Educating Children for the Days of Bein Hametzarim and the Nine Days - Rabbi Yosef Avraham Pizam shlita

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

00:09 Speaker 2 If you want to bring the whole household into the atmosphere, what can you study? First of all, there’s an accessible, foundational book that the Rebbe had a part in supporting and encouraging its publication: Sefer HaToda’ah, by Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov. It presents the customs, sources, and everything connected with each date throughout the year in a clear, illuminating way. That’s Sefer HaToda’ah. I recommend that everyone have it at home. I recommend teaching it in Torah schools, at least chapters or sections of it, and studying it at home and with a study partner. For every date, it gives you the basic knowledge that prepares you to study the Rebbe’s sichos. If you want to properly understand the Rebbe’s sichos when the Rebbe refers to dates and events, it’s all there. That’s the foundation. The Rebbe then brings out the depth, and the depth within the depth, but that’s the foundation. Second, I warmly recommend the wonderful Halacha Lema’aseh series, published by Machon Halacha: a halachic guide to the rulings of our Rebbeim, the leaders of Chabad. Each group of chapters has an introduction; every subject has one. These introductions provide a halachic overview, but above all, they have what you might call soul, vitality, and the spiritual meaning behind the reasons for the mitzvos, along with the Rebbe’s instructions and guidance concerning their inner dimension. They were written by my student, the distinguished Rabbi, one of the Temimim, Rabbi Shmuel Makmel, shlita. Right now, I’m looking at and drawing on the introduction Rabbi Shmuel Makmel wrote for 17 Tammuz. So again, I’m pointing you to the introductions in the Halacha Lema’aseh series. Five things happened to our ancestors on 17 Tammuz: the Tablets were broken, the daily offering ceased, the city was breached, the wicked Apostomos burned the Torah, and an idol was placed in the Sanctuary. The first event was the breaking of

03:08 Speaker 2 the Tablets. Moshe Rabbeinu had spent forty days on the mountain receiving the Torah from Hashem and the Tablets of Testimony, written by the finger of G-d. At the end of thirty-nine days after Moshe ascended Mount Sinai, the Jewish people expected him to return that day. When the sun set and he had not appeared, they thought Moshe Rabbeinu had passed away. After that, the Golden Calf was made. The day after they worshipped the calf, Moshe Rabbeinu came down from the mountain with the Tablets in his hands. When Moshe Rabbeinu saw the calf as he descended, he broke the Tablets. That happened on 17 Tammuz. From that day on, the day has always carried something of the calamity of the sin of the calf. And five things happened to our ancestors on 17 Tammuz. The most severe event, because of which 17 Tammuz was established as a fast day, was the breaching of Jerusalem’s city wall. The enemy had laid siege to Jerusalem’s walls for a long time but could not overcome them. In the end, because of baseless hatred and fighting among brothers, the Jewish defenders were weakened, and the Romans gained the upper hand. On 17 Tammuz, they succeeded in breaching Jerusalem’s wall and entering the city. Once the city was breached, the outcome of the battle was effectively decided. Fighting continued inside Jerusalem for another three weeks, but in the end, on that bitter and dreadful day—Tisha B’Av—Har Habayis was captured, the Second Beis Hamikdash was burned, and the terrible exile began, continuing to this very moment. Because of the days of Bein Hametzarim, our Sages established mourning customs for the generations: not cutting our hair during the Three Weeks, not marrying during the Three Weeks, and not holding dances during the Three Weeks. We also find that the early chassidim would not eat a new fruit or buy a new garment during the Three Weeks, so that they would not recite Shehecheyanu over them. How can we say, “Who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this time,” during a time of calamity? And so, in practice,

06:14 Speaker 2 the custom became not to recite Shehecheyanu during Bein Hametzarim. These halachos must, of course, be known to our sons and daughters as well. They’re not only for adults, and not only for those past bar mitzvah. Children need to know and observe them from the age of education. But the Rebbe comes in our generation and says that very good things, matters of Geulah, have been revealed in Tammuz. 12 Tammuz is the anniversary of the Frierdiker Rebbe’s liberation. A celebration of Geulah in a month associated with destruction is a sign that the light of Geulah is already shining in the world. And now, the Rebbe says in the Dvar Malchus sichos, the emphasis should not be on sadness and bitterness over what is missing, but on joy that the Geulah is coming immediately, right now. We already feel joy because the Geulah is at the door. It’s worth noting an interesting distinction the Alter Rebbe makes in Likkutei Torah. He says: When you attain something you’ve waited for, anticipated, and longed for, you feel delight. But when you haven’t reached it yet and are simply certain that it will arrive very soon, you won’t feel delight. You will feel joy. If you’re certain it’s coming, you’ll feel joy. The same applies here, the Rebbe says: you know the Geulah is coming, so you should already be joyful. Therefore, when we study during Bein Hametzarim that the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed in order to be rebuilt, and that it was destroyed because it was a building made by human hands, as the holy Zohar says, while it will be rebuilt by Hakadosh Boruch Hu as an everlasting building—a building made by Hakadosh Boruch Hu that will never be destroyed—then it is all for the good. It’s like someone demolishing a house in order to rebuild it. As you demolish the old house, you’re happy, because you

08:59 Speaker 2 already know: the full budget is there, everything is in place, and you’re rebuilding it—perhaps much larger, more beautiful, stronger, and more splendid. So today, when we study the halachos of Geulah and Moshiach, of the Beis Hamikdash, and of bringing the offerings, we shouldn’t study them as something that once was and will someday be again. We should study them as halachos relevant right now, not halachos for something that might happen in any number of years, but something I need to know this very moment. What will the Beis Hamikdash look like today? How will it be built? I need to know these matters: how to enter the Beis Hamikdash, what is done in each part of it, what kinds of offerings are brought, and so on and so forth. That is why we should certainly study the tractates Tamid and Middos, the Book of Yechezkel, the Laws of the Chosen House, and so on. The Rebbe says that when you study these things today—and all of us need to study them, men, women, and children—it brings the feeling of joy over the Geulah to life within us. What’s more, the Rebbe says that when a person studies the teachings about the Beis Hamikdash, there is a Midrash that says Hakadosh Boruch Hu told the Jewish people—Hakadosh Boruch Hu told Yechezkel, excuse me. Hakadosh Boruch Hu said to Yechezkel: “Just because My children are in exile, should the building of My House cease? Studying it in the Torah is as great as building it.” When you study the Torah’s instructions for how to build the Beis Hamikdash, that builds it. And how did He tell them to study the design of the House in the Torah? “As a reward for studying it, I consider it as though they are engaged in building the House.” The Rebbe says that from this we see that if a person does not study the design of the House, Hakadosh Boruch Hu calls that “the building of My House ceasing.” But if a person studies the design of the House, then for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, it is considered that the building is not

11:07 Speaker 2 “My House lies idle.” That means that through this learning, we are actually building the Beis Hamikdash. In other words, when the Beis Hamikdash is built speedily in our days—please G-d, today—we will see that our study of the laws of the Beis Hamikdash, by men, women, and children, built the Beis Hamikdash. And during these days of Bein Hametzarim, we also need to give tzedakah and increase our Torah study in general, in every part of Torah, both its revealed and hidden dimensions. All this is to hasten the fulfillment of the promise, “Tziyon will be redeemed through justice, and those who return to her through tzedakah,” and to serve Hashem with joy in ways permitted during these days. What is permitted? Torah study: “The precepts of Hashem are upright, gladdening the heart.” From Rosh Chodesh Menachem Av through Tishah B’Av, the Rebbe encouraged holding siyumim on tractates of the Talmud, to increase joy in accordance with the Torah. Now I want to quote something the Rebbe said on 15 Tammuz 5733. It appears in Likkutei Sichos, volume 13, page 268 onward, and you can also see it in the excellent collection by Rabbi Shimon Weitzenzuner [?], Igeres Hachinuch, all drawn from the Rebbe’s words. “I wish to emphasize a point concerning the approaching days of Bein Hametzarim, whose history and meaning are surely known to you. The point is this: Consider the special privilege that Jewish children have.” The Rebbe is speaking here about children, about their education—a special privilege Jewish children have that concerns all the Jewish people. In the words of King David, peace be upon him, it is expressed in the verse, “Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants You have established strength, to silence the enemy and the avenger.” This means silencing even the enemy who brought us into Bein Hametzarim and continues to take vengeance on our people to this day. The way to defeat and silence him is through strength. What is that strength? It is our holy Torah, which is called “strength,” learned from the mouths of babes, and so on. So great is

13:46 Speaker 2 its power that our Sages, of blessed memory, taught, “The world exists only because of the breath of schoolchildren”—breath untainted by sin. In other words, Jewish children who have not yet reached the age of mitzvos say verses, recite Mishnayos, learn something. And in keeping with this, we should pay particular attention to the words of our prophet: “The vision of Yeshayahu son of Amotz”; “Tziyon will be redeemed through justice, and those who return to her through tzedakah.” One interpretation of “justice” here is Torah. That is, by studying Torah, observing its mitzvos, and especially fulfilling the mitzvah of tzedakah, we bring the Geulah closer. “Since it would be my wish and great pleasure to take part in this with you, I ask that each of you, Jewish children, be given a coin in the currency of the country where you live. This is my participation in the acts of tzedakah mentioned above.” The Nine Days. Our Sages said, “When Av begins, we diminish joy.” The Rebbe cited the Rebbe of Munkatch: we diminish the mourning through the joy of Torah. We do not hold joyous events just for their own sake. And our Sages prohibited haircuts and laundering clothes during the week in which Tishah B’Av falls. We also do not wear freshly laundered clothes unless we wore them beforehand. At the same time, we rejoice with the joy of a mitzvah, which diminishes that sadness. The joy of a mitzvah comes through completing tractates. The Rebbe says to hold a siyum on a tractate every day from Rosh Chodesh Menachem Av until 15 Menachem Av—every day. And we include young children in these siyumim too. The Rebbe even draws a parallel between a siyum on the eve of Tishah B’Av and one on the eve of Pesach. We bring young children to the siyumim on the eve of Pesach as well, because if they are firstborn, they too will be obligated to fast, and by sharing in the joy of completing a tractate they

16:25 Speaker 2 will be exempt from fasting. But that was in anticipation of the Geulah, before Pesach, the festival of the redemption from Egypt. And before Tishah B’Av, which will be transformed into rejoicing and joy and become the festival of redemption from our present exile, we likewise bring young children to hear a siyum on a tractate, just as we did for the siyum connected with the Exodus from Egypt. So it is with the siyum connected with our departure from exile: “As in the days of your departure from the land of Egypt, I will show him wonders”—in this detail too. We do not bathe for pleasure during the Nine Days, but the washing we do is not for pleasure. Here each person needs to act with yiras Shamayim. Bathing for pleasure during the Nine Days—no; washing for health—yes. In the Krayot area where we live, the humidity is very high. I remember studying in Kfar Chabad, where the humidity is lower, but it is also very hot. And the distinguished scholar and chossid Rabbi Melech Kaplan, who was the rabbi of the railway neighborhood, the rabbi of the Chabad neighborhood in Lod, and the rosh yeshivah, said that here in Eretz Yisroel, in our heat, washing is not a pleasure. Washing is a matter of health, and it is permitted. That is the distinction. As long as you are washing for health, wash. Once you see that it has become pampering yourself, or using some extra, interesting shampoo, or spending unnecessary extra time, that is going too far. It needs to be for health. A person may need to wash once or even twice a day, during the Nine Days too, but not beyond that. The same, of course, applies to children. We explain the same principle to them. We do not eat meat or drink wine during the Nine Days, and this continues until midday on the tenth of Av. Shabbos Chazon. In the Litvish world, for example, people have a custom of wearing clothes that are not quite Shabbos clothes, choosing a particular weekday garment and so on, as a sign of mourning. But chassidim in general, and Chabad chassidim in particular, keep every trace

19:11 Speaker 2 of sadness and mourning away from the holy Shabbos, and strengthen themselves on it in faith, anticipation, and joy for the approaching Geulah. On Shabbos Chazon, “the vision of Yeshayahu son of Amotz, which he saw concerning Yehudah and Jerusalem.” There is a well-known teaching of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, explained by Reb Hillel of Paritch and brought in the teachings of the Tzemach Tzedek. It is called Shabbos Chazon not only because the haftorah begins, “The vision of Yeshayahu,” but because on this Shabbos every Jew is shown the Third Beis Hamikdash in a vision. That is, as the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach shlita explains, from the very first moment of Shabbos, the soul as it is Above is shown the Third Beis Hamikdash continuously throughout Shabbos. Not only while a person sleeps. The soul as it is Above is shown the Third Beis Hamikdash all the time. The purpose is to strengthen the part of the soul within the body and awaken it deeply. The special analogy is of a father. A father made an expensive garment for his son. The son did not take care of it. The father gave him another garment, and he did not take care of that one either. As for the third garment, the father does not give it to him so quickly. Instead, the father shows it to him from time to time. Why? So that he will prepare himself, get used to the idea, and resolve that when he finally receives the third garment, he will look after it properly and keep it safe. The Beis Hamikdash is thus likened to a garment. And after the destruction of the Second Beis Hamikdash, Hakadosh Boruch Hu shows every soul the Third Beis Hamikdash on Shabbos Chazon, to kindle an inner fire in us, so that we will yearn for the Geulah and truly want it to come. So that we reach the level of “all the days of your life” being devoted to bringing the days of Moshiach. So that everything we do will be directed toward the purpose of the thing

21:34 Speaker 2 this revelation of the King Moshiach, whose name is Menachem, who will be revealed, redeem us, and build the Third Beis Hamikdash. And that is the idea of Shabbos Chazon. We need to involve the children in this, tell them this wonderful parable, draw the lesson from it, and make good resolutions. We know that on Tisha B’Av it is forbidden to study Torah. Why? Because Torah brings joy—true joy. “The precepts of Hashem are upright, rejoicing the heart.” So from midday on the eve of Tisha B’Av, we study only things that do not bring joy, such as subjects connected to Tisha B’Av and the troubles of the Jewish people, as well as the laws of mourning. For this reason, we make sure to finish all the daily study portions of Chumash, Tehillim, Tanya, and Rambam for the eve of Tisha B’Av before midday. From the night of Tisha B’Av until the fast ends, we do not say Tachanun in any of the prayers. Tisha B’Av is called a moed, a festival, and this custom also expresses faith and trust in Hashem that He will turn these days into days of joy and gladness, into joyous festivals. What about children in all of this? The same applies to them as to adults. So, for example, people ask: Well, what may we study? All right, studying a maamar of Chassidus connected to Tisha B’Av, or Megillas Eichah as explained in Chassidus, is certainly permitted—and praiseworthy. But again, at a level suitable for children. Now, we know there is the Gemara in Gittin, from page 55 onward, several pages dealing with the destruction. We study that passage, which can be studied before Tisha B’Av, on the night of Tisha B’Av, and during the day of Tisha B’Av. It is a gripping, fascinating, and painful passage—very, very painful. What troubles, what disasters! Oy, what happened to us. And anyone who wants an easier way can take Sefer Hatoda’ah and read it to the children, or let them read it aloud. You are taken straight into the accounts of the destruction, told exactly what happened and why we mark

24:04 Speaker 2 this pain. And we know that all of it is so that the Comforter will be revealed. The Rebbe cites this Midrash: “A lion came under the sign of Leo and destroyed Ariel, so that a lion would come under the sign of Leo and rebuild Ariel.” Ariel is the Beis Hamikdash. So the Rebbe says that from this we see that Tisha B’Av is the day when the Comforter is revealed. “On it the King Moshiach was born”—Moshiach was born on that day, as the Midrash relates and our Sages discuss; Rashi cites it. Excuse me. And the Maharsha brings it in his commentary on Sanhedrin 98: “For the comforter who would restore my soul is far from me.” This is Moshiach, who was born on Tisha B’Av and hidden away in Gan Eden, says the Maharsha. Yes. So the Rebbe explains this more generally. People ask: We are waiting for him to come at every moment—for him to come today. So why say Moshiach will come on Tisha B’Av, if that means waiting several months for Tisha B’Av? The answer is that every single day is indeed a time for the Geulah. There is a note from the Rebbe: “In our generation, every single moment is a time for the Geulah.” And it says, “Suddenly, the master whom you seek will come to his sanctuary.” But whenever a date is given for when the Geulah will come—as in “In Nissan they are destined to be redeemed,” and the like—the Rebbe explains that within the Geulah itself, though the Geulah will come today, there will be new, higher levels, special developments, a tremendous leap within the Geulah—new aspects of Geulah within the Geulah itself. And that is what will happen on Tisha B’Av as well. If, G-d forbid, we reach Tisha B’Av and have not yet been redeemed, then the Geulah will actually happen then. If we reach Tisha B’Av after we have already been redeemed, then Tisha B’Av itself will bring a special new development within the Geulah, a new elevation in the Geulah. As for the seudah hamafsekes, the final meal on the eve of Tisha B’Av, we eat fewer than two cooked dishes at that meal to increase our mourning at that time, to remember the destruction of

26:34 Speaker 2 the Beis Hamikdash and grieve over it. This restriction applies only to the last meal before the fast begins. To express our lowliness following the destruction, we have the custom to sit on the ground for the seudah hamafsekes. But there is no need to remove our shoes, because sitting this way at the seudah hamafsekes is not an act of mourning; it is meant to bring home our lowly state. It is also customary for each person to sit alone in his own corner to eat the seudah hamafsekes, as it says, “Let him sit alone and be silent.” And of course, we need to explain this to our children and make sure they actually do it too. Our Sages also said that five harsh and terrible things happened on Tisha B’Av. But the hardest of all, what made it a day of weeping for generations, was the actual burning of our Beis Hamikdash on Tisha B’Av. This happened with both the First Beis Hamikdash and the Second. The Beis Hamikdash was destroyed on Tisha B’Av. On Tisha B’Av there are five forms of abstention: no eating or drinking; no anointing the body with oil; no washing; no wearing leather shoes—we wear only shoes made of rubber or fabric and the like, not leather; and no marital relations. Only people who are actually ill are exempt from the Tisha B’Av fast. On the less stringent fasts, pregnant and nursing women are also exempt. As we said, we do not study Torah on Tisha B’Av, apart from the permitted subjects concerning Tisha B’Av itself. This is so that we do not take our minds off the mourning and the anticipation of the Geulah. Until midday, we sit as mourners. After midday, we may sit on an ordinary chair. We read Megillas Eichah together in public at night. During the day, each person reads it on their own. We recite the kinos. It is important to explain to the dear children who have seen and heard the custom—a custom observed for many generations, for hundreds of years—in which children throw various kinds of burrs, called bovkes or berlach, depending on what people call them in each place. The main idea, we say, is that some people take a little pleasure in crying,

29:18 Speaker 2 and we do not want them to cry and enjoy crying. So we give them a little prick here and a little prick there, and then they will cry over what they should be crying about—not just because the melody is moving. And also, especially, because we want to show what the holy Reb Yisroel of Ruzhin said: “Master of the Universe, You see that the Jewish people do not want this festival of Yours? Take it away from them. Bring them the Geulah and the Beis Hamikdash, so that they will no longer mark it as such a day of sorrow, such a sorrowful festival.” But we need to understand: a child needs to say the kinos like everyone else. A child needs to daven Maariv or Shacharis, listen to Megillas Eichah, or read it on their own if they know the tune. No one said children are exempt from all that and should just throw bovkes here and there. All right, we said it is a Jewish custom; we have not abolished it. But still, keep it in proportion. The question is whether a child who is ordinarily able to sit and daven can say the nighttime kinos, at least in full, since they are not long. During the day, you have to think about whether to ease up for the child or not. There are a lot of kinos. But again, as I said, when you understand the kinos, they are more interesting. Maybe it is also easier then to keep saying them. But for a child to say, “I’m not saying anything; I’m just throwing bovkes”—that is not what the Rebbe wants. Everything has to be kept in proportion. The effort should be to say the kinos as the adults do, if the child is capable of it. If they throw bovkes on the side, let them, but do not overdo it or let it become dangerous. Do not start provoking someone who is quick to get angry, until there is an uproar throughout the shul. No, that is not the point. That is not the point, not the point. And we can add another angle. When you do this

31:20 Speaker 2 In a place where there are also guests from outside who aren’t Chabad yet, not everyone understands this. So if it’s kept in proportion, they may not quite understand, and we’ll explain it to them. But if it simply turns into chaos and a disrespect for the shul, nobody buys that explanation. So everything really has to be in proportion, in the right measure. And the test is whether the children are actually saying what they’re supposed to say. The parents’ job is also to prepare them for it, to watch over them, not to overdo it, not to overdo it. Everything within the bounds of good taste. I remember this as a child. I was in sixth grade, I think it was sixth grade, in 5733. The Rebbe spoke—we mentioned this earlier—about the children. [unclear] We need to do activities with the children in the summer; we need to hold gatherings for them. We need to run day camps for children and bring them to the Kosel, to the holy places, so they can daven and recite verses of Torah and Tehillim. “Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings You have established strength, to silence the enemy and the avenger”—who is still seeking revenge now, too. I was a child, and I heard this. My father, a”h, Rabbi Yigal son of Rabbi Shimon Yehuda, had been with the Rebbe in Tishrei 5733. He heard the sichos and remained aware of them throughout the year. Together with Reb Zushe Wilimovsky and Rabbi Reuven Dunin, he decided to run a day camp in the Krayot. There were also many new immigrants in the Krayot. The camp was set up. The Rebbe sent Rabbi Dovid Raskin as his guest, as his representative, to come and see the day camps in Israel. There were only a handful of them, and especially this camp in Kiryat Motzkin. It was held in a grove there, and my brother and I were campers. I could hear my father talking with all the counselors. My father ran the camp, and from all the counselors and everything going on at home, I kept hearing that we had to

33:38 Speaker 2 go, we had to go. The Rebbe said to take the children to the Kosel. And so, on Erev Tisha B’Av, the whole camp went to the Kosel in the trucks they used back then. Folks, no air conditioning. Forget about that; they hadn’t invented it in Israel yet. It was hot, and we traveled—you can imagine what those old trucks were like. At last we reached the Kosel and got off for about half an hour. We said Tehillim. There was a Chabad chossid with a long beard; I think it was Rabbi Tzvi Greenbaum, a”h. He said a few words and told us something. There were a few proclamations, and we all shouted together what we were told to shout. Then we drank water, went to the bathroom, climbed back onto the truck, and off we went. We had to hurry to get back before the fast began. Some of us were fasting. There were little ones too—we had brought children from first grade—but the older ones had to fast. We somehow made it back in the last few minutes. We managed to eat a little, quickly, standing up, and then the fast began. None of us understood who was threatening us now. The Jewish people were then in the period after the victory of the Six-Day War in 5727. I had been in first grade then. Who imagined there was still such a critical danger? But when, on Yom Kippur, they came and called my father up in the middle of the day, it dawned on all of us. The Yom Kippur War had broken out, with all the tragedies it brought—despite, despite the great victories in the end. But we understood what the Rebbe had seen. The Rebbe himself said about it that everything that had pushed him—Heaven had pushed him—to speak about “Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings You have established strength,” the education of Jewish children, schoolchildren whose breath is free of sin—the Rebbe said, “For me, it was a case of ‘He prophesied without knowing what he prophesied.’” He prophesied without knowing what he prophesied. That’s what the Rebbe said. So this strengthens us, too, in our belief that the Rebbe’s prophecy will be fulfilled: “Behold, Moshiach is coming. The time of your Geulah has arrived.” The Rebbe saw; the Rebbe

35:53 Speaker 2 sees. And what the Rebbe sees is what the Rebbe tells us. The Rebbe tells us: “Behold, Moshiach is coming. The time of your Geulah has arrived.” In our days, a day like Tisha B’Av is, in this respect, a day of the revelation of Moshiach. Our Sages, of blessed memory, say it is the day of Moshiach’s birth. The fifteenth of Menachem Av is a day of joy. There were no Yom Tov days for the Jewish people greater than the fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur. The fifteenth of Av is a day of joy, a wonderful day, a day of holiness, a day of open miracles, a day of revelation. How, how, how do we connect this to educating children—to our children? The Rebbe says this. Let’s see what happened on the first Tisha B’Av. Before that—well, what happened on Tisha B’Av, on the first Tisha B’Av? The spies came back from the Land of Israel and gave a bad report about the land. Then the people wept with their families. After that, for forty years, until the Jewish people merited to enter the Land of Israel, the Holy Land, the Promised Land, thousands of Jews died each year, as Hashem had said: that generation that left Egypt, from this age to that age, would die—the generation of the wilderness. Many years passed this way. In the final year, the year the decree was annulled, the Jewish people followed their usual practice. The men of the ages mentioned in the Torah dug their own graves and lay down to sleep in them. The next day, whoever managed to come out, whoever got up, was alive. Whoever did not wake up had been taken by Hashem. But in the final year, everyone woke up in the morning. Nobody died. They said, “Oh, we must have the day wrong. Maybe it wasn’t Tisha B’Av.” They waited another day. “Well, maybe we got the day wrong.” They waited another day. “Well, maybe we got the day wrong.” Eventually they saw the moon at its fullest—“the moon stands in its fullness.” They saw the full moon, and then they said to themselves, “Ah,

38:42 Speaker 2 it can’t be that Tisha B’Av hasn’t passed. The moon is full.” If so, that meant the decree had already been annulled. So, says the Rebbe, let’s put this in simple, present-day terms. The fifteenth of Menachem Av is the day that reveals what had already happened on Tisha B’Av. After all, Tisha B’Av that year was the day the decree was annulled. When was that revealed to all the Jewish people? On the fifteenth of Menachem Av. Today, too, says the Rebbe, Tisha B’Av is the day on which “the King Moshiach was born.” There is a well-known custom among our Sephardi brethren to begin cleaning the house at midday on Tisha B’Av. Why do they start cleaning the house? Because the King Moshiach was born—in honor of Moshiach. Moshiach will come today. But when do we see it openly—that Moshiach actually comes, in the most literal sense, and builds the third Beis Hamikdash, and all the Jewish people fly with the clouds of heaven to the third, threefold Beis Hamikdash? When does that happen? If it did not happen openly on Tisha B’Av, then it will happen openly on the fifteenth of Av. That is why the Rebbe says to continue the custom of making a siyum on a tractate, which arouses the end of galus. And it wouldn’t hurt for a child of ten or twenty to make a siyum on a tractate, too. At any rate, those who are of bar mitzvah age should make siyumim and give others the opportunity to participate. In organized communities, arrangements can be made for a different young married man or boy aged thirteen or older to make a siyum each day on one of the easier, shorter tractates, such as Maseches Tamid, and so on. And we need to remember two things when we speak about the fifteenth of Av. First, the fifteenth of Av is when the nights begin to grow longer, and we need to increase our Torah study in all areas of Torah. Second, the Rebbe says that the numerical value of “the fifteenth of Av” equals that of “kesivah vachasimah tovah”—being inscribed and sealed for a good year. The Rebbe cites this

40:46 Speaker 2 in the name of the Rebbe of Munkatch, and the Rebbe instructs us to start blessing Jews with this blessing, and to do so often: that each and every one of us be inscribed and sealed for a good year. We should wish our loved ones that they be inscribed and sealed for a good, sweet year.