HISKASHRUS
Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................... 4
Acknowledgments...................................................................................................... 6
The Rebbe rules upon himself................................................................................... 7
The Rebbes novel approach...................................................................................7
The faithful shepherd............................................................................................ 12
A test of faith........................................................................................................ 16
Lesson from Shimshon.......................................................................................... 19
Despite kashes, our mission is clear.....................................................................21
Chossid and Rebbe after Gimmel Tammuz..............................................................23
The Rebbe should be alive for you........................................................................23
Bonding with a hidden Rebbe...............................................................................24
A love that transcends all..................................................................................... 26
Testing our love.................................................................................................... 27
Gimmel Tammuz: Hiskashrus before and after....................................................29
An ever-growing bond........................................................................................... 31
Why should we miss out?!.................................................................................... 32
Reciprocating for the Rebbes blessings..............................................................33
A Rebbes role vis--vis his predecessors.............................................................36
Yearning of a chossid............................................................................................... 38
Passionate yearning, determined action...............................................................38
We want and need the Rebbe down here!............................................................42
Waiting for our Rosh Chodesh Kislev...................................................................44
Imagining the reunion.......................................................................................... 46
Looking forward to a new maamar.......................................................................48
Ways to bond after Gimmel Tammuz.......................................................................49
Writing to the Rebbe............................................................................................. 49
Gazing at the image of the Rebbe.........................................................................50
Audio and video of the Rebbe............................................................................... 53
Preparing for Moshiach........................................................................................... 55
Call of the hour: Learn about Moshiach and the geulah......................................55
Introduction
We, Chabad chassidim, find ourselves in a very difficult
time. There is much confusion about how we should
approach our relationship with the Rebbe.
We do not see the Rebbe, yet we believe that he still
leads us, for a shepherd does not abandon his flock.
This is unprecedented, for while every earlier Rebbe
had a successor, the Rebbes leadership continues even
after his histalkus.
So many chassidim have questions, valid questions,
about how to be a chossid after Gimmel Tammuz, when
we can no longer physically interact with the Rebbe as
we could before Gimmel Tammuz, and especially
before 27 Adar.1 The question is even stronger for the
younger generation, which is rapidly growing middleaged, who never saw the Rebbe, even as little children.
Although this topic deserves discussion, we need not
speculate and philosophize. The key question is: How
does the Rebbe want me to approach this situation?
Obviously, we can only ascertain this by delving deeply
into his words, humbly ready to eagerly accept
whatever insights we may glean.
In fact, the Rebbe prepared us for this situation in
various ways.
1
Yeshaya 30:20.
Avos 3:16
10
Emphasis in original.
13
Lets begin with the very first letter that the Rebbe
wrote after the Previous Rebbes histalkus:14
The [Previous] Rebbe, my father-in-law, of blessed
memory, writes in one of his letters15 concerning
the histalkus of his father [the Rebbe Rashab] that
tzadikim act as protectors of the earth even after
their histalkus: Not only do they not part from
their flock, but they plead before the footstool of
the exalted Throne, and present themselves before
the splendor of the lofty, upraised Gd, to protect
over the nation of Yeshurun [i.e., the Jewish
people].
The same is also true of the [Previous] Rebbe, my
father-in-law, of blessed memory.
However, from our perspective, we should
maintain and further strengthen our hiskashrus
and connection with him with increased vigor by
studying his Chassidic discourses, talks, and
letters, and delving into the directives found in
them, including the directives that one personally
received. In this way we will go in the straight
path that he taught us of his ways, and we will
walk in his ways forever and ever.16
14
15
16
18
Tehillim 84:8.
20
Devarim 33:21.
21
A test of faith
Of course, one of the greatest difficulties for a chossid
in coping with the situation after Gimmel Tammuz is
the fact that we no longer see the Rebbe physically.
This was such a colossal change in our lives as
chassidim that it begs a question we should all be
naturally asking (especially on the holy day of Gimmel
Tammuz): Why did this happen?
The sicha below22 indicates that at least one reason for
this situation is to test our faith in tzadikim and
ascertain whether we will maintain our hiskashrus with
the Rebbe despite his concealment:
... The strength that the [Previous] Rebbe grants
us through the teachings of Chassidus continues
even now [after Yud Shevat], with no change on his
part. Even from our perspective, no change has
occurred that would justify thinking that the Rebbe
is no longer with us, Gd forbid.
Those who knew the [Previous] Rebbe in the
course of the thirty years of his leadership know
that the Rebbe would not abandon his chassidim
and leave them alone on the Shabbos of the Torah
portion of Zachor [which discusses the mitzvah to
erase the memory of Amalek], for example, when
they need to fight against Amalek.
22
24
Zohar 3:71b.
25
28
29
Shoftim 16:31.
Berachos 28a.
33
Zohar 3:71b.
34
35
Ch. 14.
36
Berachos 28b.
37
he did not pass away in the way that regular people do;
rather, the Rebbe is still with us just as he was before
Gimmel Tammuz, and to an even greater degree, albeit
in a hidden, spiritual fashion.
Reminding ourselves of this inner reality endows us
with the strength to maintain our deep bond with the
Rebbe and faithfully carry out his instructions despite
his (temporary) concealment.
Bonding with a hidden Rebbe
Of course, receiving direct attention from the Rebbe,
especially in yechidus, is far preferable to receiving
guidance from the Rebbe via a personal rav, ones
communal rav,38 and so on. Its a much more uplifting
feeling and powerful experience.
Despite the genuine advantages to a chossid receiving
direct attention from the Rebbe, this is not what
defines the Rebbe-chossid relationship. Many
chassidim, despite being imprisoned for decades in
Russian gulags, maintained their bond with the Rebbe
of their time. On the contrary, their Chassidic warmth
was so great that it kept them Torah-observant even
under the cruel Communist oppression, and in a time
when vast numbers of non-chassidim had abandoned
outward Torah observance due to the danger it posed
to their lives. Likewise, once the Previous Rebbe left
Russia, many of the chassidim who remained never
38
saw him again; nor were they to see the Rebbe until
many years later, if ever. And so on.
Obviously such distance poses challenges and is far
from ideal, but the fact that it was done demonstrates
that it is possible.
The same is true of the current situation. Although the
Rebbe is certainly leading us just as before, we are
unable to connect with him physically. Yet now, too, we
witness that many chassidim succeed at staying
devoted after Gimmel Tammuz just as much as before,
and in many cases, with even greater devotion.
Moreover, we see many people choosing to become
chassidim, including younger people who never saw
the Rebbe, or only saw the Rebbe as small children, or
were born after Gimmel Tammuz, and even total
newcomers. All these chassidim can be seen to show
devotion that matches and in many cases surpasses
that of those who merited to see and even interact with
the Rebbe physically many times.
These facts are indisputable, and they prove that this
level of bonding with the Rebbe, and the passionate
inspiration that this bond evokes, is attainable even
today.
So yes, its harder to maintain the Rebbe-chossid
relationship after Gimmel Tammuz, but this is a
challenge we can overcome. Although it may be
necessary to reach into a deeper part of our souls to
45
Yeshaya 31:33.
48
Berachos 28a.
50
53
54
55
58
Ibid.
59
60
62
Mishlei 27:19.
65
66
68
74
75
Koheles 1:5.
77
80
81
82
As soon as the chossid writes the pan and sends it, the
Rebbe senses it, and the chossid is blessed.
This story is surely relevant to our time, when we
cannot openly see the Rebbe receiving our letters.
Although we can bring these requests to the Ohel, we
might feel that this is less effective than when one
could receive a written response. However, this story
demonstrates that even without the Rebbe physically
receiving the letter, it is fully registered. So, too,
nowadays: Even without receiving an open response,
we are confident that the Rebbe has heard our request
and is doing his utmost to intercede with Hashem on
our behalf.
Gazing at the image of the Rebbe
The Gemara relates83 how an image of Nevuchadnetzar
was engraved on Nuvazradens chariot as he travelled
to destroy Yerushalayim:
A servant [honors] his master:84 [this is
exemplified by Nuvazraden, as it is written:] In
the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month,
which was the nineteenth year of King
Nevuchadnetzar, king of Babylonia, Nuvazraden,
captain of the executioners, came. He stood before
the king of Babylonia in Yerushalayim, and he
83
Sanhedrin 96b.
84
Malachi 1:6.
Yirmiyahu 52:12-13.
86
II Melachim 25:6.
87
88
Zohar 1:27:2.
89
91
93
95
96
103
105
106
Mussaf liturgy.
108
Devarim 4:35.
110
111
112
Avos 1:17.
Devarim 6:5.
114
115
Berachos 1:5.
116
117
119
Shemos 4:10.
Ibid. 6:12.
121
Bereishis 45:16.
125
Yeshayahu 26:19.
127
A series of maamarim.
129
Ibid., p. 20.
130
132
53.
Shemos 12:7.
135
137
Megillah 6b.
The full version of this sicha was printed in Vol. 624 of the
Kfar Chabad magazine several weeks after Gimmel Tammuz.
139
140
Shemos 17:9.
144
Avos 1:6.
Shemos 21:18.
146
147
Shemos 27:20.
149
Nedarim 35b.
150
152
Glossary
Alter Rebbe: Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi of blessed
memory, the first Rebbe of the Chabad Chassidic
movement, also known as the Baal HaTanya, the author
of the Tanya
Anash: Lit., the people with whom we are at peace;
this term is used to refer to other members of ones
Chassidic community
Avodah: Lit. service, i.e., toiling and growing in the
service of Hashem
Avodas HaTefillah: Lit. the service of prayer, prayer
at length accompanied by lengthy meditation on
Chassidic concepts
Chassidus: A unique school of mystical thought,
taught by a Chassidic Rebbe
Chassidus Chabad: The school of Chassidic thought
taught by the Rebbes of Chabad
Chabad: The Chassidic dynasty founded by Rabbi
Shneur Zalman of Liadi
Chitas: An acronym for Chumash (the five books of
Moses),Tehillim (Psalms), and the Tanya of Rabbi
Shneur Zalman of Liadi. The Previous Rebbe instructed
that everyone learn a daily portion of each Chumash
and Tanya and recite a daily portion of Tehillim
Index
intermediary who joins, 18
10 Shevat, 17, 50
27 Adar, 7073
28 Nissan, 6570
Aharon HaKohen, 72
Alter Rebbe, 78, 10, 2930
Amalek, 17, 82
Avrohom Parizh, 49
Baal Shem Tov, 7
Basi LeGani discourse, 44, 88
Chassidus: bond through learning continues
after tzadik's passing, 16; campaign to
publicize, 38, 65; power of a maamar, 50
51; publication of C. brings spiritual
redemption, 45; Rebbe innovates novelties
in, 38; topics of geulah and Moshiach, 59
cheshbon nefesh, 62
Daniel, 75
doctors, 83
end-times, 45
Gimmel Tammuz, 2527, 28, 3132, 33, 37
Haskalah movement, 86
Hillel Paritcher, 5051
hiskashrus, 16, 2527, 2728, 30, 3132, 32
33, 3537
histalkus, 4445
inner change, 69
Itche Der Masmid, 61
kashes, 2123
Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, 15
Likkutei Sichos, 59
Likkutei Torah, 45
limud zechus, 7
love between chassidim, 2728, 2930
love between Rebbe and chossid, 2728, 29
30, 3364, 49
love of Hashem, 42, 68
Maggid of Mezeritch, 10, 78
Maharash, 45, 81
Marlow, Yehuda Kalman, 85
Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, 7, 1011, 35
Moshe Rabenu, 14, 7173, 78, 82, 85, 86
Moshiach, 88, 89; age of M., 3233; complete
Mitzvah observance, 61; deadline for