“At approximately 1:30 p.m. on Shabbos afternoon, the Rebbe would come down for the farbrengen. As he sat down at his place, he would glance through the crowd. He would then take a few pieces from the prepared plate of cake on the table, cover them with a napkin, open his siddur to Mizmor L’Dovid, and make kiddush. At that point we would begin singing ‘Zol Shoin Zayn Di Geulah.’ In the last few months we sang it with the words ‘Es Kumt Shoin Di Geulah.’
“Then the first sicha would begin with the topic generally being the parsha or the time of the year. That year there were some rare occasions like Parshas Mishpatim when the Rebbe spoke about the UN, or Parshas Vayeshev when the Rebbe spoke about France and actually said the beginning of the sicha in French. The style of the sichos were much more concise and had less of a structure than previous years, and at times it took extra effort to be able to follow along. A common phrase the Rebbe used was “as we’ve spoken about many times in the past” or “at a previous farbrengen,” always indicating that most of the in-depth explanations to the things he spoke of he had already given in the past.
At the same time, the themes focused on were some of the deepest and most original ever revealed to us throughout all the years. The Rebbe constantly spoke of, gave brachos for, and connected everything to Moshiach. He introduced and taught us to breathe in and live with the consciousness of geulah, specifically the complete unity between creator and creation, Yidden and the Aibersther; it was very uplifting.
“I'll never forget Parshas Vayakhel, the last farbrengen. That week the Rebbe spoke much louder and longer than he usually did that year, and the sichos had some of the structure and expressive expounding reminiscent of the previous years. I remember noticing this then, it was a beautiful farbrengen. Two days later was 27 Adar I.
“As someone who would chazer and write the farbrengens, the sichos were my life, especially the ones I heard directly from the Rebbe. They put me on my feet in many ways and until this day continue to impact me and all of my work.”
Rabbi Yosef Y. Jacobson
On Purim Katan thousands received the maamar “Ve’ata Tetzaveh” edited by the Rebbe, and distributed in a special kuntres together with a dollar and lekach. The maamar speaks at length about the function of a Rebbe to connect Yidden with Hashem, and the need for mesiras nefesh even when Jews are free from prosecution but find themselves in a different kind of exile, a time when G-dliness is not visible. As it would turn out, this maamar was the last one we would merit to receive from the Rebbe.
Less than two weeks later, on Monday 27 Adar I, the Rebbe visited the Ohel. After standing on his holy feet davening for the Jewish people, reading the letters of thousands requesting his brachos and advice, the Rebbe had a stroke, to the shock and pain of the entire world.
The day marks the onset of he’elem vehester that continues to this day, where we no longer see and hear the Rebbe. This is a time when the words in Ve’ata Tetzaveh, how the nossi hador gives us the strength to carry on and fulfill our mission even in the darkest galus, take on a whole new meaning, as we stand firm in our hiskashrus and follow the path the Rebbe set out for us in these sichos and maamarim.
May we merit the coming of Moshiach, when we will be reunited with the Rebbe, and experience these precious moments once more, !תיכף ומיד ממש
