_

You were surely told about
my request in the letter,

that we are now in
a year of Hakhel,

which means that we
must make every effort

to gather Jews together.

This also applies
to Jewish children,

both boys and girls;

Torah's command about Hakhel
is also about "taf--children,"

meaning, even very
young Jewish children

-- they must all
show an example.

Although the Beis Hamikdash
has not yet been rebuilt

and we are still in exile,

we must prepare for this mitzvah
by doing something similar.

This means that even
while we are still in exile,

when Sukkos of a
Hakhel year arrives,

Jewish children
gather together,

and as the posuk
about Hakhel instructs,

they gather to hear
"the words of the Torah"

-- just as you now
heard words of Torah:

the twelve pesukim
and teachings of Chazal --

with the intention to bring
these teachings into action,

to fulfill all of the
Torah’s teachings,

everything that
Torah tells us,

with the plan to do so
"All the days of your life,"

every day of the year

and during all the years
which will follow.

We stock up with so much
enthusiasm and mesiras nefesh

to fulfill whatever we learned and
took upon ourselves over Sukkos,

that it is enough to inspire
the daily conduct of the child

even when he reaches the age
of Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah,

and even older;

he will recall the gathering,

and the memory will inspire
him to conduct himself

according to Torah's instructions
in everything he does.

Now, here we are
dealing with children,

who don't have other worries,

and can devote themselves
entirely to the Jewish Torah,

which belongs to you
-- as you just heard:

“The Torah which
Moshe commanded us

is the inheritance of the
congregation of Yaakov.”

Torah was given
to each one of you,

to every member
of the Jewish people,

as a full-fledged inheritance.

It is therefore obvious,

that children must utilize their
freedom from other worries

to resolutely study Torah

and to make sure it
impacts their behavior,

without listening
to the Yetzer Horah,

and in fact, waging
a war against him.

They will surely be victorious,

by following the instructions
of the passage we just recited:

"Yagata umatzasa" -- toil,
and you will surely see results,

you will surely win the war
against the Yetzer Horah.

This is why all Jews,
even young children,

are called Tzivos Hashem:

They are Hashem's army,

Hashem's soldiers and
Hashem's officers --

those who wage the war
against non-Yiddishkeit,

against the Yetzer Horah.

And because they are
Hashem's personal army,

it is obvious that if
they only so desire,

they will surely come to know
what is written in His Torah,

and will surely
succeed at fulfilling it

– it will be an army

like the first time the Jews
were called Tzivos Hashem

when they left Mitzrayim
“with an upraised arm,”

winning their battle easily,
gloriously and completely.

In every action, and
even in every word,

people will clearly
see that this child

is a soldier in “Hashem's army,”

who behaves that way and
remembers it every day.

Especially when coming
from these days of Sukkos,

when you are being
reminded about it

-- and we will distribute the
letter to take along with you --

this will give you the
power to keep in mind

that you are a member
of “Hashem's army.”

And because you just recited:
“Love your fellow as yourself,"

and as you already know,
Rabbi Akiva says

that this is “a great
rule in the Torah,”

you will surely influence
your friends as well:

boys influencing boys and
girls influencing girls

so that all Jewish children
will know, and act,

and enroll in Tzivos Hashem,

in a manner that everyone
around them will recognize it.

And then we are
promised by Hashem:

"Yagata umatzasa,
toil and you will succeed,”

the Jewish people will leave
“with an outstretched arm”

– you will surely
be victorious

in this war against
the Yetzer Horah.

It is a war won through joy,

because the power
to win the war

comes from Sukkos,
“the season of our joy.”

And as you recited
just now from Tanya,

this is a double joy:

Hashem rejoices with
each one of you,

and each one of you
rejoices with Hashem.

And you carry this joy
with you the entire year.

~ Sicha 2 ~

We have now explained

that each and every one of you

is mobilized to become
a part of Hashem's army.

We see in a regular army
that this is not a game.

It's not something that
we can do carelessly,

because it's a serious matter:

We belong to an army
that was set up by Hashem,

and He relies on it
to win His wars,

the war He wants us to wage
against the Yetzer Horah.

By fighting that war, we show
that "shamayim va'aretz,"

everything that surrounds us
-- that surrounds every child --

whether the heaven or the earth,

was created by Hashem,
as you just recited,

"Bireishis barah Elokim
es hashomayim v'es ha'aretz."

We show that Hashem
is in charge everywhere,

and therefore, everyone must
behave as Hashem desires.

And because the Yetzer
Horah wants to disturb,

Hashem makes every
child a part of His army.

This is why we instructed

that all the units should
be called Tzivos Hashem,

the same name in every country,

because that will
unite all the groups,

and help them behave
like an army should.

How can we know the proper
behavior for Tzivos Hashem?

The answer is,

if Hashem set up a certain form
of behavior for a regular army,

that is how Hashem's personal
army should behave as well.

The foundation
of every army,

is that every soldier knows
that it's a serious matter.

Belonging to Tzivos Hashem is
a healthy, good and joyful thing,

but we must approach it seriously;

we can never forget that we
belong to Hashem's army.

How does a regular army function?

When an order is given,

that the soldiers must
carry out a certain task,

they don't ask question and
they don't seek explanations.

Whether they understand or not,

the first thing they do
is carry out the order.

The same is true for
every Jewish child:

When he realizes that
Torah gives an order

to do a certain Mitzvah,

for example:

When he wants to eat something,

Torah says that he must first
find out if the food is Kosher.

If it isn't Kosher,

then, even if the food tastes good,

and even if it seems
healthy for his body,

he doesn't ask any questions
and doesn't look for excuses,

because he received the order from
the one in charge of the army,

from Hashem,

that we may eat
only kosher items,

and that before we eat,
we must recite a bracha,

with all the details
the bracha entails:

every type of food
has a different bracha,

and the same goes for drinks.

This is a rule for all Jews, for all
Jews are part of Hashem's army:

We must follow instructions
before we try to understand.

Another thing:

When you belong to an army,
you are not allowed to say,

"I'm in charge of myself, so I'm
allowed to do whatever I want.

Even if I'll be punished for it
-- I'll accept the punishment

as long as I'm free to do as I like.

As in the example we used earlier,

we cannot say that we don't
mind eating non-kosher food,

because it tastes good

even if we'll be punished
for doing so afterward.

When you are part of an army,
that excuse doesn't work,

because it is possible

that the consequence for
going against the army's rules

is that he endangers
the entire army,

the entire front-lines of the battle;

his behavior might endanger the
whole Jewish nation, rachmana litzlan.

We can't know if it will
only affect ourselves,

or other Jews,
or the entire Jewish people.

The only one who knows
is the Commander-in-Chief,

the one who knows the
plan for the entire war,

and who knows how
the front is set up,

and knows what is
more or less important.

This isn't known to
the regular soldiers,

nor to the officers and
not even to the generals.

The only one who truly knows
is the one at the head of the army

the King of all kings, Hashem.

This teaches us a third lesson:

A soldier might sometimes think

that he can benefit the army
through ignoring an order,

and doing something which
he thinks is more important.

The answer is to him as well:

The only one who knows
is the one in charge,

the one who runs the
army and the war.

A soldier doesn't know
enough to give an opinion.

If you don't understand the order,

it's because you also don't know
the plans and the set-up

of the Yetzer Horah's army
against Hashem's army.

The job of a soldier,
as we said earlier,

is "kabolas ol,"

to serve Hashem appropriately,

because Hashem stands
right next to you --

even though he runs the entire army,

he also stands
next to each soldier,

and watches to see if he
serves him appropriately,

by fulfilling all of
Hashem's orders

exactly as He gave
them in the Torah.

We must also fulfill them joyfully,

for we have the great merit
to wage Hashem's war,

both boys and girls.

Even from a very young age,

they already are called up
to serve in Tzivos Hashem,

and they also receive the strength,

to overcome the war
with the Yetzer Horah,

and carry out Hashem's mission,

and as mentioned earlier,
to do so joyfully.

~ Sicha 3 ~

There is something else we see
in the armies of the world:

There are times for training,

when they are taught
how to be soldiers,

but then, from time to time,
they hold a parade,

where all the soldiers
are gathered together,

and they are tested to
see if they trained well,

by the way they
look at the parade.

They also single out
the outstanding soldiers,

and award them
with medals, prizes,

because of their
outstanding conduct.

The same applies
to Tzivos Hashem:

Every day of the year,

its soldiers conduct
and train themselves

to act, speak and think

in the way that Hashem
commanded us in His Torah.

And then, from time to time
Tzivos Hashem gathers together,

especially the children.

With Hashem's help, there will
be a parade on Chanukah,

as we do every year.

We will all gather together,

and just as at an army parade,

everyone will bring a record

that shows he was
on his best behavior,

and those with the most
outstanding records

will be awarded prizes,

just as we did in previous years,

and especially this year,
being a Hakhel year.

In practical terms:

We will reprint the booklets
of the Twelve Pesukim,

and there is a space
on the last page

where you can write the name
of any friend that you brought in

to volunteer and
enroll in Tzivos Hashem

-- fulfilling the Mitzvah to
"Love your fellow as yourself,"

for, being in Tzivos Hashem yourself,

when you see a Jewish child
who isn't in the army,

you put in every effort
to draw him in,

and you even toil hard,

because then you will
surely be successful,

for, "If he toiled and wasn't
successful -- don't believe him..."

So you draw your
friend into the army,

and then you note in the booklet

that you managed,

between Chol Hamoed
Sukkos in the Hakhel Year

and Chanukah
of the Hakhel Year,

to enroll in Hashem's army a
certain amount of your friends.

And when you come to
the parade on Chanukah,

you will show your booklet,

where it says the names
of those you mobilized

through your good example
and your heartfelt talk,

to join the army
of Tzivos Hashem,

and to also behave themselves

as members of the army
should behave themselves,

in their daily life.

To make the booklets unique,

they will be printed
on special paper,

so that we'll know that it's
from the special printing

made for the parade of Chanukah.

This brings us to another point
which we discussed last time

and also appears
in the public letter.

This applies to every Jew,

beginning with
Jewish children:

Just as during Hakhel when
the Beis Hamikdash stood,

they gathered in the Beis Hamikdash,
which was a holy place,

so too today, every Jew
should make his home,

the place where he lives

-- as well as his school,
the place where he learns --

a Jewish home,

a bright home, lit up
with the light of Torah,

and a holy home – with
the holiness of Judaism,

both the home where he lives

and the school
where he studies.

When you come home from
today’s Hakhel gathering

and speak with your
father or mother,

or with your
brother or sister

who are older than
Bar or Bas Mitzvah,

you will ask them to
do everything they can

to make the home even holier
than it has been until now,

before you spoke with them.

And the same goes for
when you return to school:

Speak with your teacher,
your Moreh or Morah,

to add to the learning
Torah and doing Mitzvos

which is normally
done at school

– to discuss it more

and to study about it more.

And as we said over summer time:

When you will ask this of
your mother or father,

or your older brother or sister,

and, at the same time,
show an example

that you are an army-man
or an army-woman,

and you fulfill all
of the army's orders,

beginning with, "Honor
your father and mother,"

it is a sure thing that
your father and mother

and your grandmother
and grandfather,

will add in their
own Yiddishkeit

and in the holiness
of their homes.

In this you will fulfill one
of your main objectives

as members of
Tzivos Hashem.

And this will bring
great satisfaction

to the King of all kings, Hashem,

our Commander-in-Chief.

And when one brings
Hashem such satisfaction,

it is self-understood

that He also adds in his
blessings to everyone involved,

the members of army,

as well as to those
who took their advice,

whether their father, mother,

or other members
of the family.

Hashem gives His
brachos to them as well,

in all their needs,

for a good and sweet year;

that every day of this
year be good and sweet

in all ways

– there will be spiritual
goodness and sweetness

which brings about physical
goodness and sweetness,

and a year of blessing
in all good things.

Before we conclude,
I would like to add a point

for those of you who
are in contact with friends

-- boys with boys
and girls with girls --

in other cities:

Because of the Mitzvah
to love your fellow,

you need to pass on the
ideas that we spoke here,

and also influence them
to join Tzivos Hashem

if they haven't yet done so.

Also, those listening now
through the hook-up,

or those who will be
told about it from others

should also get involved
in these activities,

as we explained in detail.

In every country
they should reprint

the booklets of the
Twelve Pesukim

with a page to write
down the names

of those you brought
into Tzivos Hashem;

preparations should also
begin for the parade

which will be held for the
entire Tzivos Hashem,

in each city and country, with
the details mentioned earlier.

Now, as we conclude:

We already had an element of Tefilah,
we davened together,

and we had an
element of Torah,

when we recited and learned

the twelve pesukim and
teachings of Chazal

from Torah Shebichsav
and Torah Shebaal Peh.

Now we will also do the element
of Gemilus Chasadim, of Tzedaka,

on our way out -- as we have
done at previous parades.

The same goes for places where,
for whatever reason,

a Hakhel for children hasn't yet been
held this Chol Hamoed Sukkos;

it should be done
before Shemini Atzeres,

and it will be with
great success.

All this will hasten the time,

when, very soon,

every single Jew
will go out of exile

as the Tzivos Hashem,

with an "upraised arm,"
with strength and firmness,

each man and woman,

"With our young and old,
our sons and our daughters,"

because they are all
members of Tzivos Hashem.

We will go out just like
when we left Mitzrayim,

with an upraised arm,

and we will go out peacefully,

for we are coming from
the holiday of Sukkos,

and a Sukkah is called
"A Sukkah of Peace" --

Hashem will spread over us
His "Sukkah of Peace."

We will all go, complete in
spiritual and material matters,

without any difficulties,

to greet Moshiach Tzidkeinu,

for he is coming very soon
to take us out of exile

and bring us the true
and complete Geulah,

very soon.

And then, we will all go
together to our Holy Land,

"The land which Hashem
watches over carefully,

from the beginning of
the year until its end."

Until then, even while in Galus,
we have Hashem's promise,

"The Guardian of Yisrael
won't slumber nor sleep."

And when we arrive
in Eretz Hakodesh,

we will find a land
which is complete,

and a Jewish nation
which is complete,

and which fulfills the
Torah completely,

as the posuk says about Hakhel,

"To do all the words of this Torah,"
everything Torah speaks about.

And in Eretz Hakodesh --

we will arrive in Yerushalayim,
"Your Holy City,"

Yerushalayim which
is the holy city

and the capital city of the whole
Eretz Yisrael and of every Jew --

no matter where a Jew finds himself,
he owns a portion of Yerushalayim,

because Yerushalayim wasn't
given to a specific Shevet;

it was bought and built by
David Hamelech in a way,

that every Jew
owns a part of it,

beginning even
with small children.

Nobody is allowed to give it away,
because it doesn't belong to him!

Every Jew owns the
entire Yerushalayim,

with the Kosel and Har Habayis,

with all the buildings
and anything else there.

And in Yerushalayim,

since Moshiach is
coming very soon,

he will surely do what
he is supposed to do:

He will immediately build
the Beis Hamikdash,

"and he will gather the
scattered of Yisrael,"

he will gather all the Jews together
in Eretz Hakodesh, Eretz Yisrael,

in Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh,
and in the Beis Hamikdash.

There was always a miracle
there that everyone fit inside:

Everyone would come
for the Shalosh Regalim,

and on a Hakhel Year,

all men, women
and children came,

and they were all able to fit
inside the Beis Hamikdash.

When we gather there,

we will do so with
enthusiasm and joy,

and we will listen to
the words of the Torah,

and then do everything Torah says.

We will do so, as the posuk says,
"All your days on the land,"

all the days and years
we live in the Holy Land,

which belongs to the Jewish people,
wherever they find themselves

-- and nobody has the right
to give away any part of it,

because it was given by the
King of all kings, Hashem,

to each and every Jew as
an everlasting inheritance.

We will see this all very
soon, as we said before:

The Jewish people
will be redeemed

when every Jew will redeem
himself of his non-Yiddishkeit

by winning the war
against his Yetzer Horah,

and you, Tzivos Hashem, set
the example for everyone else.

And that will bring the
victory over Galus,

and the Golus will stop to exist,

and we will have the true
and complete redemption

through Moshiach,
very soon!

We will now give out the coins
to fulfill the part of Tzedakah

after the translation of the talk.

As mentioned before,
we request

that the same be done in
all the cities and countries

where they hear about
the things we spoke about.

Because there are still two days left
until Shmini Atzeres, until Yom Tov,

it is still possible to arrange,
and the more, the better:

The more you do, the
more you deserve praise,

because you bring satisfaction to
the Giver of the Torah, to Hashem,

Who commanded us to
always grow in our Mitzvos.

As mentioned earlier, Hashem
will then add in His brachos,

both physically and spiritually,

and very soon, He will give
us the greatest bracha:

He will bring Moshiach Tzidkeinu,

and the true and
complete Geulah,

speedily in our days!