It was the first Purim farbrengen after the Rebbe accepted the Chabad leadership. * The Rebbe spoke about himself and about the nesius in frightening terms until elder Chassidim asked him to stop. * The Rebbe gave out mashke and when the mashke was finished, he gave out water. * The farbrengen lasted about seven and a half hours, until morning. * A description of that extraordinary farbrengen based on the diaries of T’mimim and the sichos that were said
The events that took place at the farbrengen of Purim 5711 are remembered in Chabad history as emotionally stormy and gripping, with a series of atypical behaviors and mainly, for how the Rebbe spoke about himself and his new nesius. This made a powerful impact on all the participants. Purim 5711 was the Rebbe’s first Purim as the official nasi, and this farbrengen was the first one in which the Rebbe sat on a high platform and used a microphone.
With the passing of the Rebbe Rayatz on 10 Shevat 5710, the Chassidim began to consider appointing his son-in-law, Ramash, as the new leader. But Ramash, as he was called at the time, refused to accept this onerous position. He repeatedly dismissed requests of Chassidim from all over the world that he take over.
It was only a year later, on the eve of 11 Shevat 5711, that the Rebbe agreed to publicly accept the nesius. The Chassidim were ecstatic.
THE REBBE CRIED
Thursday, 14 Adar, a feeling of novelty and renewal was felt among Anash and the T’mimim studying in the yeshiva in 770. The Rebbe, through his holy conduct, introduced a spirit of newness. The Chassidim followed his every move and listened closely to everything he uttered.
The first time each holiday was celebrated naturally roused the curiosity of the Chassidim. How would the new Rebbe conduct the first Purim?
Purim happenings began after the reading of the Megilla at the short farbrengen that took place in the Rebbe Rayatz’s apartment on the second floor of 770. The Rebbe and Rashag, the two sons-in-law, sat as always on either side of the table with the chair at the head of the table as it always was. Nobody doubted that the Rebbe Rayatz was present at that Purim farbrengen too. Next to the table sat a handful of distinguished Chassidim who had been invited.
They sang niggunim, including the Alter Rebbe’s “Dalet Bavos.” The new Rebbe did not say a word, which is how he conducted himself in the presence of the Rebbe Rayatz. This farbrengen ended quickly. Then the Rebbe went to his room and prepared for the official farbrengen which would take place in the small zal on the first floor of 770.
The Rebbe walked in at 9:00. The crowd was not ready and there was a bit of a commotion. The Rebbe, seeing the crowding and chaos, said, “Without hispaalus.”
When the Rebbe sat down, he instructed that they should sing a niggun. The one who lead the niggunim was R’ Shmuel Zalmanov, author of Seifer HaNiggunim who began a special niggun. It is said that the Rebbe Rashab learned this niggun when he attended a wedding and it was the niggun that the Rebbe Rayatz sang during davening when he was in Moscow. The Rebbe joined in, singing quietly and in tears.
When they finished singing, the Rebbe spoke about the Megilla, discussing the meaning of the verse, “And so, I will go to the king, though it is unlawful” – and explained that Achashverosh alludes to Hashem who sits in the King’s inner courtyard. Although going there is unlawful, still, one needs to push his way in, even without knowing whether it will be possible to enter. What does he care whether this conduct is lawful or unlawful when a Jew knows that by doing so he will encounter Hashem, she’acharis v’reishis shelo. Then, from Above, they will act toward him in a way that is unlawful, i.e., bringing him into the King’s inner courtyard. Not only that, but they extend the tip of the golden scepter toward him.
When the Rebbe said these words, he burst into unrestrained tears and the hearts of everyone present melted.
The sicha lasted a few minutes and immediately afterward the Rebbe began saying a maamer, the fifth maamer in a series that was said after he accepted the nesius. The Rebbe began the maamer with the traditional singsong, “V’Kibel HaYehudim es asher Heicheilu.” Suddenly, he stopped talking because of his sobbing. After he recovered somewhat, he began again and said the opening words and continued, “and the Rebbe, my father-in-law, explains …”
Later, a handwritten note of the Rebbe’s was found with the beginning of the maamer which he wrote for himself. Apparently, the Rebbe planned, at the outset of his nesius, to write his maamarim as the previous Rebbeim had done (which did not work out, and the maamarim were written by “manichim”).
MASHKE IN BIG CUPS
In the following sicha, the Rebbe spoke about the difference between Chanuka and Purim and then added an explanation to the words, “which is unlawful” – that every person ought to operate in a manner that is free of inhibition, above measure and limitation, in a way of “ad d’lo yoda.” At this point, the Rebbe demanded that everyone “go out of himself,” each according to his situation. The Rebbe added, in the name of the Alter Rebbe, that through the “lo yoda” of Purim we cause the “lo yoda” of the rest of the year to be different. He said, “Therefore, when a person pushes himself ‘to go to the king … which is unlawful,’ he is treated from Above the same way, ‘unlawful’ – that they don’t make calculations whether he deserves to enter the king’s inner courtyard or not, since he pushed his way in. And they give him the golden scepter (and not just the tip of the scepter, but the whole scepter).
“These matters of Purim continue and have a physical effect, as is emphasized in the obligation of feasting and rejoicing with physical food and drink – the ‘pushing in’ to go to the king’s inner courtyard, unlawfully, also affects material circumstances, to be blessed with living enduring children – children, life, and livelihood.”
Upon concluding this sicha, the Rebbe said they should sing a happy niggun and said to sing even more joyously and he even conducted the rejoicing with his holy hands.
Cups of mashke were distributed to the crowd and seeing this, the Rebbe said to bring larger cups. With a big smile he said – with the mitzva of tz’daka we find that there is an advantage when you give the same sum, broken down into smaller parts, many times, but when it comes to mashke there is no need to give drop after drop!
The Rebbe also took a big cup and drank from it. During the farbrengen, the Rebbe drank a lot of mashke and he told the participants to drink a lot, saying it was necessary “to go out of oneself,” and this is “ad d’lo yoda.”
“MENTLICK SPEAKING
LIKE THAT?”
At the end of the fourth sicha, the Rebbe began pouring mashke for some Chassidim from his cup. It wasn’t the Chassidim any longer who poured l’chaims for one another, but the Rebbe himself doing the pouring. Many participants realized this was an auspicious moment and they went forward to ask for a l’chaim from the Rebbe. The Rebbe began pouring for whoever was there as he stood on his chair. To many, the Rebbe added personal blessings in their areas of need. Some people needed a blessing for children and the Rebbe told them to say l’chaim and added, “Even if I don’t have the breitkait (lit. broadness), if they place themselves before G-d it will surely help, in some way or another, at first spiritually, but that should descend below materially!”
One of those who recoded the event in a diary noted that they saw miracles in the merit of the blessings the Rebbe showered upon them at the farbrengen.
One of those present held out his hand to receive mashke, but because he was standing at a distance, when the Rebbe poured from the bottle, he had to bend toward him. Rabbi Mentlick, who drank plenty, yelled at that Chassid, “Go closer!” When the Rebbe heard this he smiled and said, “That Mentlick would speak that way? Apparently he is already in the category of ‘ad d’lo yoda.’”
Another person asked the Rebbe for mashke through someone else and did not bother to go over himself. R’ Mentlick censured him saying, “If the Baal Shem Tov himself would give you mashke, would you not bother to go over to him and receive it from his hand directly?”
When the Rebbe heard this he said, “It depends on whether you consider it one continuous line or a line made up of separate points.”
The Rebbe took care not only of those Chassidim who were there but also those who could not be there. He looked for relatives to give mashke to on their behalf. It was apparent that the Rebbe sought to bestow an abundance of salvation on this great, auspicious night. For example, Rabbi Meir Ashkenazi, one of the senior Chassidim, went home early for health reasons, so the Rebbe gave mashke for him to a relative, Dovber Gurary.
Then the Rebbe began looking for relatives of Rav Karasik who was also not present. Dovber Gurary once again went over for he was a relative of his too, but the Rebbe told him, “Your older brother is present.” Then the Rebbe added, “He is probably busy fixing his tie and the Rebbe told him to remove his tie.”
An American soldier was present who was not comfortable with Yiddish. The Rebbe poured mashke for him and spoke to him in English about the need to strengthen observance of Torah and mitzvos, and not to suffice with that but to influence others in this regard.
The soldier was surprised by this and asked – since he himself wasn’t the way he should be, how could he affect others? Maybe it was better to first shape up himself and only then work on others.
The Rebbe did not accept this reasoning and continued explaining in English that Moshiach cannot wait until he is perfect. When the Rebbe finished speaking, he turned to R’ Shlomo Zalman Hecht who was standing nearby and asked him to repeat what he said to the soldier, but without an accent… And when the Rebbe said this, he laughed.
Then the Rebbe spoke to another person who also wanted the Rebbe to speak to him in English, a language he understood better, but the Rebbe told him, “One doesn’t have to give in on everything,” and continued speaking in Yiddish.
At a certain point, the mashke was used up but there were many more who wanted mashke from the Rebbe. The Rebbe said to bring water! He continued pouring from his cup as though it was the original mashke.
A STORY ABOUT MASHKE AFTER MASHKE
Throughout the long farbrengen, the Rebbe drank a lot of mashke. When it was well past midnight, the Rebbe began to relate:
“The Rebbe, my father-in-law, told me that on the last Simchas Torah of his father’s life, in 5680, he asked his father to recite for him a maamer Chassidus. His father said he would do so on condition that he first take mashke.
“The Rebbe, my father-in-law, went to his room and took a cup of Arik (a very strong drink, 96% alcohol), and so that the drinking of the mashke would not confuse him in following the maamer, he put his finger down his throat and threw it up. Then he went to his father and said he fulfilled the condition. His father said the maamer and then spoke to him about the need to “go out of one’s self and become a different person.”
The Rebbe continued:
“One needs to go out of their essential being, each according to his situation. For example, there are those who think that when they go out on the street with a beard that is not rolled up or the tie is not positioned properly, as in the customs of the country, that they are not in the category of human being … They must get out of themselves! And similarly, each person according to his situation, including avoda in matters of holiness, in Torah study and the fulfillment of mitzvos, for in these areas too there needs to be a going out of one’s existing state.”
When the Rebbe finished saying this, he instructed that the Chassidim sing the soulful niggun of the Shpoler Zeide, “Kol B’Yaar,” and he said that on Purim 5687/1927 – referring to that fateful farbrengen of giluyim with the Rebbe Rayatz, when he spoke about every Chassid being moser nefesh for spreading Judaism – after the farbrengen, the famous Chassid, R’ Yaakov Zuravitzer, sat on the floor and began singing this niggun.
The crowd immediately broke into a rendition of Kol B’Yaar.
FIERY WORDS WITH COPIOUS TEARS
Purim is a lofty time of “ad d’lo yoda,” when “wine enters and the secret is out,” when many giluyim are revealed that are concealed the rest of the year. Indeed, late that night, far past midnight, the Rebbe began to speak about himself and his nesius. It was apparent that he wanted to share his thoughts and feelings about his nesius, a nesius that was all of a month old.
Elder Chassidim remembered something like this with the Rebbe Rayatz, who on various occasions shortly after accepting the nesius, dismissed himself with an inner and profound bitterness, asking, how could he fill his father’s place? And yet, he agreed to accept the leadership because of his father’s will and testament.
“Who am I and what am I?” said the Rebbe in tears. “It is open and known before the One who spoke and the world came into being that I am not worthy and deserving of this.”
The shock of the Chassidim, who had just started to see the renewed blossoming of the Chabad leadership, was enormous.
“I do not know why they bound you to me and me to you and why they are wearying you and me. However, since this is the way it was in previous generations, now too they give kochos. I want to say a few words to you. These words won’t hurt – it will express a small part. There are such bachurim who go with simple faith. I want to say a few words and you will become different, different in Torah study and in mitzva fulfillment …” Here the Rebbe ended mid-sentence and did not finish what he wanted to say.
At a certain point the Rebbe turned to R’ Eliyahu Yochil Simpson, one of the elder Chassidim who had merited to bask in the glory days of the Rebbe Rashab and was one of the chozrim there and then served as the Rebbe Rayatz’s personal gabbai. The Rebbe found in him someone to whom he could pour out his heart: “Regarding the dedication of the second Bayis we find that the elders who saw the first Bayis wept. You, who were by the Rebbe [Rashab] and by the Rebbe, my father-in-law, it’s a g’vura on your part that you don’t cry… It is understandable with the Rebbe Rashab, he had his only son take his place, but now, who am I and what am I?”
Since the Rebbe did not want all the Chassidim to hear this, he told them to continue singing but here and there they could hear some of his ominous words: “You have faith in G-d – I am just a conduit. You are mekushar to me? You are mekushar to the Rebbe! I fill his place only in one respect.”
The Rebbe continued: “We need to go out of ourselves. Although I have yet to go out of myself, still, you do not need to learn from me.
“What is being said now – I hope I am not harming those who go with simple faith,” and he continued talking with his eyes closed. “I don’t know why this matter comes to me [referring to his being Rebbe and nasi].”
The Chassidim feared hearing such kind of talk and some of them began singing a niggun, but the Rebbe said he wants to continue speaking.
“We spoke about the need for ‘ad d’lo yoda,’ that is probably what it is … I feel this very strongly and cannot go out of myself …” When he said this, he leaned his head on his hands and while crying he said, “Most likely, you have no other choice and I too have no other choice.”
The Chassidim stood in their places, overwrought. R’ Simpson went over to the Rebbe and said that the Chassidim could not listen to talk like this. Some elder Chassidim also went over to the Rebbe and asked him to stop talking this way. To one of them, the Rebbe said: “I am not extricating myself.”
Since the topic of the nesius had been opened, R’ Mentlick, who stood behind the Rebbe, spoke up and said, “It is clearly not so. You are the Rebbe and it is one continuation and one chain from the Alter Rebbe.” R’ Mentlick concluded by saying he wants mashke from the Alter Rebbe. The Rebbe smiled broadly and poured for him. Then he continued pouring for another few Chassidim.
Then the Rebbe continued and revealed a glimpse into the supernal world of souls that is the dynastic chain of Lubavitch – words that have become a cornerstone of hiskashrus to the Rebbe – solely during this incredible Purim farbrengen, when “wine enters and the secret emerges.” “After the passing of the Rebbe [Rashab], my father-in-law, the Rebbe, once said that he does not say ‘nishmaso Eden’ (his soul resides in Gan Eden) regarding his father for why say that when it is easier and better to say, ‘nishmaso bee’ (his soul resides inside me).’ So too for the Rebbe – I do not say nishmaso Eden but nishmaso bee!”
At this point, the Rebbe wanted to sing the “Dalet Bavos” of the Alter Rebbe. When they finished, they sang “Nye Zhuritzi Chloptzi.”
The Rebbe then said:
“I want to bless you and myself, as I once heard from the Rebbe, my father-in-law, about giving pidyonos (a written request for blessing usually accompanied by a monetary gift), that one can do so by himself, especially at the holy gravesite of K’vod k’dushas Adoneinu Moreinu v’Rabbeinu … the blessing of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, on Purim in one of the last years of his life, that this should be the last Purim in galus – should be fulfilled on this Purim!”
The Chassidim were not used to hearing the Rebbe saying the explicit, detailed words, “Adoneinu, Moreinu, v’Rabbeinu” as opposed to the usual phrase, “the Rebbe, the shver (father-in-law).”
Wrote R’ Yoel Kahn in his diary at the time, “And in general, there were astonishing words, both those addressed to the public and to individuals, and in the middle when Anash began speaking to him.”
The Rebbe concluded this tremendously revealing farbrengen by emphasizing, “And the Rebbe shlita will lead us toward Moshiach.” The Chassid, R’ Yisroel Jacobson, who was standing near the Rebbe, pointed at the Rebbe and said, “Der Rebbe shlita.”
A SEVEN AND A HALF HOUR FARBRENGEN
The farbrengen lasted about seven and a half hours! It began at 9:00 and ended at 4:20 Friday morning.
“It is impossible to describe what occurred on that night,” concluded R’ Yoel Kahn. “Nevertheless, don’t repeat any of it because for some it might cause a weakening, even though the truth is not that way.”
On Friday, a telegram was sent to Chassidim around the world in which the Rebbe instructed, “With a request to farbreng on Purim and also on Shabbos with a special arousal for avoda in chinuch with yiras Shamayim. With blessings for a joyous Purim.”