Yud Tes Kislev

“Yud Tes Kislev” is NOT a real Jewish holiday, because:

It is NOT mentioned in Tanach.
It is NOT mentioned in Mishnah.
It is NOT mentioned in Talmud.
It is NOT mentioned in Midrash.
It is NOT mentioned in Gaonim.
It is NOT mentioned in Rishonim.
It is NOT mentioned in Shulchan Aruch.

We already have more-than-enough real Jewish holidays,
without also accepted the false holiday of “Yud Tes Kislev”.

Everything that I just said about “Yud Tes Kislev” is even more true
concerning the fake false phoney Ethiopian holiday of “Sigd”.

There are actually מקורות in Poskim for making a private Yom Tov to thank Hashem for a personal ישועה or נס. This is especially true when an entire community was saved. So there is Purim of T’veria on Dalet Kislev (saved from attacking army), Purim Saragossa sometime in Sh’vat (miraculously saved from antisemitic libel and decree of expulsion), and “Farhang (Curtains) Purim” in Prague (community leader accused of stealing the fabulously expensive gold embroidered royal curtains, resultant threat of expulsion/pogrom, true culprit miraculously exposed), just to name a few of the more famous ones. Rav Shmuel HaNagid (saved from battle), the Rambam (saved at sea), the P’nei Yehoshua (saved from a collapse of his house and fire), Rebbe Nosson Adler, the Chayei Adam (Tes Vav Kislev, saved from an explosion of a gunpowder arsenal next to his house), and the Ba’al Shem Tov (saved from pirates/privateers off the coast of Turkey on Acharon Shel Pesach on the way to Eretz Yisroel), and quite a few more all had personal days of “Purim Katan”. Since the Ba’al HaTanya was imprisoned not as a private citizen, but as the leader of his Chassidim, he and his followers considered his release to be a communal ישועה worthy of being celebrated לדורות. If you don’t want to celebrate, you don’t have to, but those who do are well within the framework of Halacha. (There were some Acharonim who did disagree with this concept, but all those mentioned, as well as Maharam Alashkar and the Chassam Sofer who wrote explicitly in their Teshuvos to permit such celebrations, did hold it was מותר and even meritorious to do so.)

By the way, all of those who permit or recommend celebrating various other events of the last century, which (based on your other posts) are probably dear to you, base their היתר/פסק on the aforementioned sources and precedents…

It’s also more than a little strange (or even borderline כפירה) of you to say “We already have more-than-enough real Jewish holidays,”. That’s what Haman said to Achashveirosh, and that ended with another Jewish holiday…

Chanukah is not mentioned explicitly in Tanach, barely mentioned בדרך אגב in Mishnah, and takes up only about a Daf and a half in Gemara, but every Jewish child knows all about it. So הנח להם לישראל, Baruch Hashem we have what to celebrate.

There is nothing wrong, and a lot of right, celebrating a miracle that happened to someone and to his ancestors. If chassidim feel attached to a Rebbe to whom a miracle happened, what is wrong with that?

That said, relationships between chassidim/misnagdim and Russian government was “complicated”. People from both groups tried to use the government against the other at some moment, and the government, in turn, used the fighting to impose themselves on the Jewish community.

10+ years later during Napoleon invasion of Russia, Alter Rebbe was a daas yachid who supported the Czar. While all other chassidim/misnagdim weere looking to an end of Russian occupation of Poland, Alter Rebbe was (1) fearful of assimilation that would follow liberation (2) realistically felt that the Czar is not going anywhere … (and Lubavitch was more to the east of other groups).

Was being freed from the prison related to the future cooperation? I don’t know.

Maseches Taanis lists holidays we had during BM times.

To the group

Several years ago, Dovid Lichtenstein interviewed a Talmid of Rav Shach and asked him what bothered the Gadol Hador about the Rebbe. This Rabbi answered that it was two things. First, he was annoyed by the proliferation of Chabad holidays which indicated the formation of a new religion. Second, Rav Shach didn’t appreciate the Rebbe butting into Israeli politics. He felt, correctly, that he was the Gadol in Israel and the Rebbe had no right to get involved. Of course, the Rebbe felt that he was Nosi of Israel from the time he was three years old. Yesterday, a thread began on VIN announcing that there was a Yud Tes Kislev event in Lakewood. One fellow commented, “All real Yidden learn Chabad Chassidus.” No all real Yidden learn Gemara. If they have time in the day, they can also learn Chassidus, but not necessarily the Chabad variety. Rabbi Shmuel Butman used to have a radio program on Motzei Shabbos. He would routinely say, “When Moshiach comes there will be no more Shnayim Ochzin Bitalis.” Yes, there will be Shnayim Ochzin Bitalis, but only the Kabbalistic interpretations of the Gemara.” He would continue, “For two thousand years those Rosh Yeshivas have had their fun, but their time is coming to an end.” I don’t believe that all Lubavichers have this attitude, but it’s not uncommon. The Gemara is forever and it’s the Ikkar of Torah study.

Yud Tes Kisleiv was celebrated by Chabad before the “current” Rebbe’s grandfather was born.

Shulchan Aruch Harav doesn’t belong exclusively to Chabad. It’s no less valid than the Chayei Adam (which may or may not have predated it and if yes not by much) and the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. Shulchan Aruch Harav is mentioned in the Mishna Berurah, referred to as Shulchan Aruch HaGRaZ.