The Rebbe's Yom Tov Messages: Part 1

00:01 As we find ourselves between Purim and Pesach, we begin, im yirtzeh Hashem, with this installment, a new series on the topic of Michtavim Klalim. General letters. What does this literally mean? A message that the Rebbe would release in honor of Rosh Hashanah and in honor of Pesach. It's referred to as Michtavim Klalim. It was sent, addressed to Klal Yisrael, as the Rebbe would always begin the letter, "L'chol Bnei uBnei Yisrael," to all the men and women of Klal Yisrael, "b'chol makom shehehem," where they are, "Hashem aleihem yichye." Make a short introduction. A certain chapter which stands out amongst the series of letters of the Rebbe, which we have already today almost forty volumes, definitely without doubt relates to the hundreds of Michtavim Klalim which the Rebbe sent over the years to Klal Yisrael. From the beginning of the Rebbe's leadership, messiyas, ulamaisa, even before, the Rebbe would customarily send a general letter in honor of the new year and in honor of Chag HaPesach, and at times also occasionally for additional Yomim Tovim. It would be addressed, "L'chol Bnei uBnei Yisrael," to all the men and women, the sons and daughters of Am Yisrael, wherever they are. And every one of these letters would be referred to as a Michtav Klali, and it would focus primarily either one central point or a few central points that relate to their time. And the Rebbe would delve into the depth of the inyonim that the Rebbe is discussing and would derive from them guidance in a person's

02:33 life. From the year taf shin lamed bes, nineteen seventy-two, when the Rebbe became then seventy, the Rebbe began releasing two letters for the Yomim Tovim of Rosh Hashanah and Pesach. The second letter would be an extension, a continuation of the first letter in its contents, but the Rebbe would add more details a-and more concepts. The letters in general had a special date. For Rosh Hashanah, it was chai Elul in Yemei HaSelichos, and then came a third letter, which was after the Rebbe reached his eightieth yom haledes, and that would be already going into the next year of Av Tishrei, marking the Rebbe's mother's yom ha'lula, yahrtzeit. In regards to Pesach, it would be Rosh Chodesh Nisan and Yud Aleph Nisan. And at times, there were also letters or a letter on Chofhei Odar, which also marks the birth date of the Rebbetzin. Chassidim, when they referred and related to these Michtavim Klalim, they did not relate to it in the sense that it's nice sermons on the topic of the day, but rather as new revelations which delivered to the people of the generation, the entire generation, the guidance, the directives of the hour, and the spiritual matters which relate to this time period in which the letter was released. We're gonna focus a little in regards to Chag HaPesach, the manner in which the Rebbe would send-- The manner in which the Rebbe would prepare a letter, Dr. Mendel, who was one of the primary maskirim, secretaries of the Rebbe, would be summoned to

05:09 the Rebbe, and the Rebbe would give over orally a dictation of this new letter that the Rebbe wants that should be written out and typed. And Dr. Mendel would prepare it, and then he would deliver it back to the Rebbe, and the Rebbe would edit it. The letters of Michtavim Klalim were written in Yiddish, in the same manner that the Rebbe would fabrenk, speak in public, it would be in Yiddish, the ma'amarim, the discourses, and the sichas. In regards to Pesach, the topic would of course be about the Yom Tov of Pesach. Either it is exodus from Mitzrayim, from Egypt, or Speaking about matzah and morer and what their lesson is in chinuch or in regards to the Yom Tov of Pesach. And one of the letters that stood out very much, this was in 1957, that the Rebbe then came out with a very strong point that in addition to the four sons who are attending the Seder, there's a fifth son that doesn't even know anything about the Seder and doesn't even show up. And this is where the attention needs to be focused on. All these letters, mechtavim klalim, the Rebbe would cite sources and the Rebbe would mention in the references a reference to the Baal Shem Tov, to the Mizrich Shem Magid, to the Alter Rebbe, the Mitle Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek, the Rebbe Marash, the Rebbe Rashab, and the previous Rebbe. In later years, the Rebbe also added a reference to one of his father's svadim and later also

07:15 Lekutei Sichas. And this was in every mechtaf klali, every general letter as it's referred to, the Pesach message that the Rebbe would release before the Yom Tov of Pesach. The Rebbe's letter or letters needed to be studied. It wasn't just on a surface a person reading it as he reads other letters, but it needed study. In particular, the references that the Rebbe used, the sequence of the references, the choice of the references to the Talmud, to Medrash, and other svadim in all the different fields of Torah, Pshat, Remez, Drush, and Sod. Whatever the Rebbe chose should be included in this letter. Likewise, the Rebbe would also cite references for the date of the letter. As bacharim in yeshiva, students in yeshiva in 770, Rabbi Mentlik, who was the Rosh Yeshiva in 770, would give a shir. He would deliver a shir studying the Rebbe's letter, studying all the references which Rabbi Mentlik had on little index cards. He wrote up exactly what it says in those references. And in addition to that, yeshivas would also include ha'ores, comments of yeshiva bacharim in elaborating on the Rebbe's letters. The Rebbe took a lot of time and energy in editing the letter. I once heard from one of the Rebbe's secretaries, Rabbi Nyoman Klein, that the time that the Rebbe invested in a letter was even more than a Likutei Sichas, the weekly sicha which would be edited by the Rebbe on a weekly basis for years. Every word was reviewed, screened. And once the Rebbe was

09:38 pleased with the letter, this was after Dr. Mendel typed it over a second time, a third time, referring back to the time that there were no computers and everything was typewriter. So therefore, you weren't just able to enter a correction, but you needed to retype the whole letter. Once it was complete, the Rebbe was pleased with it. On the next occasion that the Rebbe would travel to the Eyal, when he would return, he would sign the letter and he would release it for publishing. The letter was circulated and published in many newspapers in Yiddish and then Dr. Mendel would translate it in English. So it would also be in Judaica, Anglo-Jewish newspapers. And then the Rebbe asked that it should also be sent to Ets Israel and our Aftuvia Blai would be the one that the Rebbe chose that he should translate it in Hebrew, etc. At this point, there are many other languages in which the Rebbe's letters were translated. Im Yirtzah Hashem, in the next installment, we will continue the Hamshach.