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?
Joseph overcame the natural human instinct to take revenge against his brothers or even bear a grudge. Instead, he provided them only good.
How did he do it? His words tell us what his mind had resolved:
“Your intentions were to harm me, but G-d intended it for good.” (Genesis 50:20)
Joseph contemplated: G-d is good and all He does is for the good. He had experienced first hand how events that appeared disastrous turned out to be fabulously good—for he was now in the ideal position to assist his family at this time of famine.
And since only good came from their actions, his brothers deserved only good in return.
This is what you are meant to learn from Joseph’s magnanimity to his brothers:
That there is no human being to blame for whatever befalls you, and never any reason to hold a grudge.
Yes, someone made a bad decision, and you may need to be wary in the future. You might even exact payment for it in court.
But a grudge is a subtle form of polytheism. There is only one G-d and He is good. Whatever happened was determined in a heavenly court to be the best outcome for your soul.
Drop the grudge, embrace life’s hidden gifts, and you will come to see how it is all good.