Bidspirit auction | A Once-in-14-years Opportunity! Rare Letter

A Once-in-14-years Opportunity! Rare Letter from the Rebbe About the Greatness of Chag HeGeulah Yud-Tes Kislev Falling on a Tuesday * A lengthy, two-page letter by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Rebbe in the Chabad dynasty. The letter is dated Tuesday, the second night of Chanukah, 1971. In the letter, the Rebbe writes about the special greatness of Yud-Tes Kislev (19th of Kislev), the day of the liberation of the Alter Rebbe, when it occurs on a Tuesday, the third day of Creation, which was blessed with the phrase “ki tov” (it is good) twice in Bereishis. The Rebbe notes that in the year of the Alter Rebbe’s redemption, 1798, Yud-Tes Kislev likewise fell on a Tuesday, just as in the year of this letter, 1971. In our own time, the current year, 2025, once again marks Yud-Tes Kislev falling on a Tuesday and the next occurrence will only be in 2039, fourteen years from now! In his holy words, the Rebbe writes regarding this double blessing: “Concerning the auspicious day, Yud-Tes Kislev, the commemoration of the redemption of the Alter Rebbe (in the year 1798), it is distinguished by the fact that it is the day upon which the expression ‘ki tov’ (‘it is good’) was doubled… as he himself wrote in his letter announcing his redemption: ‘The day which Hashem has made for us — Yud-Tes Kislev, Tuesday, the day that is double in goodness, the celebration day of our holy master of blessed memory.’ The Rebbe further elaborates on the special inspiration this brings to increase double Torah study, good deeds, and Ahavas Yisrael, emphasizing action “in a manner of mehadrin min hamehadrin, ” as is the lesson of Chanukah itself, when the custom of fulfilling the mitzvah of lighting Chanukah candles is as mehadrin min hamehadrin.” At the end of the letter, the Rebbe signed, and in his own handwriting added: “With blessings for success and good tidings, M. Schneerson.” n Which Years Does Yud-Tes Kislev Fall on a Tuesday? Generally, Yud-Tes Kislev falls on a Tuesday with relatively high frequency — on average, about once every three years. Yet, the last time there was such a long gap — fourteen years — between one occurrence of Yud-Tes Kislev on a Tuesday and the next was 220 years ago! To elaborate: between the years 1798, the year of the Alter Rebbe’s redemption, and 2040, there is a span of 241 years, in which Yud-Tes Kislev falls on a Tuesday sixty-nine times. Yet within that entire period, only once before was there such a long interval of fourteen years and that was between 1806 and 1820. It should be emphasized, of course, that the special quality of Yud-Tes Kislev falling on a Tuesday is not limited to that day alone. Its influence extends to the surrounding days as well. Indeed, the Rebbe’s very letter before us was written after Yud-Tes Kislev, yet the Rebbe writes of the unique inspiration and spiritual strengthening that continue in its wake. The letter comprises two pages; the second includes numerous references and sources for further study, characteristic of the Rebbe’s style, many drawn from the teachings of earlier Chabad Rebbes. Brooklyn, Tuesday, 26 Kislev, Second Night of Chanukah, 5732 (November 14, 1971). Two leaves, printed on one side only. On the first leaf appears the Rebbe’s signature with additional words and corrections in his own handwriting. Size: 22.7 × 28 cm. Condition: Good. Filing holes, fold marks, and a few light stains.