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During the years of Soviet communism,
the Rebbe would often address Soviet Jews
with words of hope and inspiration.
Whether received via transcript, a smuggled recording,
or at the far end of a short wave radio broadcast,
the recipients behind the Iron Curtain would be encouraged and inspired.
Here is such a talk before a group of children,
in which the Rebbe illuminates the cycle of Holidays
of the New Year.
Since there are Jewish children,
who meanwhile understand only Russian;
some of whom are present here,
and especially those
who live in countries such as the USSR;
and taking into consideration
that we are now in a period of transition
between the months of Tishrei and Cheshvan,
we will address them, at least briefly,
with a few words in Russian.
I hope that these words will reach them;
and most importantly,
that they will make use of these words
as they should and need to be used;
every Jewish boy or girl as a member of "God's army"
known in Hebrew as "Tzivos Hashem."
As such, they are under the direction of
the "Commander in Chief,"
God, who gave each of you and each of us
His instructions in His holy Torah
on how to overcome the evil inclination,
namely, desires and behavior
that do not befit the Jewish nature and the Jewish character
and therefore do not befit any Jewish boy or a Jewish girl
wherever they may be.
For this we have an assurance
and a blessing from God, the "Commander in Chief,"
that "if you make the effort, you will succeed."
If you will only have the true desire
to follow God's instructions in His Torah,
then you will surely be victorious
in this battle with the evil inclination.
And you will be able to live your lives
beginning your day with reciting Modeh Ani
"I offer thanks to You, living and eternal King,
for You have mercifully restored my soul within me;
my faith in You is great."
And to conclude the day with saying Shema,
"Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One."
And during the course of the entire day
for all of your actions
to be in accordance with God's directives.
This is especially relevant now, coming from Tishrei
when you, united with all Jews everywhere,
shared the special facets of the month.
Beginning with Rosh Hashanah at the beginning of the year;
when we "crowned God as King over us,"
accepting God's sovereignty and authority.
This enables our work as the "Army of God,"
the army of the King of Israel,
the Leader and King of all Jews
wherever they may be.
Following that on Yom Kippur,
each one of us, including yourselves,
returned internally to the source of our lives
and to the source of everything we have, God,
and we accepted His commands upon ourselves
On Yom Kippur He forgave us
for everything that was not as it should be.
On Yom Kippur God saw in the heart of every Jew,
beginning from the very young boys and girls,
that they accept upon themselves,
from this day and this moment forward
a commitment to fulfill all His instructions.
This was demonstrated in the holiday
which follows several days after Yom Kippur
Sukkos, the "Season of our Rejoicing,"
when it was emphasized that every Jew
follows the directives of the Torah with true joy.
It concluded with Simchas Torah,
when Jews everywhere dance,
and they dance even in the streets;
in the streets of Moscow and Leningrad
and of the other cities of the world,
including the streets of New York and Jerusalem.
From this joy
each of you and all of you together with us
draw the joy to fulfill the Torah's instructions
during the entire coming year.
As explained at length earlier, in Yiddish,
God, our "Commander in Chief,"
takes upon Himself to provide for each of His "soldiers,"
beginning with the smallest Jewish children,
boys or girls, wherever they may be.
As mentioned many times,
the constitutions of all countries of the world,
including the Constitution of the United States
and the Constitution of the USSR;
the Union of Soviet Republics as a whole,
which includes the Soviet Republic of Ukraine,
and all of the other Republics
which together make up the Soviet Union,
guarantee that every person has the freedom and right
to conduct his private life
as his heart desires.
This means that every Jewish boy and girl,
as well as every adult
has the full right to live as their Jewish heart desires;
to live their daily lives
by the instructions of God Almighty's Torah.
Moreover,
the Constitution instructs all government representatives
to enforce this, and they will surely do all they can,
to ensure that each one of you and all of you together,
are able to study Torah every day of the year
and to fulfill Mitzvos, the instructions of the Torah,
without any disturbances.
May you do all of this joyfully and gladly,
with true happiness,
and this will bring forth God's blessings
in everything you need.