Chof Dalet Teves: Hilulo of the Alter Rebbe

00:03 Today, Chavdalateves is the Yem Aylula of the Alter Rebbe, so we'll discuss what took place by the Rebbe over the span of many years. Firstly, Chavdalateves, in the beginning of the Rebbe's nasius, was designated as a day of Siyum HaShas, which is usually, and today is done Al Yut HaSkislev, but for a span of 50 years, from Tafrei Sama Gimel to Tafshin Yud Gimel, the Halukah HaShas was Chavdalateves. The Rebbe would make a Siyum already before the nasius years, in the 1940s, and this also continued in the beginning of the Rebbe's nasius years, that there would be a fabregen, and the Siyum HaShas would take place on Chavdalateves. The reason the Rebbe Rashab in Tafrei Sama Gimel, Tamaznal, that followed, postponed it to Chavdalateves is because there was no time at the fabregen of Yut HaSkislev to make a Siyum HaShas. And therefore, it was postponed to Chavdalateves. The Rebbe in Tafshin Yud Gimel turned it back to Yut HaSkislev, and that's how it remained by the Rebbe all the years, the Siyum HaShas, Halukah HaShas, is on Yut HaSkislev. In Tafshin Yud Gimel, it was the day of Chavdalateves that was on Sunday, so the Shabbos, the day before it, the Rebbe said a maimer based on the Rebbe Rashab's maimer, which was a historic maimer that the Rebbe Rashab said in Würzburg in Germany in Tafrei Sama Zayin in 1907. And the Rebbe then spoke over the course of the years. We heard that the Rebbe said that he's planning to publish the

02:19 maimer. And the maimer was published in later years in the mems. In Tafshin Kesvav, the Rebbe, speaking to Rav Shmuel Levitan on Chavdalateves, so the Rebbe mentioned to him the expression that Chavdalateves 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 guf nelem ha'guf is the inyan of a nachas ruach, and basically al pichsidas, that the nachas ruach that the Aibishter has of the avdei Av Yidden. After the beginning of the Tafshin Lamed, the 70s, when the Rebbe would come back from the AO, there were chances and actually times that the Rebbe would fabreng either after Mincha or after Ma'ariv. On certain dates that the Rebbe selected, the Rebbe would notify Rabbi Chadikov that there will be a fabreng or short fabreng either after Mincha or after Ma'ariv. One of these dates was Chavdalateves. So we already find the fabreng after the AO that the Rebbe fabreng Tafshin Lamed Beis, late 1971, and generally the fabrenges after the AO began with a maimer. The maimerim that the Rebbe said in the occasions of Chavdalateves would be based on maimerim of the Alter Rebbe. And then at times the Rebbe would publish the maimer right after the fabreng, the maimer of the Alter Rebbe, and it would be available for pichsidim. In Tafshin Lamed Ches, early 1978, the Rebbe gave us a roas what we should do on Chavdalateves. In detail to learn at least a peyrik of Mishnayis

04:30 that begins with a letter of the Alter Rebbe's name, to learn a sif from the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch, to learn a peyrik Tanya, and an inyan in the drushim of Parsha Vo'er Oterer, which is usually the Parsha that Chavdalateves falls out, and combined with the inyan of giving tzdukim. The Rebbe edited it, and today it is in Lekutei Sichos, Chelek Chaf Alef, page 296. In Tafshin 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, Hayitacham, 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. Therefore the Rebbe says, what's the reason that he's mentioning it? Not to make it melancholy, that they missed something, but since it is Shabbos after Chavdalateves, Abba Meila, it is still 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 Tafshin Mem Beis, the Rebbe spoke to make a kviyus itim in learning the Torah of the Ba'al Ha'ilula, and especially with ten people together. This was mentioned in a sicha in Tafshin Mem Beis, it's in the Isvadias, Chelek Beis, Amud 720.