Living Torah Archives

During a Farbrengen marking the Alter Rebbe’s liberation from Czarist prison on the 19th of Kislev, Chasidim sing a Nigun with words from Psalms that he was reciting at the time of his release.

The eighteenth of Elul marks the birth of two leaders that revolutionized the Jewish world. The Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Chasidic movement, and the Alter Rebbe, founder of Chabad. Yet if their teachings are so vital, why did they come so late in Jewish history?

Chasidim sing the nigunHachana, attributed to the Rebbe Rashab.

When the Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, miraculously arrived on the safe shores of America in 1940, he declared: “America is not different”.

Historically, Jews treated their wisdom in a vastly different way from other nations. In Egypt, for example, knowledge and scientific progress were the exclusive domain of an intellectual elite. The masses obeyed them with blind action. By contrast, immediately when the Jewish people became a nation, G-d’s first action was to give the Torah to all the Jews, of all generations, equally.

Maimonides rules that every Jew was commanded at Sinai to influence all of mankind to observe the Seven Noahide Laws. Therefore, even in a place where not a single Jew seems to live, you must do everything in your power to make that place more civilized, by promoting the observance of the Seven Noahide Laws.

After being freed from Russian prison on the 19th of Kislev, 1798, the Alter Rebbe wrote a letter describing the circumstances surrounding his liberation. It is striking to see how much emphasis he places on the impact his liberation had on the non-Jews of S. Petersburg.

With the Alter Rebbe's release from prison in 1798, he began to teach Torah's secrets in a way that would brighten every Jewish home, and would permeate the outside world.

Those who oppose silent prayer in public schools, cite the separation of religion and state as the basis to eliminate religion from the public arena. However, this ignores the reason the law was established in the first place: to protect the freedom of religious expression of the original settlers in this country. This modern-day repression of democracy goes against the intention of the authors of the Constitution.

Parents rely on the Public School System to rear their children into mature, responsible adults. Their children are imbued with the values of this country’s sense of pride: That “My own power and the strength of my hand have brought me my success.” But with this approach unchecked, they will grow up to use their education to achieve their own selfish desires.

Civilized society depends on proper education built on a healthy foundation. But the only true foundation for education is the same as that of all of creation: “In the beginning, G-d created the Heavens and the Earth.”

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.

To counter escalating conflicts in the world, the Rebbe requests that all Jews add in prayer for world peace and tranquility: It is crucial for all Jews, without exception, to begin their daily prayers by declaring, “I hereby accept upon myself the Mitzvah to ‘Love your fellow as yourself.’” This not only prevents quarreling in general; it will bring an end to the exile, itself caused by a lack of love for others. (19 Kislev, 5744 • November 24, 1983)

A person’s passing seems to be a time of sorrow, not happiness. Yet, we gather on the Rebbe’s Yahrzeit, to increase our energy, enthusiasm, and joy in fulfilling our life’s mission. Torah teaches that, “a greater light comes from darkness.” Torah instructs us to take apparent negativity and darkness, and find in it G-d’s glory, goodness and light.

In ancient Egypt, the study of wisdom was limited to an intellectual elite – the sorcerers and astrologers. Ordinary people had no independent access to wisdom. When the Jews left Egypt, however, G-d commanded them to journey to Sinai and receive the Torah. G-d revealed the Ten Commandments, which included the entire Torah, directly to three million Jewish men, women and children together.

The mitzvah to “love your fellow as yourself” raises a dilemma. What should you do when your needs are different from your friend’s? If you are thirsty while your friend is hungry, it would be un-loving to offer him a drink instead of food. If you have time for Torah study while your friend is struggling to make ends meet, it is wrong to help him learn Torah but ignore his need for help earning a livelihood.