The 24th of Teves: The Hilulo of the Alter Rebbe (5573/1812)

00:03 Today, Chavdalat Teves is the of the Alter Rebbe. So we'll discuss what took place by the Rebbe over the span of many years. Firstly, Chavdalat Teves in the beginning of the Rebbe's Nasiyus was designated as a day of Siyum HaShas, which is usually and, uh, today is done on Yud Tes Kislev, but for a span of fifty years, from Taf Resamach Gimel to Taf Shin Yud Gimel, the Halukah HaShas was Chavdalat Teves. The Rebbe would make a Siyum already before the Nasiyus years in the nineteen-forties, and this also continued in the beginning of the Rebbe's Nasiyus years, that there, there would be a farbrengen, and the Siyum HaShas would take place on Chavdalat Teves. The reason the Rebbe Rashab in Taf Resamach Gimel and Tammuz that followed, uh, postponed it to Chavdalat Teves is because there was no time at the farbrengen of Yud Tes Kislev to make a Siyum HaShas. And therefore, it was postponed to Chavdalat Teves. The Rebbe in Taf Shin Yud Gimel turned it back to Yud Tes Kislev, and that's how it remained by the Rebbe all the years, the Siyum HaShas, Halukah HaShas is on Yud Tes Kislev. In Taf Shin Yud Gimel, it was the day of Chavdalat Teves that was on Sunday, so the Shabbos, the day before it, the Rebbe said a ma'amar based on the Rebbe Rashab's ma'amar, which was a historic ma'amar that Rebbe Rashab said in Würzburg in Germany in Taf Resamach Zayin in, um, 1907. And the Rebbe then spoke over the

02:14 course of the years. We heard that the Rebbe said that he wa- he's planning to publish the ma'amar. And, uh, the ma'amar was published in later years in the mems. In Taf Shin Tes Vav, the Rebbe speaking to Rav Shmuel Levitin on Chavdalat Teves, so the Rebbe mentioned to him the expression that Chavdalat Teves is a freileche hilula, joyous hilula. The Rebbe connected it with the month of Teves, as the Gemara says in Megillah, that it's a month that there's a inyan of the nachas ruach and, uh, basically al pihsidus that the nachas ruach that the Aibishter has of the avodah of Yidden. After the beginning of the Taf Shin Lameds, the seventies, when the Rebbe would come back from the AL, there were chances and actually, uh, times that the Rebbe would farbreng either after Mincha or after Ma'ariv. On certain dates that the Rebbe selected, the Rebbe would notify Rabbi Kadikoff that there'll be a, a farbrengen or short farbrengen either after Mincha or after Ma'ariv. One of these dates was Chavdalat Teves. So we already find the farbrengen after the AL that the Rebbe farbrenged Taf Shin Lamed Beis, late 1971, and generally the farbrengens after the AL began with a ma'amar. The ma'amaring that the Rebbe said in the occasions of Chavdalat Teves would be based on ma'amaring of the Alter Rebbe. And then at times, the Rebbe would publish the ma'amar right after the farbrengen, the ma'amar of the Alter Rebbe, and it would be available for study. In Taf

04:11 Shin Lamed Ches, early 1978, the Rebbe gave us a ruach what we should do on Chavdalat Teves in detail to learn at least a perek of Mishnah that begins with a letter of the Alter Rebbe's name, to learn a sefer of the Alter Rebbe Shulchan Aruch, to learn a perek Tanya, and a inyan in the drush of Parsha Va'era or Terumah, which is usually the parsha, uh, that Chavdalat Teves falls out, and combined with the inyan of giving tzedakah. And the Rebbe edited it, and today it is in Likutei Sichos chelek chaf alef page two ninety-six. In Taf Shin Mem Alef, it seems like the Rebbe saw that there was no activity going on, although he already gave instructions three years earlier. So the Rebbe says, "Ha'yitoch nem that we didn't hear anything, we didn't see anything." And the excuse that since nothing was mentioned, therefore nothing was done, the Rebbe says this is not an excuse. And therefore, the Rebbe says what's the reason that he's mentioning it? Not to make it melancholy, uh, that they missed something, but since it is Shabbos after Chavdalat Teves, so b'meila it is still an, an auspicious time to fulfill, compensate what was missed out in the middle of the week because Shabbos elevates all the days of the week. In Taf Shin Mem Beis, the Rebbe spoke to make a krias itim in learning the Torah of the Ba'al HaHilula and especially- With, uh, 10 people together. This was, um, uh, mentioned in a sicha in

06:08 . It's in the seven twenty. A hemsech to the earlier installment, . So we'll discuss what took place by the Rebbe Shabbos Kodesh, which was before the first farbrengen and the first farbrengen and Sunday night, the second farbrengen. that was written then. The Rebbe said the Kaddish after which is the of Chavdalat Teves. in the morning, the Rebbe said after the three fillas, the one Kaddish, the Kaddish after Aleinu. After Shabbos, the Rebbe was that the farbrengen will be ten twenty-five. The Rebbe came in with a gatko without a sidur. He-- Since he didn't say Lechayim, he didn't... Wasn't teim anything by the farbrengen. And as soon as the Rebbe sat down, the Rebbe opened up the farbrengen with the words that the Rebbe, the Nosy of Piazak, that it's a sure thing that the Yem HaHilula, the Bal HaHilula is Me'eira Rachamim. Rabbin is Me'eira, especially Rachamim, especially, uh, uh, which as it comes to farbrengen, which is as handing the pan, handing a pidyon to the Bal HaHilula. The Rebbe asked to sing once, and then the Alter Rebbe's nigun, Baba Dalot once, and then the Rebbe began the maimer, which was a short maimer. And, uh, after that, the Rebbe opened up his eyes after the maimer. It was that, uh, the eylum should sit down. The Rebbe then gave a bira on it. The Rebbe made a Sima Antanya, and amongst the nigunim that the Rebbe, uh, uh, sang himself, he asked to sing the of the Alter Rebbe, once, and

08:40 then Ani Maamin. In the middle of the nigun, Ani Maamin, the Rebbe got up, and he walked out, returned to his room. Farbrengen finished twelve fifteen AM. The next morning, Chavdalat Teves, the Rebbe came to shul nine-forty. When he went into the binyan to seven-seventy, he immediately stopped by the pushka, which is the pushka right near the maskiras, which was installed there for tzedakah, for the, uh, publishing of the Alter Rebbe called Kerens Meyer. And throughout the day, whenever the Rebbe was going to the mikvah, coming from the mikvah and as he write, the Rebbe always stopped, and he put in tzedakah into this pushka. The Rebbe was wearing zaiden that day. And, uh, twelve fifteen, the Rebbe went to the EO and returned ten to five. And again, the Rebbe put in tzedakah into the pushka Kerens Meyer. And, um, he went home, and then he came back for ma'ariv, six forty-five. In the afternoon, the early afternoon, before going to the EO, the Rebbe asked for the Sefer HaChassidim, which is a Sefer that included the names of all Chassidim. And the Rebbe asked that they should bring it in. These were two big files, and they should place it on his table. And before traveling to the EO, the Rebbe asked that they should take it out, place it in the car. Minori should be able to take it to the EO. And getting to the EO, Rabbi Krinsky placed it on the wall around the tzion, the wall which is basically

10:50 the, uh, white wall around the tzion. And then on the way back, it was taken back and placed back on the Rebbe's table in the room. At night, there was a dinner, the Baba Che Shiva. So the Rebbe waited till the dinner was over. At eleven fifty-five PM, mamash five minutes before midnight, the Rebbe came out to farbrengen. By this farbrengen, the Rebbe was teim, zeimes, cake, and wine. Farbrengen went till two twenty-five. Many sichas and a maimer, and also a sicha b'negia, giving an amount of a hundred and fifty for everyone in the family. And the Rebbe said, In an ordinary day, a person could empty out the pockets, which this is what the Rebbe asked them, and rely that the next day everything will be refilled. The Rebbe sang the nigun and, um, The Rebbe asked one of the maskirim, "How did so many people know this was a midnight as a farbrengen? Did they wake up people from their sleep?" Chaviv Teves, a day after Chavei Teves, which is two days after Chavdalah Teves. In the morning, the Rebbe told one of the maskirim to find an appropriate place where to place in a permanent, uh, manner the Sefer HaChassid-- uh, HaChassidim, which is basically the, as mentioned earlier, the Sefer that has the names of all HaChassidim. Because up to that point, it was laying on the Rebbe's table. After that, the Rebbe placed it on a small table that was, um, actually near the table of the Rebbe Maharash that

12:58 the Rebbe has in the room. To conclude with, conclude b'negia to the inyan of, uh, the connection of Chavdalah Teves and Yut Zvat. So the Rebbe explained it in different occasions. One occasion, the Rebbe said that Chavdalah Teves is already the week of Shabbos Cheshvat. The maimer already connects with Yut Zvat. Another occasion, the Rebbe said that Chavei Teves, macharasi of Chavdalah Teves, is exactly two weeks, shuayim before Yut Zvat, which already is a achana for Yut Zvat.