Hei Teves Farbrengen at the Ohel

By COLlive reporter
Photos: Itzik Roytman

Chassidim, bochurim and a few Shluchim spent this past Shabbos near the Rebbe’s Ohel in Cambria Heights, Queens, to mark a special date on the chassidic calendar.

Tevet 5 is celebrated as a day of rejoicing in the Chabad-Lubavitch community after the U.S. Federal Court ruled in 1987 that the priceless library of the 6th Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, belonged to the movement and not individuals.

The ruling, in favor of the umbrella organization Agudas Chassidei Chabad, was based on the idea that a Rebbe is not a private individual but a communal figure synonymous with the body of Chassidim.

The Rebbe urged that the occasion be marked with time devoted to study from Torah books (“sefarim”) as well as the acquisition of new Torah books, Chabad.org notes.

Shabbos Parshas Vayigash, which fell this year on Teves 5, was marked at the Ohel with lengthy learning, intense davening, farbrengens that lasted for hours where participants were urged to strengthen themselves in Torah and mitzvos.

On Motzoei Shabbos, a farbrengen was held with remarks heard from Wisconsin Head Shliach Rabbi Yisroel Shmotkin, Alaska Shliach Rabbi Yosef Greenberg and Rabbi Yisroel Shimon Kalmenson, member of the Chabad publishing group Lahak.

The central Hei Teves farbrengen, organized by Agudas Chassidei Chabad International, will be held Sunday, 9 PM, at Campus Chomesh, 470 Lefferts Ave.