As we approach the auspicious day of Yud Alef Nissan, which will mark 120 years from the Rebbe’s birth, excitement is mounting for this unique anniversary.
At farbrengens in the past months, a central theme discussed by the mashpi’im is the preparation required of us during this time, and memories from previous jubilees of the Rebbe’s birthday are forefront in every chossid’s mind.
Enthusiasm is heightened by reading the Rebbe’s handwritten responses regarding the preparations done by chassidim in 5732, the 70th jubilee, and other years. The deep-seated feeling is that this is the Rebbe’s day, and the hiskashrus expressed on this day is most personal. Simultaneously, there is the uplifting sentiment and joy surrounding the day the Moshe of our generation was born.
To the question of which gift is most befitting, the Rebbe himself provided the answer in the sichah of Purim 5732 (Toras Menachem, vol. 67, pp. 332-333): “Some are preparing for the birthday and deliberating whether to choose something in the realm of tzedakah or Torah — I want to clarify that it should first and foremost be connected with Torah!
“…Simply put, although one generally doesn’t set conditions on a gift, it is, after all, for the purpose of generating nachas ruach. Therefore, notwithstanding all the other positive activities, it is proper, desirable, good, right, and pleasant — like all the 15 descriptions in Emes v’Yatziv — that everyone should also increase their Torah study, both nigleh and Chassidus.”
In light of the Rebbe’s clear words, and in continuation to the tradition in previous jubilees that received the Rebbe’s encouragement, the Central Lubavitch Youth Organization has launched a preparatory campaign that has been live for several weeks already, to divide all the Rebbe’s Torah amongst Anash and the Temimim, with the intention to give the Rebbe this joint gift.
This anniversary marking 120 years lends extra significance to studying the Rebbe’s Torah, as the Rebbe said in a sichah marking the Rebbe Rashab’s 120th birthday that chassidim should learn the Torah of the Baal Yom Huledes (Sichos Kodesh 5741, vol. 1, pp. 429-430).
A special website has been set up for this campaign: YudAlefNissan120.com
The site is very user friendly and each participant will receive an automatic notification detailing his selection, as well as several reminder emails throughout the year.
The director of Lubavitch Youth Organization, who are organizing this effort, Rabbi Shmuel Butman, expresses his bitachon that all chassidim together will celebrate the Rebbe’s 120th birthday with the Rebbe in Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh, with the complete geulah!
