The year was 5752 (1992), a sensitive time in the history of Chabad-Lubavitch. It was the beginning of the first Adar of that year, which was a Jewish leap year.
I wrote a report of our activities to the Rebbe. The Rebbe answered, “niskabel uteshuos chein – it was accepted with gratitude.” After that, the Rebbe added four words, “Shirah vezimirah shishim yom.” Shirah generally refers to singing by mouth, and zimrah refers to music with an instrument. So the Rebbe instructed us to sing accompanied by musical instruments throughout 60 days.
We did not exactly understand why the Rebbe was saying that, but we understood that the Rebbe wanted joyous singing and dancing throughout the 60 days of the two Adars. We obtained permission from the gabbayim of 770, and we organized singing and dancing every night.
In connection to this, we remember the wonderful individual, Rabbi Yekusiel Menachem Rapp, ob”m. We called him, lovingly and affectionately, Kuti Rapp.
Reb Kuti, my dear friend, was a man of simcha. He loved simcha and had tremendous Ahavas Yisrael. Reb Kuti undertook to organize the joyous celebrations every night. And not only that; he made sure that every night there was not only singing and music but also mashke – there was l’chayim and farbeisen, and he organized it very nicely. I understand it continues to this day in memory of Rabbi Yekusiel Menachem Rapp.
But at the time of the original directive, we didn’t understand the depth of the Rebbe’s intention.
Although the Rebbe does not have to explain the reason for his directives, on Shabbos, the Rebbe spoke about it and explained it in a way that even we can understand.
The Rebbe mentioned the halachic concept of bitul b’shishim, that a forbidden substance is annulled in 60. For instance, if a piece of meat falls into a pot of hot milk, the mixture is considered “meat and milk” and is not kosher. However, if the milk consists of 60 times the amount of meat, then all you have to do is remove the piece of meat, and the milk remains kosher.
That is the general concept of bitul b’shishim. How does this apply to Adar? Since there are 60 days of Adar, the Rebbe wanted all the negative matters of the month of Adar to be annulled in the 60 days of joyous singing and dancing. Simply, the Rebbe wanted to annul a specific day of Adar – the occurrence on the 27th day of the first Adar in 5752. [On that day, the Rebbe suffered a stroke.] The Rebbe wanted to remove and annul it that it should never happen.
The way the Rebbe wanted to annul the negativity was through shirah and zimrah for 60 days. In retrospect, we understood a bit of the depth of the Rebbe’s kavana.
This message is relevant to each and every one of us in this current year when there are two Adars and there are 60 days of Adar. We should, therefore, utilize these 60 days to be an extra mode of simcha.
We should have wonderful months of the first and second Adar and may we experience the true and ultimate freedom when we will go out of golus all of us together, Gezunterheit and Freilecherheit, Teikef Umiyad Mamash.
