Joyous events and commitments to learning this week at Chabad-Lubavitch centers everywhere
Jewish people of all ages and backgrounds around the world are celebrating the “Rosh Hashanah of Chassidut” this week, marking the day when the founder of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, was released from a Czarist prison after being held on libelous charges, based on misinformation provided by emanating from opponents of the Chassidic movement.
After an imprisonment rife with challenge, to which he responded with courage and indefatigable faith—in the way he lived his life as the leader of a Chassidic movement—the Alter Rebbe, as he was known, or alternatively, the Baal HaTanya, was released on the Hebrew day of Yud Tes Kislev or the 19th of Kislev, corresponding to Nov. 27, 1798.
The celebration is extended to the 20th of Kislev, the day the Alter Rebbe was released.
As is the custom, for two days and nights—this year, Monday night, Nov. 22 through Wednesday night, Nov. 24—the watershed milestone on the Jewish calendar will be marked throughout the world with gatherings (farbrengens) of song, inspirational learning and camaraderie, along with regaled devotion to the study of the inner dimension of the Torah—Kabbalah and Chassidut.
In fact, the celebrations began early this year in Jerusalem when more than 10,000 participants gathered on Sunday night at the Binyanei Hauma convention center for an event sponsored by the Chabad-Lubavitch Youth Organization in Israel. The gala celebration again coincided with the world’s largest Chassidic book fair, where hundreds of thousands of books are on sale. More than 20,000 visitors are expected to attend throughout the week.
In Stamford, Conn., Chabad of Fairfield County will be hosting a farbrengen on Monday evening in which people will share stories, sing songs, discuss ideas, have some schnapps and inspire one another to strengthen the bond between one man and his fellow, and between man and G‑d. The farbrengen will be led by Rabbi Yisrael Deren, regional director of Chabad of Connecticut & Western Massachusetts, who will focus on the relevance of Chassidic philosophy in the contemporary world. “Yud Tes Kislev transformed Chanukah from a Festival of Lights into a Celebration of Light,” Deren told Chabad.org. “A Light that continues to brighten the world in anticipation to of the coming of Moshiach.”
In Safed, Israel, Rabbi Gavriel Marzel, co-director with his wife, Sterna Sara, of the Chabad House of the Old City and Beit Knesset Tzemach pointed with pride to the six different 19 Kislev gatherings that Chabad of the Old City will be hosting around the cradle of Jewish mysticism.
“With an ever-expanding array of Chassidic learning opportunities and unparalleled historic contribution to the advancement of the inner dimension of Torah,” said Marzel, “Chabad has grown to the point that we can accommodate men and women, and English and Hebrew speakers, as well as those with different learning styles. Both the Arizal (Rabbi Isaac Luria, of righteous memory) and the Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory] would be proud,” he said.
Farbrengens will focus on the ground-breaking mystical teachings contained in the Alter Rebbe’s foundational Chassidic tract, the Tanya, and his well-known code of Jewish law, the Shulchan Aruch Harav.
Events Being Held Worldwide
Events across the Chabad institutional spectrum are numerous and varied with a tradition for centers to invite out-of-town guest rabbis to inspire their audiences. Events can be found by consulting the new Chabad locator and contacting local centers.
For those wishing to find out more about the day online, Chabad.org has a special 19 Kislev section with 19 Kislev videos, audios and articles focusing on the history of the day, and its meaning in the modern world.
As the leader of the Chassidic movement, the Alter Rebbe had become the target of opponents to the spreading of Chassidic teachings and was informed on by one or more of his detractors. He spent 53 days in the Petropavlovsk fortress in Petersburg, where he was threatened with death and interrogated intensely by a secret commission.
Until what is accepted widely as an extraordinary, if not miraculous, exoneration, the Russian authorities held him on false charges of treason and insurrection for urging his followers to send money to the Holy Land, which at the time was part of the Ottoman Empire, an enemy of Russia. The fundraising, though earmarked for the poor of Israel, was cast as subversive activity.
Chabad tradition holds that the spirits of his own Rebbe—Rabbi Dovber, the Maggid of Mezeritch—together with the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chassidic movement, visited him in prison to share that on a deeper level his incarceration was a reflection of accusations in Heaven that he was revealing new dimensions of mystical teachings too widely.
The notion finds a basis in Jewish mysticism itself, which advances the concept that its lessons are best balanced with Judaism’s more grounded teachings: its legalistic and Talmudic aspects.
Nonetheless, in reply to the question of whether he should stop, the spirits of the deceased Chassidic leaders, replied that once released, he should continue with even more dedication. Therefore, in Chabad thought, the day on the calendar is called the “New Year of Chassidut.” It is also the anniversary of the passing of the Alter Rebbe’s mentor, Rabbi Dov Ber, in 1772.
“Just like on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, it is a time when people take a moment to reflect on past regrets and focus on future betterment, and gather together at Chassidic farbrengens to joyfully inspire one another to do so,” said Marzel.
To find a 19 Kislev event near you, contact your local Chabad-Lubavitch center, which can be found at the Chabad Locator here.
