Living Torah Archives

In 1969, Mr. Gordon Zacks was Chairman of the UJA's Young Leadership Cabinet. Shortly after delivering a keynote address to three thousand communal leaders from across the US and Canada, he was informed that the Rebbe wished to meet with him - for a “heart to heart” discussion.

An address to children: Thousands of years ago there lived the wicked Haman, who wanted to do bad to the Jewish People. But they were not afraid, and they remained loyal to Judaism, to Mordechai and Esther, and to their teachers who showed them how a Jew should live his daily life. What connection does Haman have to a Jewish child today?

The Rebbe asks the children to sing the Tzivos Hashem anthem.

Do not be afraid to announce that you are a Chassid. May your children go from strength to strength in their rank in Tzivos Hashem. The sages tell us that Moshiach has eight names. May each of your eight children merit to greet him with a different one of his names.

Dr. David Luchins' family joined the Tzemach Tzedek Synagogue in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, around 1910. In 1955, when the neighborhood changed, the property was sold for a large sum. The Rebbe was asked where the money should be spent.

The lunar year is eleven days shorter than the solar year. Therefore, every two or three years, an additional month is added to the Jewish calendar, to bring the lunar and solar years back into alignment.

Chassidim sing Hupp Cossak, as the Rebbe distributes wine from the cup of the After-blessing.

The month of Adar is a "successful month." Our sages tell us that in this month, the "fortune" of the Jewish People is healthy and successful. And this year we have sixty days - two months of Adar.

In the mid-1950s, Rabbi Yosef Goldstein and his family lived two floors below the Rebbe and Rebbetzin, at 346 New York Avenue.

One of the Talmudic signs that Moshiach is soon to arrive is: "Nations will contend with one another." The lack of peace and harmony in the world in recent times, is more than enough to provide this sign. Now it is time for man - and G-d - to turn all attention toward making this world a fully civilized place.

Mr. David Chase, Chairman of the Machne Israel Development Fund, invites the Rebbe to the groundbreaking for the expansion of 770. The Rebbe says: “I will attend if you will say some words in Yiddish - your mother-tongue. That will be a good start for the new year.”

The Rebbe attends the groudbreaking for the expansion of 770. “G-d created the world from a foundation stone which lies in the Holy of Holies in the Holy Temple. This teaches us that the foundation of every Jewish edifice - whether a physical building or a spiritual undertaking - must be built upon the foundation of Torah.”

Mr. Peter Kalms lives in London, England. In one of his letters, he explained to the Rebbe the financial pressures that Chabad institutions were facing there, and that it may compel them to restrict some of their classes...

"Exalted and hallowed be G-d's great Name." The opening words of the Kaddish are a very clear declaration, that through reciting Kaddish a person causes G-d's very Essence to become magnified throughout all levels of creation.

The Rebbe leads the prayers at his home on President Street, on the last day of Shiva for his wife of sixty years, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, of blessed memory. “It is customary to elevate the soul of the deceased through a Chassidic Farbrengen. It should be done beautifully, and should be held here, in the house where she lived.”

A gift to the Rebbe from an 8th Grade girls’ class, in memory of the Rebbetzin. “Explain to your class that the Jews were redeemed from Egypt because the women acted as they should. And "women" means both adults, as well as young girls. Be a shining example of a what it means to be a good Jewish girl.”

Mrs. Leah Kahan shares some of the Rebbetzin’s admiration for the Shluchim, which she heard first-hand.

At the time of the Song of Moses, the Jews were in the midst of a great journey through an awesome desert. They had yet to reach, conquer and establish a Jewish homeland. By contrast, at the time of the Song of Deborah, the Jews were already settled in the Land of Israel. Deborah was called upon to organize a campaign against Canaanite invaders.

The Rebbe addresses the Lubavitch Women’s Organization on the main floor of 770.

The Rebbe distributes dollars and blessings to Shluchos.

Mr. Bentzion Rader and his wife, Hinda, live in London, England. In 1974, the Rebbe instructed them to publish a chassidic primer for Jewish women.

One might think that he must first perfect himself before he can try to perfect the world. But Torah commands us to transform this world into a beautiful garden for G-d, and this is a top priority. There is no conflict here: G-d empowers every person with the ability to simultaneously elevate himself as well as others - as my father-in-law, the Rebbe, proved in his own life, and through those who follow in his footsteps.

The Rebbe leads the Morning Prayers on the 42nd Yahrtzeit of his father-in-law and predecessor, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch.

There is an expression: "A candle for one, is a candle for one hundred." If you light one candle, it provides the needs, of light, for all the people in the room. Go from strength to strength in all matters of Judaism in general, and especially in something that will influence a crowd. Then with the same amount of effort you can influence a greater number of people.

Freddy Hager comes from a long line of famous rabbis and Chassidic Rebbes. At his first private audience with the Rebbe, the Rebbe told him how to carry on the family legacy.

The Chassidic discourse entitled "Bosi L'Gani" opens with a quote from Song of Songs, where G-d exclaims: "I have come to My garden…" G-d's Divine Essence originally dwelled in our world. But a series of unfortunate events caused a decline in the world's spiritual state. It was through the righteous deeds of Abraham and his descendants, that G-d’s Divine Presence was finally restored to this world.

"My soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for You; as one in a desolate and dry land without water, so I thirst to behold You in the Sanctuary, to behold Your might and glory." (Psalms 63:2, 3). This song was first taught by the Rebbe on 28 Nissan, 5714 - 1954.

To be a Shabbos-observant Jew in the Congress would be a great sanctification of G-d’s name. It will not only inspire Jews to keep Torah and Mitzvos, it will inspire non-Jews as well to keep the Seven Noahide Laws.

As a young man, Rabbi Aharon Serebryansky lived in Australia, and was among the original students of the Lubavitch Yeshivah there. When he found himself devoting vast amounts of time to teaching others rather than to his own learning, he turned to the Rebbe for guidance.

G-d longs for our physical world to become a dwelling place for Him. This mission can only be accomplished by a living person. Man's aspiration should never be to "escape" this world, and certainly never to endanger his own life. Even Rabbi Akiva, who longed his entire life to give up his life for G-d, did not actively pursue this goal. To the contrary, a person must preserve and safeguard his life, and devote his entire being toward elevating the world around him.

Vintage film footage of the Farbrengen upstairs at 770 on the second Yahrtzeit of the Rebbe’s father-in-law and predecessor, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch.

When Moses came promising the redemption, attaining the wealth of Egypt was the last thing on the Jewish People’s minds. All they wanted was to leave exile as soon as possible.

In April, 1985 the Rebbe instructed Professor Herman Branover to call his contacts in the Soviet Union and inform them that freedom was closer than they could possibly imagine.

At the crossing of the Red Sea, the Jews proclaimed, "This is my G-d, and I will exalt Him!" But the first to recognize G-d's hand were those children born in Egypt during the harsh decrees. G-d Himself had hidden them away in the fields and sustained them.

The Rebbe asks a recent émigré from Georgia to sing a traditional song of the Georgian Jews.

Add to all your activities, especially for our friends and relatives in the country of Georgia. Geographically, they may be far-away, but they are closer to the Holy Land than we are, here in the United States.

As First Secretary in the Israeli embassy in Moscow during the late 1950s, Aryeh Lova Eliav assisted Chabad's underground network in their mission to preserve Judaism in the Soviet Union. After completing his post in Russia, he had a private audience with the Rebbe, which lasted seven hours.

In the fifth section of the Torah portion of Vayechi, Jacob's blessings to four of his sons are grouped together: "A troop marches forth from the tribe of Gad... The tribe of Asher will be a wellspring of olive oil... Naftali is a swift gazelle... Joseph, a robust grape vine by the spring…" All four blessings demonstrate vitality and initiative.

The Rebbe joins the funeral procession for Rabbi Moshe Yitzchak Hecht, one of the first Shluchim of the Previous Rebbe and Rebbe in the United States.

Mayor of New York, David Dinkins visits the Rebbe: “May all the nationalities living in New York live side-by-side in peace and harmony. You must emphasize New Yorkers’ similarities rather than their differences. Every one of them should support their neighbor, especially in matters of charity.”

Rivkah Marelus’s father told her a “memorable” story about a Talmud class the Rebbe gave in Paris during the 1930s.

My father-in-law, the Rebbe, gave us a mission: "Stand ready to greet Moshiach." "Everything is already prepared, all that remains is to 'polish the buttons.'"

Chassidim sing “Didan Notzach - Victory is Ours.”

Rabbis and authors present copies of their new Torah books to the Rebbe.

With Germany about to invade France, Asher Heber’s father was unsure whether to escape Paris with his family and leave behind their well-established life. When he consulted the Rebbe for his opinion, the Rebbe suggested some seemingly impossible advice...

An address at the Chanukah Live worldwide satellite hookup at 770: "Everything G-d created, He created for His glory." The ultimate purpose of science is to discover new ways to facilitate and increase our ability to serve G-d. This we see clearly here at this gathering: Jews in every corner of the globe were able to tune in, via satellite, and to watch as one little child kindled the Chanukah flames. Thus we see an illustration of the fact that one Mitzvah instantly brings light to the entire world.

The Menorah is lit at 770, and children sing Haneiros Hallalu with the Rebbe.

People come to the Rebbe to receive a Chanukah blessing.

In November 1937, the Rebbe enrolled in the University of Paris, known as "the Sorbonne." A young man named Moshe Zev Reitzer was studying to become a pharmacist at the Sorbonne, attending some of the same classes as the Rebbe. Yoel Reitzer is Moshe Zev's son.

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.

Chassidim sing the Alter Rebbe's "Niggun of Four Stanzas."

Rabbi Simcha Ashlag asks the Rebbe to endorse a proclamation that it is time for every Jew to study the classical works of Kabbalah.

Rabbi Yehuda Leib Schapiro heard Rabbi J.B. Soloveitchik retell the story of the Alter Rebbe’s attempt to visit the Vilna Gaon, as it had been passed down through his own family, all the way back to the Gaon’s chief disciple.

At Mount Sinai, Moses and Aaron served as "marriage ushers," escorting G-d and the Jewish People to one another to unite in an eternal covenant. Chassidic teaching explains that Moses represented the "masculine" Divine force, and Aaron, the "feminine" Divine force - so from this derives the custom for a man and a woman to escort bride and groom to the Chupah.

The Rebbe officiates at the wedding of Rabbi Hirshel and Rivkah Chitrik, the second wedding at which he did so after assuming leadership of the Lubavitch movement.

The Rebbe blesses and distributes dollars to brides and grooms for their wedding.

Mrs. Louise Hager was fourteen years-old when she first met the Rebbe's wife, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka. Over the years, she developed a close relationship with the Rebbetzin.

When G-d and the Jewish People were "married" at Mount Sinai, there were two "marriage ushers": Moses and Aaron. In commemoration of this, at a Jewish wedding two ushers escort bride and groom to one another. But there is a surprising regulation that demands explanation: a pregnant woman may not serve as marriage usher.

Children sing “Sheyibaneh” at a rally.

Many Russian Jews are now moving to your city. So the sooner your new Synagogue building will be ready, the sooner you will have the need to expand even more.