This Week in Chabad History

• 1 Cheshvan
  5738-1977, in a letter to a Bar Mitzvah boy who identified himself as a member of a secular family, the Rebbe explained that while G-d grants every person freedom of choice with regard to their behavior, it is not possible for one to change their primary essence. “As a son of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, followed by tens of generations of Jews who observed Torah and mitzvot,” the Rebbe explained, any secularism is no more than an “external veil concealing the essence that exists within you.”
• 30 Tishrei
  5752-1991, addressing yeshivah students, the Rebbe urged them to study all areas of Torah with “limitless” rigor and diligence. “When one sees a yeshivah student,” he said, “they should see someone whose entire world is Torah. Torah should be the first thought that enters your mind when you wake up, and even the subject of your dreams!”

1. Igrot Kodesh vol. 33 p. 33 2. Torat Menachem 5752 vol. 1 p. 213