This
maamar was recited by the Rebbe Rashab (the 5th Lubavitcher Rebbe) on his
Bar Mitzvah, the 20th of MarCheshvan, 5634. It was also one of the
maamarim recited publicly by the Previous Rebbe on his
Bar Mitzvah, the 12th of Tammuz, 5653. It is customary among Lubavitcher families for a
Bar Mitzvah boy to recite this
maamar.
The maamar was translated by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger and edited and prepared for printing by our staff. Great effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this translation, however, it carries no official authority. As in all translations, the possibility for inadvertent errors exists.
The word maamar - discourse - implies that the concepts were intended to be presented in a spoken form. In the Hebrew original, a sentence may be continued for half a page, connecting a series of verb clauses. In the translation, an effort was made to shorten these sentences and adopt the text to a more familiar form. Nevertheless, the basic structure was not changed. To maintain the flow of the text and to explain some terms and concepts that might be unfamiliar, additions were made. These additions were placed in brackets [ ] to distinguish them from the original text. However, the additions were woven into the structure of the text so that in its present form, the original and the bracketed additions should be read as one unit. In addition to the references included in the original text, we have additional references cited in brackets.
We have also included the customs relating to a Bar Mitzvah that are printed in Sefer HaMinhagim (English translation p. 173).
The printing of this text took place in the days preceding Purim. May it serve to bring the Jewish people ''light and joy, gladness and honor,'' and herald the time when from the redemption of Purim we will proceed to the ultimate Redemption, speedily in our days.
9th of Adar, 5740
As our translation enters its
Bar Mitzvah year, we have chosen to revise it slightly with the intent of making it more accessible to our readers. May this further step in spreading the wellsprings of
Chassidus outward hasten the coming of the Redemption. And may this take place in the immediate future.
Erev Rosh HaShanah, 5753
