The Rebbe Talks

Long before his bar mitzvah, the Previous Rebbe was already preoccupied with doing acts of kindness. At age eleven he established a free-loan fund, allowing him to help the needy in a dignified manner.

At the Previous Rebbe’s Bar Mitzvah, following a custom passed down through the generations, he asked his father a question.

The Previous Rebbe gives a parable for what it means to be a Chabad chasid.

The events of the Previous Rebbe’s liberation on the 12th of Tammuz raise a fundamental question: How is it that one solitary individual was able to stand against a tyrannical world power?

One time, my father-in-law, the Rebbe, was scheduled to travel from Leningrad to Moscow on secret business concerning his underground network. Such a journey was fraught with peril, especially because his movements were closely monitored by the communist authorities.

Rachel named her son ‘Joseph,’ as a prayer: “May G-d add to me a different son.” The Tzemach Tzedek explains: Rachel prayed that Joseph have the ability to transform someone “different” – someone far from G-dliness, into a “son” – someone righteous, like himself.

The Previous Rebbe’s lifelong tireless efforts for Jewish youth are well-known. First in Eastern Europe, then in America, he succeeded in drawing the hearts of the younger generation back to their age-old Jewish heritage.

In 1940, my father-in-law, the Rebbe, was miraculously saved from the Nazis and brought to the safe shores of America. Upon his arrival he declared: “America is not different;” he would continue all the activities to strengthen Judaism which he began overseas.

In Sefer Hasichos 5702, the Previous Rebbe relates some of the struggle that Chassidim endured in the Soviet Union. Warned against practicing Judaism under threat of danger to their lives, the Previous Rebbe gathered his closest Chassidim and made a pact. They swore not to be deterred from their mission, in spreading and promoting a life of Torah.

As Jews, we’re painfully familiar with the term “self sacrifice”. Throughout the course of our history, so many Jews have chosen to give up their lives for Judaism to endure. But serving G-d with self sacrifice need not be limited to such dire circumstances. Each of us are face regularly with tests of character and attitude, and it’s up to us to rise to the challenge and overcome it. So next time you need to choose between helping yourself or those around you, have some self sacrifice and serve the greater good.

He spoke about the imperative to provide Jewish children with an authentic Torah education, even under communist rule.