Shabbos Chazon and Tisha B'Av 5730 (1970)

00:00 B'keshev to Shabbos Hazeen, memories come back of, um, about 50 years ago, Tov Shin Lamed was a year that stood out very much, b'nege to the nine days, b'nege to Tisha B'av itself. Very, very unusual, exceptional, al derech zeh also Shabbos Hazeen. And just to give a little background and then the, what took place then. B'derech klal, Shabbos Hazeen, there were no fabringens usually on Shabbos Hazeen. There was an exception, Tov Shin Kes Vav. It was a ingan that was taking place in Eretz Yisroel then. The Rebbe said then also a maimer. Um, and it was a short fabringen, as we see it from the halacha. Aber in the 50s and the 60s, the yuds and the chafs, we don't really see fabringens on Shabbos Hazeen. It was relatively quiet. Um, the same thing is also b'nege to Shabbos Nachamu. So there were fabringens, but also not mamash with a kviyus. Tov Shin Lamed, 1970, was an exception. It was then that the whole summer, fabringen after fabringen, actually the Rebbe fabringen then quiet a number of Shabbosim that summer, which was very unusual. And the Rebbe spoke about the Matzav Eretz Yisroel. It was then that the general, his name is, uh, Balev, uh, suggested a certain barricade to be put up in order that, um, from Egypt, they shouldn't be able to have access to cross over into the desert, over the Suez Canal. And the Rebbe was constantly speaking about it, that it has no substance, it won't accomplish anything. And over

01:50 24 hours, the enemies could roll in all their military equipment. There were times that the Rebbe cried by fabringen b'nege to this ingan. There was one time, Chof Ov, Tov Shin Lamed, it was, um, Shabbos. And the Rebbe then spoke, "Daf teyve, madu abosi ve'enish, karosi ve'eineh." Uh, "Why did I come?" And there was, uh, the prophet says, the navi says, "Why did I come? And there was no, there's no people there. Karosi, and I called, and nobody answers." The Rebbe mamash like choked with tears then, uh, when he said it. So al kopani, in the middle of everything, of course, middle of the summer is Tisha B'Av. So the Shabbos before Tisha B'Av, we did not expect a fabringen. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, one of the maskilim left, and I think he was told there won't be a fabringen. And, um, there was a fabringen, surprise fabringen. Uh, a fabringen which contained many herois b'nege to the Tisha B'Av that followed. The Rebbe edited the sicha, and the sicha is today in Likutei Sichas, in volume te- tes, volume nine, page 250. The Rebbe gave a whole list of directives what to do that Tisha B'Av. The Rebbe says everyone should increase in limud ha'teida, especially in Tisha B'Av, in inyonim that could be learned then. There should be sign the day, sign the night. Where it's possible, the Rebbe says, they should make mishmaris. This was a big chiddush the first time ever. They should make mishmaris for the 24 hours,

03:28 which means possibly the vigil, a vigil that, uh, basically they should divide it, if possible, to learn three people together or 10 people together. And in order that it shouldn't hurt the health, it should be for an hour or two or three, and then they should change the shifts. There should be shifts throughout the 24 hours. Mehalochim, that also they should learn in inyoni de yoma, the reshimas of the Tzemach Tzedek on Eicha, Tzemach Tzedek's, uh, uh, writings on, uh, on the Megillah of Eicha, and also, uh, many inyonim that are connected with the Mishnah, Mishnahis that are explained there. Also, everybody should contribute to tzdakah b'meshech these days, and especially in Tisha B'Av itself, many times during the hours of the day, especially before Shacharis and before Mincha. And also give tzdakah before the tzdakah of davening, in order that the tzdakah should have an effect, the tzdakah before davening. And the third hero was to be meshtadel, especially in these days, b'meshech of these days, especially in Tisha B'Av itself, in Mivtzer Film, which is permitted in the hours of the day, in the afternoon, when film already could be put on. And, um, the Rebbe concludes with a bracha. The bracha speaks about Eretz Yisroel also, "Ve'einu sereinu ke'likim yeshi atzin ve'yivnu re'udah," which was actually the Rebbe's capital tefillin that year, from Yud Alef Nissan, um, that year. Tisha B'Av came. The Rebbe generally does not daven with the eylum, um, Tisha B'Av morning. And the ma'ele when the Rebbe came

05:14 in, the Rebbe would just be sitting, uh, reading the reshimas of the Tzemach Tzedek on Eicha. But the Tisha B'Av Tov Shin Lamed is something that really remained in my mind, stood out very much. The Rebbe was sitting and crying, pashut gechlipet, not just crying. The Rebbe was pashut shtar- shtar geven. It was like, ma pashut rechmein, like the Rebbe is seeing the churban in front of his eyes. This was a very exceptional Tisha B'Av. Also by haftarah, generally there are, there, generally from year to year, there were chiyus that the Rebbe choked up with tears during the haftarah. And this was basically the, uh, Tisha B'Av of Tov Shin Lamed, 1970. Uh, and, uh, the inyan that I mentioned earlier that, um, the Rebbe l'chatchilah said there won't be a fabringen and that there was a fabringen. So such an inyan once took place in the past. I don't know if it was in this case that the Rebbe answered this, the following answer or in different place. The Rebbe said that when it comes to a navi, a prophet, and when he says something good will take place, and then it is not fulfilled, so then his prophecy is in doubt. On the other hand, when the prophet says that something not good will take place, unwishful, and then later it changes to good, his prophecy is still fulfilled because the Aibishter always has the choice to change from bad to good. "Ze v'yovchu yom ha'meilu la'sasim u'la'simcha u'la'mehad enteivi."