מברקי י״ט כסלו (חלק 1)

00:00 Speaker 1 This is Iggros. Today we're going to do something we have not done before exactly. We've done versions of this before, but nothing quite like this. Uh, we're preparing for Yud Tes Kislev, and we are going to do a letter from exactly fifty years ago, but, uh, in the middle of a bunch of other letters. That is-- Actually, let's start at the letter from fifty years ago. I'm gonna scroll down. You have a-- Oh, I didn't share the screen? Sorry. Give me one second. You don't know what I'm looking at. Here we go. Those who are here live get to see things on a screen. Cool. Okay, let me get to our letter, and then I'll tell you what we're gonna do. Here we are. So this is from Tav Shin Lamed Daled, exactly fifty years ago, and this is a Mivrak. Mivrak's a telegram. The Rebbe would, before a lot of these, uh, a lot of these farbrengens, before, before Yud Tes Kislev almost always, and before Yud Shvat sometimes, uh, before other yomim tophim, the Rebbe would occasionally send out a general telegram that was meant to inspire people to come to a farbrengen, to just get people to go to the farbrengen. And sometimes these telegrams are very short. Sometimes it just says something like, "Today's the day for farbrengen. Everybody have a good time." Give a, give or take. He does never say, "Have a good time." He says, you know, "Be happy," and, uh, "It should be the simcha, and it

01:10 Speaker 1 should have an effect." Sometimes they're just a sentence long, and sometimes they are full discussions of how the Rebbe would like the farbrengen to go. Sometimes they have pointers of what the Rebbe would like to see at the farbrengen or what he'd like to hear after the farbrengen. So some of these are very illustrative, some of them a little bit less so, but all of them, uh, all of them exist. Uh, I was able to find a Mivrak for every year of Iggros that we have published except for one for Yud Tes Kislev. So today I put together in a sheet for you. You can keep this. I sent it in the WhatsApp group. You should have a, a Google Doc now that has a list of every Mivrak sent for Yud Tes Kislev for every year of Iggros that we have in print. So we'll just, we'll read ours first just because it is the letter from exactly fifty years ago. This is the letter that is labeled Yud Alef, Yud Tes, and it says up here, "Nosach HaMivrak Likras Yud Tes Kislev Tav Shin Lamed Daled." And the Rebbe writes here, this one's one of the more generic ones, but it does have a fun nugget in it that I'll show you. It says here, "L'shana tova u'limud haChasidus u'darkei Chassidus." So you have, should have a good year, l'shana tova. U'limud haChasidus u'darkei Chassidus, you're going to see this as a recurring theme, of course, that the Rebbe was always on Yud

02:04 Speaker 1 Tes Kislev wishing a good year in the learning of Chassidus and in the darkei Chassidus. Darkei Chassidus is also important. Limud haChasidus is the content, and, uh, the darkei Chassidus is acting like a Chassid. Um, you should be written and you should be sealed. That is a lotion the Rebbe uses often, the exact same lotion from Rosh Hashanah, uh, written and sealed for a good year in learning Chassidus and acting like a Chassid. This should also include efforts to spread the wellsprings of Chassidus outward, which is also a recurring theme we'll see in a lot of these Mivraks. And this one is completely unique. Anybody good enough with their years and their Tehillim to-- I gave it away, to know why he's using this one? Yes. Tav Shin Lamed Daled was the year that the Rebbe's Tehillim for that year, for the Rebbe's age, had in it the pasuk. And what you'll actually see, uh, is in subsequent years, starting from our year going onward, the Rebbe would regularly incorporate his line of Tehillim into the Yud Tes Kislev Mivrak for reasons only known to the Rebbe. But in any event, he says , uh, the Tsadik should, uh, bloom forward, uh, and that is the good Yom Tov, the Shabbat Shalom. You know, I guess that year there was also a Shabbos maybe. Was Tav Shin Lamed Daled a Shabbos, Yud Tes Kislev? Maybe. In any event, he wishes a good Yom Tov and a good Shabbos, and the Rebbe's signature. Instead of going

03:17 Speaker 1 forward, then we're gonna go all the way backward. I'm gonna take you all the way back to Yud Alef, and we're going to go through them. I think in one shear we'll get through all of them because a lot of them are very short, but if we don't, we'll extend it into tomorrow. A lot of these are just one-liners, and I don't have a ton to say about all of them, but whenever I found something unique, I pointed it out, and I know that Surly and some of the other people listening take notes while we're reading. So if you see something that you think you can pull out for us to discuss afterwards, please make a note. I definitely-- I, I know I'm missing things, that's for sure. I just-- I catch what I see. Uh, Yud-- Tav-- Yud Tes Kislev Tav Shin Yud Alef is, uh, perhaps the most interesting one of all of them. It's one that we can use in our own community and that other communities can probably use too. The Rebbe writes here This is the first time the Rebbe's writing one of these Mivraks. It's not standard yet. So the Rebbe writes, "I am hereby requesting that Chassidim will have a farbrengen in Yud Tes Kislev." It should be on Yud Tes Kislev and also on the, uh, the night before Thursday. I don't know how it fell that year, but any event the Rebbe's telling them when to have it. And I want them to make a real

04:13 Speaker 1 effort to include non-members of Anash in this farbrengen. I want this farbrengen not to just be an in-house deal where it's only Chassid Chabad. I want non-Anash there. Specifically, I want you to find them and to include them. I want you to arrange that there should be a of the Chassidus outward, that it should specifically go outward. That is, the Chassidus should spread outside of the normal families of Chassidim. I want a hafatsa. And by the way, shortly after this letter, this is-- this did indeed happen when the Rebbe sent this Mivrak. They did include non-Chassidim in the not yet Chassidim, non-members of Anash in their farbrengen, and the Rebbe wrote back how happy he was to hear that those who l- who were not yet members of Anash had participated in the farbrengen. That's the lotion the Rebbe used, that I'm happy to hear that those who are not yet members of Anash were participating in the farbrengen. So we have in Yud Alef a request, obviously-

04:57 Speaker 2 When you-- Sorry. When you say that means, like, actually just a farbrengen with them, or does it mean to give out something or sell Sfarim, things like that?

05:07 Speaker 1 I don't know. Obviously, I can't know. But my guess is that it's fulfilled just by farbrengen with them, teaching Chassidus to everybody. You know, the way that this normally works is that Chassidim get together and strengthen each other in Chassidus. That's not really chutzah. Chutzah ideally should be that we're strengthening and teaching Chassidus to people who are, uh, further away from Chassidus, people who don't know it yet. I was, uh-- When I was waiting in line for the bus today, I was waiting for the, the, the Monsey Trails bus. I was talking to, uh, a member of Anash who lives in our community, but not somebody who lives in Lower Pomona, but in the broader community. And he was telling me that he's going to be, uh, doing a farbrengen for Yud Tes Kislev in an area of non-Anash, uh, and he's going to be, um, going to be trying to impress upon them some of the value of the day. I asked him what he has planned, and he told me that he really thinks the most important thing is to farbreng and to sing the Nigunim. And I told him, "I don't know where you're getting that from. I don't know why you think the most important thing is the Nigunim. I think the most important thing is to say something from Chassidus because the whole point is ." So the Alter Rebbe didn't go to prison for his Nigunim, and I kind of hit him over the head. So, uh, I do

06:00 Speaker 1 think that this is part of what the Rebbe's saying here, is that the point here is, yes, invite non-Anash, but the point isn't just that they should see that Chassidim are farbrengen. The point is they should learn Chassidus at the farbrengen. Whether that includes selling books like many suggest, why not? Definitely includes that, sure. But what the Rebbe's asking at minimum, I think, is just that Chassidus should be taught at a farbrengen, uh, that Chassidus should happen at farbrengens, which, uh, should be a given, but maybe it's not, maybe it's not a given to everybody. Uh, Yud Tes Kislev Tav Shin Yud Beis, this was the next year. Uh, from here we get a little generic. We have I don't know what that expression means, Um, uh, lofty actions, lofty actions- I think, uh, actions that uplift. I'm just not sure. Um, in any event, the Rebbe here for the first time calls for achlas tes teves. He doesn't call for making good achlas in every one of these Mivrakhs, so that's something to note, is that he's saying that at this farbrengen there should be good achlas taken, good resolutions, and he uses the lashon of Gudyamtov and that it should be a happy farbrengen. He does use that lashon of happy in a lot of these Mivrakhs. We have from Tofshin Yud Gimel. Gudyamtov, this one. The f- the first couple years are quite short. Gudyamtov. I guess. yeah, probably. Yeah? that there should be a farbrengen, it should be the highest it

07:11 Speaker 1 should be lively, but it should also have an outcome. It should be lively and it should have an outcome to it and it should also be happy. So the Rebbe is now asking for the farbrengen to have three qualities. It should be a lively farbrengen, it should be a farbrengen that has practical outcomes that is very much in line with what we saw a moment ago about good achlas, and it should be a happy farbrengen. In the year Tofshin Yud Daled, very short now. The Rebbe figures by now you've got the hang of it. He says, there should be a good year in Hasidis, uh, and there should be a farbrengen The farbrengen should be as is appropriate. And I guess because the Rebbe in previous years had already explained what a farbrengen is, he doesn't feel it necessary to re- to reiterate. This is, uh-

07:49 Speaker 2 When did Halukos Hashas start?

07:51 Speaker 1 Halukos Hashas is an old minute. The Rebbe doesn't mention in these Mivrakhs, but it's older than the Rebbe, the idea of Halukos Hashas for Yut Tes Kislev. Um, it goes way back.

08:00 Speaker 2 Written in Tanya, no?

08:02 Speaker 1 Huh?

08:02 Speaker 2 Isn't Halukos Hashas brought down in Tanya?

08:04 Speaker 1 It is, but specifically that it should be at the Yut Tes Kislev farbrengen, I'm not sure when that started, but I know it's, it's old. It-- I believe it's older than our Rebbe by, by, by a long shot. I think it's talked about in Likutei Dibburim. So, uh, certainly the minute to do it specifically at the Yut Tes Kislev farbrengen is a pretty old one. Um, I don't know why I, I, I, I... He never once mentions it in a single Mivrakh, Halukos Hashas, despite the fact that it is a strong minute. I don't know why. I noticed that too. That's a good point. Um, anyway, so since he's already explained that he wants a farbrengen to be with Simcha and achlas, and he wants it to be a highest I guess at this point he says because you know what a farbrengen should be like. In the year Tofshin Tes Vav, another very short one. This is the shortest one yet. Every, every year we're losing a word. There should be a Hasidishe good year. You should be written and sealed for a good Hasidishe year. Uh, in the year Tofshin Tes Zayin, we get a little bit longer again. This is the first time in a Mivrakh he calls it Chag HaGeulah, although of course, the Rebbe calls it that all the time in Sichas. This is a, uh, it should be a holiday of redemption, a happy holiday of redemption. This is a theme that the Rebbe is developing starting now that

09:07 Speaker 1 we see in a lot of the future Mivrakhs, we don't see in a lot of the past ones. Uh, starting from here, the Rebbe starts talking a lot about how he wants Yut Tes Kislev to be something that affects the entire year and is a source of light for the whole year. So he says that it should be a Chag HaGeulah sameach, it should be happy, and it should be a source of light and it should give life to the entire year of which should come upon us in goodness, It should be a Hasidishe year and it should be a year where, uh, where practical things come out. There should be practical outcomes and it should be Hasidishe. So we have here really the main idea I'm pulling out from this year, Tofshin Tes Zayin, is that the farbrengen should be meyar and it should be mechaya l'shana. It should light up and it should be able to give life to the entire year. It's not just another yemei depagra, it is our battery pack for the entire year. Now Yut Tes Kislev, your year is set. If not, I don't know. right? Okay. In the year Yut Tes Kislev, Tofshin Yud Zayin, we have Chag He wishes them a good Shabbos and a good Chag. It should be a good year and a happy year. I see nothing here that we haven't seen before. If you see something, please let me know afterwards. Starting in the year Tofshin Yud Ches, we have a couple

10:14 Speaker 1 longer ones. Now, I'm not being entirely fair. It might be that we just don't have in Igris the short Ma'arek and we only have Mivrakh, excuse me, and we only have the longer Mivrakhs. But this Mivrakh, a couple Mivrakhim, Mivrakhes, I have no idea what the plural is of Mivrakh. Mivrakhs were, uh, telegrams were sent out to Eretz Yisrael in honor of their farbrengens, and I have a couple of these and they're a little longer. This one is particularly special because this one, the Rebbe gives advice on how to farbreng with soldiers in the middle of a conflict on Yut Tes Kislev. So if anybody happens to find themselves in such a situation, we have Baruch Hashem a lot of listeners. If you are farbrenging for soldiers in Eretz Yisrael in the middle of this conflict, the Rebbe here gives advice on how you would like that farbrengen to go, which is very unique. Uh, just a quick reminder in my notes a moment. This would be the year is nineteen fifty-eight. This is the Suez crisis. This is the Sinai War. So this is the middle of the Sinai War, and the Rebbe writes about how to farbreng with soldiers on Yut Tes Kislev and how to farbreng with children. But what the soldiers is of course right now in our time a little more interesting to us. Anyway, this letter is from Tofshin Yud Ches, nineteen fifty-eight or I don't know, it's Kislev, so it honestly could have been fifty-seven. It's during the

11:14 Speaker 1 Suez crisis. The Rebbe writes, and up here we have this lashon you're gonna see a lot. This is the the Rebbe sent for Yut Tes Kislev. When it comes to gathering the children, here's what I want you to talk about at the farbrengen. What is the point of the victory of Yut Tes Kislev? Now, if you've been to bad farbrengens, you know the point of the victory of Yut Tes Kislev is that we beat the Misnagedim, right? The, the Alter Rebbe got out of prison and that- that's obviously not what it's about, but people make that mistake. The Rebbe says, "Let me clarify what the point was of the victory of Yut Tes Kislev." That was every single day. Our Torah is a Torah of life every single day. And every single part of it, uh, is part of our life every single day. The Torah should be our Torah of life constantly, including all of Torah's parts. And every single person, male and female, is to the Torah and in the Torah. They're they, they, they relate to it and they're obligated by it from because Hashem loves us. Because Hashem loves us, we're obligated in every single part of the Torah. I think the this idea of it being every single part of the Torah, Yut Tes Kislev is that Yut Tes Kislev, um, was the victory that the entire world has a place in Hasidis, not just in Niggled Torah. It used to be that only everybody, every Yid had a place

12:31 Speaker 1 in Niggled and Hasidis was only for Yichidai Segula, very special people. But starting from Yut Tes Kislev was accessible to everybody. Uh, I think there's like commas there, commas, That should be God's will, that there should be a, uh, there should be inspiration for the young people. They are our future. specifically those who are living in Eretz Yisrael, that they should arrange their lives in the way in light of Torah and mitzvot. and the, uh, light that is in and the light that is within Torah and mitzvot, which is of course again an oblique reference to Hasidis, which is the of Torah and the of mitzvot. And they should spread this light, the light of Torah and mitzvahs and light of Toras HaChassidus and mitzvahs al pi Chassidus. To spread it in all of their surroundings. with a Chassidish warmth. And then they'll be happy. in their lives and their lives will be happy and they'll be full of content, of, uh, worthwhile pr- worthwhile endeavors, a complete life and a peaceful life. And the Rebbe says, for the when you're gonna make a farbrengen for those who are fighting a war, I believe they were in the middle of the Sinai war at this point. So the Rebbe says, "Here's how to farbrengen on Yud Tes Kislev for soldiers." First of all, tell them everything that you just said to the kids, 'cause that message is an eternal message. That is, that the Torah is for everybody. The victory of Yud Tes Kislev is

13:44 Speaker 1 that now because of the Alter Rebbe going to prison, the outcome of that is that the entire Torah is now shaya and mechuyav on every single person, including Toras HaChassidus, and that when they live their lives according to Toras HaChassidus, they'll have better lives. And also when they spread Toras HaChassidus, this will guarantee a degree of shalom. Tell that to the soldiers, and then also tell them this, it should be God's will. Says you should, uh, be able to use the idea that you already have of Kabbalah's Earl, of, uh, giving into authority and combine it with a recognition of the power of the individual. This, uh, this is, uh, a reference to a lot of things the Rebbe says to soldiers in other contexts, which is that the Rebbe frequently tells soldiers that the thing he's excited about, about them is that they know how to follow orders. And Kabbalah's Earl, the ability to accept the yoke and to follow the orders of someone higher than you is kind of the, uh, the best, the best, uh, the best groundwork for being a, for being a good Jew. At the end of the day, a lot of this has to do with listening to your superior officers and sometimes blindly running into what appears to be a dangerous situation for the good of the entire people. That's what it is to be a soldier. When, uh, people complain to the Rebbe that he created Tzivas Hashem, which is very militaristic, you know, in the

14:48 Speaker 1 '60s, people were not into the military at all, even less than they are now . And, uh, the peaceniks did not like the idea that the Rebbe was creating a Tzivas Hashem, like telling kids that they're like they're in the army. The Rebbe said back, "What do you mean? I think soldiers are great. They, they, uh, they follow orders and that's exactly what I'm looking for. I'm looking for soldiers." So he says, "You should first of all, you're good at-- you have, you have the inyan of Kabbalah's Earl already, but I think you should combine it with , with the recognition of the power of the individual." that when an individual is allowed to express himself, that's it has an effect of the the individual can sometimes have an effect and sometimes even force the outcome of the masses. especially when it comes to building the land of Israel, when it comes to defending the land of Israel, there's a real power not just to the rabbin, but also to the individual. Tell them that. And when their camp is holy, that is when in the army camps they keep Torah and mitzvahs however they, uh, however possible, God will walk in their midst. This is-- we had a whole letter on this before about how Hashem tells soldiers that God will be in your camp and protect you if you keep mitzvahs while you're there. He says, "Add that in the Yud Tes Kislev farbrengen. Tell the soldiers that message." the Rebbe's signature. So

15:54 Speaker 1 here we have a much meatier midrakh. This is specific instructions on how to do two kinds of farbrengens, what to tell the children, what to tell the soldiers. Is this shofar if you're giving a farbrengen this year to children or soldiers? I don't know, but I feel like a lot of these messages are pretty timeless, and you can't go wrong copying these. So here we do have specific hadrachah from the Rebbe about what he would like to see in farbrengens to two audiences on Yud Tes Kislev. We have here Taf Shin Yud Tes, and you know, we're only about halfway through, so I think what we might do is that maybe at-- after Taf Shin Yud Tes, we'll pause for the day and maybe tomorrow we'll continue with the mes- the rest of the midrakhs, that way we'll go into Yud Tes Kislev full of midrakhs. So here we have, uh, from Yud-- Taf Shin Yud Tes, the last one we're gonna do today, then we can have a bit of a discussion. The Rebbe writes, it's another one of the longer ones, and this is a nisach of the midrakh that the Rebbe sent, uh, the telegram that was sent to, to Kfar Chabad before their farbrengen. The Rebbe writes, To all those who are participating in the farbrengen of the Yom Ha'or Ve Ha'me'or, the day that is light and also a source of light. That's what he calls Yud Tes Kislev, a day of light and a day-- and a source of

17:00 Speaker 1 light. Yud Tes Kislev, shlita. The shlita does not go on Yud Tes Kislev, although that would be awesome. The shlita goes on Mishatrim. So anybody who's participating in the farbrengen. I will note, and this, this is important, this hit me at like twenty midrakhs in while I was going through these, that the Rebbe is writing these letters to anybody who participates in a Yud Tes Kislev farbrengen. That's the audience. We've spoken in the past about how when the Rebbe writes a letter, he writes it to the individuals who it is addressed to. These berachos that the Rebbe is giving and these instructions the Rebbe is giving are to participants in a Yud Tes Kislev farbrengen. Uh, giving-- just once again emphasizing the importance of making sure you are one of those people. It is very important to be a participant in a Yud Tes Kislev farbrengen. I think most Chassidim can't imagine not going to a Yud Tes Kislev farbrengen, but, uh, I-- if, if you happen to be somebody listening who is finding yourself in a situation where you're not completely sure you're going to go, uh, don't forget. The, the, the real point of these midrakhs is the Rebbe telling people to attend. The most important thing is to show up. Yud Tes Kislev is a time to be farbrenging. It's not a time for anything else. Well, I mean, it's time for many other things too, but there's no other priority over that on Yud Tes Kislev. You gotta make sure you're

17:56 Speaker 1 at a farbrengen. the Rebbe says, "I am, uh, I am participating. I'm adding into your farbrengen." with the following tikva and the following tefillah, with the following hope and prayer. That there should be a hamshacha, a continuation of the inspiration and the life and the liveliness and the light that you're going to have this farbrengen for the entire year. and the main thing, the and by the way, the thing I said earlier about the whole bus, uh, discussion where I said the real is spreading Hasidus, look at the here. What's the main point, the main of the Farbrengen? The main point of the Farbrengen, the main outcome and the main outcome of the entire year should be a , a spread, of course, with a , with ex- with, uh, with an expansiveness. In you should have good money, and in you should feel good wise. But the point is , to spread the wellsprings of Hasidus outward. and the ways of the life of a-- and the way of the life of a Hasidic Jew, that is So what is the whole point? What's the main outcome of a good Farbrengen is a, uh, is at the Farbrengen itself to spread and Hasidus and Hasidus and also to the entire year, therefore have the power to spread the words of Hasidus, the, the, the teachings of it, and also the Hasidus, the way to live that way. Uh, he says specifically since we're talking to , since we're talking to Kfar Chabad, this should

19:18 Speaker 1 spread to all of the Holy Land, uh, the um, and that it should be fulfilled in the Kfar itself of Kfar Chabad, all of the of the Alter Rebbe, the following should be fulfilled in and in Kfar Chabad and in all of the Alter Rebbe the following. that we should spread out to all directions, and that should happen to the Kfar. The grammar here is funny, which is why I keep on rephrasing it. But what he means is-- the grammar's not funny. He's writing it fine. It just doesn't translate into English is what I mean, that the Kfar Chabad should have a of, uh, . And very soon we should see a fulfillment of the guarantee in Michah that the should rise up. That is Moshiach. he should burst forth from before you. that is all of those who are trapped in, um, in exile should come forth. I think it's . They should pass forward and those of you who are over there, over in Kfar Chabad, you should be at the head. Tell me if I'm misreading that in a moment. the Rebbe says uh, and the Rebbe's signature. And I will note starting now, we're gonna see a lot more of these tomorrow. Starting now, whenever the Rebbe sends a letter, a Mivrak, out to Eretz Yisrael, there's a message from the maskirus saying that they want a report of the Farbrengen. So this last line is, "A Mivrak ." Certainly, the Mivrak was received in its proper time. Certainly you'll let

20:38 Speaker 1 us know what happened over there at the Farbrengen. And the more you specify, the more details, the better. The Rebbe wanted details of these Farbrengens and the maskirus would specifically ask for them. And of course, we'll continue tomorrow with what happened starting from Yerach Tishrei Chof. That's it for today. Questions, comments, contributions.

21:00 Speaker 2 Is hearing stories of the Rabbeim or the Rebbe considered, uh,

21:11 Speaker 1 I think it's very clear from this whole thing what's considered and I, and I don't think it's, I don't think it's one-dimensional. I think it's many dimensions. It's very clear that from the Rebbe's thing over here that, that the element of Hasidus is a very strong element I think it's a strong element of every Farbrengen. But some Farbrengens you might say you can get away without Hasidus by Farbrengen. You can talk about Hasidus, but there is an specifically related to to the, to giving over Divrei Elokim Chayim, giving over Hasidus. And of course, you give it over with, with, with, with a little bit of sesame chicken or a bagel and, and, and some music and, and, and, and, and some but the is, is, is, is giving over Hasidus, number one. And the other part of it is that I wanted to point out is the very first Mivrak is, is-- talks about that, you know, not, uh, that not only that the, the and I think that that's something that a lot of people sometimes forget about and, uh, in our community I think is very, uh, it's, uh, it's a, it's a good call-out that there's a lot of people that would not be to, to a and here Divrei Hasidus from Rabbi Weber, Ev- and from Rabbi Weinberger and, uh, whoever the MC will be this year, uh, uh, to, to, to, uh, hear the, the Divrei Hasidus. I think it's, it's-- sometimes people get all tied up in certain things,

22:32 Speaker 1 you know, if you look at Eretz Yisrael, was always a very, very big non- holiday. As a matter of fact, this year the huge Lubavitch thing in Yerushalayim is featuring a speaker who's not a Lubavitcher, is the main featured speaker at the the main gathering. So I think this is an important thing to po-point out. And the other thing I wanted to point out is it's interesting how every single Mivrak has a different . There's not one Mivrak exactly the same. There's not one that has copy and paste from the year before. Everyone has either, either it's just a different word or it's a different twist or it either goes from do it this way or do it do it Every one is completely d-- everything is different. It's interesting and I w-- I guess we'll see tomorrow if it continues that way also where the messages are different every single time.