כסלו: חודש הגאולה והאור

The month of Kislev in the Chassidic calendar is a month of liberation and the spreading of light. Three key dates of this month form a golden chain linking generations of Chassidic leaders.

9–10 Kislev: The Mitteler Rebbe — Birth, Passing, and Liberation

9 Kislev is the birthday, the day of histalkus (passing), and the day of liberation from imprisonment of the second Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Mitteler Rebbe (Rabbi DovBer Schneuri). The Mitteler Rebbe was known for his "wide approach" to Chassidic teaching — his work "Rechovot ha-Nahar" ("Wide Rivers") embodies the principle of revealing the deepest secrets of Torah in an accessible and expansive form. If the Alter Rebbe compressed infinity into a drop, the Mitteler Rebbe unfolded that drop back into an ocean.

14 Kislev: The Rebbe's Wedding (5689/1928)

On 14 Kislev 5689 (1928), the wedding took place of the future seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe — Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson — to Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, daughter of the Rebbe Rayatz. At this wedding, three generations of Rebbes were present: the Rebbe Rashab (the bride's paternal grandfather, spiritually), the Rebbe Rayatz (the bride's father), and the future seventh Rebbe. The Rebbe Rayatz declared: "This day connected me with you, and you with me." These words became a symbol of the unbreakable bond between a Rebbe and his Chassidim — a bond that transcends time and space.

19–20 Kislev: Liberation of the Alter Rebbe — Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism

On 19 Kislev 5559 (1798), the first Lubavitcher Rebbe — the Alter Rebbe (Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi) — was liberated from the Peter-Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. He had been arrested on denunciation by opponents of Chassidism who accused him of treason. In prison, the Alter Rebbe was granted a vision of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezritch, who confirmed that his arrest was a reflection of a heavenly tribunal over the very teaching of Chassidism.

His liberation became a sign from Above: the teachings of Chassidism must be spread even more widely. After his release, the Alter Rebbe wrote the famous letter "Katonti" ("I have become small"), expressing humility before the greatness of divine mercy and calling upon the Chassidim to intensify the dissemination of the teachings.

Since then, 19 Kislev has been the "Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism" — a day when the flow of Chassidic wisdom into the world is renewed and intensified. On this day it is customary to hold "Chalukas HaShas" — the distribution of Talmudic tractates among community members so that the entire Talmud is studied collectively over the course of a year. The central lesson of 19 Kislev: "Yafutzu maayonosecha chutza" — "Let your wellsprings spread outward" — the teachings of Chassidism must reach every Jew, even the most distant.