One hundred and twenty years ago, on Friday, 11th of Nisan 1902 (1902), a son was born in the city of Nikolaev in Ukraine. The child's father, the Kabbalist Rabbi Rabbi Levi-Yitzhak Schneerson, received six telegrams that day from the town of Lubavitch, from the fifth Rebbe of Chabad Hasidism, the Rashba (Rabbi Shalom-Dover Schneerson). The telegrams contained special blessings and instructions, something completely unusual.
The child's mother, Rebbetzin Hanna, revealed some of the instructions: to immediately prepare a small tallit for the baby, a kippah, and washing of hands. She also said that her husband instructed her that every time she fed the child, she should be sure to wash his hands. This was a special instruction for this child and not for future children, and it seems that this was also an instruction from the Rebbe. Over the years, the Rebbetzin expressed: "He is holy from birth and from the womb.".
Love for every Jew
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This coming Tuesday, the 11th of Nisan, we will mark one hundred and twenty years since the great soul of the Lubavitcher Rebbe passed into our world. As the years pass, the strength of his leadership and the magnitude of the revolution he wrought become clearer. More and more sections of the Jewish people benefit from the light of his Torah, benefit from his precise guidance, and see him as the guide in our confused and bewildered generation.
The Rebbe established and expanded the Shluchim enterprise to enormous proportions. They reached every remote corner of the earth and made Jewish life flourish there. He kept the embers of Judaism alive throughout the Soviet Union, even during the days of the communist regime. In fact, the Rebbe gave self-confidence, courage, and inspiration to all the active forces of Judaism.
The Rebbe taught what love of Israel is to every Jew, no matter who he is. Everyone who met the Rebbe or heard his words felt the love that beats in their hearts for every Jew. He never uttered a disparaging or offensive expression towards a Jew. He educated them to think in terms of all Jews and to place the interests of the Jewish people above any group or community interest. That is why he also succeeded in endearing the Jewish faith and the Torah and the commandments to so many in the Jewish people.
A day of thanks
As a true leader, he did not shy away from calling out and sounding the alarm when he saw the need. The flawed "Who is a Jew" law, which opened the door to registering non-Jews as Jews, was a yearning for him. The policy of concessions and retreats by Israeli governments troubled his peace. He did everything in his power to make it clear that this was a dangerous path, one that would not bring peace, but would transmit weakness and encourage pressure and terror. Unfortunately, we all realized how right he was in all his warnings.
The 11th of Nisan is a day of thanksgiving to the Creator of the world for planting this great soul within us. It is a day for making good decisions, for studying the Rebbe's Torah, for increasing love for Israel, for spreading Judaism, and most of all, for strengthening ourselves in anticipation of the fulfillment of the Rebbe's great desire - the true and complete redemption through our righteous Messiah.
