FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

Dear Family,

I hope everyone is well.

Mazal Tov to Channa on her birthday on Sunday. Wishing you a happy and successful year with continued growth and achievement!

Mazal Tov to Rivky on her birthday one day later. Wishing you a year of continued success, with much nachas from your Family and with much joy!

Kislev is a month of much light at the darkest time of the year.

There are the lights of Channukah, and the celebrations of great Chassidic Masters, The Alte Rebbe, The Mitteler Rebbe and The Rebbe.

Yud Tes Kislev on Shabbos, is the celebration of the release from prison of The Alte Rebbe. It is a day of great celebration all over the world, and is regarded as a Yom Tov and the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus.

From whatever angle one looks at Kislev, we see victory over forces of evil in both the physical and spiritual.

The Alte Rebbe said regarding Yud Tes Kislev, 'Whoever rejoices in my simcha, I will take him out from distress to relief, from gashmius to ruchnius, and out of Gehinom.' - Sefer Hasichos

There will be many Zoom sessions all over the world celebrating this day, both before and after Shabbos. Everyone is welcome to join.

This was also reflected in this weeks Sedra Vayishlach, where we see a terrified Yaakov preparing to meet Esav and his army, who were out to kill him, and the ensuing events.

I heard an amazing dvar Torah from the Rebbe's father, Reb Levi Yitzchak, explaining the scene where Yaakov approaches Esav and bows down 7 times, then they hug each other, tarry together temporarily, part ways, and agree to reunite in the future more permanently in Har Seir. As follows:

It says in Gemorra Avodah Zarah that before the destruction of the Second Temple, the Greeks were heavily persecuting the Jews.

For 26 years the Romans joined together with the Jews to resist the Greeks.

Why 26 years?

The Romans are descendants of Esav, And we are descendants of Yaakov.

Yitzchak's (the father of Yaakov and Esav) name has the numerical value of 208 which equals 8x26 (26 is the numerical value of one of Hashem's Names, and represents purity).

Yaakov's name has the numerical value of 182 = 7x26

So there is 1x26 missing (because Yitzchak had 8x26, and he passed 7x26 to Yaakov) GUESS WHERE WE WILL FIND THIS!?

Esav was evil and impure (tameh). The numerical value of tameh is 50

The numerical value of Esavs name is 376 = 7x50 plus 26 (this 26 was hidden deep down in his being below all the impurity)

So when Yaakov was bowing down to Esav, each bow (set of 26) purified 1 level of Esav's impurity.

After 7 bowings, Esav was now pure, which allowed the revelation of his hidden level of G-dliness (the 8th and missing 26)

They therefore hugged each other. This represents the temporary period many centuries later when the Romans got together with the Jews for 26 years

They then agreed to part company, and Yaakov and Esav agreed to reunite permanently in the future.

This will be with the coming of Mashiach - may it be soon, so that we can all celebrate Kislev in Yerushalayim, when we will all be released from the DARKNESS OF EXILE TO THE LIGHT OF REDEMPTION.

Wishing everyone a Gut Shabbos and a month filled with much light (and doughnuts!)