Yud Tes Kislev

Intro: 1. On the day after the festival of Succos in the year 1798 the first Chabad Rebbe was arrested in White Russia. The first Chabad Rebbe, who was called the Alter Rebbe, was officially charged with treason against the Russian government. The Alter Rebbe was jailed in the capital city of Petersburg.

There was a camp of religious Jews who were against Chassidus, especially Chabad Chassidus, and they went and informed the Russian government that the Alter Rebbe was collecting money for the Turkish government. The Turkish government at that time was also the ruling power over Eretz Yisroel (Israel). Really the Alter Rebbe was collecting money for the Torah scholars who had moved to Eretz Yirsoel who didn’t have money to live. The camp of Jews that were against Chassidus being revealed and spread throughout the world were hoping that by imprisoning the Alter Rebbe they would be stopping the Chassidic movement.

Much much more in the Extended Article!

Fifty three days later on the 19th day of Kislev the Alter Rebbe was released from jail and free to continue spreading Chassidus to the world. Chassidim therefore call the 19th of Kislev “the Rosh Hashanah (head of the year) for Chassidus”. It is also interesting to note that in a letter written by the fifth Chabad Rebbe, Rebbe Sholom DovBer, to his son the sixth Chabad Rebbe, Rebbe Yoseph Yitzchak, he writes that “the 19th of Kislev is the day of the beginning of our creation” just like it is said regarding the Rosh Hashanah of the world!!!

2. Everything that happens in this world is a manifestation of what is happening in the higher worlds. What was happening in the higher realms that caused the manifestation of the Alter Rebbe’s imprisonment? There was a decree from On-High that the innermost hidden secrets of the Torah, namely Chassidus, could not be revealed to the public. Therefore the Alter Rebbe- who was the leader of the Chassidic movement at that time- was imprisoned physically. When the Alter Rebbe was freed physically from jail on the 19th day of Kislev it symbolized that the heavenly decree was broken.

It is known that after the 19th day of Kislev the Alter Rebbe revealed more Chassidus to us then he used to before his imprisonment.

The Rebbe says:

1. The Previous Rebbe (the 6th Chabad Rebbe), Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson (the Rebbe’s father-in-law), once gave a parable for what Chassidus is:

“Pearls are found at the bottom of the ocean on the ocean’s floor. Coals, which make heat and give light, are found in the depths of the earth. The way one goes about finding coals in the depths of the earth is by having an instructor who tells him where he should be digging and how he can find the coal. The digger can rely on the instructors smarts, but he must follow the instructor’s guidance exactly to the tee if he wants to get the coals. However with regards to having the air of life from the atmosphere above ground, the digger cannot rely upon the air that the instructor has! The digger must have his own air or else… And this all also holds true also for someone who is finding pearls at the bottom of the ocean.

The meaning of this parable is easily understood: Chassidus gives light and warmth (like the coals) but we must dig deep to get it. When is our digging successful? When we are taking instruction from the top.”

2. The Rebbe asks a couple of questions on these words of the Previous Rebbe which leads us to understand more about what Chassidus is:

Question number 1: Why did the Previous Rebbe give two examples (of the pearls on the ocean floor and the coals in the depths of the earth)? Obviously the Previous Rebbe wanted to explain to us what Chassidus is through his parable, so every detail of the parable must fit perfectly with what Chassidus is. Therefore we must understand how each example is a different dimension in Chassidus.

Question number 2: Why did the Previous Rebbe only go into detail with the coals part of the parable? He started off with the pearls parable and then only really explained the coals parable!?

3. We begin the journey to find the answer:

A) Question: If Chassidus is something we need, how come it wasn’t revealed to the world beforehand? Chassidus was only revealed in the past few hundred years and we see that generations of Jews served Hashem just fine before it!?!

First answer to this question: The Talmud says (in Tractate Sotah, Page 49, Side 1) that every day the darkness of exile gets worse. So since the darkness in the past few hundred years has become so unbearable we needed a stronger light to keep us going. Chassidus is the hidden soul of Torah which arouses and reveals our hidden soul. When our soul is revealed our deep strength comes out and we are able to withstand the darkness of exile even in our times.

Second answer to this question: Since we are now at the end of exile we must prepare for the final and complete redemption. Now when someone is preparing for something, he must prepare in a way which is fitting to the thing he is preparing for. (Editors example: If you are about to go on a trip, you obviously don’t prepare by studying geometry, you pack your suit case!). Therefore Hashem gave the world Chassidus as a taste of what is going to come with the final redemption.

Now, according to the first answer (that Chassidus is needed to fight off the darkest darkness) Chassidus is something which we cannot live without. But according to the second answer (that Chassidus is a wonderful taste of the world to come when Moshiach takes us out of exile) Chassidus is something which is not an absolute must right now.

4. Now we can answer the two questions posed earlier on the Previous Rebbe’s words:

Answer to question number 1: The reason why the Previous Rebbe gave two parables about Chassidus (one of the pearls and one of the coals) is because there are two dimensions to Chassidus! One dimension is that Chassidus enables us to have the strength and fortitude to fight the strong darkness of the later years in exile. And one dimension of Chassidus is that it is a sweet taste of the revelation of the world to come when Moshiach comes.

Answer to question number 2: The reason why the Previous Rebbe explains in detail the parable of the coals is because coals are a necessity in your life. You need heat and you need light! This parable of the coals corresponds to the dimension of Chassidus which is a necessity- to be able to serve Hashem even in such a strong darkness. Therefore the Previous Rebbe spoke about this dimension of Chassidus more at length.

Pearls are a luxury. You can live your life without ever owning a pearl. This parable corresponds to the dimension of Chassidus as it is a taste of the revelation to come which is not an absolute must right now. Therefore the Previous Rebbe does speak at length about this dimension of Chassidus.

Translated and adapted by Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos Chelek Chuf, 1st Sicha on Yud Tes Kislev.