Night 1: Abraham and the Baal Shem Tov

In Abraham’s time, people wanted bigger idols, more idols, and more expensive idols. As for the original Creator, whoever heard about Him figured He was just too awesome and removed to deal with. Abraham went against the stream and taught that the one Creator of Heaven and Earth could be found anywhere by anybody and at any time.

In the Baal Shem Tov’s time, the trend for Jewish preachers was to get Jews to obey G‑d out of fear of punishment. The Baal Shem Tov went against the stream and taught that every Jew could connect to G‑d with love and joy, because He’s found everywhere, speaking to us in every detail of our lives.

Night 2: Isaac and the Maggid of Mezritch

Although his father had made many journeys to publicize his teachings, Isaac never left the Land of Israel. People came to him, and he brought out the best in them, as one who digs wells to find living waters within the earth.

The Maggid of Mezritch did the same. Learned tzadikim came to him from many lands. He showed them that they were true leaders of the people. He planted them all across the Jewish settlements of Eastern Europe, and that way secured the light of the Baal Shem Tov firmly within the hearts of the Jewish people.

Night 3: Jacob and Rabbi Schneur Zalman, “the Alter Rebbe”

While Jacob lived with his father and grandfather, he sat in his tent and studied and contemplated the divine wisdom of the Torah. When he ran from there to save his life from his brother, he fled to the yeshivah of Shem and Ever. When he dwelt with Laban for 20 years, he sat in the field with the sheep reviewing and contemplating Torah wisdom. When he was forced to go down to Egypt, he sent his son Judah ahead of him, to establish a place for Torah learning.

The life of Rabbi Schneur Zalman, known as the Alter Rebbe, was also all about Torah. He demonstrated how everything the Baal Shem Tov taught was deeply grounded in Torah traditions. At the request of his teacher, the Maggid, he composed a new edition of the Code of Jewish Law that made the knowledge of halachah much more accessible. He authored the Tanya, and taught thousands of teachings, called maamarim, to teach every Jew how to serve G‑d with love and joy as the Baal Shem Tov had envisioned. And he accomplished all this both in times of great hardship and during times of relative peace.

Night 4: Moses and Rabbi Dovber, “the Mittler Rebbe”

Moses brought us to Mount Sinai and gave us the Torah, with all the explanations and education he could provide in 40 years. He could have simply found out from G‑d what He wanted and transmitted the instructions. But instead, he did all he could to bring us face-to-face with G‑d. He wanted us to have the experience of making the Torah our own by opening it wider through analysis and discussion.

Rabbi Dov Ber, known as the Mittler Rebbe, took the teachings of his father, the Alter Rebbe, and showed people how to open them wider. He took a few words his father taught and expanded them in so many ways so that we could digest them all and make those teachings real in our lives.

Night 5: Aaron and Rabbi Menachem Mendel, “the Tzemach Tzedek”

“Be of the students of Aaron,” Hillel taught. “Love all people and bring them close to Torah.” Aaron was beloved to the people because he loved them all. In that way, he held the Children of Israel together as a single family.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, known by the name of his collection of halachic responsa, Tzemach Tzedek, represented the Jews of the Russian Empire in government affairs during the rule of Nicholas I, a ruthless anti-Semite. He bought land to establish entire communities for Jews who had been displaced by government restrictions. He put himself and his family in mortal danger many times by standing up against the government regulation of Jewish practice, all the while saving thousands of Jewish children abducted by the army. He brought leaders of Jewish movements that had been in conflict to work together with mutual respect for the sake of the entire community.

Night 6: Joseph and Rabbi Shmuel, “the Rebbe Maharash”

Joseph was taken to Egypt as a slave and ended up ruling the land. How did he do it? Because wherever he was, whether in a slave’s chains, in his master’s house, or even in a dungeon, he took charge of the situation, because he knew G‑d was with him.

Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch, known as “the Maharash,” had to deal with a Czarist policy of deflecting revolution by inciting violence against Jews. He summed up his strategy in one simple teaching. “The world,” he said, says that if you can’t work through a problem, you’ll have to find a way to leap over it. I say, to begin with, just leap over it.” In other words, when you know G‑d is with you, take charge without fear.

Night 7: King David and Rabbi Sholom Dovber, “the Rebbe Rashab”

David was a shepherd boy who composed beautiful songs and became King of Israel. Through his Book of Psalms, he taught us to speak to G‑d from the heart, like a child to a parent, like a close friend, one that will never leave you, as though He were your heart itself. He gave every Jew that opportunity of inner closeness with G‑d.

Rabbi Shalom Dovber, known as the Rebbe Rashab, served the Jews of Russia at a time when young men were abandoning yeshivah to join the Bolshevik party. So he offered these young men a revolutionary yeshivah, one in which boys at the age of 15 would begin a study of the inner soul of Torah, and learn to serve G‑d with all their heart through deeply focused meditation and prayer.