Educating Children for the Month of Nissan - Rabbi Yosef Avraham Pizam shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You’re listening to the “Lema’an Yishme’u” podcast from Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 2 Nissan is the yahrzeit of the Rebbe Rashab. So what should we do, and what should we teach on 2 Nissan? First of all, the children should read a book about the Rebbe Rashab. Our Rebbeim pointed out something very important about the Rebbe Rashab. But beyond that, of course, we need to understand what 2 Nissan is. It is the day of the passing, the yahrzeit, of the Rebbe Rashab of Lubavitch, the fifth generation of our Chabad Rebbeim and leaders of the Jewish people. He passed away in 5680 in the city of Rostov, where he is laid to rest. And as the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, mentions many times, it is the day the Frierdiker Rebbe’s leadership began. So it is a day for a farbrengen because it is a yahrzeit, and a day for a farbrengen because it marks the beginning of the leadership of the Rebbe—of our Rebbe. Everyone—men, women, and children—should make use of this auspicious time to: First, study a chapter of Mishnah beginning with one of the letters of his holy name, at least one chapter. Second, increase their study of the teachings of the one whose yahrzeit it is. The main revelation of Chassidus in a form that can be understood and explained was renewed through him, and the Rebbe Rashab was called the Rambam of Chassidus. Third, increase their work in davening. Let me explain something about studying the teachings of the one whose yahrzeit it is. Are we going to take a child and explain something from the series of maamarim of 5666, 5672, or 5659? First of all, there are gifted children too, and I’m not talking about them. But there is Kuntres Heichaltzu, in which the Rebbe Rashab speaks about Ahavas Yisroel. There is Kuntres Eitz Hachayim, in which the Rebbe Rashab speaks about the importance of studying the inner dimension of Torah. There is Kuntres Ha’avodah, in which the Rebbe Rashab speaks about the work of davening. Within that itself, for example, chapter two of Kuntres Ha’avodah discusses guarding one’s eyes. There is Kuntres Hatefillah, in which the Rebbe Rashab speaks about davening, about the work of davening,

02:35 Speaker 2 and it too contains fundamental ideas that are accessible to everyone, even young students. If we take a particular idea from these works and present it to a child in an adapted form, each of us in the way we’re accustomed to, that is certainly possible for teachers and parents alike. These subjects—Ahavas Yisroel, davening, preparation for davening, everything the Rebbe Rashab discusses in those kuntreisim—include passages that truly are accessible to everyone, even young boys and girls. So we certainly can teach them. And that is the responsibility of teachers and parents, fathers and mothers. Another of the Rebbe’s instructions for that day, 2 Nissan, the yahrzeit of the Rebbe Rashab, is to increase giving tzedakah. It is especially good to give to a cause connected with the particular work of the one whose yahrzeit it is, or to institutions engaged in that work. The Rebbe says that the Rebbe Rashab’s main innovation was founding the Tomchei Temimim yeshiva, which emphasizes the completeness of Torah—Nigleh and Chassidus together. Through him, the main work of spreading the teachings of Chassidus outward began, because the Rebbe Rashab raised shluchim with self-sacrifice. One can also give to institutions carrying on the work of our Rebbeim, his successors. But the Rebbe places particular emphasis here on donating to Tomchei Temimim. That is a wonderful, lofty thing, and it also helps children appreciate Tomchei Temimim when we say to our son or daughter, “Come, today let’s give tzedakah to the Tomchei Temimim tzedakah box”—preferably to Tomchei Temimim in their own city. A fifth instruction the Rebbe gives here is to hold a joyous farbrengen, at which those assembled will make good resolutions in Torah and mitzvos. We can add one more thing: on 2 Nissan 5748, the Rebbe delivered the sicha about the declaration “Yechi Hamelech”—“Long live the king.” It’s astonishing! The Rebbe suddenly says that the time has come to make the declaration “Yechi

04:52 Speaker 2 Hamelech,” the declaration with which the kings of the House of Dovid were crowned. The Rebbe speaks about declaring it with alacrity and joy, and through this we merit that, even beforehand, “Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust”—the Frierdiker Rebbe; “Awake and sing”—Dovid Malka Meshicha. What more could there be? The Rebbe says that the declaration “Yechi Hamelech” reveals Melech HaMoshiach. And most importantly, the Rebbe says explicitly in this sicha that it hastens the true and complete Geulah. And the content of this declaration is: “Until when?”—specifically with alacrity and joy. This, too, is something we cannot ignore. Yes, it is very surprising, but the Rebbe says it. These are the words of Hakadosh Boruch Hu through this prophet; the Rebbe says it. The Rebbe revealed that we need to do it. We are chassidim; we believe. So we need to strengthen ourselves and others in declaring “Yechi Hamelech” and connect it with the day on which the Rebbe revealed this: 2 Nissan, the yahrzeit of the Rebbe Rashab and the day the Frierdiker Rebbe assumed the leadership. And as we understand from the words of our Sages and the Rebbe’s explanations of the teaching, “Everyone who goes out to fight the war of the House of Dovid writes a bill of divorce for his wife,” there is the concept of three generations of Moshiach. There are three generations in Moshiach’s generation: the Rebbe Rashab, the Frierdiker Rebbe, and our Rebbe, who will redeem us and bring us the Geulah. So on 2 Nissan we certainly need to strengthen ourselves and others in understanding and making the declaration “Yechi Hamelech.” 11 Iyar—11 Nissan—is a tremendous day! The day on which the redeemer of the Jewish people was born. After all, all of us, Chabad chassidim and those who join us, believe with complete faith that we will merit to see the Rebbe and that he will redeem us. On this day the Rebbe was born; on this day the soul of the Rebbe, our king Moshiach, descended into the world. A joyous day! So surely every chossid, men, women, and children alike, should observe the birthday customs on this day, with good resolutions and everything

07:46 Speaker 2 connected with the Rebbe and the Rebbe’s mission to hasten the Geulah. So it is certainly a day for a farbrengen, a day for gatherings of Tzivos Hashem, a day for good resolutions. On this day we move to a new chapter. If, for example, until 11 Nissan 5781 we said chapter 119, then on 11 Nissan we began saying chapter 120, and in 5782 we would say chapter 121, and so on. Here, too, the custom is to study on every Rosh Chodesh the relevant verses—one or two verses—with the commentators: Rashi, Metzudos, Radak, and so on. The Rebbe says, regarding Mordechai the Jew, that the month of Adar is a good month. Regarding Moshe Rabbeinu—“Mordechai in his generation was like Moshe in his generation”—the redeemer of the Jewish people was born in Adar. Moshe Rabbeinu was born on 7 Adar. The Rebbe explains that Mordechai the Jew was able to bring about the great victory and the wondrous rescue of Purim because of the strength that came from Moshe Rabbeinu’s birth on 7 Adar. The birthday of an ordinary person does not hold sway like that. It is the birthday of a soul that encompasses the entire Jewish people. The good fortune of all the Jewish people is strengthened. The month that was transformed for them from mourning into Yom Tov, from sorrow into joy and from mourning into Yom Tov—the entire month was transformed for them, from beginning to end. The same applies to 11 Nissan, the day the Rebbe, our redeemer, was born. This is the month of Nissan, in which our ancestors were redeemed and in which we are destined to be redeemed. This is the month that will be transformed for them—for us—into the true and complete Geulah. And we need to explain this to everyone and to our children. It is a special month, a month of Geulah, a successful month, a month of liberation from everything that prevents and hinders us in our service of Hashem. A month of collective Geulah and personal Geulah for each and every one of us, at any age. 11 Nissan is a great day, a joyous day, a day on which we thank Hashem for giving us the Rebbe, our Rebbe, who brings us personal redemption

10:35 Speaker 2 And the universal Geulah. The Rebbe revealed wonderful paths for us in serving Hashem. The Rebbe gave us direction and showed us how to serve Hashem. On the one hand, there is the Rebbe’s genius throughout Likkutei Sichos—light in every part of Torah, a new light illuminating every part of Torah. On the other hand, there are the Rebbe’s niggunim, the stories and miracles of the Rebbe, then and to this day, including now through Igros Kodesh. All the wonderful things the Rebbe does and the answers the Rebbe gives. Along with all that, there is the path the Rebbe built: a path of joy for those who love to rejoice and bring joy to everyone, and a path of serving Hashem, contemplation, demanding more of oneself, making an honest reckoning, resolving to do better, and living with constant growth. If the Geulah has not arrived by this moment, it means we need to do something more. Action is the main thing. This wonderful range within the Rebbe’s teachings gives you so many ways to connect with him, and through connecting with the Rebbe and the Creator, to act and live a happy life, materially and spiritually, with material and spiritual abundance, [unclear], with faith, living the Geulah and bringing the Geulah here. All this wonderful variety—Torah and niggunim, stories and miracles, work and effort, prayer at length, good resolutions, bringing merit to the public, the ten mivtzoim, and publishing books. The Rebbe says that anyone who can write should write. The Rebbe gives you so many pointers: you have a talent? Use it to serve Hashem, use it to benefit the public, use it to hasten the Geulah. The Rebbe has given us rich, happy lives. There is no time to waste. Every day and every hour has its work, which the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, instructed us to do and continues to teach us through his sichos, his maamarim, and his farbrengens. And we are with the Rebbe all the time. So this is the day. This is the day when—this is the day when Hakadosh Boruch Hu

13:06 Speaker 2 brought a light of Geulah, a light of Moshiach, into this world in a wondrous way that illuminates all our lives. On this day, we must learn about the Rebbe, study the Rebbe’s teachings, tell others about the Rebbe, sing the Rebbe’s niggunim, and do all those wonderful things: contribute to the Rebbe’s causes, publicize the message of the Geulah, publicize the prophet of the generation and its Moshiach, and spread the wonderful message that Moshiach is coming—“The time for your redemption has arrived.” We must bring our whole family into this, with all ten faculties of the soul. Through this, may we truly merit the complete Geulah, immediately, right now. And in this way we prepare for a kosher and joyous Pesach of the true and complete Geulah. 13 Nissan. What happened on 13 Nissan? It is the yahrzeit of the Tzemach Tzedek. He was the grandson of the Alter Rebbe, the son-in-law of the Mitteler Rebbe, and the third of our Rebbeim, the leaders of Chabad. He passed away in 5626. His resting place is in Lubavitch, and this day, 13 Nissan, marks the beginning of the leadership of his youngest son, the Rebbe Maharash, may his soul rest in Gan Eden. Let’s first talk about the meaning of this day. The Tzemach Tzedek. First of all, read the section on the Tzemach Tzedek in Raboseinu Nesi’einu. It gives you a great deal. For those who want to go deeper and gain more detailed knowledge, there is Sefer Hatoldos of the Tzemach Tzedek. The Tzemach Tzedek was a giant of his generation, one of its greatest halachic authorities, if not the greatest. He authored She’eilos Uteshuvos Tzemach Tzedek. He was a genius in nigleh, the revealed dimension of Torah, in its own right; a genius in Chassidus in its own right; and a genius among geniuses in bringing nigleh and Chassidus together as one Torah. His breadth of knowledge and memory were astonishing, and the depth of his study was immense. When the Rebbe gives an example of studying nigleh and Chassidus as a single whole, the first example he brings is the teachings of the Tzemach Tzedek. Incidentally, the Rebbe also instructs us to share the teachings of the Tzemach

16:13 Speaker 2 Tzedek publicly every Shabbos. In particular, there is the sense in his teachings that the division between the revealed and hidden dimensions of Torah falls away. It is all truly one Torah. Our Rebbe was named after the Tzemach Tzedek. In the sichos connected with the Tzemach Tzedek’s birth or passing, the Rebbe mentions that his two names are names of Moshiach Tzidkeinu. His two names are names of Moshiach Tzidkeinu: Menachem has the same numerical value as “hatzemach,” and Mendel has the same numerical value as “tzedek.” The Tzemach Tzedek’s name was Rabbeinu Menachem Mendel, and his family name was Schneersohn. Incidentally, this is also something nice to tell the children. The Alter Rebbe’s family name was Boruchovitch, the Mitteler Rebbe’s was Schneuri, and the first in the Schneersohn line to bear the name Schneersohn was the Tzemach Tzedek. The Tzemach Tzedek authored the enormous series Or Hatorah. When he was very young—I think he was sixteen or seventeen—he wrote Derech Mitzvosecha. We have already mentioned She’eilos Uteshuvos Tzemach Tzedek, and there is much more. Incidentally, if you want to see a list of each Rebbe’s books, look in Hayom Yom. At the beginning there is a brief account of the lives of our Rebbeim, with highlights for each year, and a list of that Rebbe’s books. Now, we understand that the Tzemach Tzedek was the Moshiach of his generation, and this was apparent in his name, Menachem Mendel, Tzemach Tzedek. His works were therefore called Tzemach Tzedek, because Moshiach is called Tzemach—Tzemach Moshiach—and is also called Tzedek, as in Moshiach Tzidkeinu. So days connected with the Tzemach Tzedek are certainly connected with the revelation of Moshiach immediately, and they are auspicious days and a favorable time for it. The Tzemach Tzedek also wrote an enormous amount. We were told, when we were studying at our yeshivah, Shevet HaKohanim, at Tomchei Temimim in Lod, by the mashpia there at the time, Rabbi Chaim Ashkenazi, may he rest in peace—he too passed away on 13 Nissan—that before the Tzemach Tzedek’s passing,

19:18 Speaker 2 he spoke with a kind of envy about Rabbi Yosef Karo. Yosef Karo, the author of the Shulchan Aruch—ah, the Beis Yosef—also passed away on 13 Nissan. Regarding this, those who seek allusions expounded the verse, “The king’s scribes were summoned,” on “the thirteenth day of the first month,” the month of Nissan—13 Nissan. The Tzemach Tzedek spoke about how the Beis Yosef had written so many books. The Beis Yosef passed away at the age of eighty-seven, and he wrote many books, both in nigleh and in the hidden dimension of Torah. The Tzemach Tzedek spoke enviously of how much he had written, but the Tzemach Tzedek himself wrote an enormous amount, with genius and an astonishing breadth of knowledge. So those were a few words about the Tzemach Tzedek, whom everyone in his generation esteemed. Even the misnagdim made peace with him. There is a saying about his generation: the misnagdim saw that chassidim, too, were geniuses, and the chassidim saw that the misnagdim, too, were tzaddikim. In any case, the Tzemach Tzedek worked with leading Torah figures from every circle to have the royal decrees against the Jewish people lifted. He did so with self-sacrifice. As for the rest of the explanation, go and learn. We need to read about him, to read it again in the books about the Tzemach Tzedek—in Raboseinu Nesi’einu’s section on the Tzemach Tzedek and in Sefer Hatoldos of the Tzemach Tzedek. Then we begin to understand a little, the merest edge of what we are talking about. At our level, how much can we understand? Practical instructions for everyone—men, women, and children: make use of this favorable time to, first, study chapters of Mishnah, at least one chapter beginning with one of the letters of his holy name, Menachem Mendel. Second, increase your study of the teachings of the one whose yahrzeit it is. We mentioned the book; and here again, if you want a source where you can easily find many passages that are not, not too

21:57 Speaker 2 Teachings of the Tzemach Tzedek, at least some of which can surely be adapted for children, can be found in a book I had the privilege of compiling. It has three volumes and is called Peninei Haparsha Hachassidis, Peninei Haparsha Hachassidis in the Teachings of Our Rebbeim. It includes teachings from every Rebbe, from the Alter Rebbe through the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach. And of course, it includes teachings of the Tzemach Tzedek for every week. Across these volumes there are about three hundred topics from the teachings of each Rebbe, including three hundred from the Tzemach Tzedek, at least some of which can surely be adapted for children. For example, there is the mitzvah of Ahavas Yisroel in Derech Mitzvosecha. What the Tzemach Tzedek says about the subject and its essence can be adapted and explained, I would say, to any age—even to children—on the subject of “Love your fellow as yourself.” So we should increase our study of the teachings of the one whose yahrzeit it is, increase our efforts in prayer, and increase our giving of tzedakah. All the better if it is for something connected with the special work of the Tzemach Tzedek: the institutions engaged in his work and in the work of the Rebbeim who succeeded him. And we should hold a joyous farbrengen at which those gathered take on good resolutions in Torah and mitzvos. May we merit, with Hashem’s help, the revelation of Menachem immediately, right now. May he come and redeem us and lead us upright to our land. Moshiach’s name is Menachem—immediately, right now. On 28 Nissan 5751, the Rebbe returned from the Ohel and began to deliver a sicha—an unexpected sicha. By the way, the Rebbe spoke in that sicha about the great significance of the date in connection with the true and complete Geulah, which must come at any moment. Up to that point it seemed like, in quotation marks, a “regular” sicha. Suddenly the Rebbe began to say, “I have done my part, and from now on, do everything in your power to bring about the revelation of Moshiach immediately,

24:49 Speaker 2 right now.” And the Rebbe said that surely, if ten people could be found who would insist before Hakadosh Boruch Hu, they would bring about the true and complete Geulah; and surely one, two, or three of you can be found who will devise a plan and see what to do to bring about the true and complete Geulah. Okay, that sicha sent all of Lubavitch into an uproar, and because all of Lubavitch was in an uproar, it has disturbed the peace of the entire world to this very moment. Until then, everyone understood: There is one tzaddik, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who said about himself, “I’m crazy about Moshiach. For me it’s beyond reason. It comes from the innermost heart, from the essence of the soul. I do everything—absolutely everything—to bring the Geulah.” Suddenly the Rebbe says, “Wait a moment. I’m not alone. Everyone in this generation is part of this mission. I have already done what I need to do to bring the Geulah. I will continue doing it and give you the strength to do it, and I’ll start by giving each of you a coin to give to tzedakah, for tzedakah is great because it brings the Geulah closer. I’m taking part with you.” After that, Shabbos after Shabbos, the Rebbe began to clarify what more needed to be done, what more could be added, so that the Geulah would actually come. So many detailed directives. What exactly should be done? But that jolt—the Rebbe says, “That’s it. If you thought you could simply rely on me, no. You are my partners. All of you.” Every Jew, the entire Jewish people, are partners in bringing Moshiach immediately, right now. Now I want to ask the parents and teachers a question: What is 28 Nissan? Is it the day when we talk about Moshiach, the day when we take an honest accounting of how to bring Moshiach? Is it the day when we make good resolutions about how to bring Moshiach? Is that all? Is that what 28 Nissan is? Or perhaps, just as there is a Rosh Hashanah for accepting Hashem’s kingship, a Rosh Hashanah for trees, and a Rosh Hashanah for

27:16 Speaker 2 the Jewish people, for the entire generation, perhaps this is a Rosh Hashanah for accepting responsibility? The responsibility of each and every one of us. And in the Rebbe’s own words: the responsibility of every single person, men, women, and children. That is the Rebbe’s wording. The responsibility to bring the Geulah. So 28 Nissan is a Rosh Hashanah in that sense. It is a great day, a day when we review the Rebbe’s sichos, hold farbrengens, make good resolutions, hold gatherings of Tzivos Hashem, say Tehillim, and give tzedakah. Fine. But, but, but the message of 28 Nissan is for every day and every hour, until the revelation is fully realized in actuality. 28 Nissan is not just one day a year; it is a Rosh Hashanah. We draw strength from it, inspiration from it, encouragement from it, fuel and vitality from it, so that we conduct ourselves as we should in the generation of Geulah, knowing that at any moment the words will be fulfilled for us: “Suddenly, the Master whom you seek will come to His sanctuary.” What, should we be caught unprepared? Should we, G-d forbid, be caught not sufficiently prepared? How embarrassing that would be. We need to be loyal soldiers of the Rebbe and give our students, our children, and our whole families a sense of responsibility and a sense of the privilege of being shluchim together with the Rebbe in the great mission of Moshiach: “Do everything in your power” to bring the true and complete Geulah, the resurrection of the dead. What needs to be done? So the Rebbe says, first of all, gather the... Let’s create a family setting. Think about what we can do. Let’s think about what we can suggest to others, too—but not instead of what we ourselves will do, because each person needs to act personally. And keep adding, and adding, and adding. What are the directives? Every week, in every Dvar Malchus from 5751 and 5752: directives, directives, directives, directives. What else should we do?

29:29 Speaker 2 What else should we add? So first of all, let’s do everything the Rebbe says in the best possible way—for ourselves, our families, our shuls, our communities, the entire Jewish people, and the whole world. If the Rebbe gives a directive and we influence, say, fifty thousand people—all the Chabad chassidim, for example—to carry it out, or a hundred thousand people to carry it out, then if the Rebbe gave that directive, we need to devise a plan to give the entire Jewish people the opportunity to take part in that specific directive. And there are so many directives from the Rebbe, so many. Let’s start with that. That is how we will illuminate the world and make it ready for the Geulah. It goes without saying that we need to strengthen our acceptance of the Rebbe’s leadership, that the Rebbe is the leader of the generation. As the Rebbe says, “The leader of our generation, our righteous Moshiach.” Those are the Rebbe’s words. In 5751 and 5752, the Rebbe speaks about the Frierdiker Rebbe as “the leader of our generation, our righteous Moshiach.” In the booklet Beis Rabbeinu Sheb’Bavel, the Rebbe speaks about it as the place of Melech HaMoshiach. So the Rebbe uses the terms “leader of our generation,” “our righteous Moshiach,” and “Melech HaMoshiach.” We therefore understand that the Rebbe is acting as Melech HaMoshiach even now. Moshiach’s appointment has already taken place. The appointment—the appointment of the Rebbe, the appointment of Dovid Melech HaMoshiach—has already taken place. Now all that remains is for the bond between him and the people to be revealed in its fullness. And we do that by publicizing the Rebbe’s greatness, the Rebbe’s miracles, and the success of the Rebbe’s shluchim throughout the world. Against that background, with that picture before you, you can come and say: But this towering Rebbe, the likes of whom there never was and is not now—there isn’t; the fact is, there isn’t. Because look at what the Rebbe wrote in his Torah teachings. How much

31:41 Speaker 2 An abundance of Torah, in both quantity and quality—that is the Rebbe. Such wondrous miracles—that is the Rebbe. Such extraordinary letters in the Igros Kodesh—that is the Rebbe. Is there anyone else? Is there anything like this? Even today, there are remarkable answers in the Igros Kodesh and wondrous miracles. And there is the success of the shluchim throughout the world. Chabad keeps growing and growing and growing and growing, and working and working among every part of the Jewish people. They also influence the nations of the world to observe their Seven Noahide Laws. Has there ever been anything on this scale, of this quality, with this reach? So when you begin to understand who the Rebbe is, when you can explain to someone, “This is the Rebbe,” then, when the Rebbe explains to you that the leader of the generation is Melech HaMoshiach, and that there is a prophecy that Moshiach is coming, that “the time for your Geulah has arrived,” and that the Rebbe is a prophet, the prophet of the generation—as shown by the fact that his prophecies have been and continue to be fulfilled—and when the Rebbe says in the maamar accepting the leadership that the teachings of our Rebbeim, their maamarim, are the Shechinah speaking through their throats—then he is telling us that the leader of the seventh generation, the generation of Geulah, is Moshiach. So we are waiting for this leader of the generation, who is Moshiach, to be revealed in the true and complete Geulah. And so, anyone who can hear and absorb what that means—what the Rebbe is, what the Rebbe’s presence is; you don’t have to be a chossid for that—will also have to hear what the Rebbe says and grapple with it. We don’t know what is in a Jew’s soul. We know that the heart of a Jew is awake. The heart of a Jew is awake. If you help him understand who the Rebbe is, the revelations we see from the Rebbe, and that a tzaddik like this said what he said... The rectification is for the coming of Moshiach, and “do all that is in your power” to bring about the revelation of the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach. So for us, 28 Nissan gives us strength to work throughout the entire year on actually bringing the true and complete Geulah, in the sense of “all the days of your life—to bring

34:00 Speaker 2 the days of Moshiach.” This applies to men, women, and children. May Hashem help us succeed greatly and abundantly.