Simchas Torah 5787 - One hundred years since Simchas Torah 5687

00:01 This was during the festival in 5687, a hundred years ago. Those were difficult times; that was when the Frierdiker Rebbe was arrested. It was terribly hard when they took the Frierdiker Rebbe to prison—a real danger to his life. Then came the great miracle of 12 and 13 Tammuz, when he was freed from imprisonment and exile. That became a great Yom Tov for the Jewish people, associated with 12 Tammuz. It is known among chassidim, and I have brought this in detail from the Frierdiker Rebbe’s sichos, where he relates that already in Tishrei 5687, it seems, he foresaw through ruach hakodesh what was going to happen. As related in the sichos, the Frierdiker Rebbe said that when Tishrei 5687 arrived, he felt afraid. He was worried about the chassidim, as he puts it there. And that Tishrei, the Frierdiker Rebbe issued the well-known directive to say Tehillim every day, according to its division into the days of the month. This is the order of reciting Tehillim followed today after davening: each day, several chapters are said, so that the entire book of Tehillim is completed over the course of the month. The directive to say Tehillim every day after davening became an established Chabad practice then, under the Frierdiker Rebbe’s leadership. And at a Simchas Torah farbrengen, he spoke about it.

01:59 He instructed the chassidim to publicize it throughout the world, in every circle, not only in Chabad: among Sephardim and Ashkenazim, among chassidim and non-chassidim—among everyone, everywhere in the world that it was possible to introduce the recitation of Tehillim after davening. And he stressed that this was not the Tehillim said before davening, but the Tehillim said afterward. At that Simchas Torah 5687 farbrengen, the Frierdiker Rebbe spoke about hakafos and their great virtue and joy. In general, this is explained in various teachings, maamarim, and sichos. He spoke about drawing down the blessings through hakafos—an influence drawn from Atik, from the innermost dimension of Atik, as explained in Chassidus. This influence comes from an exceedingly lofty place, entirely above the order of hishtalshelus, and it comes as a gift. But our Sages say that even a gift requires that the giver be pleased: “If he had not brought him satisfaction, he would not have given him a gift.” Without that satisfaction, the gift would not have been given. In other words, you cannot demand something that comes as a gift; you cannot ask for it. So a person needs to bring at least a little satisfaction. And that is what he spoke about then—the joy of—

03:43 Simchas Torah. When a Jew rejoices and dances the Simchas Torah dances, that joy is the vessel through which he receives the blessings of Simchas Torah from Above, the loftiest blessings. The Frierdiker Rebbe then told a story. He said he would not say which Rebbe it had happened with, but would simply tell the story as it happened. A chossid had a frightening dream, rachmana litzlan: he dreamed that he was going to lose a child, that, rachmana litzlan, during the year something would happen to one of his children that was the opposite of blessing and the opposite of life. The chossid was devastated. He came to that Rebbe and told him about it. The Rebbe sighed deeply and said nothing. The chossid, of course, was devastated and had received no answer from the Rebbe. The days passed, and Simchas Torah arrived. After Simchas Torah, the chossid went in to his Rebbe for yechidus. He again asked for a blessing concerning this, and this time the Rebbe blessed him with a radiant expression and told him that everything would be all right. The chossid said, “Rebbe, I want a promise.”

05:23 And the Rebbe gave him a promise too. When the chossid was satisfied and happy, and was leaving the yechidus reassured, the Rebbe asked him, “Tell me, what happened on Simchas Torah?” The chossid remembered what had happened on Simchas Torah: he had been sitting somewhere, utterly absorbed in his situation, thinking about how the Rebbe had not given him a blessing and what, G-d forbid, might happen. He was devastated. Suddenly he caught himself and said, “But today is Simchas Torah.” He went, washed his face, and came out to dance joyfully. And the Rebbe Rashab said that this broke the decree. His joy, and the dancing he did with all his strength and with joy, brought about the change; they turned the entire decree around completely. That is the power of the joy of Simchas Torah. Later in that same farbrengen, one of the chassidim told the Frierdiker Rebbe that Reb Alter—there was a chossid named Reb Alter Simchovitch, [?]—had sent him to ask the Frierdiker Rebbe to remember him on Simchas Torah. And the Frierdiker Rebbe replied, “Those who are connected to me,

07:05 I do not forget them.” That is, he always carries them in his thoughts. Those are a few holy stories from Simchas Torah 5687, a hundred years ago. And again, regarding Simchas Torah, the Frierdiker Rebbe asked the chassidim to say Tehillim every day and established that practice. Ten years later—this was in 5687; ten years later, in 5697—there was another Simchas Torah farbrengen with the Frierdiker Rebbe. By then, ten years had passed since the directive to say Tehillim. He then told a story, or at least related it briefly: Once, with the Alter Rebbe, on one of the days of Rosh Hashanah—a time when, generally, the Rebbe hardly spoke—the Alter Rebbe called the Tzemach Tzedek on the very first night of Rosh Hashanah, and [unclear] the Tzemach Tzedek. He told them that on that day, so many baalei teshuvah, so many servants, so many scholars, and [unclear] had been granted. He asked that one particular chossid have children, another have life, and another have sustenance. He made requests for several chassidim, mentioned their names, and said that [unclear], that it would indeed come to pass. And so, that year was a year of

08:32 abundance. Each person received what he had asked for. The Frierdiker Rebbe told the story and concluded that ten years had now passed since Simchas Torah 5687, and the practice of saying Tehillim after davening had spread throughout the Jewish people. Hundreds, thousands, or millions of letters and words of Tehillim had been added through Jews reciting Tehillim. He therefore asked that all this bear fruit: that all those millions of chapters of Tehillim recited should stand in the Jews’ merit, so that they would have an abundant livelihood, as Jews need. And as the Rebbe related seventy years ago, [unclear] at a Shabbos Bereishis farbrengen. The Rebbe went on to say that since [unclear] 5697, many years had passed, and through this, great and wondrous things had been accomplished. In its merit, one can surely also ask and bring about a year in which Hashem bestows an abundance of children, life, and sustenance, and abundance in everything every Jew needs. So the first thing we should draw attention to—and I think we are at the hundred-year mark of that Simchas Torah—is the recitation of Tehillim, in accordance with the directive the Frierdiker Rebbe established: the practice of saying Tehillim. This is not study, but the recitation of Tehillim. And later [unclear] also the practice

10:14 of reciting Chumash, Tehillim, and Tanya—the daily Chitas portions. Later, the study of Rambam was added as well, with its set daily portions. The Rebbe once related at a Simchas Torah farbrengen that someone had asked the Frierdiker Rebbe about the directive to say Tehillim. One of the chassidim said that every day, before davening, he recited the entire book of Tehillim. Did he also need to say the portion of Tehillim prescribed for after davening? The Rebbe said then that you could ask the same thing about someone who studies Chumash, studying Torah with commentaries and explanations: does he also need to study the daily weekday Chumash portion, the Chitas portion? And likewise with studying Tanya: if someone studies Tanya in depth and studies it [unclear], does he also need to study the set Chitas portion? The Rebbe said then, in the name of the Frierdiker Rebbe, that it is like a person driving a wagon. In those days there was a horse and wagon, and the wagon’s wheels had to be greased from time to time with a special oil used to lubricate them, so they could travel smoothly. And that person said: If someone has an entire factory producing that oil,

11:46 He has an oil factory, and he is carrying a whole barrel of that oil in his wagon. He comes and asks: Since I have a factory, and since I’m carrying a whole barrel full of oil in my wagon, perhaps I don’t need to oil the wheels? Obviously, that’s a foolish question. Even if he’s carrying a whole barrel full of oil, the wheels still need to be oiled. And so it is with us: we need to oil the wheels, and that means Chitas. Chitas oils the wheels so that we can travel, go out into the world—“And Yaakov went on his way”—and a Jew can succeed in all matters. This is the significance of reciting the daily portions of Chumash, Tehillim, and Tanya. Even if we are all wise and understanding, and a Jew studies Chumash with many explanations and commentaries, studies Chassidus and Tanya in great depth, and even recites the entire book of Tehillim every day—he still needs to oil the wheels by reciting the daily Chumash portion with Rashi, and the daily Tehillim portion according to its division for the month. After davening, we recite the daily Chumash and Tehillim portions, and likewise the daily Tanya portion, each and every day. As is known, the Rebbe says regarding the verse, “And the dread of G-d was upon the cities,” that Chitas is an acronym for Chumash, Tehillim, and Tanya. When a Jew makes it his regular practice to recite

13:17 Chumash, Tehillim, and Tanya every day, “And the dread of G-d was upon the cities” is fulfilled. The fear of G-d will fall [unclear], and then comes “And Yaakov went on his way,” “And Yaakov arrived whole”—whole in body, whole in soul, whole in his Torah, whole in every respect. That a Jew should attain complete wholeness—this is the merit and the special power of reciting Chitas. This is its great significance. When people came to the Rebbe on Simchas Torah, the Rebbe would encourage them to set fixed times for study, to keep their study schedules, and to maintain the daily portions of Chumash, Tehillim, and Tanya; and in later years, also to strengthen the study of Rambam, according to all the daily Rambam study tracks. And Simchas Torah means just what it says: the joy of Torah. That is, the joy a Jew receives in Torah for the entire year. As is known, we receive joy on each of the festivals, and every Yom Tov brings vitality into all the days of the year. As explained in Chassidus, on Rosh Hashanah we receive kabbolas ol of the Kingdom of Heaven and fear of Heaven for the entire year. On Yom Kippur we receive the strength to do teshuvah for the entire year. On Sukkos we receive the joy of a mitzvah for the entire year. And on Simchas Torah we receive the joy of Torah—that a Jew should rejoice with the Torah and have the joy of Torah throughout the year. To study Torah, and not just to study Torah, but to have the joy of Torah,

14:47 so that the Torah will be something that brings me joy, and this will find expression in practice—the joy of Torah throughout the year. And he related the story: The power of Simchas Torah is such that even if, G-d forbid, something undesirable happened, something was not as it should be, then through the joy of Simchas Torah, when a Jew dances—as is known from the sichos about the great virtue, wonder, and praise of the circle of dancers on Simchas Torah—there is power to accomplish things in every area. And this joy brings blessing; it is a vessel that holds blessing for the entire year, for all the blessings that Hakadosh Boruch Hu bestows. As is known from the holy Baal Shem Tov, the word hakafos is related to hakafah, buying on credit. Hakafos are like “a shopkeeper who extends credit”: you don’t pay now, but say you’ll pay later. The Baal Shem Tov said: Why are they called hakafos? Because the word means credit. You are given something on credit—you can buy it now even though you haven’t paid, and over the course of the year you will pay. From Simchas Torah, Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives everyone an abundant flow of material and spiritual goodness on credit. And as explained in the sichos, on Simchas Torah all the gates are open: the gates of light, the gates of blessing, the gates of success. All manner of material and spiritual goodness is bestowed on everyone. A Jew receives all these things on credit so that, over the course of the year, through serving Hashem by studying Torah with joy, he can draw down

16:29 all these blessings and influences, and be a vessel that holds blessing and success in these matters. What is the purpose of a farbrengen? What should it accomplish? The Rebbe once spoke about the verse, “On the eighth day you shall have an assembly.” What does it mean? There is a Midrash on “You shall have an assembly on the eighth day”: What is the significance of the words “you shall have”? It is like a king who made a feast for all the people of the country. He invited everyone, told them all to come and eat, and served them feasts, and so on. Then, on the last day, after all the feasts, he called his beloved friend and said, “Come, you and I will make do with whatever we find. I ask of you only a small meal.” Until now, it was for all the people of the country; now he wants to be together again, just you and I. And how great is the meaning of “Stay with Me one more day.” In this maamar, the Frierdiker Rebbe explains that Shemini Atzeres corresponds to Yosef Hatzaddik. As is known, Pesach corresponds to Avraham, Shavuos to Yitzchak, and Sukkos to Yaakov; and “These are the descendants of Yaakov: Yosef”—Shemini Atzeres corresponds to Yosef. And what does it say? That “you shall have an assembly” comes about through Yosef Hatzaddik. Several aspects of this are explained there. And so we find with Yosef Hatzaddik: “No one stood with him when Yosef made himself known to his brothers.” When Yosef Hatzaddik made himself known to his brothers, revealing himself and telling them who he was, he said that everyone should leave, that no one should remain there. “No one stood with him when Yosef made himself known to his brothers.” He says this refers to Simchas Torah, to “On the eighth day

19:51 you shall have an assembly.” Shemini Atzeres is only for the Jewish people, after the seventy bulls corresponding to the seventy nations. The Rebbe calls on everyone when Shemini Atzeres arrives, and regarding Tehillim and Tanya and the study of Rambam that the Rebbe instituted. And in particular, we can conclude here with the recitation of Tehillim—how important it is to strengthen its recitation. As explained in the books on Tehillim, reciting Tehillim is a matter of great importance in Chabad. There are many stories, sayings, and teachings from the holy Baal Shem Tov, the Maggid of Mezritch, the Alter Rebbe, and other Rebbes about the great virtue of reciting Tehillim. One expression is: If you knew the power of reciting Tehillim, what it accomplishes up there in the heavens, you would recite Tehillim with greater care, greater concentration, and greater vitality. Each chapter of Tehillim has the power to break through all the barriers, all the screens, and all the palaces, and to merit standing before the Master of All. The Rebbe once said at a farbrengen that when Moshiach comes, we won’t know what to do. He will ask each person: Tell me, how many Jews did you bring closer to Yiddishkeit? How many Jews did you inspire to recite their daily Chitas portions? How many Jews did you inspire to come on Shabbos Mevarchim to recite Tehillim before dawn? To take all these matters upon themselves, matters of Torah, and the day of Torah and the day of the souls, through Torah study. I only want to say that we need strength, and it is possible; and through joy, this will be a year of joy and a year of Geulah. The Yom Tov of Rosh Hashanah was the year of the Alter Rebbe’s liberation. And the Yom Tov of 20 Kislev, as is known, was the liberation of the Mitteler Rebbe; 10 Kislev was the liberation of the Mitteler Rebbe. We must hope that the Yom Tov of Simchas Torah

22:02 will be the day of the true and complete Geulah through our righteous Moshiach, “And the Tzemach shall surely come”—and Simchas Torah, as we say in the wording of the prayers.