of the person who said it brings Geulah to the world. All the commentators ask, and the Rebbe asks as well: What does it mean that anyone who credits the person who said something brings Geulah? Why? Why does someone deserve any reward for giving the speaker credit? If you say something without giving credit, you’re simply a thief. Today everyone knows there are laws everywhere, both in Israel and in America. There are intellectual property rights. There’s copyright. If you take someone else’s idea and claim it as your own without acknowledging the copyright, you’re simply a thief. So why do you deserve a reward? The Mishnah says that if you don’t steal, you deserve a reward. Why? Stealing is forbidden. Why should there be any reward at all? And especially, what kind of reward?

20:13 Speaker 4 Brings Geulah to the world. What other mitzvah says that if you fulfill it, you bring Geulah to the world? There are positive commandments and all kinds of mitzvos, but it does not say that they bring Geulah to the world. There is one mitzvah, one way of acting: you quoted something in the name of the person who said it, and you deserve an enormous reward. What reward? You bring Geulah to the world. Why? Where is the measure-for-measure connection? What did you do by quoting something in its speaker’s name that deserves a reward at all? And why specifically Geulah to the world? Many commentators, even in the revealed dimension of Torah, ask this, and there is no explanation that really lets us understand the Mishnah properly. Then the Rebbe, our Rebbe, came and revealed the depth of the Mishnah according to Chassidus. Only then can we truly understand it in depth, and through that we can also understand what Geulah is. What is Geulah, really? The Rebbe says: We know that the world was created through ten utterances. Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world. “In the beginning, Elokim created”; “And Elokim said”—the world was created through ten utterances. The Baal Shem Tov comes, and the Rebbe explains this at length as well, and says: “Forever, Hashem, Your word stands firm in the heavens.” At every moment, every day and every moment, Hakadosh Boruch Hu says it again. Hakadosh Boruch Hu renews those ten utterances every single moment and says, “Let there be a tree, let there be a table, let there be a lamp, let there be a microphone.” Everything exists within the word of Hashem. And if, as the Rebbe says in Tanya, Hakadosh Boruch Hu were not to create something anew for even one moment, were He not to say the ten utterances, everything would return to chaos as it was before it was created. In other words, Hashem, in His goodness, continually renews the work of creation every day. Hakadosh Boruch Hu says over and over again that each thing should be here: “Let there be a bottle.” When we look with physical eyes, we see a bottle; we see a pillar. But if we contemplate more deeply, we see that the bottle is not a bottle,

22:18 Speaker 4 it is the word of Hashem, with which Hakadosh Boruch Hu says, “Let there be a bottle.” And this, the Rebbe says, is what the Mishnah means. The Mishnah tells us: “Whoever says something in the name of the one who said it.” A person comes to recognize, by learning Chassidus and contemplating, that everything he sees is not merely a thing—it has a Speaker. “The one who said it” alludes to the ten utterances. When, through prolonged contemplation, he comes to recognize that what he sees is not merely a thing, not merely a tree, but the word of Hashem—isn’t that already hard work? It is deep work, requiring much contemplation and effort. That deserves a reward. A person who comes to recognize that the entire physical world is created at every moment by the word of Hashem deserves a reward. What reward? Measure for measure: he brings Geulah to the world. Why is that measure for measure? What is Geulah? In a word, the Rambam writes: When Moshiach comes, what will happen? Certainly there will be no wars. Delicacies will be as plentiful as dust. There will be... everything will be there. But what is the main point of Geulah? The Rambam says: “And the glory of Hashem will be revealed.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu will be revealed, “and all flesh will see together,” and we will all see. What will we see? The Rambam says that the end of the verse is not just that we will see G-dliness, not just that we will see the Creator of the world. We will see “that the mouth of Hashem has spoken.” What does “the mouth of Hashem has spoken” mean? We will see its Speaker. We will see the word of Hashem. When Hakadosh—when Moshiach comes, we will all see with our physical eyes that the bottle is not a bottle. The bottle is “Let there be a bottle.” It is the word of Hashem that gives it life. In other words, if the whole point of Geulah—especially in the month of Kislev, especially on 19 Kislev—is to come to this recognition: when Moshiach comes, we will see the word of Hashem; we will see the ten utterances

24:19 Speaker 4 openly, with our physical eyes. So a person who today, even at the very end of galus, comes to this recognition and says, “I understand, I believe that every thing has a Speaker”—that recognition is direct preparation for Geulah, whose essence is “and all flesh will see together that the mouth of Hashem has spoken.” The Rebbe takes this further, but we won’t go on at length. Let us only wish for ourselves, for each and every one of us, as brothers sitting together at a 19 Kislev farbrengen, that Hakadosh Boruch Hu help us, through learning Chassidus and conducting ourselves in the ways of Chassidus—and above all, through coming to recognize that every thing has a Speaker, that it is the word of Hashem that gives everything life—to merit, truly and speedily in our days, to see with our physical eyes in the true and complete Geulah. We will see the Rebbe with our physical eyes down here. To see the Rebbe with our physical eyes down here is “and all flesh will see together that the mouth of Hashem has spoken”—that Hashem, Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the Shechinah, speaks through his throat. I just want to add one thing that the Rebbe does not say in the sicha, but there is another very interesting emphasis here. The Rebbe says that “whoever says something in the name of the one who said it” is speaking the word of Hashem. But what does the verse say? What is the proof from the Megillah? “And Esther told the king in Mordechai’s name,” not “And Esther told the king in Hashem’s name.” The proof here is that Esther teaches us what hiskashrus is. When she speaks in Mordechai’s name, when Mordechai says something, that is “the mouth of Hashem has spoken.” L’chaim, l’chaim! May we merit to see with our physical eyes the Rebbe’s holy mouth speaking, [unclear]. L’chaim, l’chaim! A joyous Festival of Geulah to us all. L’chaim!

00:00 Speaker 1 L’chaim and blessings. Thank you to Rabbi Ze’ev Slavin, one of the Rebbe’s shluchim to the Holy Land. We will continue with the Dvar Malchus, with the reading of the Rebbe’s letter to the 19 Kislev celebrations around the world. It was sent for 19 Kislev 5748, which was also a Hakhel year. We ask the chairman of Agudas Chassidei Chabad in the Holy Land, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak HaKohen Aharonov, to read the Rebbe’s letter. The audience is asked to stand during the reading.

01:08 Speaker 2 To all those participating in the large farbrengens of 19 Kislev: Greetings and blessings. May it be Hashem’s will that for each and every one, “He redeemed my soul in peace,” etc., be fulfilled in its fullest sense, and may they succeed in this with the help of Heaven. As our Sages explain the verse, this means engaging in Torah study, both Nigleh and Chassidus, in acts of kindness, and in prayer. And all this in a manner of [unclear] in each of the campaigns, and in a manner of [unclear], from these days into the weekdays, to Chanukah and [unclear]. These are auspicious days for hastening the fulfillment of the promise. In the book of the sweet singer of Israel, David, the kingly ancestor of Moshiach: “Gladden the soul of Your servant; turn to me and favor me,” with the true and complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu. With respect and blessings, Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

02:39 Speaker 3 Amen.

02:42 Speaker 4 Where is he?

02:57 Speaker 3 We welcome the Chief Rabbi of Israel, the distinguished Rabbi Yona Metzger, shlita. And welcome to the honorable minister, Rabbi Eli Yishai.

03:40 Speaker 4 Shalom aleichem, Rabbi. We should stand up for you.

03:49 Speaker 3 We will now hear from the Chief Rabbi of Israel, the distinguished Rabbi Yona Metzger, shlita, who makes a point of joining us at Chabad events, graciously answers every call to help and support the Rebbe’s shluchim around the world, and brings honor to Hashem’s name in public.

04:15 Speaker 4 Honored local rabbi, the distinguished Rabbi Ashkenazi; esteemed rabbis; member of the Chief Rabbinate Council of Israel; chairman of Tzeirei Chabad, Rabbi Aharonov; honorable minister and deputy prime minister of Israel, my friend Rabbi Eliyahu Yishai; former Knesset member Rabbi Porush; honored guests, esteemed congregation. I have just arrived—I haven’t even made it home yet—from a visit with Jonathan Pollard. I was deeply moved by that visit. I came to strengthen him, and found myself strengthened. Among the things he asked me, the first was this: “My mother passed away nine years ago. No one has had the opportunity to say Kaddish for her soul with a minyan on her yahrzeit. Since her yahrzeit falls this week, could you arrange a minyan in her memory and say Kaddish?” That is what is on his mind after almost twenty-five years in prison, the first seven of which he spent underground, eight floors below ground, without seeing sunlight or moonlight for seven years. Second, he told me in passing that there was a dispute in the prison over who would get a room with a toilet—excuse me. There, it’s out in the open, without a door. He said, “I was the only one in the entire prison who gave up a room with a toilet.” I asked him why. “So I could pray in a clean place.” I was so moved by this meeting. It hasn’t been twenty-four hours yet, so forgive me for telling you about it. Sadly, this is the second time I’ve come to Kfar Chabad in this past month. Ordinarily, I would have come here only for 19 Kislev. The reason we came here before was anything but ordinary. Many of those seated here at the head table were present at that painful gathering. I must tell you that it made waves throughout the world. Throughout the world. I was struck that even CNN put out an appeal in support of Chabad Lubavitch in India—something CNN doesn’t usually do. It doesn’t run fundraising appeals, and that channel is not known as a staunch friend of the Jewish people.

08:01 Speaker 4 They went out of their way because the Rebbe’s shluchim themselves go out of their way. Allow me to share an idea connected to last week’s parsha and the coming parsha, and with that I will conclude. “Yaakov was left alone, and a man wrestled with him.” Rashi tells us: Who was this man? The angel of Esav. In plain language, he represents the yetzer hara, a profoundly negative force, the angel of Esav, the sitra achra. This coming Shabbos, when Yosef is searching for his brothers on Yaakov’s errand, we again read, “A man found him,” and asked him, “What are you looking for?” “I am looking for my brothers.” Rashi says: Who was this man? The angel Gavriel. The question is, in two consecutive weeks, Rashi comments on the same word. Once he explains “man” as someone as bad as the sitra achra, and the next time as the finest angel we have, the angel Gavriel. How can that be? The same word, the same Rashi, one Shabbos after another? The answer depends on the context. When Yaakov wrestles with that man, what is the one thing Yaakov asks of him? “Give me a blessing. Give me a blessing.” “I don’t have time,” he says. “It’s my turn to sing praise in Heaven.” Someone who doesn’t even have time to bless you can only be the angel of Esav. But with “a man found him,” a man sees a young fellow in the street, searching and looking around, [unclear]. He goes over on his own initiative and asks, “Tell me, how can I help you? What are you looking for?” That kind of personal initiative can only come from the angel Gavriel. And in our day, it can come from a shliach of the Rebbe—a Gavriel. I say this specifically about Rabbi Gavriel. Just last night in the United States, I heard an account from a Jew who had been with him the night before the tragedy. He told me, “We sat and studied, for some reason, the book of Yechezkel, about the war of Gog and Magog. Why did we study that of all things?”

11:17 Speaker 4 “I don’t know. I was supposed to be there that night,” he said, “but I was tired and didn’t come.” And he told me, “That morning I was with him. He slaughtered two hundred chickens—two hundred chickens—so the Jews would have something to eat. And that same morning his wife Rivky roasted two hundred livers and called one of the Israelis: ‘Come, I made you liver. I know you like grilled liver.’” He did not manage to get there before evening, and the tragedy had already occurred. How many such Gavriels do we have who never became known? But I must tell you, when I see the Rebbe’s devoted shluchim, the Rebbe’s extended hand even today, I try to remember that each one is a Gavriel in his own right. So the Festival of Geulah is a significant day for all the Jewish people, a day of unity. As the Alter Rebbe said with feeling, and with good reason: We are all one. We are all one. We must all be as one person with one heart. May it be Hashem’s will that we merit to come together and be “a man found him,” in the sense of finding good, and that we soon merit the complete Geulah, speedily in our days. Amen, may it be so.

00:05 Speaker 1 Thank you very much to the Chief Rabbi of Israel, the distinguished Rabbi Yonah Metzger shlita. Thank you for knowing how to stand with us, Chabad chassidim, both in times of pain and in times of joy. We will be glad to host you here again, always on happy occasions, until the great joy of the revelation of King Moshiach, very soon. Schneur: our master the Alter Rebbe composed two works, two lights—one in the light of Chassidus, the Tanya, and one in the light of the revealed Torah, the Shulchan Aruch. At the age of twenty-one, the Alter Rebbe wrote his Shulchan Aruch at the instruction of the Maggid. As the author’s sons write in their introduction to the Shulchan Aruch, the Maggid instructed him to write a Shulchan Aruch and urged him repeatedly, saying: “There is no one as discerning and wise as you to delve into the depths of halachah and undertake this work, this sacred work: to bring to light the essence and inner reasoning of the halachos, each matter properly set out without confusion or admixture, and the halachic ruling clarified and drawn from the words of all the authorities, up to the sages of our time.” The Alter Rebbe received a promise from the Maggid that his book would be accepted throughout the Jewish world. And indeed, the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch became especially renowned as the work of a leading halachic authority. Its golden language and wonderful explanations gave it a stature all its own. The Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch stands in the foremost rank of halachic works. We will now invite someone who works day and night at the sacred task of understanding the words of the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch and explaining them to the public, both in engaging weekly articles in the Kfar Chabad newspaper and, above all, in his series of books on Hilchos Talmud Torah, which have earned an honored place in the Torah world. Let us now hear from the mara d’asra, the distinguished Rabbi and chossid Rabbi Mordechai Shmuel Ashkenazi shlita. Please.

02:39 Speaker 2 L’chaim, l’chaim, l’chaim and blessings. May this 19 Kislev farbrengen have all the warmth and chassidic feeling. L’chaim, l’chaim! Honorable Minister Eli Yishai; rabbis; future members of the Knesset; Rabbi Menachem Porush and public figures; esteemed, holy gathering. We heard earlier about the Alter Rebbe’s name, Schneur: he illuminated the world with both the revealed Torah and Chassidus. By Divine Providence, a few days ago I happened to speak with a rabbi about this, and he said to me, “Give me a concrete example of where we see this connection between the revealed Torah and Chassidus in the Alter Rebbe’s teachings.” Of course, there are many, many examples. I gave him one example that, seemingly, is especially interesting and particularly connected to this day, to the festival of 19 Kislev. There is a halachah that on Yom Tov, work needed for food preparation is permitted, but there is a distinction between the work of food preparation itself and work that prepares the means for it. The latter is not itself food preparation, but it makes it possible to prepare food. In the laws of Yom Tov, in the Kuntres Acharon, the Alter Rebbe discusses the work of kindling. On Shabbos, lighting a fire is forbidden. It is one of the thirty-nine categories of work derived from the Mishkan. There he discusses what the category of kindling means. It can be understood in two ways. How do you light a fire? You ignite a wick, a piece of wood, or a coal. The coal or wood is consumed, and the flame burns. The two are connected: as the oil burns, it is consumed; as the wick is consumed, the flame shines or burns. So when it comes to the work of kindling, what is forbidden? The consumption of the wick or the oil, or the lighting of the flame? The Alter Rebbe writes there, bringing several proofs, that the meaning

05:42 Speaker 2 of the work of kindling is not the consumption of the fuel—not the consumption of the oil, the wood, or the wick—but the lighting of the flame. Yet the flame cannot burn unless the wick burns and is consumed. When we consider the teachings of Chassidus, and especially what the Alter Rebbe revealed, we see that before Chassidus was revealed there was the tradition of mussar, which continues to this day. Its teachings deal primarily with wearing down the body, consuming the wick, breaking the body so that one can serve Hashem. Serving Hashem through the consumption of the wick. The Alter Rebbe came and taught something new: serving Hashem means, as it says in Tanya, revealing the soul of a Jew, which is “literally a part of G-d above.” It is the flame, the blaze of fire that always wants to rise upward. It is always connected to its source and root; it wants to be absorbed into the source from which it was hewn in the higher worlds, for it is literally a part of G-d above. And here we see this point: the Alter Rebbe illuminated the world by kindling the soul, kindling the blaze, kindling the flame. Of course, one must work with the body so that it does not interfere, and there is a whole body of chassidic teaching about that. But the main point and ultimate purpose is the flame, the blaze. Today, when we have seen and continue to see the spread of Chassidus, the awakening of the Jewish soul, the flame, and more and more Jews in Israel and around the world drawing close to Chassidus and to Hashem, now is the time to make an even greater effort to spread Chassidus, as the Alter Rebbe sacrificed himself to do. Today, 19 Kislev, marks the revelation of Chassidus through his self-sacrifice, when his life was in danger

08:12 Speaker 2 and he put himself aside in order to illuminate the world with Chassidus. May Hashem help us grow ever stronger in the holy mission the Rebbe gave us: to spread Chassidus. “May your wellsprings spread outward,” and may we all merit the days of Moshiach, as King Moshiach said: “When your wellsprings spread outward.” L’chaim, l’chaim! May it be a good, sweet year of Torah study and following the ways of Chassidus, of connection to all the Rebbe’s activities, and may we merit the true and complete Geulah. L’chaim, l’chaim!

08:53 Speaker 3 When the Alter Rebbe composed Hilchos Talmud Torah, he published it in pamphlets without naming the author. The pamphlets were printed by the chossid Reb Pinchas Reizes, whose father was one of the leading opponents of Chassidus. Once, his father saw Reb Pinchas studying a pamphlet. After looking through it, he told him that he would take on the printing costs, and in this way Hilchos Talmud Torah spread among the opponents of Chassidus. When the pamphlets reached Vilna, the Gaon of Vilna was told about them. A pamphlet was brought before him, and after studying it, the Gaon praised it and said: “The body of the book is arranged logically. The Kuntres Acharon displays exceptional genius, and its author is certainly a brilliant, logical scholar. It is a mitzvah for this book to be found in every corner of Jewish homes.” Later, when the opponents heard that the work was by the Alter Rebbe, they were angry and said it had been one of the chassidim’s schemes to gain more followers for their Rebbe. Indeed, the Alter Rebbe’s writings on Hilchos Talmud Torah certainly brought many people closer to the teachings of the one whose liberation we celebrate and to the teachings of the leader of our generation. We bless the Rabbi shlita that he continue spreading the wellsprings outward and continue writing works that enrich our knowledge and deepen our understanding of the Alter Rebbe’s teachings, and that he enjoy many more years in his position. Let us now hear from a friend of Chabad and a graduate of Chabad institutions, the Honorable Minister Rabbi Eli Yishai shlita. Please.

10:38 Speaker 4 Hello, everyone. My teachers and distinguished guests, the esteemed mara d’asra, the learned Rabbi Ashkenazi; the esteemed deputy; the public representatives who attend to the needs of the community; Rabbi Menachem Porush, may Hashem protect him and grant him life. Esteemed rabbis, member of the Chief Rabbinate Council Rabbi Itai Tov[?], Rabbi Aharonov, chairman of Tzeirei Chabad, all the distinguished rabbis, and our esteemed and dear shluchim: We are just about to see dear shluchim set out with self-sacrifice to places around the world, to bring the light of Torah there, draw those who are distant closer, and bring merit to the many. This day itself is also dedicated to the elevation of the souls of those righteous people who were killed al kiddush Hashem—may Hashem avenge their blood. It is a day in its own right, bringing a particularly great elevation to the souls of those righteous people. We learn this immense mission from our holy forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. When we focus on the weekly parsha, “And Yaakov dwelt,” we read that Yaakov sought to dwell in tranquility. Rashi says there: “The troubles of Yosef suddenly befell him.” It is hard to understand. Yaakov Avinu, peace be upon him, faced struggle and conflict with Esav from the moment he was born—even in the womb, before he was born, he was already struggling with Esav. When their mother passed a house of idol worship, Esav would leap; when she passed a beis midrash, Yaakov would. The struggle began right there. Then came the conflict with Esav over the blessings. After that, Yaakov went to the yeshiva of Ever and did not sleep in a bed for fourteen years. Then his father sent him to Lavan, where he again faced hardships. He returned, a man wrestled with him, and he faced Esav again. Finally, he reached the age of over a hundred—over a hundred. What did Yaakov Avinu ask for? To dwell in tranquility. He was not asking to go to a seniors’ club and play backgammon. He was continuing to learn Torah at that age. Nowadays, by eighty, people apply to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor for a foreign worker to provide care. Yaakov Avinu, peace be upon him, sat and learned Torah all his life, day and night, despite all his hard work. He reached the age of over a hundred

13:25 Speaker 4 and asked for tranquility so he could continue learning Torah. Rashi says there: “The troubles of Yosef suddenly befell him.” What had he done wrong? My teachers and distinguished guests, there is not a moment of tranquility in this world. We cannot sit back and say, “All is well with me.” Our mission continues day and night: to learn, to observe, and to do; to learn Torah, fulfill it, teach it, draw people closer, and save our brethren who have gone astray. That is what these wonderful shluchim do. They follow in the footsteps of our forefathers, going out to far-flung communities, going into exile, and drawing those who are distant closer. In the course of my work, I travel to many places around the world, and I see the shluchim. It is simply extraordinary. Their self-sacrifice is beyond description: the conditions they live in, the devotion it takes to draw one more Jew closer, and then another; to give Torah classes, arrange prayers and minyanim, and establish institutions, kindergartens, and schools. It is impossible to describe. This is self-sacrifice without a moment to dwell in tranquility, without a moment’s pause—self-sacrifice all day long. And today is 19 Kislev. As the moderator said, thank G-d, I grew up attending a Chabad elementary school, and I absorbed that devotion to all of the Jewish people. Today, on this great day, as the shluchim set out with devotion, sacrifice, and tremendous effort to sanctify Hashem’s name and draw those who are distant closer—on 19 Kislev, on this important day—there is no doubt that its great light and special holiness, together with the self-sacrifice and the rabbis’ blessings, will accompany each of you to the place where you are sent. May we draw a great deal of strength and devotion from here and, with Hashem’s help, continue to devote ourselves to this important mission, as we all hope, wait, and long for the Geulah. With Hashem’s help, may we merit to see the redemption of the Jewish people soon. There is no doubt that your important mission brings the Geulah closer. May it be Hashem’s will that we all merit the Geulah soon, in our days. Amen and amen.

00:00 Speaker 1 Thank you very much to Minister Eli Yishai. We wish you success in your desire to influence the education of Jewish children, and may you spread the light of Torah and Chassidus in their education wherever you go. We are honored to invite the choir of the Kfar Chabad Talmud Torah, conducted by the educator Rabbi Asaf Shainer, to perform a short medley of Chabad niggunim.

02:01 Speaker 2 I’m going, I’m going—what will become of us? We’ll go to the tavern, where there’ll be vodka. I’m going, I’m going—what will become of us? We’ll go to the tavern, where there’ll be vodka. Ay-ay-ay, didi, ay-ay-ay. Ay-ay-ay, didi, ay-ay-ay, hey. Ay-ay-ay, didi, ay-ay-ay, ay-ay-ay. Ay-ay-ay, didi, ay-ay-ay, ya. Aideh-la ya ya yeh, aideh-la ya ya ya. Aideh-la ya ya yeh, aideh-la ya yeh. Aideh-la ya ya ya yeh, aideh-la ya ya ya. Aideh-la ya ya ya yeh, aideh-la ya ya. I’m going, I’m going—what will become of us? We’ll go to the tavern, where there’ll be vodka. I’m going, I’m going—what will become of us? We’ll go to the tavern, where there’ll be vodka. Ay-ay-ay, didi, ay-ay-ay, ay-ay-ay. Ay-ay-ay, didi, ay-ay-ay, hey. Ay-ay-ay, didi, ay-ay-ay, ay-ay-ay. Ay-ay-ay, didi, ay-ay-ay, ya. Aideh-la ya ya ya yeh, aideh-la ya ya ya. Aideh-la ya ya ya yeh, aideh-la ya yeh. Aideh-la ya ya ya yeh, aideh-la ya ya ya ya. Aideh-la ya ya ya yeh, aideh-la ya ya ya.

04:35 Speaker 3 I will sing sweet melodies and weave songs, for my soul longs for You. I will sing sweet melodies and weave songs, for my soul longs for You. My soul yearns to dwell in the shadow of Your hand, to know every secret of Your mystery. My soul yearns to dwell in the shadow of Your hand, to know every secret of Your mystery. Please wave Your hand to me and sing me a word, for my soul steps toward You. My soul yearns to dwell in the shadow of Your hand, to know every secret of Your mystery. My soul yearns to dwell in the shadow of Your hand, to know every secret of Your mystery.

00:01 Speaker 1 With the permission of the distinguished mara d’asra, the gaon Rabbi Ashkenazi, with the permission of all the great Torah scholars, esteemed rabbis and honored audience. It is hard, very hard, to begin speaking as we stand in this place. We have not forgotten, and will not forget, what happened to us in Mumbai, India. Our blood is boiling; the earth itself cannot cover the blood. It is very hard to calm down, very hard to be comforted. May the Omnipresent comfort us, may the Omnipresent comfort us. We say “the Omnipresent,” not “may Hashem comfort us.” The Omnipresent—we do not know to what place in the heavens those pure, holy souls murdered for the sanctification of Hashem’s name have ascended. In the heavens they plead on your behalf and on behalf of us all. May Hashem have mercy on us. [unclear] Never a little. Never a little. We are told that when Eliyahu Hanavi was about to ascend to heaven in a whirlwind, he asked Elisha, “What can I do for you before I am taken from you?” He replied, “May a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” A double portion of your spirit. Eliyahu told him, “You have asked a difficult thing”—a double portion of your spirit. Elisha the disciple asks Eliyahu Hanavi for a double portion of his spirit. But Elisha Hanavi knew that he would have to carry on the difficult struggles with the 400 prophets of Baal, the prophets of Asherah, and those who wavered between two opinions. [unclear] a double portion of your spirit. He told him, “You have asked a difficult thing.” But the passage continues: “If you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you.” What does that mean? “You have asked a difficult thing,” and then he says, “If you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you.” What is the idea? The matter is clear and simple. We want to remember the departed, even when we are liable to forget. That is what was impressed upon the heart. If you see me when I am taken from you—if it is always before you as though I were being taken from you right now—then it shall be so for you; you will have a double portion of your spirit. That is what Eliyahu said to Elisha: “If you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you.” That is what I say to us,

03:44 Speaker 1 to ourselves, to the entire Jewish people. Such is the greatness of this moment and this place where we stand. Each of us can recall the inspiration, the holy inspiration, we felt when we merited to enter the Rebbe’s presence. For fifteen consecutive years I merited to enter his presence, and once I was there for two hours and fifty minutes. I merited to be with the Rebbe, and we spoke. We went over what had happened to us during each half-year, what we had gone through in those six months. “If you see me when I am taken from you”—if we acknowledge to ourselves that we never imagined he would be taken from us, here we are. It is very hard. But if we always feel as though he is being taken from us now, we will roll up our sleeves with warmth and energy. This is our prayer, this is our request, and this is our blessing. May we all reach a state of “If you see me when I am taken from you”: however much it seems that we do not have him, it is not that we do not have him. We must have the eyes of the spirit to see it. That is what I want to say. We ask Hakadosh Boruch Hu to enable us to act on our prayers. And I am speaking of the Chabad House that was in India. I merited to visit the United States sixty-nine times over twenty years. Wherever I went, I felt that there was a Chabad House there. I knew there was someone to talk to, someone I could turn to. That is the holiness, the greatness, the extraordinary quality of Chabad Houses. They are not shluchim of one group. They are shluchim of the Jewish people. The Jewish people have been blessed with this group, from which the shluchim come. May Hashem grant us comfort in the continuation of the holy work of the Chabad shluchim. May they continue to act, to work, and to achieve great things in strengthening Torah and Jewish life. That is our comfort, our hope, and our blessing.

06:52 Speaker 2 Thank you very much, Rabbi Menachem Porush. We wish him many more years of celebrating the joyous Festival of Geulah here with us, in good health. We welcome our distinguished guests: Rabbi Ratzon Arusi shlita, rabbi of the city of Kiryat Ono; Rabbi and Knesset member Yaakov Litzman, chairman of the Agudas Yisroel faction; Rabbi and Knesset member Benny Elon; and Knesset member Uzi Landau. Welcome. We invite the distinguished gaon and chossid, member of the Chief Rabbinate Council, rabbi of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council and head of the Or Meir Chabad institutions, Rabbi Shimon Elituv shlita. Please.

08:24 Speaker 3 L’chaim, l’chaim, l’chaim, l’chaim! Honored mara d’asra, the distinguished gaon and chossid, Rabbi Shmuel—Rabbi Mordechai Shmuel, Shmuel Mordechai Ashkenazi. Esteemed rabbis. It is a privilege for me to be here. I cannot overlook Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov, whose arrival gave the institution of shlichus in Eretz Yisroel tremendous momentum and made it an example for shluchim throughout the world. I wish Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov extraordinary success in all matters, both generally and particularly. In the parsha, Binyamin was not present when Yosef was sold, so the brothers could not make him swear an oath. But Binyamin knew about the sale. The proof is that he named his sons for someone who was still alive. Chuppim—“he did not see my wedding canopy, and I did not see his.” It is hard to keep a secret from brothers. He knew about the sale. The Gemara in Shabbos 55 says that Binyamin was one of the four who died only because of the serpent’s sin; they were whole in thought, speech and action. He is “Binyamin the righteous,” as he is called six times in the Babylonian Talmud. Binyamin the righteous, son of Yaakov. It is remarkable: none of the other tribes received that title. Binyamin the righteous, son of Yaakov. Remarkable. He also merited a portion in the Beis Hamikdash, though the Sages and Rabbi Yehudah disagree about its extent. The Sages say that only the Holy of Holies was in his portion. Rabbi Yehudah said that the Holy Chamber was also in Binyamin’s portion. He was called “the beloved of Hashem.” He received that title, “the beloved of Hashem.” Remarkable. Many ask: What is the secret? Many say that the answer may be found in the precious stone on Aharon’s breastplate, yashpeh—a name that can be read as yesh peh, “there is a mouth,” yet he does not speak. Binyamin knew and did not speak. But the remarkable thing was not only that he did not speak: he was also righteous. He understood his brothers. He did not reproach them. It did not even enter his mind to accuse them. He understood that a higher hand was at work from Heaven. After all, who finally revealed the matter

12:04 Speaker 3 to Yaakov? Certainly not the brothers; even Yosef did not tell him. The commentators say that Yosef made sure to bring a group of people whenever he visited his father, so that his father would have no opportunity to ask, “My son, how did it happen?” Only Hakadosh Boruch Hu revealed the sale to Yaakov before his death. Here we find the character of the shliach who works without knowing what his work has accomplished. We have read about many shluchim, but to this day, remarkably, a great many shluchim work in complete quiet and have no idea what results their tremendous efforts have produced. And just as the other three who were counted alongside Binyamin included Amram—whose concern was to uplift the people—and Kilav, whose name evokes his complete bond with his father, so too the shliach is wholly connected to our spiritual father, the Rebbe. Through that strength they acted and continue to act. And last but not least, Yishai. “Together, the tribes of Israel”—and Yishai fathered David. Together: the unity among us is what will bring the revelation of Moshiach. Dear brothers, before I finish: I remember that fifty-three years ago I worked on the staff of the vocational school. As it happened, I was not there that day, when that terrible tragedy occurred. Today Yad HaChamishah stands in memory of those four students and their unforgettable instructor, Reb Simcha Zilberstrom, who were killed by those wicked men. The Rebbe’s response had two sides. First, “And Aharon was silent.” The Rebbe did not respond to the act itself. But the Rebbe did call for a response, a way to strike back: adding to and expanding our educational institutions. That would be our response—to establish as many educational institutions as possible. I have come here, and before us is this vast and powerful movement of shlichus, and the printing of books of Chassidus and halachah on an unprecedented scale. This aroused opposition, but the response is to continue and continue. And as it was when the Rebbe was in prison, when the Baal Shem Tov told him that when he came out,

15:31 Speaker 3 It continued further, with more explanations and greater elaboration. And now we have received the Tanya, which continues the work of presenting Chassidus in a way that everyone can understand, and comes to spread the teachings of Chassidus more and more. Brothers, at the beginning of the Rebbe Rashab’s leadership, the Rebbe met with Rabbi Avraham Avremke from a town near Lubavitch. He asked the Rebbe why he had said the words, “Today the world was conceived; today the whole world trembles,” and wanted to correct him. The Rebbe said to him, “Ah, excuse me. It is known that when the Beis Hamikdash stood, there were ten levels of holiness, culminating in the Holy of Holies. Since the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, Hakadosh Boruch Hu has nothing in His world but the four cubits of halachah. Within those four cubits of halachah, too, there are ten levels, and the highest is when the Rebbe delivers Chassidus: he is like the Kohen Gadol in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur.” It is with this strength that chassidim go forward, and with this strength that the shluchim go forward, carrying the maamarim of the tzaddikim of the generations. From them they draw strength, and with this G-dly power they reveal the G-dliness within each and every person. Our hope is bound up with what is said of Binyamin: the Holy of Holies was in his portion. We all await the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash and the imminent Geulah, speedily in our days. Amen.

00:00 Speaker 1 Yasher koach. Thank you very much to the distinguished chossid and gaon, Rabbi Shimon Elituv shlita. Before we move on to the niggun “Padah Veshalom,” we’ll invite a friend of Chabad who is doing much to help Chabad institutions at this time: the chossid and Member of Knesset, Rabbi Yaakov Litzman. Please.

00:31 Speaker 2 L’chaim? L’chaim? Fourteen hours [unclear]. L’chaim! With the permission of the mara d’asra and the presidium, my teachers and friends: We are still under the impact, still reeling from what we have been through. As a Member of Knesset who travels a great deal, I have long maintained that Chabad Houses around the world are the true embassies of the Jewish people. And it is no secret that I keep pressing for them to have security. I visited the Chabad House in China with two fellow members of the Finance Committee—Chaim Oron from Meretz and Shai Hermesh from Kadima—and everyone was impressed, regardless of party, by the work they saw Chabad Houses doing around the world. That was in Shanghai. Security is not just a matter of providing guards. Chabad Houses need to be protected the way embassies are protected. As we were walking in China, a woman came up to me. She could tell from my appearance that I was Jewish; she hadn’t noticed my colleagues. She asked me in Hebrew, “Perhaps you know where the Chabad House is here?” Everyone knows that’s the address to turn to. In the weekly parsha, we see the first shliach. Yosef Hatzaddik was the first shliach: his father, his Rebbe, Yaakov Avinu, tells him, “Go to your brothers who are tending the flock in Shechem.” And it says that “a man found him”; Rashi says that this was an angel. The angel tells him, “Don’t go! It’s dangerous! Your brothers mean you harm. Don’t go.” But when Yosef Hatzaddik heard from his Rebbe that he should go, he paid no attention to an angel. That’s what shluchim are like. He paid no attention to anything. If the Rebbe says to go, you have to go. And he was the first shliach. I am certain that Chabad chassidim around the world and in Israel will go from strength to strength and increase their work. And with Hashem’s help, I will do what I can to help them and expand their activities. Thank you very much, and happy Yom Tov.

00:00 Thank you very much. Yasher koach, Rabbi Litzman. The Megillah of 19 Kislev was never written, but there was a tradition that at every farbrengen, the elder chassidim would sit down and tell the story of the imprisonment and the Geulah. Rabbi Nochum, the son of the Mitteler Rebbe, would tell the story of 19 Kislev every year, from beginning to end, in all its details, in brief and clear language. When he spoke of the imprisonment, he would speak in a low voice, with tears in his voice; when he spoke of the Geulah, he would raise his voice in joy and jubilation. Today, we have no one who can tell us about those days, but chassidim have experienced miracles of 19 Kislev throughout the years. For 210 years since 19 Kislev, the festival of festivals has been celebrated among chassidim wherever they are, in better times and in harder times, in times of comfort and in times of trouble and distress. We have an account of a 19 Kislev celebration in the Russian city of Gorky in 5695, as published in the Kfar Chabad newspaper. The chossid Rabbi Moshe Vishitzky, a"h, is holding a farbrengen in his home on Motzaei Shabbos, 19 Kislev. The farbrengen had begun on Shabbos, and they linger over the niggunim longer than usual because Sunday is 19 Kislev, the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus. Rabbi Moshe begins to repeat the maamar Kol Hama’arich Be’echad from 5686. When he reaches the words, “It is known that our Rebbe, whose soul is in Eden, gave his holy life for the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov,” loud knocks are suddenly heard at the door. In an instant, those knocks bring everyone back from those lofty worlds to a dark and cruel world. Before they can recover, the door is forced open, and KGB agents stand in the doorway. And so Reb Moishe finds himself, together with his flock, on the night the festival begins—the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus—in the dark cellars of the KGB. The hours pass slowly. Midnight approaches, and Reb Moishe sits withdrawn into himself in his detention cell, celebrating the festival of Geulah on his own. This day will be established as a permanent festival in Israel. There is no

02:48 difference whether it is in Lubavitch itself or in the KGB cellars in Gorky. No iron barrier can separate a chassidic soul in a dark detention cell from the Rebbe, who is physically far away but spiritually close—certainly not on 19 Kislev, the festival of festivals. And indeed, a miracle occurred: at two o’clock after midnight, they were granted release. Without explanation or justification, the prison authorities let them go. They had no doubt that “these days are remembered and observed,” and that the merit of this great and holy day had helped them escape miraculously from the claws of the Russian bear. Indeed, “He redeemed my soul in peace.” Chassidim, we have the privilege of celebrating 19 Kislev with great splendor, in comfort both materially and spiritually. Let us thank Hashem for His great kindnesses to us. Let us say l’chaim together: l’chaim, Rebbe; l’chaim, chassidim. And let us ask Hakadosh Boruch Hu that very soon our souls, too, be redeemed in peace from exile, with the revelation of King Moshiach, immediately, right now. “He redeemed my soul in peace.”

00:18 [unclear]. [unclear]. May He hear my voice, answer me, and save me [unclear], Selah. May He hear my voice, answer me, and save me [unclear], Selah. To You, my G-d, belongs all honor. To You, my G-d, belongs all honor. To You, my G-d, belongs all honor, and [unclear]. [unclear]. One who will not die. [unclear]. On the wings of the wind [unclear]; your voice will rejoice. G-d, G-d of Israel. [unclear]. [unclear] forever, forever. [unclear], as I praise the Rock. [unclear], as I praise the Rock. [unclear] blood, blood and bitterness. No, no [unclear], no [unclear]. [unclear] blood, blood and bitterness. No,

00:01 Speaker 1 Thank you very much to Rabbi Reuven Marantz[?] and the Tzivos Hashem children’s choir. We’ll hear from them again later. And so, “He redeemed my soul in peace,” as the Alter Rebbe wrote to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev: “When I was reading in Tehillim the verse ‘He redeemed my soul in peace,’ before I began the following verse, I came out in peace.” We are honored to invite the rabbi of Kiryat Ono, president of the Halichot Yisrael institutions and a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council, the distinguished Rabbi Ratzon Arusi, shlita. Please.

00:49 Speaker 2 Say l’chaim.

00:54 Speaker 3 L’chaim, l’chaim. A kosher l’chaim. With the permission of my friend, the local rabbi; my esteemed colleague Rabbi Elituv, a member of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate Council; my dear friend Rabbi Aharonov, head of Tzeirei Chabad; all the distinguished people seated here, rabbis, Knesset members, public figures, and this esteemed, holy gathering. Our Sages say that the Second Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because of baseless hatred, and the Third Beis Hamikdash will rise and be built only through unconditional love. And thank G-d, Hakadosh Boruch Hu has granted us that Chabad Chassidus is the very heart of unconditional love. The more that love spreads among the Jewish people, the closer we will come to the complete Geulah. Anyone who had not yet seen that unconditional love witnessed the terrible tragedy in Mumbai, which tore away the veils and revealed the tremendous power of unconditional love within Chabad Chassidus. Ladies and gentlemen, I have come down from the holy city of Jerusalem in the midst of the eighteenth international conference on monetary law under Torah law. Every year, we hold three days of study and discussion of Torah law in the holy city of Jerusalem, because we believe with complete faith that the State of Israel will be a Jewish state, Jewish in its character and governed by Jewish law. And Hakadosh Boruch Hu willed that this conference should take place on 18 Kislev, the eve of 19 Kislev, the festival of Geulah. For on this day, it was not only the author of the Tanya who left prison: the teachings of Chassidus left prison so that they could spread throughout the entire world. Ladies and gentlemen, there are several things among the Jewish people that remain imprisoned. “They threw Yosef into the pit”—a place of snakes and scorpions. That is, G-d forbid, internal baseless hatred among the Jewish people, which threatens our very existence. There are snakes and scorpions in the pit, but a voice comes and says: Why, G-d forbid, should we harm him? Come, let us bring him up and sell him to the Ishmaelites. So, thank G-d, that first Chassidic voice prevented baseless hatred, prevented a war between brothers, and saved the existence of the holy people. But still, ladies and gentlemen, they are imprisoned; they are

04:36 Speaker 3 imprisoned in the hands of the Ishmaelites. But Yosef the righteous is there, and once again he saves the Jewish people from exile and paves their way to the Geulah, to the Holy Land. Yosef the righteous says: Not only in my lifetime, but even after my death, with my body, I am devoted to the Geulah. Therefore, “G-d will surely remember you, and you shall bring my bones up from here with you.” Here, in a second Chassidic voice, Yosef the righteous saves not only the existence of the Jewish people, but also the Holy Land. The return of the holy people to the Holy Land—that is the second Chassidic voice. You have been privileged, ladies and gentlemen. You beloved Chabad chassidim do so very much to preserve the existence of the holy people and to safeguard the Holy Land. I turn to you this evening because, through the merit of those holy Rebbes, you have been given tremendous self-sacrifice and tremendous holy fervor. I call on you this evening, ladies and gentlemen: Add the third element now. The third element, ladies and gentlemen, is the building of the Beis Hamikdash, with the Sanhedrin sitting in the Chamber of Hewn Stone. Raise your voices for Torah law. Torah law is the guarantee of the existence of an authentically Jewish state. This is the path to the Beis Hamikdash. This is the path to King Moshiach. May Hashem help you and all His people Israel, and may we merit the complete Geulah speedily in our days, amen.

00:01 Speaker 1 Rabbi Ratzon Arusi shlita, rabbi of the city of Kiryat Ono. We all pray that very soon we will merit the fulfillment of the promise, “I will restore your judges as at first, and your advisers as at the beginning,” with the revelation of Moshiach immediately, now. We now invite one of the leading fighters for the integrity of the Land, a descendant of a family of Chabad chassidim from Hebron and of the Baal HaGeulah: the rabbi, rosh yeshiva, and Knesset member Benny Elon. Please.

01:02 Speaker 2 With the permission of the local rabbi, Rabbi Ashkenazi shlita; with the permission of all the distinguished rabbis here and all my colleagues from the Knesset who were here. Our colleague Uzi Landau is here now, and he will certainly return. Together we all express this: political parties mean division, like the limbs into which You divided us—but the soul is not divided. Chochmah, Binah and Daas: you are the soul. You belong to everyone, love everyone, and bring life, thank G-d, to all the limbs—to every individual, faction and party. And that great love spoken of earlier is not the love of fools. It is love guided by Chochmah, Binah and Daas, love with understanding. A mother who loves her baby, when he drinks poison, takes the poison away even if he cries, because hers is not a love of foolish emotion. It is a love that comes from Chabad. That is why, with self-sacrifice, you carry the Rebbe’s messages. This is the seventh generation. Even when the messages are hard, when the Rebbe warns again and again and says that lives are in danger, that Shabbos may be desecrated even over matters of straw and hay, people refuse to believe. The understanding of discerning people is hidden and blocked. Generals and famous people fall for it like foolish simpletons, one after another, and endanger the existence of the State of Israel. But no one can endanger the Jewish people. They can endanger Jews; they can endanger this entire holy community of the Jewish people living here. Thank G-d, the Jewish people are the apple of Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s eye: “Yet even then, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them.” But it is possible to endanger the lives of many, many Jews, and foolish people are doing just that. Your love is the love of Chabad, which speaks the truth even when it is unpopular. And, G-d willing, you will soon receive in return the love and admiration that exist in the hearts of all the Jewish people, across every party—even those who are most distant. Because just as a baby will come to

04:52 Speaker 2 appreciate his mother when he grows up, so everyone will come to appreciate what the Rebbe said and says. There are things that seem hard to understand. But those who belong, thank G-d, and have merited to belong to this Chassidus, to this school of thought—you, a holy community, understand that things are not always clear in their simple sense. May you soon merit, together with the entire Jewish people, to see a sanctification of Hashem’s name across the full breadth of our holy Land, throughout the world, in every place where you spread the message, in hard times and better times, and among every soul—all kinds of Jews. The Rebbe went even further, to the Seven Noahide Laws, so that “then I will transform the peoples” to a pure language, and they will all call upon the name of Hashem. G-d willing, may we merit the coming of Moshiach and the complete Geulah, and understanding and the opening of all wisdom, expressed in simple human wisdom. What common sense should have understood became obscured, the lights were dimmed, and Chabad strives to illuminate it with unparalleled self-sacrifice. Be strong and courageous. G-d willing, all the Jewish people will yet return your love, with respect and admiration for all the holy work you do with self-sacrifice every day. I was told that, as a descendant of a family of chassidim, even though I’ve gone a little astray, I should say l’chaim. So l’chaim! L’chaim, l’chaim.

00:01 Speaker 1 Yasher koach! Thank you very much. Rabbi and Knesset member Benny Elon, we thank you for coming to share with us in this great joy—the joy of Chabad chassidim and of the entire Jewish people. And we call upon you and remind you: “Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.” Continue to carry proudly the banner of the struggle for the integrity of the Land of Israel. We would now like to hear from someone who makes a point of taking part in this event almost every year: former Knesset member—and, before long, future Knesset member—Mr. Uzi Landau. Please.

01:01 Speaker 2 Honorable [unclear], Rabbi Ashkenazi, distinguished members of the presidium, honored rabbis, my Chabad brothers. Two hundred and ten years since the liberation of the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, author of the Tanya, from prison. Two hundred and ten years is also, we are told, the number of years our ancestors spent in Egypt after going down there, until they left. And this week’s parsha, Parshas Vayeishev, is the parsha in which a quarrel between brothers leads us down to Egypt. But there is something else in it, too: after Yosef has quarreled with his brothers, who are tending their flocks, his father calls him and says: “Yisroel said to Yosef, ‘Your brothers are tending the flocks in Shechem. Come, and I will send you to them.’ And he said to him, ‘Here I am, ready and willing.’ And he said to him, ‘Go now, see how your brothers are and how the flocks are, and bring me word.’ So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.” This is Yosef. “A man found him wandering in the field, and the man asked him, saying, ‘What are you looking for?’ And he said, ‘I am looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they are tending the flocks.’” Yosef the righteous, like the holy Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, may Hashem avenge their blood, and like all the Chabad shluchim around the world: when their spiritual father, the great Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, successor to the founder of the Chabad dynasty, calls to them, to his chassidim, and says, “Go out on shlichus. ‘Go now, see how your brothers are,’” as Yaakov says to Yosef. Go out, chassidim serving as shluchim, into the wide world. Seek out your brothers; see how your brothers there in exile are doing. What does Yosef answer? Just as the holy Rabbi Gavriel and his wife answered, immediately: “Here I am. I am at your command.” No questions, no delays. They set out at once, ready for the holy work of seeing how their brothers are doing. It makes no difference whether the shlichus is in Mumbai or Shanghai, far away in the East, or in Alaska in the north, or in Kyiv, or here in Kiryat Shmona or Sderot. When it comes to

03:59 Speaker 2 our Jewish brothers, we are here, and we go. In the very next verse, the angel asks Yosef, “What are you looking for?” Yosef answers, “I am looking for my brothers”—my Jewish brothers scattered around the world. They are the Jews who sometimes forget their Jewishness, who lose their way and then look for someone to help them find it again. That is the Chabad tradition. That is the Chabad spirit of Ahavas Yisroel, of giving, of sanctifying Hashem’s name. And particularly in these days, I want to draw attention to another phrase from our parsha: “He sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.” Our brothers live in the valley of Hebron and from there northward to Shechem, toward Dothan—and they are not the ones who have lost their way. They are the brothers who today sanctify Hashem’s name in the Land of Israel. They are the ones we must seek out. Some turn their backs on them; sadly, people in the government turn their backs on them. But we must seek them out, go to them and strengthen them. And you, Chabad chassidim, show the way for the entire Jewish people throughout the Land of Israel. Today is the Festival of Liberation, which is also the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus. I would like to wish you a good year in the study of Chassidus and in the ways of Chassidus. May you be inscribed and sealed. L’chaim.

00:04 Speaker 1 Thank you very much. Mr. Uzi Landau, we wish you great success from here as you continue your fight for the integrity of the Land of Israel. We now invite the Rabbi of the Western Wall and the holy sites, who is currently doing so much to uphold the dignity of the resting place of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron and who helps and supports the Chabad Rashbi institutions in Meron, the distinguished Rabbi and chossid, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz shlita. Please.

00:42 Speaker 2 L’chaim, l’chaim! Honored mara d’asra, the distinguished chossid Rabbi Ashkenazi shlita, rabbis, Rabbi Ba-Gad, Knesset member Mr. Uzi Landau, ladies and gentlemen: The Festival of Liberation is also a celebration of mesirus nefesh, self-sacrifice. It teaches us all that Jews must be willing to sacrifice themselves to spread the light of Judaism and the light of Chassidus. We were here two weeks ago under different circumstances, and we all learned how difficult mesirus nefesh is and how important it is. We learned here what mesirus nefesh means, and we draw all of this from the Festival of Liberation. From this day, we all learn that each of us still has a duty to sacrifice ourselves to save another Jew, to spread the light of Chassidus. In the weekly parsha, we read about the difficult test faced by Yosef Hatzaddik. The Midrash says his test was greater than the tests faced by Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov—a far greater test than those faced by his father, his grandfather and his ancestors. What saved Yosef Hatzaddik during that test? The Gemara in tractate Sotah says: “The image of his father’s face appeared before him.” What was that image—his father Yaakov’s face? Yosef was already many kilometers away from Yaakov Avinu. Many years had passed since Yosef had seen his father. There is a story about a child who was abducted at a young age and taken to a monastery, may we be spared. The priests showered him with love and warmth so he would stay with them in the monastery, while his parents fought to get him out. But their pleas fell on deaf ears. They could not get him out. Everyone who heard their claim told them, “What are you talking about? This child was born there, and he is destined to be a credit to the place. You made this up.” Until one day, they managed to get a court to hold a hearing between the priests, the monastery and themselves

03:34 Speaker 2 over the fate of this child. The priests presented their case, and the parents presented theirs. After hearing both sides, the judges told the parents they would give them a chance: they could enter the monastery and try to persuade their son to leave with them. But this chance would be limited to just five minutes. If they succeeded in persuading him to come out within five minutes, then of course he would go with them. If not, G-d forbid, he would remain in the monastery. The parents received this ruling with mixed feelings. On the one hand, they now had a chance, perhaps their first and only chance, to get their son out. On the other hand, what could they do in five minutes? How could they bring out a child who had been separated from his parents for so many years and was so many kilometers away from them? How would they succeed? If, G-d forbid, they failed, they would lose their son. They went to the town’s rabbi and asked him what to do. The rabbi said, “I’ll go with you, and with Hashem’s help, we’ll succeed.” The parents were glad that at least they would not be alone. The rabbi would come with them, and they prayed and hoped that Hakadosh Boruch Hu would help them persuade their son to come out in those five minutes. The rabbi put on a white kittel, went with them to the monastery, entered, and for three minutes sang the Kol Nidrei melody. He sang and sang and sang. After three minutes, he looked and saw that he had two minutes left. Then he turned to the child and said, “Do you hear this melody? Do you remember it? Do you want to remain connected to this melody, to the Jewish melody that has accompanied us for generations? Or do you, G-d forbid, want to stay here in a place of impurity?” When the child heard the melody, he remembered his father and mother. He did not need

06:03 Speaker 2 another two minutes to think. He immediately joined his parents and the rabbi and left the monastery. The image of his father’s face—that is what we grew up with. The melody, the joy, Chassidus. That is where we learned our duty of mesirus nefesh. That is where we learned that we all have a duty to keep spreading the light of Judaism. That is what the holy souls we accompanied two weeks ago heard and learned. There, every shliach hears the call of his father’s image, the image of the Rebbe, which accompanies us throughout our lives, calling on us to sacrifice ourselves and spread the light of Judaism. May that image continue to accompany us, and may we truly become a great light and spread the light of Judaism. Then, “He redeemed my soul in peace”—may we merit the complete Geulah speedily in our days. Amen and amen.

00:02 Speaker 1 A great shliach, Rabbi Rabinowitz, may you continue your shlichus of spreading the light of Judaism wherever you can reach—at the Kosel and at all the holy sites visited by multitudes of Jews. It is the custom of chassidim at a farbrengen to repeat a maamar of Chassidus, and at a 19 Kislev farbrengen, repeating a maamar is certainly especially important. As the Rebbe says in a sicha from Shabbos Bereishis 5694, when a maamar is repeated, a radiance from the soul of its author shines forth. This is not merely like the statement that whenever one repeats a teaching, it should be as though its author were standing before him. “Before him” could mean at a distance. Rather, when one repeats a maamar in the proper way, a radiance from the soul of its author actually shines within him. This is not reserved for a select few; it applies to every person who repeats a maamar of Chassidus in public. We should therefore treasure this opportunity as we would treasure the chance to see the face of our teacher. Here it is not only a matter of seeing him: a radiance from the soul of the maamar’s author shines within the person. We will now sing the niggun before the maamar and invite the distinguished scholar and chossid, Rabbi Eliezer Brod shlita, rabbi of Karmei Yosef and head of the beis midrash for rabbinic instruction, to repeat the maamar of Chassidus publicly, as he does every year with such eloquence.

04:39 Speaker 2 Rabbi Oshaya said: What is meant by the verse, “The righteous acts toward His unwalled villages in Israel”? Hakadosh Boruch Hu did an act of kindness for the Jewish people by dispersing them among the nations. And… the Frierdiker Rebbe explains this in his maamar delivered on 19 Kislev 5689. In this maamar, which begins “Rabbi Oshaya said,” he connects this verse from the Song of Devorah with the Geulah of 19 Kislev, since both involve redemption. This also explains why the maamar names the sage who said it. Generally, maamarim do not name the sage who made a statement. We find this, for example, in the maamar “Padah Veshalom Nafshi”: although the statement is attributed in the Gemara to Rabbi Nassan, in the maamarim it is cited as a teaching of our Sages without naming him. Here, however, the speaker is named—“Rabbi Oshaya said”—because the verse speaks about redemption. The name Oshaya, too, suggests salvation, which is connected with redemption. The Frierdiker Rebbe asks in the maamar: Since the point of the verse is that Hakadosh Boruch Hu did an act of kindness for the Jewish people by dispersing them among the nations, it would have been more fitting to speak of “the righteousness of our dispersal in Israel,” using a word meaning “dispersal.” Why does it say “His unwalled villages in Israel”? He explains that the word for “unwalled villages” is connected with the verse, “Jerusalem shall be inhabited as unwalled towns.” In other words, the concealment and the descent of exile bring about a state of Geulah, when “Jerusalem shall be inhabited as unwalled towns.” The explanation is that the very fact that a Jew is in exile is an unnatural state. After all, every Jew is a child of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and a king’s son ought to be connected and united with

06:56 Speaker 2 his father, the king—especially the Jewish people, of whom it is said, “Yisroel is My firstborn son.” So the Jewish people’s being in exile is certainly unnatural. When redemption from exile comes, it brings the Jewish people to a state beyond nature: “Jerusalem shall be inhabited as unwalled towns.” Now, exile itself has several forms. There is exile outside the Land of Israel, but when one is in the Land of Israel and is in a state of exile there, that exile is much harder than exile abroad. The Land of Israel is the King’s palace; when there is exile within the King’s palace, it is much harder. This is also one of the differences between Chanukah and Purim. Although they have much in common, there are differences between them as well. On Purim, the miracle—the exile and the decree—took place outside the Land of Israel. Chanukah, by contrast, took place in the Land of Israel: the Greeks issued decrees and brought suffering upon the Jewish people there, in Jerusalem and in the Beis Hamikdash. This shows that exile in the Land of Israel, in the King’s palace, is a much harder exile. In a spiritual sense, too, Chanukah was more severe than Purim. On Purim, the decree was against the physical lives of the Jewish people, against their material existence. On Chanukah, the decree was against the G-dliness in Jewish life: “to make them forget Your Torah and transgress the statutes of Your will.” As Chassidus explains, the Greeks wanted to uproot the G-dliness and holiness within the Torah. We can therefore understand that the decree and exile of Chanukah were more severe than those of Purim. This also helps us understand the verse “The righteous acts toward His unwalled villages in Israel,” spoken by Devorah,

09:13 Speaker 2 which relates to a decree in the Land of Israel—a far worse situation than a decree outside the Land. Since every descent is for the sake of an ascent, the ascent that follows—“Jerusalem shall be inhabited as unwalled towns”—will be incomparably beyond nature and for the good of the Jewish people. The same applies to the decree surrounding 19 Kislev. The accusation Above on 19 Kislev concerned the dissemination of the inner dimension of the Torah, the revelation of the G-dliness within the Torah. From this we can understand how great the exile of 19 Kislev was; and when we merited the Geulah of 19 Kislev, we can understand how great the joy was, and how great the realization of “Jerusalem shall be inhabited as unwalled towns” brought about through it. More specifically, Hakadosh Boruch Hu established within the order of creation that, to reach an ascent, one often has to pass through a descent. The descent is for the sake of the ascent. The ascent brought about for the Jewish people as a result of exile has three aspects. First, we see the wonder of the Jewish people: they are few among the nations and live in exile among them, yet they are not intimidated by the nations. They conduct themselves with the pride of Yaakov, as Jews should, thereby demonstrating the extraordinary greatness of the Jewish people. Second, the Geulah brings an even greater joy. Think of a king’s son who was separated from the king. When he returns to his father, the king, this is not just ordinary happiness: their bond becomes incomparably deeper than it was before the exile and separation began. Third, because the Jewish people are dispersed throughout the world and spread Torah, Judaism, and holiness, they refine

11:24 Speaker 2 the forces of impurity—“I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth”—refining and transforming the world into a world of holiness. All three of these aspects were present in the Geulah of 19 Kislev. As the Alter Rebbe, whose Geulah it was, writes in his letter, Hashem “did great and wondrous things” among the ministers: the ministers of the nations saw the Alter Rebbe’s greatness. There was also the great joy brought about by the Geulah. And there was a foretaste of what will be in the future: a new revelation of the inner dimension of the Torah, a spreading of Chassidus and a revelation far greater than before the Geulah. All of this prepares for the true and complete Geulah, when evil will be eradicated entirely and “I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth.” Then the inner dimension of Atik will be revealed, and in the presence of that revelation there is no place for evil at all. This is also the meaning of “Turn to me and be gracious to me”: through the revelation of the inner dimension, graciousness and redemption are brought about. Then “Sing to Hashem a new song” will be fulfilled. Its beginning was through “your wellsprings shall spread outward”—the revelation of the inner dimension of the Torah—which prepares for “A new Torah shall go forth from Me” in the true and complete Geulah. In the Geulah, too, we find this twofold transformation: not only will evil be eradicated, but, in the words of the Gemara, deliberate sins will become merits, and “darkness is transformed into light.” The darkness itself becomes light. This will happen in the true and complete Geulah. Especially now, after so many years in exile, when we cry out and demand, “How much longer?”—we want to see the true and complete Geulah already. May we merit to see the true and complete Geulah and the fulfillment of the promise, “I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth,” and “The glory of Hashem will be revealed, and all flesh together will see that the mouth of Hashem has spoken”—very soon indeed.

00:02 Speaker 1 I believe, I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Moshiach. And though he may tarry, nevertheless I await him every day to come. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Moshiach. And though he may tarry, nevertheless I await him every day to come. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Moshiach. And though he may tarry, nevertheless I await him every day to come. [unclear] I believe, I believe with perfect faith. [unclear] I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Moshiach. And though he may tarry, nevertheless I await him every day to come. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Moshiach. And though he may tarry, nevertheless I await him every day to come. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Moshiach. And though he may tarry, nevertheless I await him every day to come.

03:49 Speaker 2 Thank you very much. Thank you very much to the children’s choir of the Talmud Torah in Kfar Chabad. Let us warmly welcome the Savraner Rebbe, Rabbi Yitzchak Zalman Dov Hager, whose blessing we will also hear later. We are still within the thirty-day mourning period for the murder of the dear, holy shluchim Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka Holtzberg. May Hashem avenge their blood. All Chabad chassidim feel this event as an accusation against the work of the shluchim, an accusation against the holy work of spreading the wellsprings outward. It seems that, just moments before Moshiach’s revelation, the sitra achra is redoubling its efforts to weaken the chassidim’s resolve in their work to bring the Geulah. Chassidim! We must therefore remember the note found in the Alter Rebbe’s handwriting after his imprisonment. It read: “Princes pursued me without cause.” The Alter Rebbe wrote that the entire matter of the imprisonment, although grave and brought about by princes—who, according to Torah, have the authority of princes—was nevertheless “without cause.” The Alter Rebbe says: I was not shaken by it. Why? “But my heart stood in awe of Your word.” My fear is of Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s word: perhaps I did not do what was required; perhaps I did not disseminate Chassidus widely enough, with sufficient explanation. We must not slacken in our work. We will continue with even greater strength in the work entrusted to us to bring the days of Moshiach, knowing clearly: “When will the Master come? When your wellsprings spread outward.” May the niggun we are about to sing be for the elevation of the souls of the shluchim and for the merit of all the shluchim throughout the country and the world, who engage in this holy work day and night, spreading our Rebbe’s name everywhere. May your wellsprings spread outward.

05:25 Speaker 1 The joyous melodies will continue after we sing the Niggun of the Four Stanzas together. “May your wellsprings spread outward.” In this generation, we are privileged to see the wellsprings of Chassidus flowing powerfully in every corner of the world, in every congregation and community. And now, fresh from the press, comes a new light unlike anything we have known: the Tanya with the commentary Chassidus Mevo’eres. The holy Tanya, with an explanation accessible to everyone, in clear language, each point set out in its proper place. It draws on explanations from all the books published until now. Nothing like it has appeared before. Treasures of Chassidus that until now were closed to many have been opened to everyone who seeks them. The publication of this book alone calls for a special farbrengen. It is being welcomed with joy in the homes of Chabad chassidim, Polish chassidim, and ordinary Jews throughout the Jewish people. From here, we send our blessings to those who worked on it and produced such a fine work, which will surely bring the revelation of our King even closer, immediately. We welcome the members of the Elad city council, the Chabad representative on the council.

06:54 Speaker 2 We’re both Chabad representatives.

06:56 Speaker 1 Both are Chabad representatives on the council: Rabbi Meni Amitai and our friend Reb Srulik Porush, deputy mayor and a special friend of the Tomchei Temimim yeshiva in Elad, who will see to it that the yeshiva flourishes and receives a building very soon. And he is the third member of the Porush family joining us here this evening. We will sing the Niggun of the Four Stanzas. On 19 Kislev 5663, the festival of festivals, at the Tomchei Temimim yeshiva, at four-thirty in the morning, the Rebbe instructed the choir of Temimim to sing the Alter Rebbe’s niggun. Among other things, the Rebbe Rashab said: The chassidim of earlier generations would say that when one tells a story about the Rebbe, one connects to his power of action. When one repeats a teaching of the Rebbe, one connects to the Rebbe’s power of speech. When one sings a niggun of the Rebbe, one connects to his power of thought. And the Rebbe’s Niggun of the Four Stanzas corresponds to the four worlds—Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah—and to all the levels of the soul: nefesh, ruach, neshamah, yechidah. When this niggun is sung with inner feeling, it is an auspicious time for teshuvah and connection. And when one sings the niggun with a pure heart after prayer to Hashem, one can ask for personal blessings of children, life, and abundant livelihood. We will sing the Niggun of the Four Stanzas, and all of us will ask from deep within our hearts for personal blessings for each and every person joining us—children, life, and abundant livelihood for every one of the Chabad chassidim and the Jewish people. And above all, we will ask for the greatest blessing: the revelation of King Moshiach immediately, right now. The Niggun of the Four Stanzas.

00:00 L’chaim. We’ll end the farbrengen with the words of the Rashbatz at that famous farbrengen on 19 Kislev 5662 in Lubavitch. The Rebbe Rashab was not present at that farbrengen, but sent his famous letter to it: “This is the festival on which our soul was redeemed in peace, and the light and vitality of our soul were given to us. This day is the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus, which our holy forebears bequeathed to us—and it is the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov. This day is the beginning of Your works, the fulfillment of the true purpose of the creation of man upon the earth.” After the letter was read—after the Frierdiker Rebbe finished reading the Rebbe Rashab’s letter—the Rashbatz stood up, explained the significance of the day, and concluded: “How much thanks and praise we must give Hashem, Who has not left us without a teacher and savior from the line of our great master, the Alter Rebbe, whose soul is in Eden, to stand and serve before Hashem’s people and teach them knowledge of the Torah and of Hashem, the Giver of the Torah. He is our Nasi and our leader, the crown of our glory, a man of life and great deeds, His Honored Holiness, our master the Rebbe shlita, founder, director, and Nasi of Tomchei Temimim.” And the Rashbatz is reading all this beside the Frierdiker Rebbe, it seems. He continues: “As in the days of his grandfather, His Holiness the Alter Rebbe, he shows us wonders, turning the hearts of beloved children back to our Father in Heaven. He is the greatest among the great, bearing aloft the torch of the light of Torah and knowledge, to make known to the holy people what Hashem asks of them and the purpose of their deeds in this world.” The Rashbatz ended his words by raising his cup for l’chaim and saying: “To the life of our master, our Nasi, I raise my cup, and with all the strength of my soul I call out: May our master live forever. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu strengthen his power and his mighty arm to bear the tower of light, to illuminate the earth and those who dwell upon it, until Shiloh comes. And please answer after me: L’chaim!”

05:52 [unclear]. Each day was willingly dedicated for the sake of Hashem’s light. Each day was willingly dedicated for the sake of Hashem’s light. We’re here today, thousands of times. [unclear] is a bad word. The day before the operation, the enemy was shown that he [unclear]. …