4860 —קביעת חגיגת י"ט כסלו בכפר חב"ד באופן שלא יגרום לחילול שבת, והכנת תכנית לחגיגה

B"H, 23 Marcheshvan, 5717

Brooklyn.

To the Committee of Kfar Chabad, may Hashem be upon them, may they live

Shalom u'Vrachah!

My letter, in reply to your previous letter, has surely been received in due course.

I come regarding a matter whose time has arrived^[1]. Since the festival of Yud-Tes Kislev^[2] falls this year on Friday, the eve of the holy Shabbos, and since in Kfar Chabad a public celebration is also held, in which guests take part from a number of places in the Holy Land, may it be built and established — surely also from places from which the journey to the village takes some hours — it should be seriously considered whether it is advisable to arrange this celebration on Motzaei Shabbos, so as not to cause — etc.^[3]; and especially since, even if the celebration begins some hours into the night, there are always those who come early; and this is easily understood^[4]. And if this concern has any basis, and even if it is doubtful, it is advisable to fix the celebration on Sunday (or Thursday), and of course this must be publicized in good time, with suitable publicity.

And since we have come to this, I will remark on one more point: I do not know the order of the celebration in past years — whether there was a program for it or not. Since, thank G‑d, the celebration succeeded in past years, it is right that there be a program, for then it can surely be utilized even more. And if an exact program, in every detail and every fine detail, is not possible, then at any rate it should be planned in advance as far as possible, and responsible people should be appointed to decide and oversee the details at the time of the event.

And may it be G‑d's will that all of the above, as well as the other efforts, serve as an introduction, a preparation and a vessel for the fulfilment of our heart's requests, in the midst of all Israel, in the words of our Nasi, of saintly memory: that for a good year in the study of Chassidus and the ways of Chassidus may you be inscribed and sealed^[5].

With blessing.

Notes

[1] A matter whose time has arrived (שהזמן גרמא): literally, "that time causes" — a matter whose time has come and cannot be put off.

[2] Yud-Tes Kislev (חג י"ט כסלו): the day of the Alter Rebbe's liberation from imprisonment in Petersburg in 5559 (1798), the "Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus." In 5717 it fell on Friday, the eve of Shabbos.

[3] So as not to cause — etc. (בכדי שלא לגרום כו'): the Rebbe does not spell it out but hints with "etc.": if the celebration is held on Friday (or even on Motzaei Shabbos), guests travelling several hours to the village may come to desecrate Shabbos on the way.

[4] This is easily understood (וק"ל): even if the celebration starts several hours after Shabbos ends, some people always come early and set out while it is still Shabbos. It is therefore better to hold the celebration on Sunday or Thursday.

[5] In the words of our Nasi (בנוסח נשיאנו): the blessing the Previous Rebbe used to give for Yud-Tes Kislev, לשנה טובה בלימוד החסידות ובדרכי החסידות תכתבו ותחתמו, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year in the study of Chassidus and the ways of Chassidus," modelled on the Rosh Hashanah blessing, since Yud-Tes Kislev is the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus.

Summary

This letter notes that Yud-Tes Kislev 5717 falls on Friday and asks the Kfar Chabad committee to weigh moving the public celebration, which draws guests from afar, to Sunday or Thursday, so that no one comes to desecrate Shabbos. It also asks that the celebration be planned in advance, with responsible people overseeing the details.