We are approaching the 9th of Av (July 29th this year), a very different day on the Jewish calendar. In general, we can say that every day is extremely different from one another, from a natural perspective, since each one has a different number in a different month, making that day unique on the calendar (and in the overall history of the universe). Even more so, from the perspective of the Torah, every day, every hour, every instant is created by God, as we say in our daily prayer, "Who renews Creation every day with His goodness.".
However, the 9th of Av is a particularly different day. It is the day on which several tragedies occurred for the Jewish people, and therefore its energy is such that it compels us to behave differently, since it is not man's behavior that determines the energy of the day, but rather the opposite: the day, with its energy, demands a particular behavior from man.
Therefore, as we approach that day, it is appropriate to increase our devotion to God through Torah study, the observance of mitzvot, and, in general, faith in God, which is the foundation and starting point. In this spirit, I will transcribe (in a free translation) a portion of an article published in the New York Times on March 27, 1972, on the occasion of the Rebbe's 70th birthday.
Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, reached the biblical age of 70 yesterday, but he has been living in the biblical era every single one of those years. The Rebbe decided to use his birthday as a pretext to demand from his followers what he called "an additional portion of study and devotion to the cause of spreading kindness and mercy...""
In a recent audience, just before the first rays of dawn broke over Eastern Parkway, the Lubavitch Rebbe gazed intently at his visitor, and every now and then a warm and remarkable smile lit up his face. Stroking his gray beard, he explained his role in "awakening the potential within everyone.""
In the fundamentals, the Rebbe has no doubts.
""If you can accept that God Almighty created trillions and trillions of atoms, why can't you accept that God Almighty created a human being?"
""If you wish to substitute the term 'God' for 'mystery,' then I will ask you the same question about 'mystery.' It is much simpler to accept one human being, two human beings, than to accept trillions of disordered atoms spinning wildly without any concept or pattern, and then, with a big bang or a small bang, the universe was created.".
To the suggestion that his orthodoxy marks him as a conservative, he objected, saying:
""I don't believe that Reform Judaism is liberal and Orthodoxy is conservative. My explanation of conservatism is someone who is so petrified that they cannot accept anything new. For me, Judaism, or halakha [Jewish religious law], or the Torah, encompasses the entire universe and encompasses every new invention, every new theory, every new piece of knowledge, thought, or action.".
""Everything that happens in 1972 has a place in the Torah and must be interpreted, must be explained, must be evaluated from the point of view of the Torah, even if it first occurred in March 1972":