The year was 1962, and IBM was the world leader in the field of computer and information technology. A young salesman named Ross Perot was breaking every sales record, selling more computers than the next three salesmen combined. While this outsized impact would be considered a major achievement today, back then the IBM executives viewed it as a problem. They capped Perot’s commissions so he wouldn’t earn as much as the upper-level management, who had more education and experience than the young salesman.

Today, this decision is considered a major blunder. Why? Because salespeople, despite being low on the corporate ladder, are the true movers and shakers in any company. They’re the ones who create tangible impact, interfacing with customers and growing the business. They are like foot soldiers on a battlefield, whose courage, grit and determination advance the army forward one step at a time. It is these ground-level warriors, and not their generals or higher-ups, who truly determine the outcome of a battle.

For that reason, the business community has done a complete reversal and now the standard practice is to have uncapped earnings for salespeople, no matter how young or inexperienced. It’s now all about sales and numbers, not titles of distinction or degrees.

This concept has a direct spiritual parallel, as taught by the Sixth Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory, whose yahrzeit is on the Tenth of the Hebrew month of Shevat. This yahrzeit is marked by Jews around the world, who attend farbrengens and study Basi Legani, the Sixth Rebbe’s final Hasidic discourse and “spiritual will,” which was published on the day of his passing in 1950.

The following year, his son-in-law, the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, officially accepted the mantle of leadership of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement and recited his inaugural Hasidic discourse. This discourse, also called a maamar, began with the same words, Basi Legani, expounding upon his predecessor's discourse to describe his vision for the future of the Jewish people. The Rebbe explained that it is this generation’s mission to create a dwelling place on earth for G‑d’s divine presence, which will usher in the coming of Moshiach.

Each year, on the 10th of Shevat, the Rebbe would expound upon a successive chapter of the original Basi Legani discourse, revealing new layers of meaning and depth behind each concept. It has since become a tradition for chassidim worldwide to study a chapter each year, along with the Rebbe’s later elucidations.

In Basi Legani, the Sixth Rebbe describes a king, who at times of war is laser-focused on pursuing victory and vanquishing the enemy. At such a time, the monarch flings open the doors to the royal coffers, revealing his most precious and hidden treasures and distributing them to his officers and foot soldiers. He does this to motivate them to leap into action and valiantly wage war until victory is achieved. The king does not keep anything to himself; he is prepared to give away his most prized possessions to win the war.

The treasures are distributed to the foot soldiers because they are putting their lives on the line for victory. Contrary to the way some have viewed soldiers – as dispensable or ‘cannon fodder’ – the Torah views them as the ultimate heroes who secure victory, protect the innocents, and fight for the men, women and children of their nation.

The Sixth Rebbe states that this is why the Children of Israel are called “Tzivot Hashem” or the “legions of G‑d.” It is because in this generation, when we are in the spiritual battle for goodness and light to prevail over evil and darkness, it is the Jewish people who “stand their ground in the cosmic campaign against the opposing forces. “And it is for them, therefore, that the vaults of heavenly treasures are thrown open.”1

In the Rebbe’s 1985 elucidation on Basi Legani, he explains what those hidden treasures are. He elaborates on Kabbalistic concept of the tzimtzum, the divine “contraction” that took place in order to create the physical world. It is the very high spiritual light and Torah secrets that reflect the depths of G‑d’s essence prior to the tzimtzum that our generation is receiving. The Rebbe went on to explain how there was in fact a tzimtzum prior to the tzimtzum that most people familiar with. It is such a great, sublime and barely fathomable energy, that it is hardly referred to in even the most esoteric and rarified Hasidic literature.

This teaching was revolutionary. Following the Holocaust, many viewed the Jewish people as having been crushed or defeated. However, each version of Basi Legani teaches that the opposite is the case. As we are in the throes of the battle of good versus evil, G‑d has in effect made available to us the most precious treasures of deep spirituality. Each action we take, and every mitzvah we do, are critical to the victory that Hashem—as our king—desires.

In our day and age, it is so easy to feel demoralized and defeated by all that’s happening in the world. After all, we are those foot soldiers who are withstanding the daily barrage of the forces of darkness. The truth is, however, that we have access to the highest spiritual forces in the history of mankind. That’s why we study Basi Legani. This discourse gives us the hope, motivation, inspiration, and determination to continue fighting the good fight for the ultimate victory and the coming of Moshiach.