Next week, the multitudes of the House of Israel in Israel and around the world will celebrate the holiday of redemption on the 19th of Kislev. The first celebration of the 19th of Kislev was held in 1759 (224 years ago), with the release of our elderly rabbi, the author of the Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch, from his imprisonment in Tsarist Russia. Since then, this day has been celebrated every year, and it is increasingly spreading in the Jewish diaspora.
It is precisely the historical perspective that illuminates the great significance of this holiday. There are events that at the time stirred the entire world, and after a while no one remembers them. In contrast, there are events that initially seem to be private, local occurrences, and over time their general and eternal significance becomes clear.
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The 19th of Kislev initially seemed like a very isolated event. A righteous man was imprisoned, was in danger of death, and was finally released. It was indeed a miracle, and perhaps it is fitting that his family remember the miracle and even commemorate it every year. However, over the years, this day has become a day of great celebration and awakening, and it encompasses multitudes of Jews from many and varied backgrounds.
You meet Jews who immigrated from Russia. They are not Hasidic, and neither were their ancestors Hasidic, but they talk with reverence about the 19th of Kislev gatherings, which warmed their souls. You talk to Moroccan immigrants, and they longingly embrace the memories of the 19th of Kislev celebrations in Casablanca. A Lithuanian Jew talks with sparkling eyes about the 19th of Kislev gathering in Jerusalem, and wearing a knitted kippah, he relives the wonderful experience when the high school yeshiva he attended came to the 19th of Kislev celebration in Kfar Chabad.
Thus are fulfilled the words of our old rabbi, who said: "This day will be established as a permanent date in Israel, on which the great heaven will be exalted and sanctified, and thousands of hearts in Israel will awaken in repentance and worship of the heart, for the deed (= the story of the deed) is engraved in the heart of Israel from above and written in the heart of Israel from below.".
New soul
Our old rabbi said that he did not intend to found a 'party' or sect, but rather that he came to bring revelation of light to all of Israel. The Baal Shem Tov said of him that his soul was a 'new soul', which descended into this world from the world of nobility in order to illuminate the world with the light of the innermost Torah.
Therefore, his imprisonment and redemption are not private events of a family or group, but rather they concern the entire people of Israel.
Chassidism is the revelation of a part of the Torah, in preparation for the coming of our righteous Messiah. Just as a time came when the Mishnah and the Gemara and the books of the Rishonim were revealed and the Ari, Z"l, was accepted – so too has a time come when the light of the Messiah began to shine, and in which we were given the opportunity to taste the richness of the innermost Torah, which will be revealed in its entirety in the Torah of our righteous Messiah.
Hasidism is intended for every Jew – for the common people and the world’s geniuses, for scholars and people of labor. It enlivens the soul; it saturates the mind with a profound understanding of the greatness of the Creator, and the profound meaning of the Torah and its commandments; it inspires joy and enthusiasm in the work of the Creator; it is the inner vitality of Jewish life.
Therefore, let us wish one another, as is the custom of the Hasidim: ""Happy Holidays! May you have a good year in learning Hasidism and in the ways of Hasidism, be written and signed.".
