This Thursday and Friday are, in the Hebrew calendar, the 12th and 13th of Tammuz (see articleThese days are very significant for the Jewish people in general, and for the Chabad Hasidim in particular, because they were the days of the release of the previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Scheerson, of blessed memory, from prison in the former Soviet Union.
It is interesting to note that these dates frequently occur in the parashah This week's story is called Balak. In short, it's about a king who hired a non-Jewish prophet, Balaam, to curse the Jewish people and destroy them. In practice, every time Balaam tried to pronounce a curse, God changed it to a blessing. This isn't far removed, in concept, from the intentions of the former Soviet Union regarding Judaism in general.
Almost all the Rebbeim of Chabad, whose center of activity was the Lubavitcher people of Russia, were imprisoned for their efforts to strengthen Judaism. Beginning with the movement's founder, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, imprisoned in 1798, and continuing through the previous Rebbe, imprisoned in 1927, each Rebbe suffered strong opposition from the government of the day (Tsar or President of the former Soviet Union) toward Judaism.
After the liberation, the previous Rebbe wrote a letter highlighting several lessons to be learned from the episode. Among the points in the letter, the Rebbe mentions that “God redeemed not only me on the 12th of Tammuz, but all those who cherish our holy Torah, those who observe the mitzvot, and also those who are called Jews.”.
The previous Rebbe makes it clear with this statement that Judaism is not only for those who appreciate it, nor only for those who observe it, but also for those who are called Jewish. The key point in this expression is that it is possible for a person not to even identify themselves as Jewish, but rather be called Jewish by others; even in that case, the liberation of the 12th of Tammuz is relevant to them.
Conceptually, liberation consists of the nations of the earth recognizing the Jewish people's right to observe the Torah. In a deeper sense, it is a kind of declaration to the world of the responsibility that other nations attribute to the Jewish people. As the saying goes, "stick to what you know," I would say...“Jewish to your Torah.” The function of the Jewish people in the world is to refine it through the observance of the Torah and the Mitzvot to make it a dwelling place for God.
The novelty in the Rebbe's previous statement is that this mission is not limited solely to those who study and observe the Torah, but also applies to those who, despite not identifying as Jewish, are reminded of their Jewish identity by the world around them...
There are two ways to live life: in conflict or in peace. In both cases, it's with one's own inner self. Each Jewish He has a piece of God within him, which acts as the driving force and motivation for every act of drawing closer to God. He can fight against this inner motivation to adopt the ways of society and live in perpetual conflict, or he can let it flow and live life with inner peace.
The liberation of the 12th of Tammuz teaches those who live their lives in conflict (between their inner and outer selves) that it is not necessary to live that way, that there is a peaceful and pleasant path to living and that it is available to them as soon as they let their true inner self come to the surface.