The Rebbe's Yom Tov Letters: Part 3

00:00 The hemsach in reference to the earlier installments regarding the Rebbe's Michtovim Kloliym messages which the Rebbe would send on the occasion of an upcoming Rosh Hashanah or Pesach. We continue now with installment number three, discussing additional aspects in regard to a Michtef Kloli. In a sicha which the Rebbe delivered on the evening of Simchas Teida, which is the evening before the day of Simchas Teida, Tov Shin Chav Beis, late 1961, the Rebbe stated, a Michtef Kloli is not like others figure, the Rebbe says the loshon like the mistake that others figure, that it's a union of drush, anthology, a sermon, and a meshiven al ha'drush, we don't dispute drush. But it's basically meyuset, the union that the Rebbe mentioned in the Michtef Kloli, a certain point is based on a ma'amer, on a discourse of the Alter Rebbe. And the Rebbe sums up, but in the letter I wrote it, I translated it in such a language style that everyone should be able to understand it. From this we understand, actually, that on one hand the Rebbe took a deep concept, on the other hand the Rebbe worked on it that it should be understood by everyone who reads the letter. On another occasion, which was the beginning years of the Rebbe's nasius, the Rebbe writes in a letter that I have attached here, enclosed here, a letter, a Michtef Kloli in three languages. And it would be appropriate to publicize it in the appropriate manner in various circles. In the year Tov Shin Yud

02:13 Beis, there was a Sefer HaMa'amerim Tov Shin Yud Alef, which are Ma'amerim from the previous Rebbe, which were printed in the year Tov Shin Yud Alef 1951. So in the Pesach Dover, in the introduction, the Rebbe writes, there is an introduction to this Sefer, appear my letters for Rosh Hashanah Tov Shin Yud Beis. Which means that it was published in the Sefer as an introduction to the Ma'amerim, which are included in the Sefer HaMa'amerim. In regards to the Nusach of the letter, as we mentioned already in the first installment, the time and energy that the Rebbe invested in the letter, there was an additional aspect that was observed by Chassidim. I'm not sure if it was all the years, but in the later years, especially in the mems, in the 80s, especially the second half of the 80s, it was something that stood out. Before a letter would be released from the Rebbe, the Rebbe would elaborate, discuss the contents of the letter in a sicha. Which means that one of the sichas of a Shabbos fabregen contained the contents of the letter which will be published after Shabbos. Interesting, the language style of that sicha was different than the other sichas. And this is what brought to mind that this may be a letter, it was more in the style of a letter, and indeed the letter was published after Shabbos. In regards to the inyan of a letter which answers the questions, the Rebbe once wrote to someone that he should read the

04:25 letter and he will have what to answer, what to respond to his yetzer, to his evil inclination. In addition to the letter, the Rebbe would also write comments, ha'ores, on certain details of the letter. These ha'ores also contained references to all the different sections of Torah. When a person looks at a letter, the footnotes to the letter, one will find that the Rebbe refers to sfarim which are pshat, remez, drush, and sod. The ha'ores, the comments that the Rebbe writes at times on the letters are sometimes clarity in certain topics and at times also answers questions in a very subtle way. The accuracy of the references that the Rebbe uses is obvious in letters that the Rebbe responds to Rabbanim who ask the Rebbe why he chose this reference and not another reference, which would seem to be appropriate for this topic. And the Rebbe explains what his point is in the letter, and therefore the specific reference that the Rebbe used is exactly the most appropriate and perfect reference for this topic. This also took place at Fabrengens, that the Rebbe would answer questions which the Rebbe received in writing through the week, and on Shabbos the Rebbe would explain why he used a specific reference and not another, or why he mentioned one reference before the other, although chronologically one should come after the other. I once heard from a Yid, Rav Sholom Ber Pevzner, alav haShalom, that he once showed one of these letters to a veltishe Yid, who was not a

07:02 Hasid, was very into learning. He didn't tell me which letter it was, and he says that the Rebbe, in a footnote of two lines, two and a half lines, answered a question of Rav Akiva Eiger. Without mentioning what he's referring to, in a very subtle way, the Rebbe answered the question which Rav Akiva Eiger was left with in his sefer. There were times that the Rebbe would wait from sending the letter. We find one of them in regards to Tovshin Lamed 1970, relating to the name Tainis Esther, why it's called Tainis Esther. And the Rebbe writes, after all the footnotes, he sakavti mishliach ha'michtav, I postponed the sending of the letter. And the Rebbe says a thought came to his mind which answered the question which the Rebbe had then. We will im yirtzem continue in the next installment.