Purim 5741 (1981)

00:01 Behemshech to the earlier installment, Bene Geir, to Purim, Tov Shen Lametzaya in 1977. The next occasion when Purim fell out on Friday was Tov Shen Memalef 1981, four years later. The Rebbe then wrote a letter, a message for Klal Yisrael, dated on the 11th of Adar Sheni, Tov Shen Memalef, to the sons and daughters of Israel. Greeting and blessing. With only several days left to Purim, it is high time to remind ourselves and others about all that has to be done in connection with Purim, particularly in keeping with its special features this year. This coming Purim occurs on the sixth day of the week, the day on which the first man, Adam, was created, and he immediately called upon all the creation to acknowledge the Creator as King of the universe, which is why we will say this Purim, the Psalm, "Hashem is King, he has garbed himself with grandeur." In practical terms, specifically to strengthen and expand the preparations for Purim with a view to enabling every Jew, young and old, children and women, to observe Purim in the fullest measure, especially involving also children, many children, all the children, boys and girls, in both the preparations for Purim and in the actual fulfillment of the mitzvahs of Purim. And of course, to care and provide also for the Jews who find themselves in special circumstances, in military service, senior citizens' homes, orphanages, hospitals, correctional institutions, to enable them to celebrate Purim fully. A further point of special relevance to this coming Purim is

02:13 in connection with the fact that when Purim occurs on Friday, it becomes an extended Purim for the holy city of Yerushalayim, extending into Sunday in some aspects, like the Purim Sudah, rejoicing with Purim, Mishlei Achmanes, et cetera. When Jews went into exile after the destruction of the first Beis Hamikdash, they vowed never to forget Yerushalayim and remember it and raise it above every simcha, as David, the sweetener of the songs of Israel, declares in Tehillim. It would therefore be appropriate, indeed very much so, for Jews everywhere to make this coming Sunday a particularly joyous one by additional activities that produce joy. Teyre study, which brings rejoicing of the heart, spreading joy among Jews in the spirit of Avas Yisroel, and if suitable or necessary, through Mishlei Achmanes to friends and gifts to the poor, and particularly through gatherings to spread Yiddishkeit in the spirit of Yerushalayim, Yiras Leima, that is the acronym of the word Yerushalayim, complete awe of Hashem. To do all the above with true joy in accordance with the conclusion of Shulchan Aruch Eirechayim laws of Purim, the good-hearted feasts always. In this way, we identify ourselves still more with Yerushalayim, to which we turn every day at prayer, as it is written, "They will pray to Hashem through the city which you have chosen." Chosen and given to every Jew and to all Jews forever as an eternal inheritance. May Hashem grant that just as in the days of Mordechai and Esther, it turned out that for the Jews there was

04:14 light, joy, gladness, and honor. In the plain sense of these terms, as well as in their inner meaning, as our sages explain, so shall it be for us, and with geulah following geulah, that after the geulah of Purim should immediately follow the true and complete geulah through our righteous Mashiach, a geulah similar to the liberation from the land of Egypt. And before that, while still in galus, we, your people and sheep of your pasture, will thank you forever. We will tell your praise to generation and generation. This expression, we, your people, is from Tehillim, and this was a chapter of Tehillim that corresponded to the Rebbe's age at the time. The Rebbe concludes the letter with esteem and blessing for atzlachen all the above and for a joyous Purim. And the Rebbe fixed his signature. A freilechen Purim. Behemshech to the earlier installment, Bene Geir, to Purim Tov Shemem Aleph 1981. We continue now, B'ezrashem, with discussing the unique quality of Purim when it is on a Friday, what it expresses, what it teaches us. The Rebbe in Hisicha on the 13th of Adar Sheni, Tain Esesta, Tov Shemem Aleph, explained this unique quality as follows. On Friday, we say in the song of the day, Hashem Moloch Geyus Lovish, that Hashem has garbed himself with grandeur. And the reason for that is Because the sixth day of the week in the beginning of the creation is the day when Adam HaRishon was created, and he immediately turned and called on the entire creation that

06:17 they should anoint Hashem as the King of the universe. And this accomplished a unity in the entire creation, including all the aspects of the creation, deim, tzeme'ach, chai, umedaber. Deim is the inanimate world, tzeme'ach is the plant world, chai is the animal world, and medaber is the people world. And that is accomplished when the entire creation takes upon itself and accepts Hashem's royalty. And therefore, when Purim falls out on a Friday, which is the day in which the entire creation took upon itself, accepted Hashem's royalty, unity with Hashem, the melech, this brings out a greater unity in the Jewish nation, in the mitzvahs of Purim. And not only achdus, unity by Yidden and amongst Yidden, but it accomplishes a unity in the entire creation. We'll now discuss an event that took place today, Purim on a Friday exactly forty years ago. Read from a article that was published in the Chsidische Der Her, and as it was relayed from a few Chsidim who were present at the time. It was in the early afternoon of Purim on a Friday. The Rebbe gave money to Rabbi Binyamin Klein, his secretary, to send to his home on President Street for the Rebbetzin to distribute as matanos lavonim. Rabbi Klein chose a young bocher named Hershel Raskin, known today as Rab Hershel Raskin, mashpia in Montreal Yeshiva Temchetimim, and asked him to deliver it. Mincha itself was uneventful. The crowd was fairly small, perhaps thir-thirty or forty people, as most of Anash and Bocherim were out go-- doing

08:41 Mivtza Purim. And the Rebbe concluded the tefillah, leaving the zal shul upstairs for his room. The Rebbe's chair was already being carried downstairs for Shabbos, when suddenly the Rebbe emerged from his room again, holding a siddur and followed by Rabbi Groner, who was carrying a bottle of wine. The small crowd had already begun to disperse, but seeing the Rebbe walking back into the zal, whoever was in sight hurried back inside to see what was happening. This was merely a few short moments after the Rebbe had left, and now he was coming back. For what? The suspense was baffling. Entering the zal, the Rebbe asked the maskirim, secretaries, to close all the doors, the windows. Before leaving his room, it is rumored that the Rebbe told Rabbi Groner that this ma'amer should be kept quiet without much tumult, so as not to disturb the people who were busy preparing for Shabbos. Arriving at his place in the zal at the southeastern corner, where he would daven Mincha on Shabbosim with no fabrengen, the Rebbe waited until his chair was returned. In the meantime, he wrapped a handkerchief around his hand, as was the custom of the rabbeim before the recital of a ma'amer. When the chair arrived, the Rebbe sat down and immediately began to recite a ma'amer on the posek L'hudi Meisora. Being a total surprise, no microphone or tape recorder was present to record the Rebbe's words. Rabbi Elkana and the other chasanim were also not there to memorize the ma'amer. But a few

10:38 of those present did the best they could to transcribe ha'anochah of the ma'amer as the Rebbe spoke. Hence, between these ha'anochot and with the assistance of Rabbi Mentlik, the ma'amer was quickly published in time for Shabbos. The ma'amer lasted around seven minutes. Afterwards, the Rebbe asked that a glass of wine be filled for him. When asked if he wanted his regular becher, his regular kos, the Rebbe declined, and Rabbi Mentlik poured wine for the Rebbe into a plastic cup. After saying l'chaim, the Rebbe asked that all those present should do as well, and then began singing Ufaratzna, standing up and responding l'chaim v'livracha to all. Then the Rebbe asked for another l'chaim, drank a second cup, and recited the Birkat Hamazon. Before leaving the zal, the Rebbe reminded everyone to recite the Birkat Hamazon and encouraged all to utilize the time that I'm still here and say l'chaim without limits. "Chatarein kol zman ich bin do, un zokt l'chaim on hagbalis." Leaving the zal, the Rebbe waved his hands, encouraging the singing. During the ma'amer, one of Anash who had heard about the surprise ran to Seven seventy and knocked on the window of the zal. After someone opened, he put his ear to the window to follow along. Seeing the open window, this is after the Rebbe already was walking out after the maimer, the Rebbe turned to the maskir and said, didn't we decide that the windows would be closed? After a few minutes, the Rebbe left for home. Meanwhile, scores of bachrim

12:35 and anash returned to 770 and hearing what had happened, a joy celebration ensued. Overjoyed by the immense giluyim of the day and hearing about the Rebbe's request to say l'chaim, Hasidim sang and danced, welcoming the Shabbos with tremendous joy. When the Rebbe entered the shul for Kabbalah Shabbos that evening, the Hasidim were in particularly high spirits, singing the Hakafes Nigun joyously. Reaching his place, the Rebbe put down his siddur on the shtender and turned around to encourage the singing. The scene that unfolded that night reminded everyone of Sukkot celebrations with the Rebbe. Im Yirtze Hashem, in the next installment, we will continue what took place at the farbrengen on Shabbos afternoon. A freilechen Purim. The hemshech to the earlier installment be-negi'ah to Purim Tov Shin Mem Aleph 1981, as it was the same calendar setting like this year, Purim was on Friday. Continuing now relating to the Shabbos farbrengen. On Shabbos afternoon, the Rebbe held a long farbrengen in conjunction with Purim, reciting an additional maimer on the pasuk of La-Yehudim Hois Oirah, this time with a much lengthier explanation. Suddenly, towards the end of the farbrengen, the Rebbe covered the mezeines, the cake in front of him, and explained, we will now hold a special farbrengen in honor of Yerushalayim, where the celebration of Purim is just beginning. Essentially, we should have made a proper second farbrengen after Mincha. The Rebbe was implying be-negi'ah to Yerushalayim that part of this Purim celebration is taking place on Sunday. But so as not to overly burden

14:54 the crowd, tirchad et tziburah, we will suffice with covering the mezeines as if we are starting over now. In one of the sichas on this Shabbos, the Rebbe said as follows, when Purim falls out on Friday, like this year, the Rebbe continues, in Yerushalayim, Eretz HaKodesh, and in other walled cities, as Hevron, Tzfas, and Tveria, and the cities near them, extend the Purim, and it continues in many different aspects on the Sunday following the Shabbos. The reading of the Megillah is on Friday, as is in the other cities and also in Chutz La'aretz, which all this stresses even more yet the concept of Ahavas Yisrael, loving a fellow Jew, the achdus, the unity between Yidden, that they are one nation. Because in all the years, the reading of the Megillah in other cities generally is on Purim, and in Yerushalayim it takes place on Shushan Purim. But this year, the reading of the Megillah everywhere, for all Yidden wherever they are, is on Purim on Friday. And the Rebbe continues, this unity between Yidden nullifies the argument and the decree of Haman that Yidden are considered spread out, dispersed, because they are all united in a very realistic way. On the other hand, the Rebbe continues, we can't say that Yerushalayim is one entity with the other cities. There must be some unique quality in Yerushalayim in comparison to the other cities. So this expresses itself in the kvios, the calendar setting of this year, that the inyonim of the sudas Purim, the feast of

17:11 Purim, the rejoicing of Purim, and the Mishlei Achmanis are done on Sunday, not on Friday, as it takes place in all other places. And the Rebbe then reiterated the theme he had written about in the Mihtav Klali a few days earlier, to continue the Purim celebrations on Sunday and to hold children's gatherings as well. We'll quote here from the paragraph where the Rebbe mentions this specifically in the letter. It would therefore be appropriate, indeed very much so, for Jews everywhere to make this coming Sunday a particularly joyous one by additional activities that produce joy. Torah study, as it says in Tehillim, rejoicing the heart, spreading joy among Jews in the spirit of Ahavas Yisrael, and if suitable or necessary, through Mishlei Achmanis to friends and gifts to the poor, and particularly through gatherings to spread Yiddishkeit in the spirit of Yerushalayim. The acronym of the word Yerushalayim is Yirah Shlema, a complete awe of Hashem. The Purim Tov Shem Mem Aleph was a memorable Purim with the Rebbe, leaving Hasidim uplifted and full of enthusiasm until the next time the Rebbe would shower us with giluyim of this kind. In the meantime, we continue in the spirit of La-Yehudim Hois Oirah, spreading the light of Torah and Hasidus all over until the world shines with the light of the geulah.