The Farbrengen Series

An hour excerpt of the Rebbe’s Farbrengen on the evening before Rosh Hashanah in 1980, which also marks the birthday of the Tzemach Tzedek, the third Chabad Rebbe. The Rebbe addresses the Jew’s purpose to illuminate the entire world around him and teaches the “tools for illumination.”

Footage from the Rebbe’s 1981 gathering (Tishrei 6, 5742) commemorating the yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of Rebbetzen Chana Schneerson, the Rebbe’s mother.

An hour-long excerpt from a 1980 recording of the Rebbe’s pre-Sukkot gathering on the 13th day of the month of Tishrei, the yahrzeit of the fourth Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Rabbi Shmuel Schneerson (1834–1882).

The 13th day of Tishrei is the yahrzeit (anniversary of the passing) of the fourth Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, Rabbi Shmuel Schneerson (1834-1882). His successor, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, would convene a special gathering (known as a farbrengen) to commemorate this date each year.

An hour-long excerpt from the Rebbe’s 1983 farbrengen on the 19th of Kislev. This Chasidic holiday celebrates the liberation of the first Chabad Rebbe, R' Shneur Zalman, from czarist imprisonment in 1798, due to trumped up charges of treason by opponents to the Chassidic movement.

The 24th day of the month Tevet is the yahrzeit (anniversary of the passing) of the first Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, Rabbi Shneur Zalman (1745-1812). His successor, the seventh Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, would often convene a special gathering (known as a farbrengen) to commemorate this date. This video is from the gathering held in the year 5741 (1981).

An hour-long excerpt from the Rebbe’s 1983 gathering on the occasion of the yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of the Sixth Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn.

Some teach by writing books, others deliver lectures, still others regularly issue public letters, essays and commentary. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory, widely regarded as one of the most influential teachers of our generation, did all of the above; but his primary medium of teaching was the farbrengen, the chassidic gathering.

An hour-long excerpt from a 1972 recording of the Rebbe’s annual gathering on the occasion of the yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of his father-in-law, the Previous Rebbe.

A ninety-minute excerpt of the Rebbe’s Farbrengen celebrating the 15th of Shevat in 5741 (1981).

An hour-long excerpt from a 1972 recording of the Rebbe’s Purim farbrengen. The Rebbe tackles the enigmatic essence of the Purim story, and explains the real and primary miracle the Sages say we are celebrating. Drawing life lessons from how in those dark times, a generation of assimilating Jews were found worthy in G-d’s eyes.

An hour-long excerpt of an original archival recording of the Rebbe's farbrengen (gathering) on Purim 1973.

Revealing a glimpse of the wisdom that moves himself, the Rebbe addresses questions that go to the very core of the human experience: Why am I here? Why do I struggle? And more importantly—what am I capable of becoming?

An hour-long excerpt from a 1981 satellite broadcast of the Rebbe’s pre-Passover gathering on the occasion of his 79th birthday (Nissan 11, 5741).

An hour-long excerpt from a 1982 satellite broadcast of the Rebbe’s pre-Passover gathering on the occasion of his 80th birthday (11 Nissan, 5742).

In this excerpt from a televised farbrengen in 1983 celebrating his eighty-first birthday, the Rebbe zeroes in on the vital need for moral education for our children, genuine pride in our Jewish ways, and how these simple and straightforward measures will impact the world at large.

This farbrengen was held on the Rebbe’s birthday in 1985 and also marked the first Siyum Harambam, the closure of the yearly cycle of studying the Mishneh Torah, the magnum opus of Maimonides.

Excerpts from a 1983 recording of the Lag B’Omer parade at Lubavitch World Headquarters, Brooklyn, New York.

Children gather to celebrate the holiday of Lag B’Omer. Excerpts from a 1983 recording of the grand parade with the Rebbe at Lubatvitch World Headquarters, Brooklyn, New York.

Children gather to celebrate the holiday of Lag B’Omer. Excerpts from a 1984 satellite feed from Lubatvitch World Headquarters, Brooklyn, New York.

Excerpts from a 1984 satellite feed from Lubavitch World Headquarters, Brooklyn, New York.

Each year, the Rebbe would hold a Farbrengen the night before Shavuot, often touching on topics from Tractate Sotah in the Talmud, which is customarily studied during the Counting of the Omer period, as well as discussing the lessons of the approaching holiday.

Footage from the Rebbe’s 1985 gathering in celebration of the birthdate (in 1880) of his father-in-law, the Sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, R. Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, and the Sixth Rebbe’s release from Soviet incarceration (1927). The Sixth Rebbe was imprisoned for spreading Judaism in the Soviet Union.

An hour-long excerpt from a televised gathering with the Rebbe’s in 1981. In this talk the Rebbe focuses on the topic of education and the urgent need for children to be raised with the knowledge of a Higher Being, an “eye that sees and ear that hears” everything they do.

During this Chassidic gathering, the Rebbe focuses on an enigmatic statement of Rashi: “The passing of the righteous is difficult for G-d like the breaking of the Tablets.” What connection is there between the two? Is there anything positive in the breaking of the Tablets? And what lesson can we derive from those situations?