THE REBBE'S OWN UNITED NATIONS - COLlive.com

September 26, 2008 ~ crOWN heights Newspaper 11
Rebbe's Story
“When one tells a story about his Rebbe he connects to the deeds of the Rebbe” (Sichos 1941 pg. 68)
An Eventful Tishrei at the Rebbe 5731/1970
From a diary written by Rabbi Michoel
Seligson
Translated into English and adapted by
Rabbi Menachem Kirschenbaum
The Farbrengen of Simchas Torah
5731/1970 is known by chassidim as a
special one with many giluyim, revelations.
To this day chassidim speak of it
with wonder.
The Rebbe established his own United
Nations at this Farbrengen and appointed
different chassidim to be in charge of
different countries.
In order to understand the chain of events
that led up to this historical event, we
refer back to the beginning of Tishrei
(1970).
The first Farbrengen of the month on
Rosh Hashana, made it clear that the
Rebbe wanted to accomplish something
unique.
The highlight of the Rebbe’s Farbrengens
is always the Maamor, the chassidic
discourse.
The Rebbe would customarily begin
reciting the Maamor at the Rosh
Hashana Farbrengen after chassidim
sang all of the Rebbeim’s nigunim. In
the Maamor the Rebbe would include
explanations on Rosh Hashana from all
of the Rebbe’im.
The exceptional event during the Maamor
of this Rosh Hashana, was that in the
middle of the Maamor, the Rebbe spoke
at length on the verse from Yeshayohu
(25:1)” For you have made (the oppressor’s)
city into a heap, fortified town into
a ruin.”
The Rebbe concluded that through
destroying and wiping out the kingship
of klipat noga. More energy is added in
kedusha. This is the idea of “Through
destroying the city of Tzur that will bring
the rebuilding of Jerusalem.” At this point
during the Farbrengen, everyone present
understood that the Rebbe was not just
explaining a concept in chassidus. The
Rebbe was concentrating on destroying
and wiping out ‘klipos’ from the world.
The sense that the Rebbe was accomplishing
changes in the higher worlds
seemed even clearer at the conclusion
of the Maamor. The Rebbe said, “From
this level we draw down through all of
the worlds of the chain of creation, to
the extent that we created a new entity in
this physical world, ‘For you have made
(the oppressor’s) city into a heap pile, a
fortified town, into a ruin.’”
Rabbi Yisroel Jacobson noted that as far
as he recalled, fifty-seven years earlier,
5674/1913, the Rebbe Rashab elaborated
on this verse and what it signified in the
light of Chassidus. In the summer of that
year, WWI broke out.
After Rabbi Jacobson spoke, chassidim
understood that the Rebbe was trying to
accomplish something, however no one
knew what the Rebbe was referring to.
During the following nine Farbrengens,
the Rebbe constantly mentioned
this verse from Yeshayohu.
The Rebbe Farbrenged on Shabbos
Shuva and again on the 6th of Tishrei,
in honor of his mother’s Yahrzeit. At
both Farbrengens, as the Rebbe was
concluding the Maamor, he repeated
the same verse “For you have made (the
oppressor’s) city into a heap, fortified
town into a ruin.”
After Yom Kippur, there was a big question
on everyone’s mind. Would the
Rebbe Farbreng in the Sukka?
The previous year, a tableful of people
fell on Rabbi Marlow OBM, amidst the
pushing in the Sukka. The Rebbe said
that he would not want to Farbreng in
the Sukka because it was dangerous to
do so.
Many of the older Chassidim made different
suggestions to the Rebbe so that
a Farbrengen in the Sukka would still
be possible. The Rebbe did not accept
them. The closer it came to Yom Tov, the
more it appeared that there would be no
Farbrengen on Sukkos.
On the second day of Sukkos, members
of the Rebbe’s secretariat announced that
there would be a Farbrengen in 770. The
Rebbe said that it would be a Farbrengen
“oif truken”, on dry, without any food or
L’chaims being made.
The Rebbe came into shul and sat down
at his place. Immediately the Rebbe
instructed that everyone should sing
the Bal Shem Tov’s nigun, followed by
the Alter Rebbe’s nigun. He then went
directly into the Maamor opening with
the words, “All of the gentiles and nations
of the world praise you and admire you
G-d.”
Immediately there was an awareness in
770 of something unusual. The Rebbe
usually began Farbrengens with Sichos
before saying the Maamor.
In the Maamor, the Rebbe again spoke,
as he had in the earlier Farbrengens.
He explained how non-Jews receive
their energy from Kedusha, and how
it is possible that klipa can be elevated
to kedusha, and add to the energy ones
receives from kedusha. The Rebbe added
that since on Sukkos we sacrifice the 70
sacrifices, parallel to the 70 nations of the
world, it is through our sacrifices that the
70 nations are elevated.
The Rebbe concluded the Maamor with
the same verse from Yeshayou, ““For you
have made (the oppressor’s) city into a
heap, fortified town into a ruin.”
During the Farbrengen, the Rebbe
delivered two long Sichos referring to
non-Jews. The conclusion was that Jews
have the power to elevate and affect the
rise of the nations.
Then the Rebbe began to hint to the
issue he had been referring to in the
Maamorim since the beginning of the
month.
“The U.N. gathered its representatives
from countries all over the world to mark
the 25th year anniversary of its founding.
They chose to do so around the time of
Sukkos. Every single thing in the world
is by Divine Providence. Sometimes we
cannot see it and sometimes we see it in
a revealed way. In this specific situation
we see it in a revealed way!”
“The whole theme of the Yom Tov of
Sukkos, and we read it today during the
Haftora, ‘I will gather together all of
the goyim.’ Also, on Sukkos there is the
concept of the offering of the 70 sacrifices
which is symbolic of the 70 nations.
The Rebbe then added:
“The 70 nations have 70 angels who
represent them in the upper worlds.
The Yidden bring the offering of the 70
porim parallel to the 70 nations. Then
the 70 sorim above receive all of their
energy from these sacrifices. They can
see in an open and a revealed way, how
all of their energy is totally dependent
on the Jew. As an outcome, when you
accept something from someone you
become nullified to that person. In this
situation, this influences the nations to
become totality nullified towards the
Jews, because they can see that all of their
energy comes from them.”
The Rebbe concluded:
“Because we are now in a situation that all
the nations see in a revealed way that their
energy comes from the Jews, we should
utilize this opportunity to make our own
gathering. Therefore, I request that there
should be gatherings in New York, as well
as at the Western Wall, in particular, since
that is a place that Jews from all over the
world come together. They should daven
and learn, and through this affect positive
change in the U.N. There should also be
gatherings even here in the Diaspora,
and even in places where there is just
one Yid. This should be all done parallel
to the gathering in the U.N., and should
be done in a positive way.”
The Rebbe Establishes his own UN
(United Nations)
The Rebbe’s chozrim, those
who put to memory the Rebbe’s
discourses in order to transcribe
them after Shabbos or Yom Tov;
wrote the Maamor down right
after the first days of Yom Tov.
The Rebbe asked for the written
Maamor and edited it, though it
was his custom not to write on
Chal Hamoed. Chassidim were
very excited and everyone began
learning the Maamor.
Chassidim going on Mivzah
Lulav to Manhattan discussed the
Maamor with their friends. This
was the talk of days.
The evening of Simchas Torah,
directly before the fourth hakofo,
the Rebbe told the gabai, Rabbi
Moshe Pinchas Katz to announce
the following:
“The 70 nations are parallel to
the 70 souls of the children of Yaakov.
According to Torah, the Rabbonim are
the 'bale batim', owners of the counties
all over the world. Therefore, for this
hakafa the Rabbonim, who are the
representatives of the countries, should
come up.”
Chosen to represent their respective
countries were:
Rabbi Shmuel Levitin-America, Rabbi
Yosef Goldberg- France, Rabbi Benzion
Shemtov- England, Rabbi Y. Barteshvilly-
Russia, Rabbi Hodakov- Finland, Rabbi
Segal- Israel, Rabbi Yitzchok Hendel-
Canada, Rabbi Binyomin Gordetsky-
Europe, Rabbi A. Pliskin-Australia,
Rabbi Hirshel Chitrik- Brazil, Rabbi
Yadgar- Iraq, Rabbi Avrohom Yitzchok
Glick- Germany, Rabbi Yosef Weinberg-
South Africa, Rabbi Towil- Argentina,
Rabbi Leibel Raskin- Morocco, Rabbi
Avrohom Osdoba- Denmark, Rabbi
Alevsky-Germany, and Rabbi Moshe
Pinchos Katz- Poland.
The Rebbe then turned to the RaShag,
his brother-in-law, and said, “Since you
traveled with the Previous Rebbe to
Egypt, you should be the representative
of Egypt.”
After they called up all of the representatives
of the countries, the Rebbe said,
“With the power of Torah they are the
'bale batim' over all the countries and
they should all go to the hakofo and
dance!”
The Rebbe began to sing “Utzu eitza
v'sufar”, and to clap his hands with all his
strength. No one who was in 770 then
would ever forget the scene.
To be continued