THE REBBE'S DISCOURSES
A collection of summaries of a selection of the discourses of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, delivered over decades of the Rebbe's leadership.
This discourse was delivered by the Rebbe on Shabbat Parshat Devarim, 5725 (1965). The prophet Isaiah declares 'Death will be swallowed up for ever, and G-d will wipe away tears from every face'. The Rebbe Maharash explains that the spirit of impurity will be removed in the future, and since death entered the world through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, its removal will bring the end of death itself.
This discourse was delivered by the Rebbe on Shabbat Sedra Devarim (Shabbat Chazon), 5733 (1973). The verse in Lamentations 'Remember G-d, what has happened to us' is given a remarkable positive interpretation: the Baal Shem Tov teaches that even in remembering the destruction, there is a hidden Divine light. The discourse reveals how the Chassidic practice of remembering transforms mourning into an awareness of the concealed Divine presence that will be fully revealed in the redemption.
This discourse was delivered by the Rebbe on Shabbat Sedra Devarim (Shabbat Chazon), 5744 (1984). The verse from the Haftorah 'Zion will be redeemed through justice and her captives through Tzedaka' presents two dimensions of the human person that need to be redeemed. The discourse explores these two dimensions, showing how justice and charity correspond to different aspects of the soul and its relationship to G-d, and how both are needed for complete redemption.
This discourse was delivered by the Rebbe on Shabbat Sedra Devarim, 5729 (1969). The Haftorah states 'Zion will be redeemed through justice and its captives through charity', which Chassidic teachings connect to the two Temples and the dimensions of the Divine Name. The discourse traces how the Temple's relationship to the four-letter Divine Name reveals the spiritual structure of redemption and how G-d's boundless charity will bring the final redemption without delay.