This volume begins and concludes with sichos marking landmark occasions. The opening sichos mark the commemoration of Yud-Alef Nissan, the Rebbe Shlita’s birthday. This year, that date marked the beginning of the ninetieth year of the Rebbe’s life. It concludes with the sichos of the 28th of Sivan, a date which this year marked the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of the Rebbe and his wife, Rebbetzin Chayah Mushka נ"ע, in America.

In the sichos of Shabbos Parshas Tzav and of Yud-Alef Nissan itself, the Rebbe outlined the path of service appropriate for this year as reflected in Psalm 90, the psalm recited throughout the year.

These sichos led directly to a series of sichos in preparation for the Pesach holiday and several sichos on that holiday itself. Unique among those sichos was a short, but unexpected sichah which the Rebbe addressed to the participants in the tahaluchah, the parade to spread holiday joy among other Jews, when they returned to 770. This is the first time the Rebbe has spoken on such an occasion and, by the repetition of this phenomenon on the holiday of Shavuos, it appears to have set a precedent.

In the communal Yechidus to the guests who had come for Pesach, the Rebbe Shlita emphasized the connection between the miracles of Pesach with miracles we witnessed this year in the Gulf War.

From that sichah, the Rebbe moved to a new phase of activity which dominated all the sichos to follow in this volume. The renown passage from the Yalkut Shimoni associates the crisis in the Gulf with “the year in which the King Mashiach will be revealed.” And on the eve of the 28th of Nissan, the Rebbe called on the Chassidim to “...do everything you can to bring Mashiach, here and now, immediately...” Because of the importance of this message, this sichah was presented in its entirety together with all the footnotes included in the original text, so that the full power of the Rebbe’s words can be appreciated.

This theme is also the primary subject of the sichos of the subsequent Shabbasos. The main points of several of these sichos were collected and highlighted in an essay, “Bringing Mashiach Now.” Of particular interest are the sichos of Shabbasos Acharei-Kedoshim and Emor where the Rebbe develops the theme of Migolah LeGeulah. In these sichos, he emphasizes that גולה, the Hebrew for exile, and גאולה, the Hebrew for Redemption share the same letters with one exception. גאולה, possesses an Alef, which stands for G‑d, Alufo shel olam, “L‑rd of the World.” The difference between the Redemption and the present era is not a change in the physical set, but a change in our awareness of G‑d. And furthermore, by drawing the Alef, G‑d, into our lives at present, we can hasten the coming of the Redemption.

Among the unique dates of this period was the fifteenth of Iyar, the day following Pesach Sheni. On this day, the Rebbe Shlita delivered a short sichah. Afterwards, he distributed a booklet entitled Dvar Malchus, which contained four analytical studies of the Rambam’s description of Mashiach’s coming and the Era of the Redemption. (These studies form the major body of the book produced by Sichos In English, “I Await his Coming Every Day.”)

In addition to the emphasis on Mashiach’s coming, the sichos in this volume also provide a wealth of information on other Torah subjects. Of particular interest are the sichos on Pirkei Avos. This year, the Rebbe emphasized that Pirkei Avos should be studied, not merely recited, and each Shabbos explained a teaching from that source.

As this year draws to a close, and we anxiously await the success of the efforts to bring Mashiach, we are happy to publish this volume. It is our hope that this publication, a further step in spreading the wellsprings of Chassidus outward, will bring the coming of the Redemption a further step closer.

Sichos In English

Yud Shevat, 5752
42 Years of Nesius of the Rebbe Shlita