The
Focus Of Yud Shvat
One
year on Yud Shvat after davening, when the Chassidim sat down to
hear the recitation of the maamar “Basi L’Gani,”
R’ Moshe Slonim, a’h, closed his eyes and began saying the
familiar opening words, “Basi l’gani achosi kala...”(I came
to my garden, my sister, my bride). But it wasn’t long before
the crowd realized it wasn’t the expected maamer, the Rebbe
Rayatz’s maamer of 5710 (traditionally said on his yom
ha’hilula), but the Rebbe MH”M’s maamer of the
following year. The crowd began to protest, in shock from the blatant
deviation from tradition, but R’ Moshe simply ignored them and
continued. To him it was obvious that on Yud Shvat the maamar to
review is the Rebbe MH”M’s inaugural maamar...
R’ Moshe had a special koch in this
maamar. He saw in it a vision for the future, the program, the
ideology, and the Rebbe’s strategy to conquer the world and bring the
Redemption. He saw in it the underpinnings and foundation for all the
work that lay ahead. It all begins with the point that our generation is
the generation of Redemption, and the leader of this generation will
redeem us.
Indeed, this maamar covers the gamut
of Chassidic thought — the idea of “dira b’tachtonim,”
that the ultimate purpose of all existence is our lowly world; the
importance and role of our era, “the seventh generation”; the
meaning of the concepts: Rebbe, Chassid, Beis HaMikdash, ahavas
Yisroel, Exile, Redemption, self-sacrifice; in short, everything.
Choosing to review this maamar in
particular on Yud Shvat comes from a Chassidishe hergesh,
the intuition of a true follower of the ways of Chassidus, who doesn’t
take solace in memory or nostalgia. He focuses on the significance of
the moment and seeks the message for our times. In other words, the
purpose in reviewing the “Basi L’Gani” of the hilula
is in order to feel the need to review the “Basi Le’Gani”
of the Rebbe’s inauguration as leader, the maamar that
focuses on the main issues of our generation.
Chassidim
like R’ Moshe are never interested in outer wrappings. They are
interested in content, in what’s really important, and for them this
truth illuminates the external, as well. They begin with the root and go
on to the branches, from the foundation to the rest of the structure,
the building, and as a result their minds and hearts are always focused.
It is all they talked about. Any discussions or debates have this as the
foundation.
In preparation for Yud Shvat, we must learn
“Basi L’Gani” — both that of the Rebbe Rayatz and of the
Rebbe MH”M — over and over again and etch its message into our
minds. And we must hope, wait, believe, and know that in just another
moment: “...nizkeh zehn zich mitten Rebbin da l’matta in a guf
u’l’matta mei’assara t’fachim — v’hu yigaleinu” (“we
will merit to be seen with the Rebbe down Below in a body, and in the
ten handbreadths closest to the world — and he will redeem us”).
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