Chabad Evening in Caesarea

00:24 Speaker 1 Our Master, our Master, Master of our world. [unclear], [unclear], [unclear], our Redeemer. Our Master, our Master, Master of our world. [unclear], [unclear], [unclear], our Redeemer. [unclear], [unclear], [unclear], our Redeemer. [unclear], [unclear], [unclear], our Redeemer. Ah, ay. [unclear], our Redeemer. Ah, oh, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya—how fortunate we are, how goodly is our portion. Ah, ay. [unclear], our Redeemer. [unclear], [unclear], [unclear], our Redeemer. [unclear], [unclear], [unclear], our Redeemer. Ah, ay. How fortunate we are, how goodly is our portion. Ah, ay. [unclear], our Redeemer. Ah, ay. How fortunate we are, how goodly is our portion. Ah, [unclear]. [unclear], [unclear], [unclear], our G-d. [unclear], [unclear], [unclear], our G-d. For Hashem alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken.

05:08 Speaker 2 And now I ask [unclear], the esteemed Rabbi Tzadok—please.

05:30 Speaker 3 Welcome to the President of the State of Israel, the distinguished friend of our Rebbe shlita, who loves his people and is loved by them. Welcome to the President’s esteemed wife, among the women of Israel. Welcome to the learned people of our country who faithfully attend to the needs of the people. Welcome, all of you, [unclear], who have come to this hall dedicated to Chabad Chassidus, to the spirit and melodies of Chabad. There is something symbolic about Chabad’s journey to Caesarea. Its ruins mark the beginnings of Roman Caesarea in the Land of Yehudah—a city whose beginnings were bound up with Roman culture, the subjugation of Yehudah’s leaders, and the destruction of Yehudah. Today, however, it hosts the descendants of the Jews of the exile, of captive and defeated Yehudah, who came here to cast off the yoke of foreign cultures and return to the spiritual sources of our holy forebears, the great figures of the spirit. The Torah of Israel taught its people to refuse to cease being a people and a nation, and through its eternal nature, we too became an eternal people. Yet over our long history there have been rises and falls, falls and rises. Time and again, great spiritual figures arose who sought to renew the spirit of Israel, as recorded in the books of the Gemara and the writings of our Sages, of blessed memory. The emergence of Chassidus, too, brought a message of renewal for Jewish life, which by the days of Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov z"l had reached a crisis. The Baal Shem Tov, a towering spiritual figure, restored [unclear] to Judaism and restored its soul and vitality. Chabad teachings had long contained the foundations of Chassidus, and through them Chassidus spread even among the community of scholars and Torah sages, who had not yet recognized its great worth. These teachings train us to look at the inner dimension of things: to see the inner dimension of Torah, the power of the One who acts within what He has made, and the word of Hashem that gives life to and brings all the worlds into being from nothing at every moment. To see the divine light in Torah; to see the soul given by the Almighty within a person’s own soul. These teachings elevate the worth of the human being

07:52 Speaker 3 who is fashioned from above, for his soul is truly a part of G-d above. Therefore, the souls of all Jews are one collective soul, and each individual is but one limb of the collective body of the people. Thus the divine light in Torah and the light of the Jewish soul are one light. “The Holy One, blessed be He, the Torah, and Israel are all one,” as written in the holy Zohar. And we emphasize [unclear], and that vitality is the source of happiness and joy for every Jew. Therefore, we shall serve Hashem with joy, in the light of the King’s countenance. From here come the joy, the rich melodies, and the dancing that spring from the soul’s renewal [unclear]. And here, too, is the third foundation of Chassidus: love. Love for everyone, without reservation or condition. Unconditional love, like a person’s love for himself, because all Jews are one on the level of the soul; only their bodies are separate, as written in the holy Tanya. In this generation of great confusion throughout the world and among our people in the Diaspora, [unclear], when spiritual and moral values have been pushed aside and progress, science, and technology have become dangerous instruments posing grave threats to humanity and the world, a great light shines forth from the [unclear] and radiant personality of the Rebbe of Lubavitch shlita, and from the Chabad camp—his faithful shluchim spreading Judaism anew, spreading Chassidus and Ahavas Yisroel. From all over the world, let us return to the spiritual and cultural sources of the Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu, of our Sages of blessed memory, and of the great figures of Chassidus, so that we may merit [unclear] and the complete Geulah. Complete. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the presidium for this flourishing evening: Rabbi Shimon Zalmanov. Hosting this evening’s event is Rabbi Yisrael Meidov [?], chairman of Tzeirei Agudas Chabad in the Holy Land. Rabbi David Chaim will present [unclear].

14:31 Speaker 4 The first theme, which will now be illustrated by the choir, orchestra, and melody, is the Baal Shem Tov and the spread of Chassidus. Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov was a hidden tzaddik who studied Torah with a group of hidden tzaddikim in the forests. He looked like an ordinary man and earned his living transporting materials from the Carpathian Mountains. At the age of thirty-six—a number symbolizing the thirty-six tzaddikim in every generation—he emerged from obscurity. That was 232 years ago, in 5494, seventeen thirty-four, on 18 Elul. That date was also his birthday in 5458, sixteen ninety-eight. The number eighteen symbolizes the renewal and vitality that Chassidus brought in its wake. Before the emergence of Chassidus, people thought that teshuvah was bound up with sadness. Elul, the month of mercy and forgiveness, was a time of grief and sorrow. Chassidus taught the people that teshuvah, too, should be an experience of optimism and hope. We will now hear a melody of teshuvah by Rabbi Michel of Zlotshov, a great disciple of the Baal Shem Tov. Please.

22:08 Speaker 5 Chassidic tradition relates that in 5517, Reb Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, that great lover of the Jewish people who grieved over their troubles, made an ascent of the soul to the chamber of King Moshiach. He asked him, “When—when will you come and redeem the Jewish people?” Moshiach answered, “When your wellsprings spread outward.” When Chassidus’s teachings of joy and love spread among the people, the complete Geulah will come.

25:38 Speaker 6 The founder of Chassidus had many disciples, and they spread its teachings among the Jewish masses throughout Eastern Europe. After the passing of the Baal Shem Tov z"l, his great disciple Rabbi Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezritch, continued to teach his master’s Torah to students who were great in Torah and wisdom. The Rebbe of Mezritch, as Rabbi Dov Ber was known, opened the spiritual treasures of Torah, Chassidus, and true understanding to his students. Among them, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi came to prominence. He later founded the Chabad movement and is known as the Alter Rebbe, author of the Tanya. Rabbi Schneur Zalman was also born on 18 Elul, in 5505, seventeen forty-five. His book Tanya was published in 5557, seventeen ninety-seven. It is the classic work of Chabad Chassidus, containing within its chapters a profound philosophy and a systematic teaching on character. Chabad explains the nature of the human being as a small world in which at least two forces find expression: one divine, the other natural and animal. Here lies a person’s lofty purpose: to give his divine soul dominion over his small world and thereby enthrone Hakadosh Boruch Hu over all the worlds. This book develops the ideas underlying the Chassidic view of a person’s joy in serving Hashem and studying Torah, and of love for a fellow Jew, which is the true expression of love for G-d. The Alter Rebbe also composed ten melodies. The choir will now perform two songs composed by the Alter Rebbe. The first is “Avinu Malkeinu,” with Zalman Bernstein as soloist, and the second is “Keili Atah Ve’odeka.” Please.

31:25 Speaker 7 Our Father, our King, we have no king but You. Our Father, our King, our Father, our King, our Father, our King, we have no king but You.

36:08 Speaker 8 I once again invite the beloved Chabad cantor, Reb Zalman Bernstein, to sing the melody of Rabbi Yaakov Mordechai Bezpalov of Poltava. Please, Reb Zalman.

40:16 Speaker 9 Oy, oy, didi, moy, oy. Oy, ina, ina. Oy, oy, didi, moy, oy. Oy, oy. Oy, oy, di, moy, oy.

41:24 Speaker 10 The double and triple clapping proves a principle of Chabad Chassidus: where the intellectual understanding of Chassidus ends, and a person’s mind can reach no further, the soul feels even more when it hears music. The melody we heard from Cantor Zalman Bernstein is proof that, through music, a person can go even deeper than through words. The Chabad movement has a tradition spanning seven generations since the Alter Rebbe. In every generation, a leader arose from among the Alter Rebbe’s descendants. They spread Chassidus orally and in writing, creating a rich literature of Chabad thought. The Rebbe’s teachings are first delivered orally as a maamar before his chassidim and students. Before the maamar, the chassidim sing a Chassidic melody that uplifts the soul and prepares it to hear words of living truth. This melody comes from Rostov, the city to which Lubavitch went into exile following the First World War. In Rostov, it was customary to sing the melody we will now hear before the Rebbe’s maamar. It is a melody sung before a maamar, and Shimon Avraham Rachum[?] will now demonstrate it. Yes, please.

03:54 To conclude the first part of this evening, a second song in Yiddish, composed and sung by the performer. Its meaning in Hebrew is: “I fear no one but Hashem alone, for He created, and He alone exists.” Performing it is the young singer, one of the performers of Chabad songs and those who excel in Chabad niggunim, Reb Zalman Baruch. Please.