ISBN 0-8266-0533-8
5753 • 1993
In this volume, two classic discourses of the Rebbe Rashab complement each other. The maamar entitled Tanu Rabbanan: Ner Chanukah, 5643 (1882), celebrates the might of spiritual light, which like the rays of the Chanukah lamp reaches out to illuminate a dark world; the sichah entitled Kol HaYotzei LeMilchemes Beis David, 5661 (1900), celebrates the light that is generated when an individual musters the self-sacrificing might to "go out to the battles of the House of David," and to prepare himself and his environment for the coming of Mashiach.
The historical and conceptual background to the latter discourse is richly depicted in this volume by an appendix which records the opening remarks of the Rebbe Rayatz at the 45th anniversary celebration of the foundation of the Tomchei Temimim Yeshivah in Lubavitch in 5657 (1897), held on Erev Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, 5702 (1942). In addition, each of the two discourses of the Rebbe Rashab is preceded by a Publisher's Foreword.
The maamar entitled Tanu Rabbanan: Ner Chanukah first appeared in English on the eve of Chanukah, 5751, translated in full by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger and edited by Uri Kaploun. The sichah of the Rebbe Rashab entitled Kol HaYotzei LeMilchemes Beis David, together with its accompanying text by the Rebbe Rayatz, appeared in English on the eve of Rosh HaShanah, 5750, in an abbreviated adaptation by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger. It appears in full for the first time in the present volume (together with the text by the Rebbe Rayatz) in a new translation by Uri Kaploun, which makes liberal use of the previous version and its footnotes, and which adds further annotation.
The two discourses of the Rebbe Rashab are a century old. Nevertheless, as today's reader works his way through them, he will no doubt be struck by the sheer eternity of the Torah, for their messages -- as outlined in their respective Publisher's Forewords -- are so strikingly contemporary.
2 Nissan, 5753 (1993)
The Anniversary of the Passing of the Rebbe Rashab
