Dear Friends,
This Shabbat and Sunday, the 12th and 13th of Tamuz, are the birthday and day of redemption from Soviet prison of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson (known as the Rebbe Rayatz). The Rebbe’s name, Yosef Yitzchak, reveals that he has an aspect of Yosef the tzaddik, the foundation of the world. Just as Yosef’s name means, “God will grant me another child,” the Rebbe has the ability to add a Jew who is very distant and bring him back to the fold, back to feeling that he is God’s beloved child.
The Rebbe’s second name is Yitzchak, which means laughter, as Sarah said when he was born “God has caused me great laughter, all who hear will laugh.” There are different types of laughter. Laughter can be enjoyment and fun and it can also be God’s laughter, “He who dwells in the heavens will laugh.” When a person receives the boldness and might of Yitzchak, he can certainly laugh at the impure husks in the world. We don’t know if the Rebbe laughed out loud at his interrogators, but we do know that he resonated his feeling that they were “really nothing and null.”
Be sure to see Rabbi Ginsburgh’s English class below, given in honor of the Rebbe Rayatz and 12 Tamuz, as well as the many stories about him in our Stories Archive below.
This week marks the 200th issue of Wonders Magazine. To celebrate, we’ve started sharing English translations of HaRav Ginsburgh’s classes from our Hebrew sister publication, Niflaot. You can access these translations here.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Moshe Genuth and the Gal Einai Team
