In a symbolic move on Tuesday, a delegation of Chabad-Lubvitch rabbis presented Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an early work of Chassidic philosophy by the first Chabad rabbi printed in various places in Lebanon during the First Lebanon War in 1982.
The Tanya, written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Chassidism, was first published in 1796.
The rabbis also gave the prime minister the traditional “Four Species” used during the weeklong Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which begins on Wednesday evening. They include the lulav, etrog, myrtle and willow.
“We must be strong, resourceful and hope for assistance from Heaven,” Netanyahu told them, according to his office. “This is a long war; it does not proceed as we might prefer. There are good days and less good days, but the main thing is to strive for victory.”