Tishrei By The Rebbe: 5716 (Late 1955) - Part V: Sukos

00:00 The continuation to the earlier installments in regards to Tishrei Tov Shin Tazayen, late 1955, commemorating 70 years. We continue with installment number five, discussing Erev Sukkot and the first days of Sukkot. During the days between Yom Kippur and Sukkot, many more guests arrived from Toronto, Montreal, California, Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, London, and other places. One who remembers the taste that was in Lubavitch when guests would come for Rosh Hashanah and the other festivals, the joy and upliftment of spirit can now in a similar way understand and relive that pleasant taste once again. Each day through the month when a new group of guests arrived, the order was that they entered into Yechidas with the Rebbe. Today too, Erev Sukkot, the Rebbe instructed that the new guests enter to him, and indeed, after Mincha, before Kabbalah Shabbos, the guests entered to be seen for the Rebbe. Shabbos, the 15th of Tishrei, the first day of Sukkot. One who observed the Rebbe's conduct during the davening could see the precision in his movements, such as the effort that the tzitzit before him and behind him hang in an orderly manner. The Rebbe, especially after Krisma before Shimon Esra, would carefully handle his hands and arrange that the tzitzit and the corners be straight. The Rebbe ate the Yom Tov meals as every year in the sukkah of the previous Rebbe, which is on the second floor. Since the sukkah is small, only about a minyan and a half of elder Hasidim participated, and another two or three

02:05 bacharim who would be serving to the table. Those few individuals privileged to be present at the meal said that at that time, the saying of our sages was clearly understood. Whoever benefits from a meal at which a Torah scholar is present is as if he benefited from the radiance of the Shechinah. It should be noted that during the meal, no one uttered a word, and they say that this is the custom of all the Yom Tov meals, although we find that in later years there were conversations. Since the Rebbe does not wish to say anything in the room of the previous Rebbe because the porch on which the sukkah was built enters the Yechidas room of the previous Rebbe. On the second day of Sukkot, the 16th of Tishrei, in the morning, hundreds of Hasidim rose early to stand in line to receive from the Rebbe personally the Dalet Minim, which he would give out to his personal lulav that Hasidim could make a bracha over them. Although almost everyone purchased their own lulav, etc., the desire was to recite the blessing only on the Rebbe's lulav. Even those who had already blessed over their own Dalet Minim, they saw it as a zchus, a privilege to hold in their hands the Rebbe's Dalet Minim. This continued for several hours, and throughout the time, the Rebbe looked at the faces of those making the blessing. They would enter the Rebbe's sukkah, and the Rebbe would look at each one individually. Today, the second day of

04:02 Sukkot, since it was the first weekday, the bacharim unmarried, yungaleid carried out the well-known mitzvah which has already begun and became a tradition in the last few years in Lubavitch to go out in the streets and homes with their lulavim and esregan and offer every Yid, man and woman, the opportunity to make the blessing over the lulav. This year, the campaign was conducted on a broader and more special scale. It is worthwhile to mention that a group of bacharim were especially involved in visiting Jewish patients in various hospitals to enable them to bless over the four minim. Only one who has unfortunately been confined to a hospital bed can appreciate what this means. The shocking scenes about which the bacharim tell belong again to that kind of matter whose feelings are hard to convey and to describe in words. Before shkiya, a large farbrengen took place in the shalash, the tent, where a whole year it is a tent, and then for Sukkot, schach was placed, which has previously been covered with a sukkah roof. The farbrengen had not been planned beforehand. This is to note that in the first few years of the Rebbe's nasius, there wasn't a kvius of a farbrengen on the second day of Sukkot. Later, it became a set kvius, and it was not known in advance that it would take place. Nevertheless, immediately after nightfall, a large number of Hasidim arrived from distant neighborhoods in New York who, with their special Hasidic sense, apparently felt that their coming would

05:51 be not in vain, and therefore wished to grab at least one more sicha from the Rebbe, another l'chaim, a melody, etc. Thus, even at this unannounced farbrengen, the large sukkah was filled from end to end, and it was actually crowded. Everyone washed their hands for the sudah. In the first sicha, the Rebbe spoke about, you shall rejoice in your festival, and that there is no joy except through wine. S- afterwards, he said that a few minutes still remained u- until sunset, and that according to all opinions, it was still Yom Tov. And in order to be certain to fulfill the obligation of rejoicing on Yom Tov without questions, quote, unquote, "They should say l'chaim and extend the joy for the entire year." Afterwards, the Rebbe instructed to sing a joyous melody and then explained the verse, and you shall draw water with joy from the wells of salvation. That the advantage of a spring over a mikvah is that it is connected to its source, and so it is in man's avodas Hashem. At the conclusion of the sicha, several joyous melodies were sung, and in between, after the nigunim were concluded... The background for the singing of these nigunim is an, a story that I heard from Rabbi Yocheved what took place right there and then. The Rebbe asked that different schluchim, different Hasidim from various countries should sing a nigun representing their country. What I heard from Rabbi Yocheved was that it felt like a contest, and Rabbi Yitzchak Dubov, alav hashalom, from

08:10 Manchester, England said, "What's the point? The Rebbe's country is gonna win." Nevertheless, they all sang a nigun that they presented to the farbrengen. So the Rebbe then, after they all concluded the nigunim, said that there's a saying from one of the disciples of the holy tzadik of Lublin, whose yahrtzeit is today, the Rebbe's referring to the Chozeh milublin, that this is mentioned in Tehillim chapter kuf chav vav. So then it'll be which means that when Hashem will return the captivity of Zion, then they shall say amongst nations, Hashem has done great things with these. And the tzadik explained it as follows, as the Rebbe relates it at the farbrengen. In the future, at the coming of Mashiach speedily in our days, it will be said amongst the nations, the nations will ask, Hashem has done great things with these, meaning that this is the greatness of that Hashem has done with the Jewish people, that they have reached such an exalted level. So they're wondering why. And the Am Yisrael will answer them, "Hashem has done great things with us. The reason He did so much good with us is because we rejoiced in everything that came upon us." And from this sicha, it was understood the point that the Rebbe wanted various Hasidim from different countries should sing a nigun at the farbrengen. We, with the midrashim, continue in the next installment.