IN THE BEGINNING
I would like to take this opportunity to discuss a very fundamental message conveyed by the Hayom Yom: The year begins on 19 Kislev and not Rosh Hashana!
I would like to take this opportunity to discuss a very fundamental message conveyed by the Hayom Yom: The year begins on 19 Kislev and not Rosh Hashana!
Every year, the mashpia R’ Mendel Futerfas would go to the Rebbe for the month of Tishrei. R’ Mendel’s trip on the plane was unlike that of anyone else, for he spent the many hours putting tefillin on with Jewish passengers or in conversations of kiruv and strengthening of Judaism. It did not bother R’ Mendel that his English (and Hebrew) was broken at best. He spoke in the language of the heart and the neshama and in speaking that way, he was able to bridge all chasms
Yeshivas Kol Torah is a well-known Litvishe yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel. At one time, it was led by the prestigious posek and rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, z”l. It is a yeshiva of high-level learning and has produced many distinguished students who hold important positions in the Torah world
It is a common enough sight to see R’ Shimi Goldstein sitting “one on one” with a backpacker whose hair has not met a pair of scissors in years, his clothes in tatters, and delving deeply with complete sincerity into the words of the Arizal cited in Tanya, “that even in the truly inanimate like stones, dust and water, there is an aspect of spirit and spiritual life force
Sea Gate is a quiet, gated community on the Atlantic Ocean, at the edge of Brooklyn. The composer, Yossi Green, lives there and nearby lives the king of Jewish music, Mordechai Ben David. The two share not only musical interests but an interest in learning Chassidus
A family with small children sat in their living room in Bolshava, a small town on the outskirts of Moscow. They all crowded around the small radio receiver that was on at very low volume. The father’s face looked tense and the children were transfixed. A deep voice spoke from the radio and at a certain point, they began hearing singing. The furrowed brow of the father, Rabbi Aharon Chazan, relaxed. His son, Chaim Meir, was focused on the niggun and he hummed it quietly to himself until he got it right.
Incredibly, when he returned from there, his father, the Rebbe nishmaso Eden, asked him whether the cell was spacious enough to contain three people. His query proves that their visit was in the form of physical bodies
Upon the Alter Rebbe’s release from prison, Chassidim rejoiced. Wherever the news reached, the day was established as a holiday. The tension and fear that the Chassidim lived with while waiting for the results of the interrogation disappeared, to be replaced with sighs of relief.
An uninvited guest attended the central Yud-Tes Kislev farbrengen of 5715 in Kfar Chabad and afterward wrote a letter replete with hatred and lies against the Chabad movement. This letter was given to the Rebbe who made inquiries about the truth of the matter and then responded sharply and in detail to all the allegations. * Presented for the Chag HaGeula and Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus
As discussed above, the ruling is stated clearly, leaving no room for doubt (not even room for a doubt in the realm of k’dusha, holiness). And there is no reason to revisit the issue. In fact, the decision has already been made. * May the elimination of all these doubts discussed above bring about the elimination of doubt regarding when Moshiach will finally arrive, insofar as he is already coming and we see him in plain view, and “he points with his finger and he says, ‘that is him!’”
A story about the Rav HaMaggid and the Baal HaTanya, presented for the Yom Hilula of the Maggid and the Chag HaGeula of the Alter Rebbe, on 19 Kislev.
As Yud-Tes Kislev, Rosh HaShana L’Chassidus, approaches, we present a compilation of stories about the Alter Rebbe and about the Tanya which we start learning on this day • From the notes of R’ Avrohom Weingarten a”h, l’ilui nishmas his son, R’ Matisyahu Aryeh Leib, may Hashem avenge his blood.
“In these times – the days of Moshiach – in which we now find ourselves, we only need to open the eyes. Then we will see that the true and complete Redemption already exists, in the simple sense. All the Jewish people, ‘with our youth and our aged, etc., with our sons and our daughters,’ are prepared, in every single, last detail, ‘to approach and sit at the table,’ the table prepared with every delicacy and delight, beginning with those of the Redemption, Leviasan, Shor HaBar and Yayin HaMeshumar.