Standing a Little Higher: Thoughts from a Yud Shevat Farbrengen

Rabbi Anchelle Perl – January 28, 2026

L’chaim, l’chaim…May this farbrengen be one that opens hearts, not just minds.

Tonight is not just another date on the calendar. Tonight is Yud Shevat—and this year, it falls on January 28, 2026.

The day the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, formally accepted the leadership of Chabad in 1951.

But more than that—it’s the day an entire generation was quietly lifted.

I want to share something personal.

When I entered a farbrengen with the Rebbe, I walked in wearing ordinary shoes.

My feet were on the ground, like everyone else. I came in as the same person who had walked in from the street, with worries, habits, limitations, assumptions…assumptions about the world, about people, even about other Jews.

And yet, when I walked out, it felt like my feet weren’t touching the ground anymore. It’s hard to explain, but it was as if the Rebbe had placed me on tall stilts.

Nothing outside had changed.........

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