What the 19th of Kislev was for the Alter Rebbe and the 12th of Beis Tammuz was for the Frierdiker (previous) Rebbe, the fifth day of Teves was for the Rebbe.
Our Sages tell us that throughout Jewish history, there have been as many prophets as there were Jews who left Mitzrayim. Yet the number of prophets whose prophecies are recorded is very few, since only those prophecies that are relevant to future generations are preserved. The same is true for events in Jewish history. Only those that have an everlasting message are commemorated each year.
When we commemorate an event, it is not just for the sake of remembering something that happened in the past but to reenact and take upon ourselves the message and implications of that event in the present.
We should also note that it was the Rebbetzin’s deposition in which she pronounced that “My father [the Frierdiker Rebbe] and the seforim belong to the chassidim,” that was one of the major factors in the victory. (At the time, a court case had challenged the ownership of these sefarim and hence the very leadership of the Rebbe – resulting in a resounding legal and spiritual victory for the Rebbe and the chassidim on the day of Hey Teves.)
The Rebbe stressed that the court’s ruling that the library belongs to Chassidei Chabad was a reflection of the Heavenly court’s decision that the Rebbe’s chassidim were doing what was required of them. In the Yud Tes Kislev story, the Baal Shem Tov told the Alter Rebbe that once he was vindicated from his temporary concealment, he should continue to spread chassidus and even in greater measure. So too, here, since there was a question of whether or not the Frierdiker Rebbe’s chassidim were doing their mission, [by being vindicated, it shows that] we should strengthen ourselves and do it with more vigor and in greater measure.
What occurred that entire week was unprecedented. The Rebbe said a sicha every day after Maariv. On Monday night, the 11th of Teves, the Rebbe emphasized that “the Rebbe, the Nassi of our generation, [the Rebbe Rayatz] proclaimed, ‘We should all be ready to greet Mashiach and all that is needed is to polish our buttons.’ So now that there are thirty days before the auspicious day of Yud Shevat [the yom hilula of the Frierdiker Rebbe], there should be an addition every day in learning and in giving tzedaka. This applies equally to men, women and children.”
The Rebbe continued: “In order that it be done properly, each person should discuss it with his rav and the rav should ‘test’ him every ten days to see if he is fulfilling what is required of him. Knowing that you will be ‘tested’ and that the ‘marks’ will be sent ‘here’ will strengthen your resolve to prepare yourself properly.”
In a sicha on Hei Teves (Shabbos parshas Vayigash) the following year, the Rebbe said the following: “In most circumstances, when a person has a precious item, he does everything in his power to protect it; that it should retain its beauty and splendor. This is especially so if it was missing for a while and then returned. Then he will definitely take every measure of precaution to protect it. However, when it comes to seforim, the Torah tells us the opposite. One of the positive commandments is that every Jew should write for himself (or participate in) a Sefer Torah. The Rosh writes in his commentary that nowadays, one fulfills this commandment by writing [or buying] seforim. The purpose of seforim is that they should be used for learning. The greatest honor for a sefer is that it is used so much for learning that its pages become worn out.
The lesson to be learned here is that the episode of the seforim came to teach us to intensify in our study of Torah. In subsequent years, the Rebbe spoke about the importance of buying seforim and donating them to shuls and yeshivos.
As we saw the redemption of the seforim, we should soon see the redemption of the “Am HaSefer – “the people of the Book.”
