Thousands Of Chassidim Participate In Gimmel Tammuz Farbrengen

Thousands of Anash and Tmimim, shluchim and guests from around the world packed the zal of 770 for a farbrengen Thursday night, Motzaei Gimmel Tammuz. It was organized by the gabbaim of the shul, along with Matteh HaOlami L’Havaas HaMoshiach and the Chabad World Center to Greet Moshiach.

After watching a video of the Rebbe, the emcee, Rabbi Shalom Yaakov Chazan, called upon Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Shapiro, secretary of the beis din, to recite the Rebbe’s chapter of Tehillim, concluding with “Yechi.”

Rabbi Chazan quoted a letter dated Gimmel Tammuz 5710 in which the Rebbe explains that the primary function of a Rebbe is to be the Nasi Chabad. The Rebbe clarifies this in a letter dated Gimmel Tammuz, because Gimmel Tammuz is a day of hiskashrus. On this day we must strengthen our hiskashrus to the Rebbe MH”M shlita through fulfilling his directives, especially those regarding hafatzas besuras ha’Geula v’ha’goel.

Rabbi Osdoba, mara d’asra of Crown Heights, spoke about the connection between Parshas Korach and Gimmel Tammuz. “How could the people who saw Moshe receive the Torah from Hashem suspect that Moshe appointed his brother as Kohen Gadol simply because he was his brother? Their mistake was in not understanding that Moshe was incomparably greater than they. They assumed Moshe was like them and since they had personal preferences, they presumed that Moshe did too, albeit in a more subtle form. This is the lesson for us. We must know that the Rebbe is incomparably greater than us, and therefore we must follow all his directives precisely.”

Rabbi Hillel Pevsner, rav of the Chabad community in Paris, was the next speaker. “In all Chabad communities around the world, Gimmel Tammuz is described as ‘ha’yom ha’gadol v’ha’kadosh.’ Chassidus explains that ‘kadosh’ means removed, separated. Our avoda is to make sure that the Rebbe’s inyanim are not separate from us. We must carry on with all the Rebbe’s inyanim, thereby bringing the Geula.”

Rabbi Shalom Mendel Simpson, secretary of the Rebbe and director of Merkaz L’Inyonei Chinuch and Kupas Rabbeinu, reminded the participants that despite the darkness of Galus, we must focus on the great light of the Yemos HaMoshiach.

“We must go out to the entire world with the Rebbe MH”M’s great announcement that the Geula is imminent, and we must prepare for it. Some say it is difficult to publicize the besuras ha’Geula and they convince themselves that it is impossible to bring this message to the public. Eight years after the Rebbe informed us that the “time for your redemption has arrived,” and that the world is ready to accept the message about the imminent Redemption, how shameful it is that some are afraid of their own shadows, claiming that we don’t have to say everything, and that not everything is accepted.

“I speak from experience. In Brighton Beach where I serve as rav, I disseminate the besuras ha’Geula as the Rebbe wants us to, and I see how everybody accepts it and seriously prepares for Moshiach’s coming. When I speak to my congregation about the Geula, they understand exactly what we’re talking about, for the topic is not foreign to them. They live with Geula.

“Everybody has to do this! After the Rebbe said the world is ready, no Chassid can come and say that the world is not accepting it!”

R’ Chanina Sperlin, of the Vaad HaKahal, said Birkas Kohanim and then greeted the many guests who came to Crown Heights for Gimmel Tammuz. Then the emcee called upon one of the ziknei ha’Chassidim, Rabbi Nissan Pinson of Tunis. He was one of the first shluchim, having served in Tunis for forty years.

Rabbi Pinson spoke about his early years of shlichus in Morocco forty-eight years ago, followed by shlichus in Tunis. “The Rebbe began conquering the world through his shluchim, who had to be moser nefesh to go out to a spiritual wilderness and transform it into a place of Torah and Chassidus. Today there is no corner of the world the Rebbe hasn’t transformed into a place where Judaism flourishes. There is no question that the mesirus nefesh of the shluchim will hasten the Geula with the revelation of the Rebbe MH”M.”

Upon concluding his speech, Rabbi Pinson began dancing and drew along the distinguished people on the dais. It was a beautiful sight to see ziknei ha’Chassidim dancing in Chassidic unity.

Rabbi Shmuel Butman, director of the Matte HaOlami L’Havaas HaMoshiach and director of Lubavitch Youth Organization, spoke in English. He spoke strongly against the dangerous policies of the Israeli government which endangers the lives of millions of Jews in Eretz Yisroel and abandons most of the residents of Yesha.

Rabbi Butman said that despite the emuna and bitachon that the Rebbe will appear imminently, we must hear the cries of the children who did not merit to see the Rebbe. “They demand, rightfully so, that they want to see the Rebbe MH”M. You cannot satisfy them with explanations and sichos. They want to get lekach and a maamer from the Rebbe. We have no answer to this request. We turn their cry over to Hashem, who should immediately reveal the Rebbe to us.”

Rabbi Butman responded to the claims that the Rebbe never encouraged publicizing the fact that he is Moshiach. “They ask whether the Rebbe ever referred to himself as Moshiach. The Rebbe never said the words, ‘I am Moshiach,’ but on dozens of occasions he alluded to this, almost explicitly, so that only a fool could miss what the Rebbe was saying. For example: When the Rebbe said that 770 is numerically equivalent to Beis Moshiach, and Moshiach is the Nasi HaDor, whose name is Menachem – doesn’t that say it all?

“These days we must strengthen our simple faith in what the Rebbe said. The shiur of Tanya for Gimmel Tammuz starts with the words, ‘We have no involvement with hidden things, but we must believe with perfect faith in what is revealed to us,’ and ends with ‘for this is the emuna that is above intellect.’ Indeed, on Gimmel Tammuz we must strengthen our faith, faith that is above intellect, and follow all the Rebbe’s directives, especially in publicizing the besuras ha’Geula on a worldwide scale.”

The next speaker was Rabbi Moshe Naparstek, mashpia in Kfar Chabad, who spoke about k’vutza. He described how the bachurim at first went to the Rebbe for a month’s time, then three months, half a year, and finally the Rebbe managed to arrange for the Tmimim to be able to stay for an entire year. The Rebbe was personally involved in the arrangements that needed to be made in order to allow the talmidim to be able to leave Eretz Yisroel for an entire year.

The Rebbe emphasized the importance of their learning. The Rebbe devoted many sichos to this topic, remarking that the Tmimim were allowed out of the country in the merit of their learning. “When I entered the zal in the morning and saw over 100 Tmimim learning Chassidus, I thought of the tremendous nachas ruach the Rebbe must have from these talmidim.

“In recent years, despite the obstacles that unfortunately exist from within, the number of talmidim who come on k’vutza has grown. Next year, G-d willing, two hundred talmidim will be coming. I am certain that these hundreds of Tmimim give the Rebbe much nachas.”

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Kesselman, mashpia in South Africa, stressed that notwithstanding all the explanations, and that today more than ever, although we see the Rebbe’s impact in all areas of life, we are not satisfied with this, and we cry out to Hashem: We want to see our king!

In the middle of the farbrengen a group of mekuravim from Brazil came in, led by shluchim Rabbi Yosef Schildkraut and Rabbi Shamai Ende. The group entered as the crowd in 770 was singing a niggun, and the group began dancing enthusiastically on the benches and the tables.

The emcee called upon Rabbi Ende, rosh yeshivas Chabad in Brazil. “Chabad in Brazil these last six years is an unbelievable success story,” he said. He related how after Gimmel Tammuz other groups in Brazil expected Chabad to fall apart. “That’s when we decided to open a yeshiva. We received an amazing answer from the Rebbe in the Igros Kodesh, and against all odds we managed to double and triple Chabad’s outreach in Brazil.”

The next speaker, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Ginsberg, mashpia in Kfar Chabad, quoted the famous sicha in which the Rebbe says that a Rebbe relates to each Chassid the way the Chassid relates to him. Whoever relates to the Rebbe as a tzaddik in the supernal realms, the Rebbe responds by relating to him as a tzaddik who is indeed far away in the supernal realms. However, when a Chassid relates to the Rebbe as he is right here, the Rebbe responds accordingly with much good b’gashmiyus and b’ruchniyus as the Rebbe is right here.

“The Rebbe said this about the Rebbe Rayatz; all the more so does this apply to the Rebbe MH”M shlita. The more we relate to him as chai v’kayam and here with us, the more hashpaos and kiruvim we will receive b’ruchniyus and b’gashmiyus.

“This doesn’t just refer to feelings, but to actions such as davening with the Rebbe’s minyan with the same hadras kavod we had on Yomim Noraim, when we saw the Rebbe standing at the shtender.”

Rabbi Shalom Dov Ber Lifshitz of Yad L’Achim said that despite all the kiruvim from the Rebbe we see lately, we should not forget that we are in a terrible situation, especially regarding shleimus ha’Aretz. “The call of the hour is achdus and fulfilling the Rebbe’s directives with no exceptions. This is the greatest gift we can give the Rebbe, and with it we will hasten the true and complete Redemption.”

Rabbi Shalom Dov Ber Volpe of Kiryat Gat responded to the claim that the world is not ready to hear the besuras ha’Geula. He spoke about a mekurav who began wearing a yarmulka with “Yechi” written on it. His mother, who is not a Lubavitcher, was nervous about this and asked a Sephardic rabbi his opinion. “I don’t understand what’s wrong with believing the Lubavitcher Rebbe is Moshiach,” the rabbi answered, and suggested that she leave him alone with his faith.

The organizers of the event thanked R’ Yaakov Herzog who worked hard to make the evening a success, and to those who run 770live.org which broadcasted the farbrengen live via Internet.