Chapter 233 - A Chassidic Lag BaOmer.

00:01 We are now talking about the Lag BaOmer celebration with the Tzemach Tzedek in 5604, around 1844. That is, in the year when people had already begun settling again on the estates of the various noblemen and landowners. A chossid named Reb Chan—Reb Hendel, apparently Reb Chanoch Hendel, relates the following: “In my first year in Lubavitch, which was 5604, Lag BaOmer fell on a Tuesday. The Lag BaOmer celebration followed the old custom of going outside the town, sometimes to the square in front of the courtyard and sometimes to the flat field in the village of Achremovo. At that time, the distinguished chossid Reb Shlomo ben Shimshon, one of the Mitteler Rebbe’s devoted chassidim, lived in the courtyard. In the village of Achremovo lived the distinguished Reb Yosef Michoel, an elderly man who had been one of the Alter Rebbe’s devoted chassidim. They would choose the site of the Lag BaOmer celebration a week or two beforehand, usually by drawing lots between those two chassidim. The one who won the right to host the celebration would invite the chassidim, the yoshvim—yoshvim, of course, meaning those who studied—and the guests to his home on the eve of Lag BaOmer. After Minchah Gedolah on the 32nd day of the Omer, he would serve a large meal of fish and meat that lasted until Maariv. During the meal they would review Chassidus, tell stories of chassidim, sing and dance. Then they would stay awake all night, daven early the next morning with a minyan, unhurriedly and at length. By eleven the next morning, Lag BaOmer itself, a dairy meal with plenty of mashke would be ready, and from three in the afternoon they would wait for the Rebbe to arrive.” In 5604, the lot fell to the chossid Reb Yosef Michoel, who, as we said, was then living on that nobleman’s estate. From the beginning of Iyar, the Tzemach Tzedek gave the chassidim permission to come to Lubavitch, after having forbidden them to come throughout the winter because of the troubles that had lasted from the beginning of Cheshvan until shortly before Pesach. That winter,

03:09 the Tzemach Tzedek delivered maamarim of Chassidus only a few times. On Shabbos Hagadol, the Tzemach Tzedek delivered a maamar of Chassidus publicly. It began with the words “This is the law of the burnt offering,” and there was great joy among the townspeople in general and the young men studying there in particular. Messengers announced that the Tzemach Tzedek had permitted the chassidim to come to Lubavitch, and many guests arrived for the Shabbos after Pesach, Shabbos Parshas Tazria-Metzora. Their numbers grew from week to week. For Shabbos Parshas Emor and the Lag BaOmer that followed, there were about forty minyanim of guests, among them Reb Yitzchak Aizik of Homel and Reb Hillel of Paritch. On Shabbos Parshas Emor, the Tzemach Tzedek delivered three maamarim of Chassidus. The first, “One should stand to pray only in a solemn frame of mind,” was on Friday after Shacharis. The second, “To understand the concept of solemnity in a person’s spiritual service,” was before Kabbalas Shabbos. The third, “To understand, with further explanation, that Yisroel means ‘I have a head,’” was on Shabbos afternoon before Minchah. On Lag BaOmer, the Tzemach Tzedek also came to Achremovo, to Reb Yosef Michoel’s estate. He delivered a maamar on “This mound is witness, and this monument is witness,” stayed there for about two hours, and returned home. Then came the year 5607. The eve of Rosh Hashanah was a happy day. The chassidim attributed the joy of that eve of Rosh Hashanah to the publication of the Alter Rebbe’s Likkutei Torah with the Tzemach Tzedek’s notes, and for that reason they called 5607 a year of light. Another reason for the joy was that the Tzemach Tzedek’s household had reached a full minyan that year. He had seven sons and two daughters with sons-in-law; then his eldest granddaughter married, adding one more to complete the minyan. As is known, a father’s fulfillment comes specifically through grandchildren, whether through a son or a daughter, and so on. The Alter Rebbe had also said that the Tzemach Tzedek’s intellectual faculties would reach their fullness when the minyan among

06:04 his family was complete. Every eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Tzemach Tzedek would deliver a maamar of Chassidus and words of inspiration. That eve of Rosh Hashanah in 5607, he delivered a maamar on three expressions involving “everything”: “Everything follows the conclusion”; “Everything is determined by what supports it,” from Tractate Shabbos; and “Everything follows the essential thing.” Afterward he said: “Today we must prepare to receive our Father, our King. A father loves a clean heart; a king loves clean clothing. Copper develops rust, but silver and gold do not develop rust, only dirt. What is copper? Copper represents a person’s character traits. Even good traits develop rust, and it takes much work to remove it. But silver and gold, which represent love and awe, do not develop rust, though they can become dirty. That dirt must be cleaned away. This is the work of Rosh Hashanah: to clean the heart and the clothing. Two angels accompany a person. When they hear one person wish another, after Maariv on Rosh Hashanah night, ‘May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year,’ and the blessing comes from a clean heart, the angels ascend on high to advocate for a good and sweet year. For a father loves a clean heart and a king loves clean clothing, and this causes Hakadosh Boruch Hu to accept the coronation with which the Jewish people crown Him.” The Tzemach Tzedek concluded the maamar with the words, “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.” And the Rebbe Maharash said that it truly was a year of joy.