Hey Teves - Didan Natzach

The fifth day of Teves marks the landmark victory of the chassidim in federal court over the issue of the Rebbe's legacy as a continuation of the Chabad initiative.  To note that at the beginning of the Rebbe's leadership, when the Rebbe agreed to lead Chabad, the asked three elder chassidim to ask the Previous Rebbe's wife to give the book collection over into his oversight and at the time she refused.  So from the beginning the Rebbe saw that this would be a necessity in accomplishing his mission.

The victory in court was based on convincing a non-Jewish judge of the prevalence of the chassidims' claim to the book collection as the Previous Rebbe's spiritual heirs as opposed to the claim of his grandson as his physical heir. To note that the Alter Rebbe always called himself the spiritual grandson of the Ba'al Shem Tov and in many ways eclipsed the physical grandson of the Ba'al Shem Tov, Reb Baruch of Mezhibuzh (although Reb Baruch was a renowned Rebbe and Tzaddik in his own right).

That a non-Jewish court should recognize that this claim of the spiritual connection between the Rebbe and his Chassidim overrode the simple connection that exists between physical relatives seems quite supernatural.  The judge addressed the grandson at the end of the case and pointed out that his grandfather had made tremendous financial sacrifices in order to acquire the many books in his collection.  He asked the defendant, "Did your grandfather amass this collection so that you could come and sell it off?"  In short, the judge was able to recognize the timeless essence that characterized the Previous Rebbe's efforts - he saw that the continuation of this essential mission overrode the grandson's claims as a physical heir.

Our mission following Hey Teves is to continue to explain to the non-Jewish world the value and timeless essence of our service to the Creator.  When the Russians interrogated the Alter Rebbe regarding his statement about the origin of Non-Jewish souls, the Alter Rebbe merely smiled.  Simcha has the power to sweeten judgements.  As the world comes to terms with the timeless essence of our relationship with G-d, our role, those who are continuing in the path of the Alter Rebbe, is to smile bravely and continue to celebrate the victory of light over darkness.