Although all the Jewish holidays commemorate events in our national history, they are far more than mere recollections of our past.

Every holiday provides us with the opportunity to relive, as well as to remember, past events.

Every year, the same spiritual forces which brought about the event commemorated by a holiday are expressed again at those times.

This the fifteenth of Nissan, the date of our exodus from Egypt, is eternally fixed as "the season of our freedom," and the Tenth of Tishrei, the day on which G-d forgave the sin of the Golden Calf, is established for all time as "the Day of Atonement".

The essays in these volumes are adaptations of the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, which focus on the respective spiritual messages of the holidays.

They endeavor to show how the historic symbolism associated with these days produces eternally relevant lessons that are applicable in our current divine service, infusing energy and vitality into our observance of the festivals.

Table of Contents

Publisher’s Foreword
Rosh HaShanah
At One with the King
At One with G-d; At One with our Fellow Man
The Inner Motivation for Prayer
The Purpose of Creation

The Fast of Gedaliah
The Last Embers of Jewish Sovereignty

The Ten Days of Teshuvah
Teshuvah — Return, Not Repentance

Yom Kippur
Transforming Evil
At One with G-d
After Yom Kippur: Can we Maintain our Connection with G-d?

Sukkos
The Ability to See Happiness
The Unity of our People
The Sukkah: Feeling at Home Amidst G-dliness
We Do Not Rejoice Alone

Simchas Torah
Joy that Knows No Bounds
Happiness which We have Earned

Yud-Tes Kislev
Bridging the Gap between the Intellect and Self-Transcendence
"He has Redeemed My Soul in Peace"

Chanukah
The Message of the Chanukah Lights
Why the Maccabees Rebelled: A Superrational Commitment to the Torah
Two Miracles: Two Modes of Commemoration
A New Level of Awareness
The Tenth of Teves
Support for Jerusalem

Yud Shvat
A Legacy of Self-Sacrifice
Towards a New Dawn

The New Year of Trees
Why We Celebrate the New Year of Trees

Glossary and Biographical Index