In his introduction to Tanya, the Alter Rebbe famously writes that within this sefer, a chosid can find all the answers to all his questions, thereby eliminating the need to wait for a personal yechidus.

In our generation, the Rebbe was the address for questions in every area of life, from the fundamentals of philosophy to detailed dilemmas and everything in between.

Indeed, we are blessed with tens of volumes and tens of thousands of letters of the Rebbe’s Igros Kodesh, where all of these questions are answered and all of these issues are addressed.

But what if the Rebbe wrote a ‘Tanya’ of sorts, a condensed compilation of his views and perspectives, where the Rebbe lays out the fundamental, guiding principles that shape his specific answers to the specific questions? What if there was a way to train oneself to think like the Rebbe, to wire one’s brain to view the world with the Rebbe’s vision, thus being able to approach any specific circumstance with the Rebbe’s clarity and conviction?

That, I believe, is Likkutei Sichos. Specifically, the first two chalokim (volumes) of Likkutei Sichos.

Even before the official kabolas hanesi’us of Yud Shevat 5711, the Rebbe was already being swamped with questions from chassidim around the world. On 17 Kislev 5711, the Rebbe writes[1]:

“Because of many preoccupations, time does not allow [all] letters to be answered immediately upon receipt, nor with the fitting length. To a certain extent, during a farbrengen on Shabbos Mevarchim, or the like, I attempt to answer common points raised in several letters that have been received.”

Wow. In other words, when the Rebbe says a sicha at a farbrengen, he is not merely offering a brilliant answer to a question on the parsha or the yom tov, rather he is presenting his perspective on pertinent problems present among his people. Via his sichos, veiled in the vindication of a vague verse, the Rebbe is vesting us with his invaluable vision.

Let’s attempt to break down the Rebbe’s agenda (as he explicitly states on Yud Shevat 5711):

Objective: Bring Moshiach and make this world Hashem’s home.

Challenge: The world (“Tachtonim”) needs to take an active part in the homemaking (“Dirah”).

Goal: Get the world involved in this mission.

Method: Spread awareness of this vision (“Hafotzas Hamayonos”).

To this end, from the very beginning of his nesi’us[2], before large-scale shlichus, mivtzo’im, etc., one of the Rebbe’s first demands of outreach was for chassidim to go to shuls of all nearby communities and share Chassidus. This was not merely to share a vort and a geshmake insight into the parsha; this was the Rebbe sharing his vital vision – about the essence of a Yid, the essence of the Torah, the essence of the world, and what our mission in life needs to look like – anywhere and everywhere that his chassidim would get to.

In the early years, the Rebbe did not transcribe his sichos or maamarim himself, relying instead on the team of chozrim and manichim to get the job done. But, in 1958, at the request of a dedicated group of bochurim, the Rebbe edited a sicha for the first time, and thus the prototype of Likkutei Sichos was born[3].

Tightly packed into two volumes and neatly packaged as thoughts on the parsha or yom tov, Likkutei Sichos volumes 1 & 2 are a veritable treasure trove of the fundamental messages of Chassidus, vital for every yid to navigate the winding ways of this world and the obstacles of life. Edited by the Rebbe with the specific intention of being transmitted to the world, these sichos give us the Rebbe’s vision – a week-by-week guide for life.

Not for naught are these sichos traditionally the first exposure that one has into the world of the Rebbe’s Torah, whether as a student in a Chabad school, or as an ‘outsider’ being given a taste of the Rebbe’s vision for the first time. It is fair to say that Likkutei Sichos Chelek Alef and Beis are truly the Alef-Beis of Dor Hashvi’i, of anyone looking to align themselves with the Rebbe’s worldviews.

Unfortunately, however, the magnitude of these sichos’ messages is sometimes lost in the familiarity we have of such rudimentary values. When we hear terms like “Dirah Batachtonim”, “Torah milashon hora’a”, “Fusing ruchniyus and gashmiyus”, and the like, we sometimes miss the opportunity of the life-changing brilliance that the Rebbe is offering us, simply because we are too used to hearing it.

Enter “Vision Unveiled”: A week-by-week guide for life, unpacked from Likkutei Sichos I & II.

In a new initiative, Rabbi Shmuel Wagner will bez”h be giving a weekly shiur in the sicha of that week’s parsha from Likkutei Sichos Chelek Alef/Beis[4].

Instead of just reading, translating and explaining the sicha itself, this shiur offers a glimpse beyond the text, mining and excavating the veiled gems and treasures lying within the words. By presenting any relevant historical context, and through unpacking the practical application of the Rebbe’svision being presented in each sicha’s lesson, these shiurim will fuse together a delightful academic journey with a farbrengen-style experience, attempting to relive what it might have been like at a shalashudes in a Brooklyn shul of the 1950s, when the bochurim warmly and enthusiastically first gave over these central and timeless messages of Chassidus.

Join us as we avail ourselves of the Rebbe’s divine guidance through the day-to-day struggles that arise in our lives. Struggles in Davening, Parnasa, Emunah, Ahavas Yisrael, Sholom Bayis, Chinuch, and other such relevant situations are illuminated and resolved when we learn to view them with the Rebbe’s vision.

While each week’s sicha certainly contains a valuable stand-alone lesson, imagine going through the entire year, week-by-week, guided by the Rebbe’s vision… As we head into the new yearly cycle of the parsha, consider this shiur as your hachloto of an added commitment to Torah learning, as the Rebbe consistently urged on Simchas Torah.

Weekly shiurim will bez”h be posted on Spotify under “Vision Unveiled – Likkutei Sichos Chelek Alef and Beis”. Follow and subscribe to receive notifications on each new episode, with the first one on Parshas Bereishis to bez”h be posted after Simchas Torah.

To find out more about the in-person weekly shiur in Crown Heights, please email [email protected].

Gut Yom Tov! May this be a step in the right direction to the time when Hashem’s Presence will be unveiled throughout the entire world, and we will be reunited with our Rebbe and merit the Torah Chadasha from Moshiach, now!

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[1] Igros Kodesh vol. 4 p. 74 (translation from “I Will Write It In Their Hearts”, S.I.E.), see also ibid. p. 71

[2] See sources in Toras Menachem vol. 4 p. 237 fn. 1

[3] See “Derher” Magazine 58 (Issue 135) p. 16 ff. for an extensive article on the history and development of Likkutei Sichos

[4] Chelek Alef spans Chumashim Bereishis, Shemos and Vayikra, while Chelek Beis is on Bamidbar and Devarim