Yud Tes Kislev Farbrengen 2025, Kolel Ramat Beit Shemesh, History & Lessons - Rabbi Chaim Dalfin

So good. Today is a yumptive aidic holiday not just for kabad but for allidim just a matter of time when all will recognize it and it's because the day the balatana was released from prison and why was he imprisoned Moshe because he disseminated the teachings ofidus in a manner of kabad but the truth is that the people who ratted on him to the Tsarist government that he's leading a rebellion on behalf of the Turkish government and he wishes to uh rebel and overturn the Gazarus government. They uh they were known at the time as miss nagdim mit nagdim the opponents. Today uh the Reb said there are no misn them even though sometimes it's hard to believe that and to see it but we'll leave that at as for another time. Today they would be called the litfox the Lithuanian people but at the time they opposed becauseidism was something new and it they it scared them. It reminded them of false messiahs which we had uh in the mid600s into the 1700s. So during this mid700s there was an attack onism after the holy balto the founder founded his successor the mag of mas whose yard site is today today's anniversary day of passing he was a continuation of bto and he was also attacked foridism but he passed on in 1772 which led to his disciples publicizing the teachings ofidis in that part of the country which is Belarusia etc and it got to Ukraine and Russia and other places and the Balata of Zalman the author of the Tanya which is the kind of Bible of it is a um the Balat was appointed by two students at the time who were the primary students of the magit They made aliyah to Israel the Terry I believe and they asked him to continue the tradition of the mag as the leader for allas not just for kabad for all and in fact it's a question when did the the shita the ideology of kabad when did it start you know because really he was a aidic master for all in that area. You know, Carlen for example, Carlen uh the Carina Rebina etc. They had their region and and when when he was attacked also by the snagim the cariner he wanted to come into the alterbas territory and the alterb told him you could but with a condition that you teach not to that one should not just rely on their rebi for the be the savior kind of shalom but you got to work yourself and if you're not agreeable don't come here because you're going to you're going to this is the system that I'm teaching and my students here in this region and you coming in and and offering another approach will confuse them. So the Balatana in 1798 on today's day on UTS was vindicated right because they arrested him for treason and the black wagon which was known as the death wagon came from the Zar to pick him up in Ljnet where he lived at the time and took him to St. Petersburg and he was imprisoned in the the in the Peter uh fortress which was a jail which maybe some of you visited the outside or whatever. Anyway, and pretty much you went there, you never came back. 53 days later corresponding to the 53 chapters in the Tanya miraculously delterba was was vindicated and released and the Balatana said that his his imprisonment was not a his personal imprisonment. It was an imprisonment from on high on the dissemination of kabad kasidus kasidus in general kabad kasidus because later kalaskker who moved to terriia he opposed the balatan's approach like I told you yesterday so there was aer a decree on high should we allow this approach to continue and dare said that the mid came to him in failed spiritually had a calling and the baltov and he asked them should I CONTINUE WITH THIS APPROACH maybe I should give up and and just teach is like the belchto you know without the intricacies of the mind and they said no since you started not only continue with great strength and more strength and we know Allah m that when a a document is complained about is argued about whether it's authentic when it goes through the the the judicial court and it's eradicated as correct it has more strength legally. So they said that to the alterba since your your life and what you represent was on the line and from on high you won the case. In other words, here below the the Zarus government saw that this was an accusation, a falsification and an outright lie that the Alterba is sending money to the Turkish government. What he was doing was he was supporting Kabad. He was supporting and and Kabad by the way then didn't mean just kabatics. He was supporting poor people s and others who needed money in Israel who moved from Russia and Ukraine and Belarusa and he was supporting them. He wasn't planning a coup to to oust the Zarus government and have it be taken over by the Turks as the accusation went. This is in brief the story of Utas Kislv and it's 277 years since 1798 277. It's a long time and this day has been celebrated throughout centuries. There recently was a very good article on anash.org. It's a Kabad website and a a a young fellow was a very good historian I think I believe he he put together he an article from Yiddish newspapers from the 1800s all the way through the 1900s of how they celebrated utkisliffs. I want to just share a few things to show you that this this is really this is really a a 277 year continuous celebration on this day. So, of course, the first celebration was the the the actual day that he left 1798, but the year after they set it up as a permanent festival where in Kabad we don't say today nor tomorrow. And the reason for is because although he was released today, he ended up in the house of a snag called Maliplia. He had his own board, but there was also A MISNET WITH THE EXACT SAME NAME. AND THEY BY MISTAKE HE WENT TO THE to the and he was there three four hours and the man the mnaged um interrogated him and made him crazy about the the the prayer right now and all those things. And the alterbas said, and I say this not to point fingers, but just to make a point, that the THREE AND A HALF hours or so, that he was in the house of the MPL ones WAS HARDER FOR HIM THAN THE 53 DAYS IN PRISON. and and and but I promise you Darb was had a good heart and he did but he he meant that the torture that he he had to deal with SOMEONE HIS OWN KIND A FRUNGU WITH A beard with pis who's you know going at him and from ALL SIDES IS WORSE THAN THE [clears throat] the desirous Russian goim the orthodox goes Russians who pressured him by putting him in prison cuz that's a physical thing and this was spiritual and it's much worse as you everyone know especially you and know that when when our own brothers do things to to hurt us it's even worse but going back to the point so he gets out so when did he actually leave the house of the SO >> [laughter] >> CASHES IN ON IT AND THEY MAKE ALSO a a yumto by not saying okay now the fabangans there was a um a Jew named Dr. official Schneer. The Schneers family was and is but a very large family just like the Salivix and the Turskis. These families were large and the Schneersens had tremendous amount of relatives and cousins and fourth cousins, third cousins. Well, because the [clears throat] Samic the third had seven sons and I believe three two or three girls. So from there from him came out a lot a lot of descendants. So Fishel Schnaresen was one of them. Fishel Schnares's father considered himself like a a kabad reba of sorts but he already was more modern. I believe he was from but he was modern. I don't know. I don't think he had a beard and you know he was he was a psychiatrist and he actually came to this country in the 1920s and then he lived in Tel Aviv in 40 40s 50s. Uh there was just a lady who passed on at Crown Heis. She was 96 or 97 who was his secretary when she was a a teenager in Tel Aviv. Um Mrs. Gerrari was her name. Anyway, so Fishel Schnersonen wrote wrote a few books. Most famous was Kaim Graitzer. He talks he it's a it's a novel named someone named Kaim Gravitzer and he talks about how he grew up in a kidic home and it seems like a kabad home and he went to the kabad yeshiva and he was a great student and then he rebelled and people say it was like he's talking about his own life in the fictional character of Kaim Graitzer it's it's it's a very important read and I think it's might even be available in English today I'm not sure definitely in Hebrew then he wrote another book called Sania shall forget the exact name and I I read it once or parts of it and it talks about utasis how Utus Kisv was celebrated in his hometown in Russia. I think it was either Rep, one of those towns in Russia. And he speaks about how how it was such a festive day, a happy day. It's like everyone was happy. Now you went to work. You know, there was no such thing as, you know, you had to work to to bring home what to eat. But as soon as you came home, you ran to the sh and you dab min whatever or you sat in the fabra. And you danced and danced and ate some kasha tradition eat black kasha on buckwheat onislv and you danced and danced and framed and you were happy. My father-in-law who um he grew up in [clears throat] in Kharkov in the 1930s so he told me I asked him once how did you celebrate? These were very difficult times. He said, "As soon as we we came home, we just went to sh and we just danced and and we were happy." He didn't, you know, I asked him, "You didn't learn." He says, "It wasn't about learning. It was a a happy day. We were dancing and and saying and fanging in America New York Brooklyn New York I believe Mr. Kramer Kazak Kramer Kramer who was kind of Mr. Kabad in America in the early in turn of the century sends out a letter. I saw it. I think I might have even printed in one of the books. Sends out a letter TO ALL THE KABAD SHOOLES. The tri-state and there must have been 25 30 such shs in Manhattan. Five shooles in Brooklyn. Five shuls in [clears throat] New Jersey in Payic. There were kabad shoes in the 20s. In all of these places doesn't mean that they were wearing these beards. You got it? [laughter] There were some from the old country still had their beards and then there were many that already became more modern. But they knew that they came they come from kabad kabad stock and they knew they [clears throat] knew that on you you're happy you you celebrate. How do they know? Here's an example. Brownsville, Brooklyn, which today it's there's a re a resurgence of kabadnik living there, but for years you wouldn't walk there even during the day. Okay. >> Used to be called of America. Brownsville in the 20s and 30s had hundreds of and shuls and yeshivas orthodoxy. The largest orthodoxy in America was not Chicago, was not Manhattan. It was in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Okay. So, Rabbi Jacobson, Rabbi Yro Jacobson, no relationship to to Y Jacobson or Simon Jacobson, another family. He was a a student of the Rashab and the freed and the Reb. and he came to America in 1926 and he was a great communal activist besides a rav and aim and he was like Mr. Kabad as far as a a rabbi is concerned from 26 to 19 to 1940 when the reb came the previous rabbi came. So he tells over that he just came and they invited him to a utkisliff party at a restaurant in Brownsville. Who invited him? A person named M. Mr. Nelson. Who is Mr. Nelson? His greatgrandfather was A FAMOUS OF THE And he was a great grandson. And he said that he was there's a tradition in this family that's passed. His father told him that whoever will celebrate Utasis in a festive way is guaranteed to see Yiddish nakas Jewish pride FROM HIS CHILDREN, HIS GRANDCHILDREN AND HIS GREAT GRANDCHILDREN. And therefore, he writes an invitation to people of the Kabad Shuls in Brownsville. YOU'RE ALL INVITED TO A PARTY AT A RESTAURANT. Rabbi Jacobson didn't go the cuz he he CAME FROM THE PAVAGE. YOU DON'T MAKE A PARTY in a restaurant. You just HE CELEBRATED IN THE SHUL IN THE B MADISH in your house. You know what I'm saying? He wasn't accustomed to the American ways. The next year he writes that he already convinced Nelson to bring the party into his house and to celebrate. But but I'm pointing out to you is that here is someone who wasn't very religious initially but Jacobson rights he became more religious back to his roots once Jacobson came and he got involved in the shul and all of that became agab maybe a president but the point is it was a fact by HIM THAT YOU JUST YOU HAVE TO MAKE A party okay and finally I have an an invitation somewhere in my archives. I think it was in St. Louis. I believe an invitation 1949 I think is the date for Utasis on this and this date we're going to celebrate Utasis. So Utasis was a a very very very a very very festive day. What did the alterbas say? He said like this. Whoever will celebrate the day you kiss, I guarantee them that he will be slept out from agony is the is the ter terminology from agony from distress to broadness to goodness. and el from the physical material to the spiritual. Another point in a book a safer called shilusayim responsor from heaven written 4 500 years ago about this day the 19th of kisv it says there yom bsura it's a day of good news. So Mark, today is a day for investments. Whatever you're going to invest today is going to be good. I'm not joking. That's what it say. Y sur >> of course it means spiritually primarily, but it also means physically, materially. There's no question. I I believe that wholeheartedly. The alterba 500 years later after this was written in a safer on what days he vindicated and released from his imprisoned from life and death prison today you testif war but different things that happened in in world politics they point to different events as you know miraculous but very startling and it happened when ones but I I'm not I'm not you know I'm not from those that keep track of that but one thing's for sure that this day is a special day so what is a specialty to to a ourselves to studyus which we do every every morning but to share it with the world and to get people used to you don't have to be afraid of it's like that you know once you once you put your foot in it feels very good the water's hot water on the legs ah feels good right you warm up you warm up when you learn YOU START WARMING UP TO Hashem and what you realize it's not about the intellect even THOUGH THIS IS KABAD WHICH IS THE INTELLECTUAL ual group. But that's not the objective. THE OBJECTIVE IS it should impact the the the the heart and the the mind the heart and the practice that Ashab in his letter of 1902 writes and it's quoted in Hayomy today if you learned it and hopefully you did that the purpose is to eradicate any disgusting mida. Look at yum and I'm thinking about it. It's your disg why I'm discussing ugly midos because that's the bottom line. The [laughter] bottom line is all the flut and toot and intellectual stuff of if it doesn't have an impact on your character there's something lacking and so the rashab with all of his greatness and speaking and calling CALLING THE ROASH of which the world still can't wrap their head around. What did Roshashidus that's wrote in 1902 about this day? So this Roshan ofidis being the nerve center for the whole year and you know here we are. It's a Tuesday. It's a midafter afternoon for you guys and it's the morning for me and the sun is out and in Cleveland it's probably snowing where I have to fly to today. It's like a regular day, right? It's a regular day and Yoni's walking with an overcast sky. It looks like over there, RIGHT? IT'S A REGULAR DAY. BUT IT'S NOT A REGULAR DAY. IT'S a yumptive. And and and the more you know about this and you you you you really put it into your heart and soul, you you you'll dance. You'll dance and and you'll SAY, "WHAT AM I DANCING FOR? WHAT? IT'S A TUESDAY. WHAT AM I DANCING FOR? It's not Hanukkah. Because we were given something that there was a question whether it's the right thing and now we have it. And you know today Emosa shared with us yesterday pictures and videos from Tama you know I I said this to my friends because we we have a group chat all we were together is in Los Angeles and we're very close you know so people have comments you know that s is it's [snorts] not authentic kapad you know it's you know and saying it's it's it's it's it's really a um a pacifying to the kapakook guys you Carl Baka and breastliff and kabad, you know, whatever. So I said, look, I'm not I'm not here to judge anyone. One thing I know when 800 to a thousand boys and maybe girls too separately take a test at Utasis in the study of and the deep study of that's it you know the the dancing and the singing as Moshe wrote yesterday it's the energy here is unbelievable right but when you know from a kabadnik looks at things like you know in a in a pimous way like Iser's observations of 770 and things that were going on over the weekend in the kinus you know Iser approached it in a very kabad way which is from kabad perspective a right way so there has there is and I wrote this to my my friends and because they're not so aware of all the details I'm much more aware having been to so many times and I know Mosha Shilat and I know where my started I was there at the beginning. I was there when my started in the beginning. Okay. I remember them on street in so what what's happened and I and I really credit Shilat and his organization at least he's gotten Torus Kabad into has their yeshivas for sure and even some literary yeshivas doesn't mean they're becoming it doesn't mean they're becoming it doesn't mean they're necessarily going to the you know what I'm saying but they're learning Torah And that's the objective to to and and today so many organizations and people and teachers from Wu and others are in their own way learning learning and teaching and that's what the Balata wanted okay he didn't necessarily want everyone to be a kabadnik I repeat always what the venerable Abramor one of my set in Lakewood New Jersey many years ago at a siman who was 150 people in the suka and here is thisid who was born in 1900 and he's in a different world and it's and he turns to everyone he says you all think that I came here tonight and most of them were litak to make you kabadnik He said, "Absolutely not. We have enough of our [laughter] own. We don't NEED YOU GUYS IN 770. Stay in Lakewood." But he said, "If you want to see a Jew who's a real Yamahim who has real awe for God, COME TO 770 TO see the lab. JUST GO THERE TO OBSERVE HIM AND HEAR him and see him and then make your decision. But we don't need more kabadnik. And I say that today as well. This isn't a numbers game, you know, cuz we had a big discussion in our group. Is is kabad all about numbers? Could you have 20,000 10,000? What if you have 10 people in a ramatish for bringing around a table and being inspired with who says that's not more valuable than 10,000 people at summer? And the answer is it's not a numbers game. Both are important. BOTH ARE IMPORTANT. THERE'S A SEGMENT OF OUR population particularly that this talks to them. the dancing, the singing, the the hugging each other. That that's what they need. So not to poo poo them. Those that are more serious in nature and in and objective and they want a one second a small fibbrangan. You got one. Yes. Misha, >> I just want to say when you mentioned the singing and the dancing, I just want to say that um it's important to clarify that the singing and the dancing that was last night terms of the the the music the nigun the words very very very focused very panmious like wasn't just like was you know some like catchy tune And it was, you know, and what's amazing is that, and I've heard this from so many people in so many different circumstances, people people always say, "Oh, those are the ones that get people going the most, you know, and and obviously there there there's a reason for that." >> Yes. >> So last last night you you you when you were there like you you could feel that, >> right? Right. um what my friends probably were referring to with from two or three nights ago where you had you know after Ram freed you know you had some people with you know I don't know breast liver they you know they had a different style in their music you know what whatever the case it's a um I as I said as I said that's the that's the um I'm going to stop today because I do have to get to LaGuardia and to go tomorrow won't be But Thursday will be okay. So in the in the teaching one second in the teachings ofidis in the teachings ofidis in the practices of may we all be written and ascribed for aidic year. Mashiach should come. There should be shalomi >> true peace there [snorts] and fighting and wish only have good things in our lives. Good job everyone. See you. See you all. Byebye. Byebye. Byebye. Bye. >> Yes. >> No.