The Rebbe teaches us to regard a birthday as more than a pleasant opportunity to look back on past events. It is a time for introspection, an occasion to step back and think about one’s purpose in life and to make resolutions to advance those goals.

When a chassid thinks in such terms, his spontaneous reaction is to look to the Rebbe for guidance. Not that he is shirking the burden of making his own decisions, but by drawing on the power of the Rebbe’s insights, he is able to make wiser and more productive choices for his own future.

The above takes on more significance when a person embarks on a new decade. In particular, with regard to the attainment of 60, the age which the Mishnah describes as the age of sagacity, on Yud-Alef Nissan, 5722, the Rebbe devoted much of the farbrengen to describing the significance of that age.

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