After the years of 5750 and 5751, years which the Rebbe Shlita termed “a year of miracles” and “a year when ‘I [G‑d] will show you wonders,’” people waited expectantly for the new year, 5752. For the events of the previous years had clearly demonstrated that the Rebbe was not merely making a play on words. And indeed, as the year 5752 approached, the Rebbe assured us that this miraculous pattern would continue. 5752 would be “a year imbued with wonders” and a year of wonders in all things.”

The wondrous nature of this year was also emphasized in many of the Rebbe’s sichos throughout the month of Tishrei and is summarized in the essay entitled “The Message of the Year, 5752.” Indeed, the very number of sichos delivered by the Rebbe in that month point to the unique nature of the present year; there were more than twenty sichos in that one month alone. Of special significance is the adaptation of the address to the members of the Machne Israel Development Fund, a sichah whose text was reviewed by the Rebbe himself.

In particular, the holidays of Sukkos and Simchas Torah were distinguished by sichos in which the Rebbe emphasized the importance of celebrating the holiday with joy and the influence of the month of Tishrei on the year to follow.

Chassidic thought explains that after the month of Tishrei, the Jews’ service undergoes a transition, from the uplifted holiday atmosphere, we return to the realities of day to day existence. Although this theme was also emphasized by the Rebbe, his major thrust turned to a transition of a much greater nature. It was at this time, that the Rebbe made his most explicit statements of the readiness of our people and the world at large for the Redemption. To quote:1

There exists in every generation — and surely, in our generation — “a person from the descendants of Judah who is worthy of being the Mashiach of Israel...”2 When the service of the Jewish people over the centuries is considered as a whole, everything that is necessary to bring about the redemption has been accomplished. There is no valid explanation for the continuation of the exile.

Many of the Rebbe’s sichos focused on this theme. These sichos are recorded in this volume both in a framework which preserves the Rebbe’s original style and also in the form of essays, adapted to present the ideas in a framework more acceptable to the public at large.

This trend continued into the month of Kislev, a month whose unique dates, Rosh Chodesh Kislev, Tes Kislev, and Yud-Tes Kislev are all of fundamental importance to Chassidism. And the Rebbe emphasized the interrelation of these themes, how our study of Chassidus serves as a foretaste of and a catalyst for the revelations of the teachings of Mashiach.

Added to this volume is also the essay entitled “A Sanctuary in Microcosm,” which is an adaptation of talks delivered on previous occasions that was published at this time in connection with the renovation of Lubavitch World Headquarters in Crown Heights.

With the ultimate collapse of communism and the continued stream of immigrants from Russia to Eretz Yisrael, we have seen signs of the “wonders in all things” that characterize the present year. And we have witnessed a steady progress of the Jewish people and the world at large to the ultimate wonders, the wonders of the Redemption. May the publication of this volume of the Rebbe’s teachings hasten the time when we are able to study the teachings of Mashiach and may this take place in the immediate future.

Sichos In English

28 Adar I, 5752
42 Years of Nesius of the Rebbe Shlita