Кіслев: Світло, Визволення і Рош а-Шана хасидизму

1 Kislev — Recovery of the Rebbe (5738/1977)

On 1 Kislev 5738 (1977), the Rebbe returned home after a severe heart attack that had occurred on Shemini Atzeret. This recovery was perceived by Chassidim as a genuine miracle and became an annual celebration. During his illness, the Rebbe continued to lead, conducting farbrengens right from his room, and his return to "770" — the main Chabad headquarters — sparked a wave of rejoicing around the world. This day serves as a reminder that the health of a tzaddik is not a private matter but a spiritual resource of the entire Jewish people, and that the prayers and merits of the community can bring about miracles.

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

9 Kislev is both the birthday and the day of passing (yahrzeit) of the second Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi DovBer, known as the Mitteler Rebbe. And 10 Kislev is the day of his liberation from imprisonment in Vitebsk, where he had been thrown on the basis of a false denunciation. The Mitteler Rebbe developed the teachings of his father, the Alter Rebbe, making Chassidism more accessible through detailed and expansive explanations. His life is a model of how persecution only intensifies the spread of Torah: every arrest ended with an even more powerful wave of Chassidic teaching.

19–20 Kislev — Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism (5559/1798)

On 19 Kislev 5559 (1798), the Alter Rebbe was released from the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, where he had been imprisoned on charges of treason. This day became a turning point in the history of Chassidism: the Heavenly court issued its verdict in favor of spreading the inner Torah, and the gates of Chassidism were flung open to the entire world. The Rebbe taught that 19 Kislev is the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism — the day when each year the Divine energy that sustains the study and dissemination of Chassidic teachings is renewed. On this day, Chassidim around the world hold grand farbrengens, study Chassidism, and take on new commitments in their service of G-d.