In 1826, Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch (see calendar entry for yesterday, Kislev 9) was arrested on charges that his teachings threatened the imperial authority of the Czar, but was subsequently exonerated. The date of his release, Kislev 10, is celebrated amongst Chabad Chassidim as a "festival of liberation." Tachnun (confession of sins) is omitted from the day's prayers, farbrengens are held, and Rabbi DovBer's teachings are studied.
Link: Prison Juice
As the world came into being, so did compassion. It may be the most vital element in our world—because it allows everything to keep chugging along while so loosely strung together, enduring so perfectly in its imperfection.
Without compassion, the sages say, our world could not stand. Because with compassion comes forgiveness, and only a world that is allowed to stumble can stand on its own feet.
A world of perfection—a world that follows precisely every dictate from Above—is like a fetus that has never left its womb. In what way is it a world? In what way is it real?
A real world is one whose creatures can pass or can fail, or blunder about until they eventually beat their path to the truth.
“And such a world,” says its Creator, “is worth My compassion and My forgiveness.”