‘Farbrengen’ Magazine Has an Empowering Message

As the International Kinus Hashluchim 5782 comes to a close, the sense of mission and responsibility felt by the shluchim is just growing. The Moshiach Office at Merkos 302 has produced a complete Farbrengen-in-Print, addressing this feeling and communicating that a Chossid must take personal ownership of the Rebbe’s cause.

Last year, on the 28th of Nissan, 5781, a historic international zoom farbrengen was held, spanning 48 hours, with its central theme being “tut altz vos ir kent starts at home.” Fifty-six shluchim and mashpiim farbrenged about taking to heart the historic and cardinal call to bring Moshiach. No longer is it the responsibility of a single leader or a select group; in our unique time the responsibility is in the hands of each individual.

As a supplement to Vision Conscious (the hachana program for this year’s kinus Hashluchim), the Moshiach Office at Merkos 302 has produced the first-ever Farbrengen-in-Print: ‘Take Ownership of the Cause’, a magazine featuring a variety of fascinating articles gleaned from the historic farbrengen of last year.

The theme is a central one, a theme that the Moshiach office conveys in its general outreach. As Rabbi Shais Taub put it in one of the articles, “The Rebbe made us Rebbes! Shliach shel Adom kemoso mamesh means you become a Rebbe! You were given the power. This is your responsibility.”

The Farbrengen-in-Print begins with the powerful words of the Rebbe on Purim 5747 (paraphrasing): “Moshiach still has not yet come, the only thing I can think of is that every Jew must feel that bringing Moshiach is their personal responsibility.” It continues with a variety of riveting articles, sharing heartwarming anecdotes and lessons for practically integrating this responsibility into our day-to-day lives.

For example, Rabbi Fishel Oster brings out this idea by using the mashal of the Rebbe regarding the difference between an employer and employee, “An employee checks in, does his job faithfully, and then checks out, getting a good night’s sleep. An employer, however, is constantly on the job; it’s all on his head. When the Rebbe said ‘tut altz [vos ir kent]’, the Rebbe meant that this is your business. You personally should care. This isn’t someone else’s issue, it’s nogeiah to you!”

This has been the Rebbe’s approach all along as Rabbi Sholom Ber Lipskar says in his article: “The Rebbe didn’t want the shliach to rely on the fact that the Rebbe feels the needs of every Jew, he wanted the shliach to develop the same level of love as his own. All the Jewish children are your responsibility. And by extension, when it comes to the Geulah, it’s not: I can’t bear to see the Rebbe crying, so I want Moshiach. It has to be your own pain.”

The Importance of this idea is highlighted by Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, Vice-Chairman of Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch, in his introduction to the magazine: “In today’s reality, post-Gimmel Tammuz, the urgency of this message of personal responsibility has become amplified. Its importance cannot be overstated.”

These sentiments are shared by Rabbi Manis Freidman as well. “After Gimmel Tammuz, why did all the ‘experts’ predict that Chabad is going to fall apart? What did they not understand? Their mistake was they thought that the Rebbe was running Chabad by the force of his personality. But when the Rebbe said, ‘All I can do now is give it over to you,’ tt proved that the Rebbe’s strength is not a force of personality and charisma, it is truth. The Rebbe brings the truth into people’s own minds and heads, so it endures.”

Since the completion of the magazine, over 5,000 copies have been printed. “The impact of the magazine is truly something special,” says Rabbi Shlomie Naparstek, Director of Moshiach office, “Yesterday, I met an acquaintance of mine, a yungerman, who told me that he had read the Farbrengen-in-Print, from cover to cover and was very moved by the clear and powerful message it conveyed.”

Copies were made available to every shul in Crown Heights and sent to every shliach in the USA and Canada.

The magazine is available for download on visionconscious.com or via the link below. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rv6HFYPDYo4eZOwNrnjGtbPJYRjYhf17/view