20 Cheshvan 5621 (November 5, 1860) – Birthday of the Rebbe Rashab

00:00 They will do the Yemei Chabad. This is the Chabad history, but we're going to the twentieth day of Cheshvan, Chof Cheshvan. On that day is the birthday of the Rebbe Rashab, Reb Shalom Dov Ber. He's called Rashab, which actually only has the acronym of Reb Shalom Ber, but it's Shalom Dov Ber. Uh, sometimes when you write it, you write Shin Daled Beis. But he's known as the Rebbe Rashab. He was, of course, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe. He was the son of the fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe, who was the Rebbe Maharash, Reb Shmuel. Who was the son of the Tzemach Tzedek, Reb Menachem Mendel, who was the third Lubavitcher Rebbe. Reb Menachem Mendel was the son-in-law of the Mitteler Rebbe, Reb Dov Ber, the second Lubavitch Rebbe. And Dov Ber was the son of the Alter Rebbe, the first Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rashab. So in any event, you know, a lot of times we don't realize the birth and the lives of these great tzadikim and Jewish leaders in the Chabad history is-- involves a lot more than just the simple person having a child. But this was a, uh, uh, in the mysterious, in the hidden ways, it was noticed-- uh, notified to them, and there was various different activities. Today, we'll learn actually about his birth of the Rebbe Rashab, which involves a dream, uh, that his mother had. Uh, a dream, and also in the dream, they asked what name to give, and they also, um, um, had a good idea when he's gonna be

01:31 born, almost. And there was a Sefer Torah written in association with that. Uh, and all this was a dream by his mother. I mean, it wasn't like a dream of a, uh, uh, you know, a Rebbe or something, but his mother dreamt, and in her dream, she was able to, um, uh, communicate, uh, various different things from great tzadikim. Um, so anyway. So the Rebbe Maharash, uh, and his wife, the Rebbetzin Rivkah, that was the, uh, parents of the Rebbe Rashab. Um, and it was in the portion of Chayei Sarah. It was on a Monday, the twentieth day of Cheshvan, in theee nine o'clock in the morning in the city of Lubavitch. So he was born in the city of Lubavitch. We already learned yesterday or the day-- a few days ago that the Rebbe Rashab was the one that left during World War II-- World War I. They actually moved from Lubavitch after for many generations, for several generations living in the city of Lubavitch. Uh, by World War I, the Rebbe Rashab decided to move, and, uh, they went to Rostov, uh, and they lived there for several, uh, for, for some years. Um, now this was in the year Taf Res Chaf Alef. Uh, Taf Res Chaf Alef in the Hebrew would spell Keter Alef. Keter means a crown. But to remember, it's not Kisro, it's not Keter Alef. And, uh, um, that's one way to remember the day, the year. Twentieth day of Cheshvan, Chaf is Keter. The-- now it, it

03:14 starts the first letter of Chaf. Uh, but it's Keter Alef, Keter one. Uh, the Rebbe Rashab is also very well known as sort of, uh, one who articulated the-- a lot, a lot of ideas of the Hasidic, uh, uh, teachings in a very detailed and elaborate way that should be more comprehendible to the people. There are many, uh, lengthy, uh, extended ma'amarim. Ma'amarim means the Hasidic discourses which he taught. And he-- you know, some of the, uh, profoundest, uh, aspects of the Kabbalah and Hasidus are articulated in a very clear and a very detailed way. And it's, uh, very much studied in the Chabad yeshivas. They study a lot of the works of the Rebbe Rashab due to his ability to-- He's known as the Rambam of Hasidus, sort of like the Maimonides, uh, did as far as Hasidus goes. But in any event, um, this is a tale which the Rebbetzin Rivkah. Rebbetzin Rivkah was the wife of the Rebbe Maharash. That's his mother. So the Rebbetzin Rivkah, the mother of the Rebbe Rashab, relates the following story. That a year earlier on Yud Kislev... Now, Yud Kislev is also a special day. The tenth day of Kislev, as we'll see, uh, that was the day that the Mitteler Rebbe was freed from, uh, prison after he was imprisoned, as we've learnt, uh, earlier during the month of Tishrei, after Yom Tov he was imprisoned. So on the tenth day of Kislev, he was freed. So that's-- it's, it's, it's kind of celebrated as

04:59 no tachon in the Hasidic calendar. So on that day, on Yud Kislev, "I saw my mother," she says. This is Rebbetzin Rivkah saying, "I saw my mother in my dream." Her mother was the Rebbetzin Shenah. "And I also saw my grandfather, uh, the, uh, Mitteler Rebbe." Uh, the Mitteler Rebbe, um, was-- She saw her mother and her grandfather, Mitteler Rebbe, and she saw them. They were very happy. "And my mother says to me, 'Rivkah, you and your husband should write a Sefer Torah.'" Torah is a Torah. "And my grandfather," this is the Rebbetzin Rivkah's grandfather, the Mitteler Rebbe, he said-- he added, he said, "You will have a son, a good son. And don't forget my name. Don't forget about my name. Uh, don't forget my name." Now, Shalom Dov Ber, the Rebbe Rashab, was named Shalom and Duber. The Mitteler Rebbe's name was Duber. But the, uh, his, uh, his, uh, the Rebbe Maharash's grandfather from the other side was the Tsamach Tzedek's, uh, father. His name-- In other words, Tsamach Tzedek's father's name was Shalom Sharfa. So he got a combination of the Tsamach Tzedek's father's name, Shalom, from Tsamach Tzedek's father's name, and then he got Duber from the Mitteler Rebbe's name. So-- But he told him, "Don't forget." Now, I'm just trying to think. He said, "Don't forget about my name." He didn't say name after me. Yeah. So if he would say name after me, maybe they would have to give just Duber. He didn't say. He said, "Don't forget,"

06:56 implies you can name or name something else, but don't forget. I'm just-- That's just my own, my own shtick. I'm not sure if that's any valid. But he says- Well, maybe at that point there was no, nobody named after him, which had to change. Not-- No. But, uh, I kinda doubt it. It must have been, because this was, um, he passed away, uh... No, I'm sure it was already. Because Takupacha, there was-- it was already like twenty years after his passing. Uh, nineteen, this was nineteen years after the Mitteler Rebbe's passing, something like that. So it was already... No, I, I, I'm not sure. I don't think so. But anyways. "My mother added," he says, "Rivkah, do you hear what my, uh, father is saying to you?" Which means that she was saying to her, "You hear what my father," which is the Mitteler Rebbe, which was, uh, which was her father. So he says, "Do you hear what my father is saying to you?" And I woke up. So, you know, that was sort of, uh, troubled by this dream. I was just-- didn't know what to make of it, but I didn't wanna discuss it with my husband, the Rebbe Maharash. She didn't wanna discuss it, and never told him anything. But she says, "After two or three days, my mother-in-law," the, that was the, uh, wife of the Tsamach Tzedek, um, uh, it was Chaya Mushka. "So she became ill, and I helped her a lot, and then she got better. So

08:32 after the davening, my father-in-law, her husband, the Tsamach Tzedek, went in to visit. Uh, and when he came to visit, she told him that at the nighttime, she had a dream. So my father-in-law, the Tsamach Tzedek, said to her," this is Rebbe Rivkah saying, "Listen, in the Gemara," he says, "in the Talmud, it says that a cholem is good for somebody who is sick. If you're sick, you dream, it's good for you. And there are two opinions in the Talmud whether to believe dreams or whether dreams mean anything, or dreams don't mean anything." You know, of course, you know, we see the whole Chumash is full of dreams with Yosef and with, with, uh, Pharaoh and with, uh, you know, all the time we have a lot of, we have a lot of dreams in the, in the Torah. But-- And those are dreams that came true, you know, all the dreams over there. But, um, the, in the Talmud, there's two opinions. One says believe dreams, one says don't believe dreams. "But, uh, my father-in-law said, 'If it's good dream, go ahead and do it.' So if you have dreamed something positive..." I mean, you know, if somebody dreams about something that he doesn't have to do anything about, so it's not an issue. I mean, the issue becomes if you dream about something, you know, let's say you dream to do a Sefer Torah, you do, to do something. Do you do it or you don't do it? Or you just say, "Eh,

09:56 it doesn't mean anything," or do you do it? He says, "A good dream, you should fulfill. So when my father-in-law left, I paid attention. Now he's saying about these dreams. So I thought," he says, "that you should fulfill. If you have a good dream, you should fulfill it." "So I once again thought about my dream that I had on the tenth day of Kislev, and I decided to tell it to my husband really. So I was gonna share with him what I dreamt about writing the Sefer Torah. But the... It was busy day, so I didn't get a chance to really to discuss it with him. But on the nineteenth day of Kislev, I had another dream. And this time, my mother came, again, like last time, my grandfather, the Mitteler Rebbe, and there was another elderly person, somebody else, an elderly person. And my mother said to me, 'Rivkah, you and your husband write a Sefer Torah.'" Told me again. "And my grandfather said to me, the Mitteler Rebbe, again, like last time, 'You will have a good son.' But this time it doesn't say, 'Don't forget about my name.' It doesn't say this this time. So, 'You'll have a son.' And the elderly newfur person that came said, 'Amen. Hashem should say so. This is good.' You know. So my mother concluded, uh, 'Zaidy, Saba,' meaning that's her Zaidy, uh, uh, 'benchim.' She said this as she was saying to that elderly fellow, 'Benchim.' And my grandfather, the Mitteler Rebbe," this was already

11:38 Grand Mitteler Rebbe's, uh, she called him Zaidy, which he didn't know exactly. It was the Mitteler Rebbe's father, it was the Alter Rebbe, as we will see soon. "So the, uh, elderly man blessed me. My grandfather, the Mitteler Rebbe, and my mother, they said, 'Amen.' And I also said loudly, 'Amen,' and I woke up. And the Rebbe Maharash was in the next room. He was already up, but he was still in his room, and he says, 'Why did you say amen? I just heard you say ...' He heard her say amen in a dream. She said amen." So she says she washed her hands, and she said, "I had a dream." And she says, "I'm gonna come, I'll tell you." And she tells her husband the dreams, both of the tenth day of Kislev, and also the dream that she had just now, this night, the past night. So my husband said, "The Rebbe Maharash says that a good dream it is, so how come you didn't tell me this?" These dreams are very important, and my husband wanted that the Sefer Torah that we're going to write should be written on a very special parchment from skins that were shechted and kosher. And it was very difficult to find that particular parchment that he wanted to use and, um, it took several weeks to be able to get a hold of those kind of parchment. Uh, so now this is the Rebbe Maharash writing a Sefer Torah. His father, that's her father-in-law, Rebbe Tzvi

13:19 Ricky's father, the Tzemach Tzedek, instructed my husband that the beginning of the writing of the Sefer Torah should be done quietly. Uh, only his brothers, the Rebbe Maharash and his brothers, uh, should be there, and they should start writing it in the room of his father-in-law, the Tzemach Tzedek. Uh, my husband was pushing the scribe that he should keep on writing the Sefer. And during the Rosh Hashanah, the ten days between Rosh Hashanah, Day of Teshuva, it became publicized that after Yom Kippur, there's gonna be a siyum, they're gonna complete the Torah. And many of the guests that came for Yom Kippur, uh, stayed for the Siyum. However, after Yom Kippur, in the morning, my father-in-law called my husband, Tzemach Tzedek called the Rebbe Maharash, and he told him, "Today there's going to be a great meal, and I'm also gonna come to the meal and I'm gonna give a discourse. But we're not going to complete the Torah today." He didn't give any reason. He says, "We're not doing it today." On the second day, uh, on the-- on, on Monday, on the thirteenth of Cheshvan, my father-in-law called my husband. He said, "Today in the evening, call the scribe to my room. Call your mother," which is the Tzemach Tzedek's wife, the Rebbetzin Mushka, "and we're going to make the Siyum in a quiet way. We're not gonna publicize it. We'll do it very quietly." "I," Rebbe Tzvi Ricky con-con-- uh, relates, "I sewed the mantle of the Sefer Torah, and when I

15:05 brought the mantle into the room of my father-in-law, he said to me, 'Mazel tov. May Hashem fulfill the words of blessing that my father-in-law,' which is the Tzemach Ce-- the Mitteler Rebbe, 'and my grandfather, Tzemach Tzedek, have blessed you.'" And on the twentieth day of the month of Cheshvan, uh, I gave birth to my son, Mazal tov, Yom Shemini Atzeret, that's the birth of the Rebbe Rashab. Now, why is this whole story-- why was it done quietly? And then, you know, when-- We find such things like, you know, in, in, in general, we find that the Luchot, for example, the, um, tablets that Moses brought down. Uh, so we saw the first time around, before the tablets were given, there was the big, uh, magnificent stand at Mount Sinai in which, uh, God made all these great, uh, fires and thunderings and lightnings, and it was done with a tremendous amount of fanfare and, uh, was a very, uh, public size and a very public, very great event. And then we know what happened unfortunately. Unfortunately, what happened to it is that it didn't last, that when Moses came down, those tablets were broken 'cause the Jews strayed, and they made the golden calf. Now, the second time when the tablets came down, they were done in a very quiet way. That was after Yom Kippur, after Moses asked Hashem forgiveness, and he was-- prayed to Hashem, and he was on the mountain. When he came down the second time, we don't see no big

16:48 to-do. There was no fanfare. There was no big... It was done quietly. So it's brought down that something which is done very public sometimes, either there's an evil eye or there's other things that may come in the way. So sometimes it's better to do things in a quiet and a very, uh, non-public way. So perhaps this is also connected to the fact before the birth, the Mazel tov, not to make, uh, such a, a big tumult over there, not to make such a big fanfare there. Just keep it quiet. Maybe that is connected. I also remember that, um, there was the, uh, the court case about the books from the Rebbe that were, uh, that were, um, taken, that were taken, and there was a whole court case and, um, and of course, you know, eventually the, uh, ruling came out in favor of, of the Rebbe, in favor of Chabad, in favor of the books belong to Chabad. But then it was challenged again. So the first time they made a whole big, uh, to-do, uh, about it. And, and then it was challenged again, you know, it was, um, uh, against that judgment. Um, and, uh, after the second time, again, it was confirmed that it is right, you know, after they, they, they, they, they reheard the case again. The, um... And then the Rebbe said this should be done in a quiet way because, you know, this, uh- Overall, uh, big fanfare is not, is not, is not good. So sometimes

18:26 things have to be done in a quiet way, in a modest way- Things get done the best way. In a, in a, in a way of, uh-- And that they, they last sometimes, you know. Again, like for spiritual reasons, for-- on higher reasons, for other reasons, things sometimes should be done in a quiet way. So I'm not sure exactly. It doesn't say why the thirteenth day of Cheshvan was chosen to be the day. Um, the-- He was born eight days afterwards. Uh, he was born on the-- Maybe it has to do with the day of the birth, maybe it has to do with the eight days. I'm not sure exactly what... But the other thing is we also see in the story that even those dreams didn't just come any time. They came first at Yud Kislev, which was the day of the, uh, Mitteler Rebbe's celebration, and then they came on Yud Tes Kislev, which is the day of the Alter Rebbe's celebration. If you notice, on Yud Kislev, over the Alter Rebbe wasn't there because that had more to do with the Mitteler Rebbe. But when we're talking about Yud Tes Kislev already, in addition to the Mitteler Rebbe, it was also the Alter Rebbe because Yud Tes Kislev is really the Alter Rebbe's holidays. I'm, I'm just suggesting. I mean, I'm not really a maven in these spiritual levels, but I'm just suggesting that maybe there's a, maybe there's a possible connection between these things. Beezrat Hashem. The Yemei Chabad on the

19:41 twentieth day of Cheshvan, but this took place in Taf Res Chaf Daled. This is three years after the Rebbe Rashab was born. So of course, he was born on the twentieth day in the year Taf Res Chaf Alef, Tes Alef. And then his upsheirin, three-year-old, which they cut the hair, was done on Chaf Cheshvan in the year Taf Res Chaf Daled. And it was a-- not an ordinary haircutting because, you know, haircutting is the opportunity to take a child and start training him to do mitzvahs and becoming... That's why we make a big deal. We leave the payos, and we start making sure that he washes his hands and... We'll see you in the morning. We may wash his hands. Oh, I mean, tonight. You'll be-- Uh, who's picking you up? Mr. Bogart? Yeah. You're gonna pick him up, or I'm gonna pick him up? Now, I'm gonna drive home. From Mincha. From Mincha. I'll pick you up. No problem. Okay. I think I already got to figure out what's going on. All right, you pick him up from Mincha. Okay. So he says that, um... Forward. But at that time, we're talking here about Rebbes. Now, Rebbes are not just something that somebody can say, "Oh, I'm gonna work very hard, and I'm gonna become a Rebbe." A Rebbe is a dynasty, is something which Hashem gives every generation a special privilege for somebody to have a great tzadik who's going to be the leader of the generation and is going to be the

21:18 leader of the Hasidim. It's not something you can choose because that's not your job. I mean, you can choose to become very learned, you can choose to, uh, do a lot of mitzvahs, you can do a lot of tzedakah, but not everybody can choose to become a king, or not everybody can choose to become a, a Rebbe or a leader for that matter. It's-- That's up to Hashem. So what happens is with these Rebbes that they sort of gave over that spiritual powers that they had, that spiritual level of greatness that they were endowed with by Hashem, so they gave it over to the next generation. So when the Rebbe Rashab was three years old, at the time of his haircutting and leaving of his payos, that Tzemach Tzedek, that was the third Lubavitcher Rebbe, instructed his son, the Rebbe Maharash, the fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe, to do it in a quiet way. In the evening before the, uh, time, before the twenty-four-hour period when he turned actually three years old, the Tzemach Tzedek instructed to bring the child that he should sleep over with him in his room, that the three-year-old should sleep with him. In the morning, when he got up from his sleep, he instructed the attendant, his name was Rabbi Chaim Ber, who was the attendant of the Tzemach Tzedek, that he should wash the negel vaser, the hands of the child, and the Tzemach Tzedek himself said along with his child the morning blessings, and he answered Amen to the blessings

22:55 of the child. After the prayers, he called in his son, the Rebbe Maharash, and his daughter-in-law, his wife, the Rebbetzin Rivkah, the parents of the child, and he said to them as follows. He says, "That jug of oil." In the olden days, a king was anointed by passing down. It was done through mishicha, by physically anointing, putting some oil on the head. That was done. That was a means of anointing somebody and giving him the level of leadership of a king. But the Tzemach Tzedek says that that spiritual jug of oil, which the Baal Shem Tov had given to his student, the Maggid of Mezritch, who was the one that anointed the Alter Rebbe, Reb Schneur Zalman, the first Chabad Rebbe. So the Baal Shem Tov gave a spiritual jug of oil to the Mag-Maggid of Mezritch so he can anoint and have the Alter Rebbe become the leader, the Rebbe of Chabad. And that was the jug of oil which was used to anoint the Rebbes of Chabad for the generations that follow. Same jug. That same jug. So with that power, the Tzemach Tzedek says, so basically that he received, "I am now..." No. "With that power, my father-in-law," that is the Mitteler Rebbe, the son of the Alter Rebbe, "was anointed, and I, with that power, have anointed you." That's why the Rebbe Maharash, even though he was the youngest son, but he was the one that was anointed from the Tzemach Tzedek to follow him and be the next Rebbe, to

24:31 be the fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe. "And with that power, I am also anointing the, um, the, uh, the, that, the, uh, the youngster over there." That was-- So you see that the Tzemach-- It was the Tzemach Tzedek, the Rebbe Maharash's father, who passed along the jug, that spiritual leadership jug of oil that anoints- To his grandson ... to his grandson, the Rebbe Maharash, specifically. That's why the Rebbe Maharash was the Lubavitcher Rebbe that followed. Tzemach Tzedek had- And during that day, when they brought him into cheder... It's a tradition that at the day of the three years old, they bring him into the cheder. Cheder means a room, but it also represents the room where the teacher- Right ... the class, teaches the, the students. So his grandfather threw candies. The Tzemach Tzedek threw candies, and he said that the angel Michael, the Malach Michael, is the one that is throwing them. Who's throwing? He sort of waited. The angel Michael is throwing those candies. And the child took it very, very seriously, and he didn't want to eat. He treasured the candy that Malach Michael threw. He treasured it and, um, up till Pesach, before Pesach, these candies were chametz. Like, they weren't kosher for Pesach. So on Erev Pesach, in which they check all the pockets and making sure that there's nothing left from chametz in the pockets. So, uh, the Tzemach Tzedek called his grandson, and he asked him, "What did you do with the candies that he threw?" So he was forced

26:16 to eat them then. Oh, he didn't throw them away. Yeah. So at that point, he ate them. I guess eating candies of the Malach Michael is a pretty, uh, pretty s-- uh, nur-nurturing and, uh, even notwithstanding the sugar, it's- Yeah. -probably pretty, uh, pretty, uh... Has a lot of vitamins and has a lot of good- Sure. -spiritual strength in it. In those days, for sure.