“Live With Structure – But Don’t Get Stuck in It” Highlighted at the ‘120 Celebration’ in Southern Florida

by Aliza BasMenachem

When an organization puts on an impressive community event, it is not unusual for them to make an appeal for the attendees to reciprocate and make a donation. It is perfectly suitable for them to distribute a pledge card to be filled out and an envelope for mailing in a check. At “120 Celebration”, an event coordinated by Chabad Houses in Southern Florida, celebrating 120 years since the Rebbe’s birth, there was a pledge card handed out together with the program. But no envelope.

On the card there is no place to fill in a credit card number, and not even a place for personal information so they can contact you later about a donation. The only personal information it asks for is your name, your Hebrew name and your mother’s Hebrew name. The information it does ask for, is for you to check off one or more of five boxes, designated for resolutions you will take on as a way to honor the Rebbe’s birthday. During the program, there was mention of suitable gifts to the Rebbe to honor his birthday. Gifts to show the Rebbe appreciation and reciprocate for all he has done, and continues to do for us through his teachings, his students/followers/community leaders and personal connection. The pledge card could be submitted in the lobby on your way out of the event, and will be placed at the Ohel on Yud Aleph Nissan, the actual date of the Rebbe’s birth.

The five gifts to choose from:
Adding a half-hour of Torah learning each week between now and Gimmel Tammuz.
Distributing Shmurah Matza to at least one person.
Putting Tefilin on a fellow Jew.
Encouraging a woman or girl to light Shabbat candles.
Sharing a Torah teaching with another Jew.

Inspiring messages about all of the above were presented during the program. Connected to one of these gifts, a young man took the stage and announced that on the way out, there is a box with Shmura Matza, for each audience member to take home and distribute to another person. I don’t remember him saying it specifically, but it was clear, he was the one who donated the Matzas. In my opinion, that’s an awesome gift for the Rebbe… The whole evening was awesome.

The Keynote Speaker was Rabbi YY Jacobson. There was a seven-piece orchestra, accompanying Shulem and Yaakov Lemmer, and a variety of video presentations, in addition to live speakers.

The initial video presentation showed the Rebbe speaking at a Fabrengen in 1960, marking 120 years since the birth of the Rebbe Rashab, and the continued relevance of the Rebbe Rashab. It was easy to learn from that, how the Rebbe’s relevance has not been interrupted and in fact continues to escalate as we mark the 120th year after his birth.

Governor Ron DeSantis sent a letter to the event, recalling his signing into law, the Moment of Silence in schools, and School Choice. The letter finishes with DeSantis’ commitment to keeping Florida safe and welcoming for Jews. The letter was shown on the large screen, was read out loud and was well received by the appreciative audience.

There were a number of video clips telling personal stories involving the Rebbe. One was a couple from Florida, who went to the Ohel as a place to Daven for their grandson who suffered from allergies, including an allergy to milk. It was a pleasant surprise when, as the video finished, the eight year old grandson walked on stage to speak about having faith in Hashem to heal us… and how happy he was that he could now eat ice cream.

Niggunim are a major part of the Chabad culture. Just as the Rebbe would lead in singing Niggunim interspersed within his public teachings, the Lemmer brothers came on stage twice during the program for brief performances as well as giving a concert at the end. They sang Chabad Niggunim, focusing on the songs the Rebbe taught us, and at the final concert, they encouraged the men in the audience to join in the singing and to come to the space in front of the stage, to dance. It looked like and felt like Simchas Torah. The musical talent of the Lemmer brothers, especially Shulem, is a gift to the Jewish people.

The entire program focused on the gifts the Rebbe gave to us, and the gifts we could give the Rebbe in keeping with what would please him. Rabbi YY Jacobson took this theme to a new level. It seemed like he spoke with passion from the onset… but it kept rising. When he told his personal stories with the Rebbe, he was reliving them. His entire presentation was bursting forth with desire to share his wisdom, knowledge and insights.

Everyone there was encouraged to go beyond their comfort zone and give the Rebbe a gift. Me included. I have commitments, I am making Pesach, and instead of staying within the responsible structure of the number ten – by taking care of my responsibilities first – I am taking the opportunity of going into the eleventh dimension by writing about last night – and trusting that everything else will fall into place. I thank Hashem for this opportunity.

The Rebbe’s birthday is Yud Aleph Nissan. The eleventh day of the Hebrew month of Nissan. As is well documented by the Rebbe’s punctual appearances in public, his meticulous observance of Mitzvos and the vast amount of video footage of him, we know the Rebbe is the embodiment of discipline within the natural structure of things, represented by the number ten. Our worldly numerical existence is based on the number ten. As in his birth on the eleventh, the Rebbe’s life was not bound by structure.

Rabbi YY Jacobson took us back to Simchas Torah about the time of 1987-88. My guess is that Rabbi Jacobson was still not at Bar Mitzvah age. But he was there in 770. He recalled the Rebbe extending the dancing until about 4a.m., and then surprising the exhausted/exhilarated crowd by beginning a Sicha/words of Torah. It turned out to be a short Sicha. On his way out of the large Shul, the Rebbe then began to dance with the people at the back of the Shul. The one’s who would have been furthest from the earlier festivities. The Rebbe made them feel even more included than they had before. The Rebbe considered every moment as a chance to serve Hashem, even when it meant going beyond natural expectations.

Some of my takeaways from Rabbi YY’s presentation: The Rebbe taught us to live in structure, but not to get stuck in it. We have to be ready at any moment to open our hearts to what Hashem wants from us. We have to embrace Yud Aleph. The Rebbe teaches that each person’s existence is a Divine blessing. Each soul is a conduit for Hashem to bring blessings into this world.

And by the way, you can make pledges to honor the Rebbe’s birthday, even without the official pledge card from 120 Celebration.