אֵין אוֹמְרִים תַּחֲנוּן.

Tachanun is not recited.

יוֹם בּוֹ יָצָא כְּבוֹד קְדוּשַׁת אַדְמוּ"ר שליט"א לְחֵרוּת. הַמַּאֲסָר הוּתְחַל רֶבַע עַל שָׁעָה הַשְּׁלִישִׁית אוֹר לְיוֹם רְבִיעִי חֲמִשָׁה עָשָׂר בְּסִיוָן תרפ"ז. הִתְעַכֵּב בְּגָלוּת — בְּעִיר קאַסְטראַמאַ — עַד חֲצִי שָׁעָה אַחַר חֲצוֹת הַיּוֹם יוֹם רְבִיעִי שְׁלֹשָׁה עָשָׂר בְּתַּמוּז תּרפ"ז. מִמִּכְתָּב כְּבוֹד קְדוּשַׁת אַדְמוּ"ר שׁליט"א לְחַג הַגְּאוּלָה: הִנְנִי שׁוֹלֵחַ מַאֲמָר... הִשְׁתַּתְּפוּתִי עִם יְדִידֵינוּ אַנְשֵׁי שְׁלוֹמֵינוּ שֶׁיִּחְיוּ בְּכָל מְקוֹם מוֹשְׁבוֹתֵיכֶם לְהַצְלָחָה, וְלִהְיוֹת אִתְּכֶם עִמָכֶם בְּהִתְוַעֲדוּתְכֶם בִּדְבַר חִזוּק דַּרְכֵי הַחֲסִידוּת בִּקְבִיעוּת וּשְׁמִירַת זְמַנֵי לִמּוּדֵי דִּבְרֵי אֱלֹקִים חַיִּים וּלְהִתְעוֹרֵר בְּקִיוּם עִנְיָנֵי הַלִּמּוּד... אֱלֹקֵינוּ וֵאלֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ יְבָרֵךְ אֶת כְּלָלוּת אַנְשֵׁי שְׁלוֹמֵינוּ הֵם בֵּיתָם זַרְעָם וְזֶרַע זַרְעָם בְּתוֹךְ כְּלַל אֲחֵינוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, הַשֵּׁם עֲלֵיהֶם יִחְיוּ, בְּכָל מִילֵי דְמֵיטַב מִנֶפֶשׁ וְעַד בָּשָׂר.

On this date [in 1927], the Rebbe [Rayatz]was actually granted freedom.1

[His] imprisonment began at 2:15 on Wednesday morning, the fifteenth of Sivan, 5687 (1927). He remained in exile, in Kostrama, until 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the thirteenth of Tammuz, 5687 (1927).2

The following is an excerpt from a letter of the Rebbe [Rayatz] in anticipation of [the fifth anniversary of] the Festival of Liberation:3 “I am enclosing a maamar…. In this way I am participating with our friends, the men of the chassidic brotherhood (May you all prosper, wherever you live! ), and am together with you at the farbrengens at which you strive to strengthen the spiritual lifestyle of Chassidus — by setting aside and observing fixed times for the study of the teachings of Chassidus, with the aim of being aroused to actualize the ideals discussed there….

“May our G‑d and the G‑d of our fathers bless the entire chassidic brotherhood — themselves, their wives, their children and their grandchildren — together with all our brothers of the House of Israel. May G‑d be with you all, and bestow upon you all manner of blessings both spiritual and material.”

Living as a Chassid

The commemoration of a significant event in chassidic history is never a mere get-together, a time for fond nostalgia. As indicated by the telegrams frequently sent out by the Rebbe with the approach of such events, farbrengens ought to be hisvaaduyos pe’ilos — “active gatherings:” they should motivate their participants to accelerate their efforts in their Divine service, in the study of Torah and in the observance of mitzvos.

Accordingly, toward the end of a comradely farbrengen, one can occasionally overhear someone soberly telling himself or his friend: “Morgn vet zain gor andersh” —“Tomorrow is going to be altogether different!”4 For a true farbrengen can change the way a person views himself and his surroundings, so that he now acts according to his new perspectives.

A chassidic festival celebrated in this fashion is not a sentimental commemoration: it is a powerful springboard.