Tevet 5 is celebrated as a day of rejoicing in the Chabad-Lubavitch community. On this date in 1987, U.S. Federal Court issued a decision in favor of Agudas Chassidei Chabad ("Union of Chabad Chassidim") regarding the ownership of the priceless library of the 6th Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. The ruling was based on the idea that a Rebbe is not a private individual but a communal figure synonymous with the body of Chassidim. The Lubavitcher Rebbe (Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak's son-in-law and successor) urged that the occasion be marked with time devoted to study from Torah books ("sefarim") as well as the acquisition of new Torah books.
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Watch: A Movement on Trial
The Rebbe's Library
In 434 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded Judea, exiling King Jehoiachin and thousands of Judean notables to Babylon. Eleven years later, the Nebuchadnezzar’s army invaded Jerusalem again, setting fire to the Temple and massacring its inhabitants. The tragic news reached the Babylonian exiles five months later, on 5 Teves 422 BCE (Ezekiel 33:21). According to a minority opinion, this day is commemorated as a fast day (Talmud, Tractate Rosh Hashanah 18b).
Shlomo was raised as a hidden Jew and served at the royal court in Lisbon, Portugal. When the enigmatic David HaReuveini appeared in Portugal, claiming to hail from the Ten Lost Tribes, Shlomo was inspired to return to Judaism. So as not to be indicted by the Inquisition for abandoning Christianity, R. Shlomo traveled to Salonica, Turkey, and then to Safed, Israel, where he delved into the intricacies of Kabbalah. Sadly, the Inquisition caught up to him and he was given the choice of accepting Christianity or being burned at the stake. R. Shlomo chose the latter, and he was killed in Mantua, Italy, meriting to sanctify G‑d’s name.
Link: Is a Jew Required to Die Rather than Disobey a Torah Command?
There are those who say that before we do any mitzvah, we must first understand why it needs to be done. Why else were we given a mind?
There are others who say we must just obey with simple faith. How else can we bond with One who is entirely beyond our understanding?
Abraham did both. He began with absolute faith, even when it was impossible to make sense of what he had been told to do. Yet he would not leave until his questions were answered and he had been given a way to understand.
“Don’t do a thing to the young man, for now I know that you are a G‑d fearing person.” (Genesis 22:12)
Abraham said to G‑d, “Let me present my case. First You told me that my descendants will be from Isaac. Then You told me to take him for an offering. Now You say I mustn’t do a thing to him…” (Rashi, citing Midrash)
That makes sense. Matters that are beyond our understanding can never be fit neatly into human reason. But neither can they be left in conflict.
Because if what you believe is true, it must be true everywhere. Even within your own limited human mind.