The Rebbe on Moshiach
& the Geulah

The decrees are the birthpangs of Moshiach — and the one rescue is “immediately to teshuvah, immediately to redemption”

Immediately upon his arrival in America two and a half years ago, my father-in-law the Rebbe began an untiring labor to awaken American Jewry to teshuvah, to Torah and good deeds — to make clear that the harsh decrees upon the Jewish people are the birthpangs of Moshiach [chevlei Moshiach], and that there is one rescue, and it is this:

“Immediately to teshuvah — through which there will be, immediately, the complete Redemption by Moshiach Tzidkeinu, with kindness and with mercy.”

His words had great effect; in broad circles of the Jewish population a movement of teshuvah began. And we arouse, and hope, that the rabbis, the bnei Torah, and everyone who wields influence will use the days of Selichos and the Ten Days of Teshuvah to make it clear that the present decrees are the birthpangs of Moshiach; to arouse each one to true teshuvah and to strengthening in the observance of Torah and mitzvos; and to enroll all in the societies of Tehillim — joining in the prayer for the whole of Israel.

Even the “bnei aliyah” must kindle the lamp facing outward

The matter of the Chanukah lamp is to give light outside, toward the public domain; and this, in particular, is the avodah in our generations, the generations of ikvesa d’Meshicha, as is explained in Torah Or (d”h Ki Atah Neiri).

And it is ruled as law that even one who dwells in an upper story — “I saw men of ascent [bnei aliyah], and they are few,” for their service is for the sake of Above, higher and higher (as in Tanya, ch. 10) — and who has no doorway [to the matters of this world], must nonetheless kindle the Chanukah lamp, at least in a window that shines toward the public domain. The outward illumination is incumbent even upon the loftiest.

Redemption in Tishrei or in Nissan — the dispute over when mirrors the dispute over how

Our Sages taught (Rosh Hashanah 10b): R’ Eliezer says, in Tishrei they are destined to be redeemed; R’ Yehoshua says, in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed. And their reasons are given: R’ Eliezer derives it from the shofar — “Blow the shofar at the new moon” [of Tishrei]; R’ Yehoshua derives it from the “night of watching” spoken of at the Exodus — “a night guarded and awaited from the six days of creation.”

It may be said that their dispute over the time of the Geulah accords with their dispute over the state of Israel then, in the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos (Sanhedrin 97b). R’ Eliezer holds that Israel are redeemed by doing teshuvah of themselves — and this too is the allusion of the shofar of Rosh Hashanah, as the Rambam elaborated (Hilchos Teshuvah 3:4), and is the very theme of the month of Tishrei, as our Sages read (Vayikra Rabbah 29): “Blow the shofar” — if you have improved [שפרתם] your deeds … “Tishrei” — release [תשרי] and forgive the sins of Your people.

And R’ Yehoshua holds that even if they do not do teshuvah of themselves they are redeemed, for the Holy One sets over them a king whose decrees are as harsh as Haman’s, and returns them to the good — as at the Exodus, where they were redeemed in the merit of receiving the Torah (Shemos Rabbah), of which our Sages said (Shabbos 88a) that He held the mountain over them like a barrel, “from here a mo’daah [a legal protest against] the Torah.” And this is the precision of the wording in Rosh Hashanah — “guarded and awaited from the six days of creation,” three seemingly superfluous words — that [redemption in Nissan] does not depend on the avodah of man himself.

Now that we are commanded, even a redemption compelled from without is wholehearted

Yet in all this there is a great difference between then and now. For at the giving of the Torah they were not yet commanded, and therefore they have a claim of ones [duress] and a “great mo’daah”; but now that they are commanded, even when the teshuvah comes by way of a harsh king — since it is the Holy One who sets him over them — of this it was said that he surely acts with a whole heart.

As the Rambam explained (Hilchos Gerushin 2:20): one whom his evil inclination overpowered to nullify a mitzvah, and who was beaten until he did what he was obligated to do — this is not called compelled; for he wishes to be of Israel, and wishes to fulfill all the mitzvos — it is only his evil inclination that overpowered him.

Every Jew has a share in the World to Come — the Resurrection, whose revelation reaches even the sinners of Israel

The one who asked was troubled by what I said at the conclusion of the siyum of Shas Mishnayos [studied] by heart: that every Jew, whoever he may be — even one wicked all his days, G-d forbid — has hope; and in the end, whether willingly or by a compulsion from Above, in his lifetime or after his death, he is raised from the gates of impurity in which he was sunk, and is passed through several matters of purification and refinement, until he too cleaves and unites with his root and source, the Ohr Ein Sof, blessed be He.

The source of this is explained in several places, among them the maamar “Ki Yishalcha Bincha” of the year 5700: “All Israel have a share in the World to Come” refers to the World of the Resurrection. And the difference between Gan Eden and the World of the Resurrection is: of Gan Eden it is written, “who shall ascend the mountain of Hashem… the clean of hands and pure of heart” — there are several conditions in order to ascend to Gan Eden… and the whole of the revelations in Gan Eden is to souls, and not to bodies. But of the World of the Resurrection — techiyas hameisim — [the Sages] said, “all Israel have a share in the World to Come,” that all will come to the revelation of the Resurrection… and the whole of that revelation will be to souls in bodies specifically.

And the foundation of these words is in the maamar of the Alter Rebbe (Torah Or, Yisro): “the World to Come, which is Gan Eden and techiyas hameisim — and it is explained in the Ramban’s Shaar HaGemul that the essential reward of the World to Come is in the Resurrection, for the level of techiyas hameisim is higher than the upper Gan Eden. In Gan Eden the souls of the righteous sit without bodies… and techiyas hameisim is that they will stand in their bodies… even the sinners of Israel are full of mitzvos like a pomegranate; and therefore all Israel have a share in the World to Come — in the Resurrection — except for those whom the Sages enumerated.”

Why this last exile is the longest — the war against the subtle evil

Two readings appear in the Sifrei (cited in the Yalkut) on “for all the tribes of Israel”: one reads “for all” as excluding the tribe of Levi — that they did not go out to the war of Midian; the other reads it as including Levi, and this is Rashi’s reading. And it may be asked: the Rambam rules (end of Hilchos Shemittah v’Yovel) that the tribe of Levi does not wage war like the rest of Israel — so why was this war different?

This is understood by what is explained in the maamarim of “Hechaltzu”: that the war of the seven nations, in avodah, is the war against the seven evil middos, the coarseness of evil, and its conquest was to settle their land — “a man plowing, a man sowing.” The Levites were set apart from worldly matters (Rambam there), their task being “they shall teach Your judgments to Yaakov,” which plowing and sowing would contradict; of themselves they have no bond to material things nor to the coarseness of evil. But the war of Midian was not to conquer a place of settlement — only “to avenge the vengeance of Hashem” (as the Ramban writes) — and in avodah its matter is the subtle evil [dakus ha-ra]; and therefore the Levite too must gird himself for this war.

By this a further difference is understood: in the war of Midian there was “a thousand from each tribe,” equally, whether a tribe was numerous or few — for the coarse, revealed evil depends on the measure of one’s involvement in worldly matters, the thirty-nine labors of the weekday, whereas the subtle evil, found even among those who serve Hashem, is equal in all. And the labor of uprooting the subtle evil is hard — as is seen from the length and hardness of this last exile, incomparably longer than the Babylonian exile — and therefore the war must be waged specifically by the instruction of Moshe Rabbeinu (and the extension of Moshe in every generation, and especially in the last, the generation of the footsteps of Moshiach); the going to war is “and they gave themselves over” with mesirus nefesh, and through this “not a man was missing,” and all enter the Land of Israel through Moshiach our righteous one, speedily in our days.

Sold for nothing, redeemed for nothing: how free tzedakah hastens the Geulah

Of the two kinds of people — those who “dwell in the tent” of Torah and men of affairs — the men of affairs have, in several respects, the greater merit; in particular in this, that besides learning Torah themselves they give others the ability to engage in Torah, which is why Zevulun was placed before Yissachar. And the merit is greater still when the thing is done freely, without any ulterior motive. This is the matter of ahavas Yisrael — to do good with a member of the people of Israel even if one has never seen him, for then there is no room for ulterior motive; and it is especially fitting for kohanim, as we say “and commanded us to bless His people Israel with love” — where even one outside the synagogue is blessed, though the kohen does not know who is there.

Now it is known that by an awakening from below comes an awakening from Above; and through free tzedakah — and our Sages said (Kesuvos 50a) that enabling others to have books to learn from is itself tzedakah — the Redemption is drawn near; for of the exile and the Redemption it is said, “you were sold for nothing [chinam], and not with money shall you be redeemed” (Yeshayahu 52:3; and see Sanhedrin 97b, that this speaks of this exile). And one must beseech for this the free kindness [chesed chinam] of the Holy One — as the Alter Rebbe explained (Iggeres HaKodesh §2) that this is the trait of Yaakov, who was not content with the assurance he had been given.

And then “our G-d” — of whom our Sages said, in their allusion (Sanhedrin 39a), that the Kohen “shall bless His people Israel with peace” — this is the peace of the kingdom of the house of David, speedily in our days, through Moshiach ben David.

The purpose of exile is refinement, not punishment — to become a vessel for the revelations of Moshiach

These days of Chanukah, whose matter is the publicizing of the miracle — Chanukah adding upon Purim, in that the publicizing must be at the doorway of one’s house, outward specifically, and from when the sun has set specifically — and it is understood that for this there must be an illumination drawn down from a very high place, as is explained at length in Chassidus in the discourses of Chanukah.

Their parallel in the avodah of man is the service during the time of exile, which is likened to night — for then G-dliness is in concealment and the sun does not shine openly, “a sun and shield is Havayah Elokim.” And behold: the essential purpose of the exile is not a matter of punishment, but of refinement and purification [tzeiruf v’zikuch] — to become fit to receive the revelations of Moshiach, as it is written in Torah Or (d”h Kol Dodi, §5): “the purpose of the descent and the exile is for the sake of a great ascent — that the light of Havayah shine in abundant revelation in the days of Moshiach.” And so it is in several discourses; and in the time of exile one must make the vessels for these revelations.

This is why, to the Baal Shem Tov’s question “when are you coming, master?” the answer was “when your wellsprings spread outward” — for the light of the teaching of Chassidus is the vessel for the revelation of Moshiach; and when the vessel is completed, the light is revealed. And the condition is that they spread outward too — even to those in whom no feeling is discernible that they stand within the “private domain” of the Only One of the world (like the Chanukah lamp, whose mitzvah is to illumine outside specifically).

Teshuvah precedes the Geulah — and the exile’s avodah completes the birurim, ending the admixture of good and evil

Our Sages taught (Shekalim 1:1): “On the first of Adar they proclaim concerning the shekalim and concerning the kilayim [the forbidden mixtures].” And the connection of these two, in a person’s service of his Maker in these days of ikvesa d’Meshicha, may be explained. For our Sages said (Rosh Hashanah 11a): “In Nissan they were redeemed, and in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed” — and even according to the view that they will be redeemed in Tishrei, Nissan is the month of Geulah, for in it was the Exodus, the first complete redemption.

And just as at the redemption from Egypt our Sages sought the merits by which our fathers were redeemed, all the more so afterward: since “because of our sins we were exiled from our land,” there must first be the mending of the flaw — the removal of the cause of exile — and only then will the Geulah come. As it is said (Sanhedrin 97b): R’ Eliezer says, if Israel do teshuvah they are redeemed…; R’ Yehoshua says, [even] if they do not do teshuvah, [the Holy One] sets over them a king whose decrees are as harsh as Haman’s, and Israel do teshuvah — so that in every view, teshuvah precedes the Geulah.

And in this exile, the last exile, beyond the need to mend the particular flaw through which it came — of which our Sages said (Yoma 9b), “the Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred” — through the avodah in the present time of exile there will be the completion of the birurim, as is hinted (Sanhedrin 98a): “the son of David comes only in a generation that is entirely innocent or entirely guilty” — that there be no further admixture of good and evil, whose beginning was the sin of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil.

This is the hint of the Mishnah at the opening of Shekalim: on the first of Adar — for the month of Adar is the preparation for the month of Geulah, Nissan — the Beis Din proclaims the whole avodah of this month, which is the preparation for the Geulah, in two matters: the shekalim, by which all Israel are made equal (“the rich shall not give more and the poor not less”) and are joined together as one full stature to bring an offering to Hashem — mending the particular cause of this exile, baseless hatred; and the kilayim — that the kelipah and the sitra achra, the very opposite of holiness, the ultimate forbidden mixture of good and evil, must be uprooted. And through this avodah, “when Adar enters, we increase in joy” is fulfilled.

Israel: the King’s sons — and His son-in-law through the marriage of the Torah

Israel are called “sons to the Omnipresent” — “you are sons to Hashem your G-d” — and they are also His “son-in-law” [איידעם], as taught in Shemos Rabbah (beginning of parshas Terumah): a parable of a king who had an only daughter [this is the Torah], and one of the kings came and took her [these are Israel].

And the difference between the two levels — by way of explanation — is this: one becomes a “son-in-law” to the Omnipresent only through the marriage of the Torah, that is, through great avodah in Torah and mitzvos until the Torah becomes his own and he rules over it, as husband and wife (Kiddushin 32a); whereas a “son” — even a deaf-mute, an imbecile or a minor is his son in every respect, for a father’s love for his son does not depend on the son’s revealed virtues; it is an essential love.

And there is a superiority of the son-in-law over the son: for our Sages said on the verse “let us rejoice and be glad in You” (Shir HaShirim Rabbah) — He said to them, “your sons have come…,” and then adds, “your sons-in-law have come…” — from which it is implied that there is an added rejoicing, in the Geulah, over the “sons-in-law,” beyond the redemption of the “sons.”

Purim’s “they fulfilled and accepted” — the Torah received, at last, of free will

This is the special virtue of the day of Purim, of which our Sages said (Shabbos 88a): “kiymu v’kiblu — they fulfilled what they had already accepted.” For at the giving of the Torah the acceptance was by way of “He held the mountain over them like a barrel,” which the Alter Rebbe explained (Torah Or, “Chayav inish l’vsumei b’Puria”) to be the revelation of the supernal love from Above upon Israel — a love that embraces the community of Israel from every side, until it does not let one turn away from Him.

Purim adds to this: that then “they fulfilled and accepted” — in the Alter Rebbe’s words — with a complete willingness [ratzon gamur], with a mesiras nefesh in all Israel of themselves, not through an arousal from Above first — for then was the time of hester panim, as our Sages said, “Where is Esther alluded to in the Torah? ‘And I will surely hide [haster astir] My face.’” And then was reckoned the completion of the receiving of the Torah — the marriage of the only daughter of the King of kings: one becomes the son-in-law of the Holy One Himself.

And may we all merit, in this very time of hester panim, the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah: “And it shall be on that day… toward evening there shall be light… and Hashem shall be King over all the earth; on that day Hashem shall be One and His Name One.”

Why the resurrection is the soul specifically within a physical body

You ask: the survival of the soul is understandable, for the soul is spiritual, a portion of G-d above, and the “portion” resembles the “whole” — but what compels that it rise to life in a physical body specifically, and what is the superiority in this?

The reason for creation in general, and of man in particular, is that the Holy One, blessed be He, desired a dwelling in the lower realms [dirah b’tachtonim] specifically — that the lowest, the “substance” and the material, be brought to self-nullification [bittul], so that through this the Ein Sof light rests and is revealed within them. This bittul is the purpose and foundation of the whole Torah and its mitzvos; and this is why Torah and mitzvos were given below, in physical things, and to the soul specifically when it is clothed in a physical body — so that they turn the “substance” into nothingness and make of it a vessel for G-dliness.

Therefore the ultimate perfection of the human species — and the highest reward, which is beyond what any avodah can earn, a gift given from Above — is received below, by the soul within the body specifically; for then is the purpose and completion of the creation of this world, which was created from its outset to be a dwelling for Him in the lower realms.

Three eras: this world, the days of Moshiach, the resurrection

In general there are three periods in this: this world, the days of Moshiach, and the resurrection of the dead. This world is the time of the war between the material and the spiritual, good and evil — “and one nation shall prevail over the other”: at times good is victorious, and at times the reverse.

In the days of Moshiach, when Israel will have completed the war and refined the good from the evil — and the evil is separated from the good — and they go out of exile, then they reach the perfection of man as it was before the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, no longer under the dominion of the “tree of good and evil.” Yet the sitra achra still exists in the world, in the “mixed multitude” — and so there is still a deficiency even in the perfection of Israel; therefore all who live in the days of Moshiach will die before the resurrection, and only afterward rise.

The world of the resurrection adds upon this: that He will remove the spirit of impurity entirely from the earth — there is no sin and no death in the world, for the Holy One, blessed be He, will slaughter the evil inclination, which is the angel of death. Then is the ultimate perfection of the human species — not according to the measure of one’s avodah and its reward, but what is given as a gift from Above.

The when, the where, and the order of the resurrection

Its time. We learned: the Beis HaMikdash precedes the ingathering of the exiles; the ingathering of the exiles precedes the resurrection of the dead; and forty years separate the ingathering from the resurrection (Zohar I 139a).

Its place. Both those buried in the Land of Israel and those buried outside it — their souls return to their bodies in the Land of Israel; those buried outside come by way of “tunnels” hollowed out for them in the earth, and there in the Land they emerge and live. Thus “all Israel have a share in the World to Come” is understood plainly.

Its order. The dead of the Land of Israel live first, then the dead of outside the Land, then the generation of the desert — and some say the Patriarchs; the righteous rise first, and among them, the masters of Torah before the masters of mitzvos. And “as a person departs, so he comes” — he rises as he was, and afterward the Holy One, blessed be He, heals him.

The three hidden treasures of Yosef — and the wealth of the last exile

It is known that all the exiles are rooted in the exile of Egypt; the pattern of Egypt is found in them all, and especially in the last exile — whose purpose is that “they shall go out with great wealth,” the birurim, accomplished now throughout all of chutz la’aretz, what was then done only in Egypt. And the harshness of the exile is sweetened through the preparations and deeds of Yosef HaTzaddik, who is in truth the sole “provider to all the land” [ha-mashbir]; his general act is “Yosef gathered all the money… and brought it into Pharaoh’s house” (Pesachim 119a). And surely the intent is not that it remain hidden as though it were not, but that all of it goes to one purpose — the mission of Yosef, who is called “Yosef” from “may Hashem add [yosef] to me another son”: that the “other” too be turned into a “son.”

This action is through three “hidden treasures” — three modes: (a) that he blesses with material abundance, wealth and honor — for blessing is bound up with love, as in the birkas kohanim — the treasure revealed to Korach; (b) those who do not yet keep Torah and mitzvos, he makes into baalei teshuvah, and converts — a birur even from kelipas nogah — the treasure revealed to Antoninus; (c) in those who keep Torah and mitzvos, he works an elevation in their very avodas Hashem — the treasure revealed to the righteous. The first two modes apply especially now, in “the this-world of this-world”; the third is “the World-to-Come of this-world,” and especially the matter of returning the righteous themselves in teshuvah [l’asava tzaddikaya b’siyuva] — which will be revealed in the time to come.

And plainly, it falls upon each one bound and belonging to Yosef HaTzaddik to become a conduit — or at the least to help and prepare his surroundings to be a vessel ready to receive the directives and the influence of Yosef — until the complete Redemption, speedily in our days, which will be through the Holy One Himself, in the aspect that is called “Yosef.”

Three eras — and where the ultimate reward lies: the Rambam and the Ramban

In the assurances of Tanach and of our Sages there are three periods: the days of Moshiach; Gan Eden; and the world after the resurrection — and since Gan Eden and the world of resurrection are both called “the World to Come,” this has caused several errors.

In the days of Moshiach there are two views in the Talmud (Berachos 34b) as to the conduct then — wholly miraculous, or “there is no difference between this world and the days of Moshiach except the subjugation of the kingdoms”; and to both there is eating and drinking, as is explicit in the Rambam (Hilchos Melachim, ch. 12) and in Iggeres HaKodesh §26. Gan Eden is an abode for souls without bodies — plainly there is no eating there. The world of resurrection will be souls in bodies specifically.

Our Sages said (Berachos 17a): “the World to Come has no eating or drinking.” The Rambam holds this speaks of the world without a body — and is consistent with his view that the ultimate reward is in the bodiless world, for the soul cannot receive the full reward while clothed in a body; hence, in his opinion, even those who rise at the resurrection will die again and come to the World to Come. But the great ones of Israel disputed this, foremost the Ramban, “with clear proofs… that the resurrection is the final purpose… and so is the truth according to Kabbalah” — and so the saying “the World to Come has no eating” is to be understood [not of a bodiless world, but] of the ultimate stage of the world of resurrection.

They rise with their blemishes — and then are healed

As to whether the dead rise whole, or one who was blemished rises blemished and is then healed: our Sages said (Sanhedrin 91b) “they rise with their blemish, and afterward are healed”; and at greater length in Bereishis Rabbah: “as a person goes, so he comes — he goes blind and comes blind… he goes clothed and comes clothed… and afterward I heal them” — and it is shown in the Zohar that this healing is through the “sun that heals.”

And as to one whose soul came in several gilgulim — which body rises: in general, since a soul’s descent in gilgul is (in the vast majority) to complete what it did not yet rectify in its first descent, and since “all Israel are full of mitzvos as a pomegranate,” in each descent several of its dimensions are rectified; and at the resurrection each and every body rises with the portions of the soul that it itself rectified.

Moshiach and the resurrection are the purpose for which the world was created

Our Sages have made known (Tanya ch. 36) that the days of Moshiach — and especially when the dead will live — are the ultimate purpose and completion of the creation of this world, for which it was created from its very outset. This is compelled even from the plain sense of Scripture, which relates that the natures [of the world] were changed for the worse from how they were created, through the curse that came in the wake of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. It follows that in order for them to return to their perfection — at least as when they were created, and as Onkelos renders “and they were finished”: “and they were perfected” — the curse must be removed, that is, through the atonement of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. And this will be in the days of Moshiach, when the promise is fulfilled: “and I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth.” [And note the Rambam, Guide I ch. 2, and the end of Hilchos Melachim: “the occupation of the whole world will be solely to know Hashem.”]

To bring the days of Moshiach and to merit them is through the avodah now — whose matter is to cause the Shechinah to dwell in this world; that the world be in the state it was before the sin, when the Shechinah was in the lower realms, and in the time to come with even greater strength. For our Sages said: the essence of the Shechinah was in the lower realms; when Adam sinned it withdrew — and the righteous draw it back down to the earth; and this is learned from “the righteous shall inherit the land and dwell [upon it],” which in its essence speaks of the time to come.

One of the changes wrought by the curse is that at first all the trees bore fruit; and so too in the time to come the barren trees will bear fruit. Now Scripture calls man “the tree of the field,” and our Sages explained the “fruits” — in the Jew — as the mitzvos. The creation was so ordered that every created being fulfill its task by the will and command of its Creator, every tree bearing fruit; only through the sin — whereby in the soul a person becomes “a tree that bears no fruit” — did it come to be so in the physical as well. Our avodah now is to bring the whole world to its perfection as before the sin — the effort, in particular, that one’s whole environment bear fruit, “what fruits? — the mitzvos” — and then we will all merit the fulfillment of “the tree of the field shall give its fruit… and I will lead you upright,” in spirit and in body alike.

Two senses of geulah — redemption from the constant troubles, and redemption from the exile

You note, at the close of your letter, regarding what is written — “Sefer Geulah v’Yeshuah” [the Book of Redemption and Salvation] — that since before the [final] redemption we still stand in need of salvation, the wording should seemingly be “Yeshuah v’Geulah”; and even were we to interpret “geulah” in its plain sense — redemption from the exile — then the place of this request [in the order of the supplications] should be after the others.

It therefore seems to me to interpret “geulah” [here] as redemption from the troubles that constantly befall us, and only afterward “yeshuah” — as in the Shemoneh Esrei, where we say “Goel Yisrael” [Redeemer of Israel] and afterward “heal us and we shall be healed… save us and we shall be saved.”

First comes the general request — a good life — and then it goes on to specify: in the physical, geulah and yeshuah (the removal of harm), sustenance and livelihood; in the spiritual, merits… and forgiveness and pardon, that the sins be wiped away entirely.

The first match and the second — the first Redemption and the last

The whole responsum weighs the two kinds of zivug [match]: the first match — of which the Sages said, “a Heavenly voice goes forth and proclaims, the daughter of so-and-so to so-and-so” — which is by decree from Above; and the second match, which is “according to one’s deeds.” Having surveyed the views, the Rebbe closes on the plane of avodah.

The matter of the first match and the second, and the difference between them, was expounded in the discourse “Anochi” of Acharon shel Pesach. And the sum of the explanation: the first match — [decreed] from Above — is an arousal from Above that precedes the arousal from below; this is the first Redemption. And the second match, “according to one’s deeds,” is an arousal from Above that follows the arousal from below; this is the last Redemption.

The “Ani Maamin” formula is not found in the Rambam

(a) Regarding what you write, that the Rambam says “I believe in the coming of Moshiach… every day, that he will come (בכל יום שיבוא)” — for the present I have not found it in the Rambam, neither in his Commentary on the Mishnah (chapter Chelek) nor in the Yad [Mishneh Torah] (Laws of Teshuvah 3:6, 9:2, and the end of the Laws of Kings) — rather, so it appears in the text of the siddurim.

Reconciling daily expectation with “Ben David does not come on Shabbos or Yom Tov”

(b) Regarding what you write, that you heard an interpretation of the above — that “every day he awaits that ultimately he will come,” even though it is impossible that he come today, such as when it is Shabbos or Yom Tov, per the statement of our Sages (Eruvin 43b) [that Ben David does not come on Shabbos or Yom Tov because of the Shabbos-limits above ten handbreadths] — indeed, some time ago I was already asked about the contradiction, and I answered as above. But it still requires examination: for if so, the text should have said “every day I await him, that he will come” [בכל יום אחכה לו שיבוא] — so that there would be no doubt as to the meaning.

And as a sharpening of the analysis [לחדודי] one could say: since the principle that Ben David does not come on Shabbos and Yom Tov is a doubt and not a certainty (Rambam, Laws of Nezirus 4:11), the author of Ani Maamin formulated it so that whichever way the doubt is resolved, the text will fit.

Or, somewhat differently: there are several halachic doubts which Eliyahu will resolve — as is known, that this is [an interpretation of] the acronym TeiKU: “the Tishbi will resolve difficulties and questions.” If so, when one stands on Shabbos or Yom Tov, there is a possibility that Eliyahu already came to the Great Beis Din before, and resolved the doubt leniently — and if so, Ben David can come today.

The sugya concerns Moshiach’s victory and revelation to all Israel

(c) At first glance the view that Ben David does not come on Shabbos and Yom Tov because of techumin above ten handbreadths is difficult: it is understandable regarding Eliyahu, who is found Above; but not regarding Ben David, who is found below (Sanhedrin 98a) — especially per the Yad at the end of the Laws of Kings, that a king who arises from the House of David, immersed in Torah, who fights the wars of Hashem and succeeds, is presumed to be Moshiach. It emerges that Moshiach’s victory will be some time after he is revealed — and “Ben David does not come on Shabbos” refers to when he is victorious; if so, it has no connection at all to “above ten handbreadths.”

One must therefore conclude: the coming of Ben David must be to all Israel, or to the Great Beis Din, their empowered representatives. Now, the Great Beis Din is destined to return first to Tiberias and then to the Beis HaMikdash (Rambam, Sanhedrin 14:12); and the war of Gog and Magog will be upon the mountains of Israel or around Yerushalayim. It is thus impossible for him to come to Tiberias, or to all Israel, except by traveling above ten handbreadths.

Moshiach ben Yosef can come even on Shabbos and Yom Tov

(d) All of the above applies specifically to Moshiach ben David — but not to Moshiach ben Yosef, who does not need to be revealed all at once to all of Israel. Therefore, in the text of Ani Maamin, where “Moshiach” is said without qualification, the intent is the beginning of the Redemption — such that Moshiach ben Yosef is also included; and he can come even on Shabbos and Yom Tov according to all opinions.

“Ani Maamin” is faith in the daily possibility of the Redemption’s beginning

(e) And the clearest resolution, simply: the intent of “Ani Maamin” is faith in the Redemption — that one awaits that its beginning occur on any day. And even the coming of Eliyahu — who announces that tomorrow, or in two days, Moshiach will be revealed — is also called “the coming of Moshiach.” Accordingly one may say the text “on every single day,” and this is readily understood.

The name of Moshiach: Nechemiah ben Chushiel is Moshiach ben Yosef

(6) Regarding the name of Moshiach mentioned in Midrash Zerubavel as Nechemiah ben Chushiel — which you interpret as an allusion to “in its time / I will hasten it” [בעתה אחישנה], along the lines of Menachem ben Chizkiyah — to remove error from the hearts of those who read your book superficially, one must add: Nechemiah ben Chushiel is Moshiach ben Yosef — whereas Moshiach ben David is called in Midrash Zerubavel by the name Menachem ben Amiel.

Withholding pnimiyus haTorah delays the End — the obligation to cry out

(8) The Arizal said — as the Alter Rebbe cites in his name in Iggeres HaKodesh, section 26 — that precisely in these latter generations it is permitted, and a mitzvah, to reveal this wisdom. The Raya Mehemna — Moshe Rabbeinu — said (Zohar III 124b): “because Israel is destined to taste of the Tree of Life, which is this Sefer HaZohar, through it they will go out of the exile in mercy.” The Holy One, blessed be He, reveals His hidden things through the Baal Shem Tov, his disciples, and his disciples’ disciples — in these our generations as well — so that the Redemption should come, and all this with mercy.

And everyone in whose hand there is influence ought to cry out with an inner voice: my brothers, children of Israel — have pity on yourselves and on all Israel, and spread the Torah and the words of the living G-d! And to make known what R’ Chaim Vital wrote in his introduction to Shaar HaHakdamos — that through this withholding, the End of the Redemption is delayed.

The third Beis HaMikdash is built from Above — our task is the spiritual Temple

In the times when the Beis HaMikdash stood in its place, the physical building of wood and stone was also the symbol of the spiritual Beis HaMikdash of, and within, the Jewish people. The physical Temple could endure only so long as the spiritual Temple existed. When the First Temple was destroyed — the spiritual one by the Jewish people themselves, and the physical one soon after by Nebuchadnezzar — our people in the Babylonian exile had a twofold task: first to re-establish the spiritual Temple, and then the physical building, the Second Temple. The Second Temple too held only as long as its spiritual part held; and with the destruction of the spiritual part, the physical was inevitably destroyed as well.

But concerning the Third Beis HaMikdash, Hashem has told us that our task is chiefly — and, in the view of many, exclusively — to rebuild the spiritual part alone; the physical part Hashem Himself will provide. According to the opinion of Rashi, Tosafos and others, the third Beis HaMikdash will be “by the hands of Heaven.” The spiritual Temple, therefore, must be built through our own exertion — through teshuvah, Torah and mitzvos. Every spiritual “brick” that each Jew fashions can never again be destroyed; and the laying of these spiritual bricks began at the very moment the last part of the Second Temple stood in flames. This is one of the deeper meanings of the Midrash (Eichah Rabbah): that at the moment of the Temple’s destruction, Moshiach was born.

The main parts of this spiritual Temple that the Jews must build through the long, dark exile were already raised up by the earlier generations, the spiritual giants of our people; to us there remains only to complete a smaller part — yet our portion must be suffused with the same holiness as that of the earlier generations. The conclusion is this: that we be permeated with the thought that every good deed we do, according to Torah, in our daily life — however great or small it appear in our fleshly eyes — lays one of the last “bricks” of the eternal Beis HaMikdash for our people and for the world; and through this we carry through our portion in the spiritual Temple, and in the physical Temple that will be raised up immediately thereafter, speedily in our days.

The partition that Moshiach heals: “Machatzti va’ani erpa”

It is explained in Chassidus that Lag BaOmer — Hod-within-Hod — is the partition, the ג״ל [the “mound”], between Atzilus and the worlds below, which prevents the external forces from drawing nurture. Therefore on Lag BaOmer the students of Rabbi Akiva ceased dying — for this partition before their accuser was removed.

But in the days of Moshiach — when “I shall remove the spirit of impurity from the earth” — of this our Sages said (Koheles Rabbah 1:4): “מחצתי ואני ארפא — I partitioned, and I shall heal”: the partition I made between the upper and lower beings, in the Time to Come I shall heal. And Rashbi — the source of the revelation of the secrets of the Torah — refined this partition, for there shone within him the most complete light: the light of Moshiach.

How the exile ends: the Zohar’s promise and Moshiach’s answer to the Baal Shem Tov

The manner of leaving the exile our Sages already revealed: that “because Israel is destined to taste of the Tree of Life — which is this Sefer HaZohar — through it they will go out of the exile in mercy.” And Moshiach answered the Baal Shem Tov: when your wellsprings will spread outward — then he will come.

And my father-in-law, the Rebbe, explained this at length: that the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov is the vessel for the light of the revelation of Moshiach. The teaching of the Baal Shem Tov, and the pure avodah of refining the middos, will ultimately spread until all will recognize the truth — and even those “outside” [chutzah]: the mesirus nefesh of their parents and grandparents will awaken them.

Every act of spreading the wellsprings hastens the revelation

“Each and every effort to spread the wellsprings outward illuminates the darkness of the exile and brings closer the revelation of Moshiach. And there are no words to describe how hard is even one extra moment in exile — and how precious is even one additional moment of the revelation of Moshiach.”

The Frierdiker Rebbe at our head, with the resurrection

And at the revelation of Moshiach our righteous one, speedily in our days — when the Holy One, blessed be He, will heal the partition between the upper and lower beings, and “those who dwell in the dust will awaken and sing” — my father-in-law, the Rebbe, who showed us the road and the path on which we shall ascend, will come at our head — at the head of all his chassidim — to bring us out of the strait and into the expanse of G-d, in the true and complete Redemption.

The unrepeatable opportunity of exile — “in the Geulah one will seize his head: only in exile could one accomplish so much!”

There is surely no doubt that they have set fixed times to study the Torah of my father-in-law the Rebbe for themselves — and, as is known, the saying of the Rebbe Rashab, that “the temimim are lamps, to give light” — and that they strive to draw into these study-sessions also those of the children of Israel who are not yet of the chassidim.

And since the place has brought them to where they are relatively free of the worry of livelihood, and are found in a setting of many of our Jewish brethren; and since, in point of time, these are the days of ikvesa d’Meshicha — whose preparation for his coming demands the preparation of “your wellsprings shall spread outward,” outward specifically — therefore every single moment is exceedingly precious, and one must widen the vessels for the coming of Moshiach, which is the spreading of the wellsprings.

And as my father-in-law the Rebbe said in one of his talks: that in the time of the Geulah one will seize himself by the head — “gevald! only in the time of exile could one have accomplished so much!”

Why there are no foretellers of the future — the silence itself is the instruction

The Holy One, blessed be He, created nothing in the world purposelessly, and so it is also regarding world events and the knowledge of their meaning. Accordingly, if this were relevant to man’s service of his Maker, there would certainly be found people occupying themselves with telling the future, so as to ease man’s avodah; and if there is no one telling the future — this itself is the proof that work is demanded of us even without our knowing what the future will bring.

The State of Israel: a hatzalah purata, not the awaited Redemption

In continuation of our earlier conversation, when you asked me several questions regarding Eretz Yisrael — surely it is now clear in your eyes as well, that one sees tangibly how the Holy One, blessed be He, endeavors to explain to the children of Israel that this is not the hoped-for Redemption — and endeavors to explain this with kindness and with mercy — so that they should understand that it is a small salvation [הצלה פורתא], and that for several reasons the Redemption of which the prophets prophesied has not yet come.

In kingship, Moshiach is greater than Moshe Rabbeinu

I saw that your book begins with the category of kings, and within it, with Moshe Rabbeinu. This requires great examination [וצע״ג]: for the superiority of Moshe Rabbeinu was in prophecy, and not in kingship — as you yourself write there. And in a category of kings, the beginning — from above downward — must be Melech HaMoshiach.

In the level of kingship they said that Moshiach “judges by scent” [מורח ודאין] (Sanhedrin 93b): for even according to the opinion that among kings one arose like Moshe — namely Shlomo — he was permitted to judge only by witnesses. And “judging by scent” is by the law of a king, not of a prophet, for a prophet does not judge.

And see the maamar of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, of Acharon shel Pesach 5709: that in the Time to Come, Moshiach will convey the inner dimension of the Torah [pnimiyus haTorah] even to the Avos and to Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon — and so it is demonstrated in Likkutei Torah, parshas Tzav, discourse “V’heinif Yado,” ch. 2.

“Whoever is called by the name of Israel” — even a mere appellation, for every Jew’s heart is perfect with Hashem

In his letter for the first celebration of Yud-Beis–Yud-Gimmel Tammuz — in the year 5688 — my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, explained this Geulah: “not me alone did the Holy One redeem on Yud-Beis Tammuz, but also all who cherish our holy Torah, the keepers of mitzvah, and even whoever is called by the name of Israel.” In this are included all categories of the children of Israel: those who have Torah and mitzvos; those who have Torah or mitzvos; and those who have neither Torah nor mitzvos, and are only “called by the name of Israel.”

And it is known that a kinuy [appellation] is a word and a name that conceals and covers over the matter of the one so called — so much so that it may not be his essential name, nor an abbreviation of his name, nor an explanation of his name, nor even in the language in which his name is called, nor his appellation in its own right, but a name given him only after his family. And even so, they too are at least “called by the name of Israel” — for, in the words of that letter, “every Jew (without reckoning with his private state in the keeping and fulfilling of the mitzvos), his heart is perfect with Hashem and His Torah.”

To all these categories this Geulah was drawn down on that day in that year (5687), and this drawing-down returns and is aroused each and every year at this time. Geulah means a going-out from the straits — the measure and limitation — of material and physical matters, and of the body and the animal soul. But it is upon us to prepare ourselves to be a vessel to receive this drawing-down, to absorb it inwardly and so bring it into actual deed, in the days that come after this festival of Geulah — and then there will be for us, for all Israel, the true and complete Geulah, speedily in our days, amen.

Pnimiyus haTorah is the unifying light — and “the night shall shine like the day”

The greatness of founding and developing a yeshivah “al taharas hakodesh” — Torah founded and illumined by the luminary of the Torah, which is the inner Torah, the teaching of Chassidus — cannot be measured; and especially in this time of emergency, when Israel are scattered to distant places, one from another, and the powers of the soul too are scattered by the abundance of troubles and worries, in a manner alarming compared to years past.

All the more must one search out, with immense toil, everything that unites — and especially in Torah; for though the Torah is one for us all, its unity is most emphasized and evident in the inner Torah. For just as, on the plain level, there is not there so much machlokes and dispute as in the revealed Torah — and in the root of the matter, since it is from the Tree of Life and not from the Tree of good and evil (as explained in Iggeres HaKodesh §26) — it follows of itself that “there is there neither difficulty nor dispute.”

And especially in these days of ours, ikvesa d’Meshicha, when the End of our exile and the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu draws near — how much greater is the bringing of light to a new place, and especially when one brings the luminary, the very source of the light. And as is explained in the maamar printed for Yud-Beis Tammuz this year: that it will be — in nature — above the way of nature; and the light will go on shining and growing, until “the night will shine like the day.”

In the merit of righteous women — the redemption, then and now

Our Sages said: “In the merit of the righteous women of that generation, Israel were redeemed from Egypt.” And it is told at length how — despite the yoke of exile, the harshness of the bondage and the decrees — they raised up flocks upon flocks of the sons and daughters of Israel, a generation that proclaimed in joy, in song and in melody: “This is my God and I will glorify Him, the God of my father and I will exalt Him.”

The Holy One, blessed be He, assured us: “As in the days of your going out from the land of Egypt, I will show him wonders” — in the future redemption, to come speedily in our days through Moshiach Tzidkeinu: “all the signs and wonders and mighty deeds that the Holy One did in Egypt, He will do for Israel,” “and in the merit of the young children of the schoolhouse the strength of the King Moshiach will be fortified to prevail.”

And as it was then, so it is now — this depends upon the women of Israel; in their hand is the lot of the sons and the daughters. Let them make their home a house of holiness for His Name, and set the education of their sons and daughters upon the foundations of Torah and mitzvah — and then “the supernal Mother is aroused … and the King Moshiach begins, and gathers in the exile from the ends of the earth to the ends of the earth.”

Our generation completes the birurim — and draws Moshiach’s revelation below ten handbreadths

Whether by our will or not, we fill the place of the Chabad chassidim of the generations before us, and before them — back to the “generation of knowledge,” the chassidim of the Alter Rebbe, founder of the teaching of Chabad. Generation after generation they paved the road for us, and there remains for us only to complete the “small vessels.”

And on the other hand: upon us and upon our generation falls the duty to complete the birurim of ikvesa d’Meshicha, and to draw down the revelation of Moshiach below ten handbreadths, into this physical world.

And even a brief contemplation of these matters must make one seize with dread and trembling — that all the awesome things stated in the words of our Sages concerning Moshiach, and the revelations of that time — especially as explained in Chassidus — all of this depends upon our own avodah.

The Rambam’s ruling defines not only the Redemption but its beginning

I was alarmed to read, in the content of your speech quoted in your letter: “now that we have reached, with G-d’s help, the beginning of the Redemption [aschalta d’geula] — I stress only the beginning; the complete Redemption will be at the coming of Moshiach.” I was alarmed — not so much at what was said, for a speaker in a moment of enthusiasm is not fully accountable, but that you copy it into your letter as a simple matter, feeling nothing of the concealment it casts upon faith [emunah].

Consider: the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah opens — “The foundation of foundations and the pillar of wisdoms is to know that there is a First Being” — and concludes with the manner of the Redemption; for their end is embedded in their beginning. The Rambam ruled precisely how the Redemption will be, and thereby its beginning too (Hilchos Melachim 11:4): “A king will arise from the House of David, immersed in Torah and occupied in mitzvos like David his father… and he will compel all Israel to walk in [the Torah] and strengthen its breaches, and fight the wars of Hashem — this one is presumed to be Moshiach. If he did so and succeeded… and built the Mikdash in its place and gathered the dispersed of Israel — he is certainly Moshiach.”

The ruling of our Torah on the Redemption and its beginning is thus clear: there must be an actual man, in his 248 limbs, immersed in the Torah of Hashem and waging the wars of Hashem; he will begin by spreading Torah and raising its stature, and afterward gather the exiles, and so on.

Gola without an aleph, geula with an aleph

There is no wish to prolong this, for the matter is plain upon brief reflection; and because our task is positive advocacy, not negative — as we heard from my father-in-law the Rebbe, in the name of the Tzemach Tzedek: “We are workers of the day; we must make light [mir darfen machen lichtig].” And because concerning the Holy Land in particular it is forbidden to speak disparagingly.

But it is plain that to call the present a “beginning of the Redemption” is liable to cause error — and to turn a matter of gola (exile), lacking an aleph, into a matter of geula (redemption), with an aleph. And this suffices for the discerning [ve-dal].

Seudas Moshiach — joy breaks every fence

“When one thinks good, it will be good” — the well-known saying of our holy Rebbeim, which is itself an assurance. May Hashem help that it be so, in a good that is visible and revealed, and soon.

I was glad to learn that you took part in the farbrengen of Acharon shel Pesach, the seudas Moshiach. For the ruling of our Sages is well known, that joy breaks through every fence — and all the more, a joy called by the name of Moshiach, of whom it is said: “the one who breaks through has gone up before them.”

“He stands right behind our wall” — and only actual mitzvos bring him

If in all times one had to labor at strengthening and spreading Yiddishkeit, and it was an obligation upon the person, surely in a far greater measure, and with more energy, must this be done in the time of doubled and redoubled darkness. And though we have not yet merited the true Geulah, and not even the beginning of the Geulah [aschalta] — yet by all the signs, and as we heard from our nasi the Frierdiker Rebbe, “he stands right behind our wall” — this is Moshiach Tzidkeinu.

In the Rambam’s words (Hilchos Melachim 11:4): a Jew who learns Torah and keeps mitzvos like David his father, both the Written and the Oral Torah, and will compel all Israel to walk in the way of the Torah and strengthen its breaches, and wage the wars of Hashem — and then he will build the Beis HaMikdash and gather in the exiles of Israel; and he will not suffice with that, but will also see that the whole world serve the Almighty, “to serve Him with one accord” — this is Moshiach, and he already stands behind our wall.

Therefore each one must not only do his part in Torah and mitzvos in general, and teshuvah in particular — teshuvah literally, keeping all the practical mitzvos — but also influence friends and acquaintances that they too do teshuvah and begin to keep the practical mitzvos in daily life, quite simply: eating kosher, keeping Shabbos, guarding taharas hamishpachah, raising children according to the Torah of Moshe and Israel. This — and only this (not political “ideals,” and not self-chosen “mitzvos” that the Torah does not recognize) — will bring, first the beginning of the Geulah, and then the completeness of the Geulah, speedily in our days.

To one who saw a vision of the End: seek no new paths — every deed hastens it

In reply to his letter, in which he writes concerning the question of when is the wondrous End, the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, and that he had a vision [chazon] of it: the question is an old one. And the holy Baal Shem Tov made known to us that he asked it, at the ascent of his soul on Rosh Hashanah — he asked Moshiach Tzidkeinu himself, “when are you coming, master?” And he answered: “By this you shall know — when your teaching becomes publicized and revealed in the world, and your wellsprings spread outward.”

Therefore anyone who wishes to bring near the End of the Redemption — which, in our many sins, we have not yet merited even the beginning [aschalta] of — must exert himself with all his energy, and still more than that, to spread the wellsprings of the Baal Shem Tov, which is the teaching of Chassidus, its directives and its customs, in his near surroundings and also in his far surroundings — as Moshiach answered precisely, “outward.” And every single action brings the End of the Redemption nearer in actual fact; and there is no need to seek new ways.

Several degrees of spiritual redemption — how “redemption at prayer” and the redemption awaiting Moshiach do not contradict

Concerning what is found in several places in Chassidus, that there is a time of spiritual redemption during prayer — and you raise a difficulty upon this from what is explained in several places, among them the Rambam, regarding the spiritual redemption that depends upon the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu: it is understood that the matters do not contradict one another, for there are several degrees in spiritual redemption, just as there are several degrees in physical redemption.

When a person goes out from his occupation with the matters of the world — and it is understood that we are not speaking of the wicked, but of an occupation permitted by the Torah — and sets in order the praises of the Omnipresent in his prayer, and afterward requests his needs, he redeems his soul from the matters of the world and binds it to the Creator of the worlds. When he goes out from the weekdays to the day of Shabbos, this is a further redemption — and this is one of the reasons the Baal Shem Tov instituted the saying, at Mincha of erev Shabbos, of the chapter of Tehillim (107): “Give thanks to Havayah… let the redeemed of Havayah say [so].”

And likewise, when one goes out from the conduct of the time of exile to the conduct of the days of Moshiach, this is a lofty degree in redemption. All this is besides the essential distinction — between the redemption of the individual and for a time, and the redemption of the collective for a long duration or forever — see the Alter Rebbe’s Iggeres HaKodesh, siman 4; and as our Sages said (Berachos 8a): whoever occupies himself with Torah and acts of kindness and prays… “it is as if he redeemed Me and My children from among the nations of the world.”

“The messianic vision has not yet been realized” — and the courage to say so

I read with a measure of relief in the newspapers here that, at the Congress convened now in Jerusalem, they proclaimed from the podium that plainly the messianic vision has not yet been realized — this is not the coming of Moshiach — and no one protested against it.

Had we merited it, the G-d-fearing would have found within themselves the courage to say this some eight years earlier; and many of the troubles that have befallen Israel from then until now would not have come at all, or at least would have come in lesser measure. And the greatest trouble of all — the confusion of the minds of many of our brethren, chiefly among the youth.

The tanner and the perfumer: pnimiyus haTorah is the scent Moshiach reveals

Our Sages taught: the world cannot exist without a tanner [bursi] and without a perfumer [basam] — happy is he whose craft is that of the perfumer. And as all the words of our holy Torah speak of the higher worlds and hint at the lower, so this too holds in a person’s avodah in his world — to make of the world a dwelling for Him — divided along the two lines: “turn from evil” [the tanner] and “do good” [the perfumer].

The perfumer spreads Torah in general, and pnimiyus haTorah — the teaching of Chassidus — in particular; and this belongs to the matter of scent [rei’ach]. For our Sages taught that the flavors and inner dimensions of the Torah will be revealed by Moshiach, whose distinguishing sign is scent — as they related that by “he judges by scent” [morach v’da’in] they established the true Moshiach at a time when the other signs had not yet made it clear.

Yet it is alarming when the tanner brings about opposition to the perfumer… To what have we come in our generation, that opposition to the study of Chassidus has grown so strong! Therefore all who drink the waters of the Baal Shem Tov, his disciples and their disciples must not merely protest, but increase the study of Chassidus and spread it outward — even into the four cubits of those who oppose this study.

The Torah of Moshiach: a knowledge incomparable to Torah as it is now

May it be a year of our Redemption and the coming of Moshiach our righteous one — for which the spreading of the wellsprings outward is the introduction, the preparation, and the vessel. Then “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea” — through the Torah of Moshiach, who will teach knowledge to all Israel, a knowledge incomparable to the Torah as it is now, as our Sages said (Koheles Rabbah 11) on the verse “but the years of many.”

The final moments of ikvesa d’Meshicha are too precious to squander on strife

Surely he does not let himself be dragged into pilpul and arguments, which in the vast majority of cases serve only to arouse the trait of contentiousness; rather, he explains the matters as they truly are, gently and in pleasant ways, showing no motion or wish to prevail. For then, “as water reflects the face to the face” — even if at first the listener is aroused to say the opposite, that wish weakens from time to time until it passes entirely, and in the end he recognizes the truth.

Surely he will not suffice with those two, but will strive to spread the wellsprings more and more, for this is the demand of the hour and the necessity. And one of the proofs of this: that suddenly opponents to it are found — who wish, G-d forbid, to distance the Geulah and the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, and to strengthen the exile of the Shechinah, by confusing minds, so that people not occupy themselves as needed in spreading the wellsprings. And are the last moments of ikvesa d’Meshicha, before the coming of Moshiach, worth squandering on pilpul to refute empty arguments — when they could be seized for spreading the wellsprings, the teaching of Chassidus?

Purity brings to Eliyahu and to Moshiach — “I will sprinkle upon you pure waters”

And especially when it touches the purity of the children of Israel — and, following what is explained in Likkutei Torah, parshas Tavo, one may give added sweetness to the saying of our Sages, that “purity brings to…” — to Eliyahu the Navi, that is, to the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu — as is explicit too in the prophecy of Yechezkel in the order of the Geulah, “and I will sprinkle upon you pure waters.” For the matter of Moshiach, and his primary sign, is “he judges by scent” [morach v’da’in] (Sanhedrin 93b).

And I will close with a matter of the day — the days of Geulah of Yud-Beis and Yud-Gimmel Tammuz, when open miracles were seen, above the way of nature: how through mesirus nefesh all concealments are nullified, until even an evil angel answers “amen” against its will. This too is a clear instruction for our era of doubled and redoubled darkness — that the force of the will to fulfill the Creator’s will nullifies the concealments; and with joy and gladness of heart one can “ascend in holiness,” going from strength to strength, through the inner Torah — of which Moshiach the King assured: when the wellsprings spread outward, he will come.

The inner taharah is da’as — and the Geulah began at the moment of the churban

May Hashem grant that, together with strengthening purity and spreading it, there be revealed the inner dimension of this — which is the inner dimension of the Torah. As is hinted in the saying of our Sages, “‘de’ah’ — this is Seder Taharos,” and explained further in the Rambam at the end of Hilchos Mikvaos: that purity, in its inner sense, is da’as — “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea.”

And though in its fullness this will be at the coming and the revelation of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, a foretaste of it, and a beginning, must be [attained] already in the days of exile. This is the matter brought also in the seforim of mussar: that the Geulah began at the very moment of the churban — as hinted in the well-known account in Eichah Rabbah, that the cow lowed once at the churban, and immediately lowed a second time at the birth of the righteous redeemer.

And in the words of the Alter Rebbe, author of the Tanya: “the ultimate perfection of the days of Moshiach and the resurrection of the dead depends on our deeds and our avodah throughout the time of exile” (Tanya, ch. 37).

Yishuv Eretz Yisrael is not the Redemption — shivas Tzion belongs to Melech HaMoshiach, in the Rambam’s precise order

The concept of yishuv Eretz Yisrael [settling the Land] and the concept of shivas Tzion [the return to Zion] are, plainly, distinct; and that some confuse them and exchange one for the other has brought, and still brings, much confusion and mistaken conclusions. Yishuv Eretz Yisrael is a matter of Torah (some say it applies in the time of the Beis HaMikdash, when Israel are on their land; some, that it applies also in the time of exile). Shivas Tzion is, simply, a matter bound up with the Geulah from exile — and it applies only after the churban, for it is a matter of return.

And these are the words of our great teacher the Rambam in his Mishneh Torah concerning shivas Tzion (Hilchos Melachim, ch. 11): “The King Moshiach is destined to arise and restore the kingdom of David to its former dominion, and he builds the Mikdash and gathers the dispersed of Israel…”; and at the end of the chapter: “a king shall arise from the house of David, steeped in Torah and occupied in the mitzvos as David his father… and he will compel all Israel to walk in [its ways]… and he will build the Mikdash in its place, and gather the dispersed of Israel.”

And the Rambam’s precision in every word of his Mishneh Torah, and in the order of matters — what comes first and what after — is well known. And as stated, the order is according to the ruling of the Torah: first the King Moshiach arises and restores the kingdom, then he builds the Mikdash, and then he gathers the dispersed of Israel. This is the assurance of the Torah: “and He will return and gather you… and Hashem your G-d will bring you.” And a ruling of the Torah is not a matter for a vote or a decision by majority opinion.

Yerushalayim — the wholeness of awe, and, together, the wholeness of the highest love

May it be His will that there soon be fulfilled in Yerushalayim, our holy city, as it is written in the holy Torah: “the faithful city that was full of justice, where righteousness lodged… and it shall be called the city of righteousness, a faithful city.”

And the inner meaning is explained by the Alter Rebbe: “Yerushalayim” — Yirah Shalem, the wholeness of awe; and together with this, “Har HaKodesh,” the holy mountain — the wholeness of love, the highest love (see at length Likkutei Torah, Devarim, p. 2). And well known are the words of the Sifri (on “and you shall love,” Devarim 6:5): there is no love in the place of awe, nor awe in the place of love — save in the attribute of the Holy One, blessed be He, alone.

Joining the Purim redemption to the complete one — and how keeping Shabbos hastens the son of David

And [these days] “roll merit onto meritorious days” — the days between Purim and Pesach — joining redemption to redemption: the redemption of Purim, concerning which “we are yet the servants of Achashverosh,” to the complete redemption; for “in Nissan they were redeemed, and in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed” (so the law is decided in the dispute on this) — the true and complete Redemption through Moshiach Tzidkeinu, as it is written, “as in the days of your going out from the land of Egypt, I will show him wonders.”

And our Sages said (Shabbos 118b): were Israel to keep two Shabbosos according to their law — and in the Yerushalmi (Taanis 1:1): a single Shabbos as it ought to be — immediately the son of David would come. May we soon merit the day that is wholly Shabbos and rest, for life everlasting.

Our deeds bring the Geulah — and the Rambam’s portrait of the days of Moshiach

To the laying of the cornerstone of the central building of the yeshivah Tomchei Temimim in our Holy Land — may it be built and established speedily in our days by Moshiach Tzidkeinu — I send my heartfelt and soulful blessing to all who take part in the joy of this great mitzvah.

For the tzedakah of “Zevulun,” which enables the Torah of “Yissachar,” is not tzedakah alone — he has a portion in the very Torah of Yissachar. And through these deeds — raising up money from the matters of the world and sanctifying it to the whole Torah, the revealed and the inner, and its institutions — so that we not occupy ourselves “all our days with the things the body needs, but sit free to study wisdom and do the mitzvos”:

these deeds and this avodah of ours will bring near and bring the true Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu — the days of Moshiach, when “he will compel all Israel to walk in the Written and the Oral Torah, and will wage the wars of Hashem,” and they will be free for the Torah and its wisdom, and the occupation of the whole world will be only to know Hashem.

Acharon shel Pesach — the matter of the final Geulah and the coming of Moshiach

The wonder of it: this is the first Pesach in the holy community — the head of the festivals, the season of our freedom, a going-out from one extreme to the other — an opportune time in which the members of the community should look for a special influence and a special arousal. And if in the first days it is so, in the last days all the more so, for two reasons: they come after the preparation of the first days and of Chol HaMoed; and moreover, the seventh day of Pesach is the splitting of the sea, and Acharon shel Pesach — this is the matter of the final Geulah and the coming of Moshiach, as is explained at length in the holy talks of our Rebbeim, and as is explained too in the Haftorah of the day.

May he use every single day — and especially the days of Yom Tov, and in particular Acharon shel Pesach — for spreading the wellsprings, in the direction of “u’faratzta” — this is Moshiach — and especially at the meal of the King Moshiach [seudasa d’Malka Meshicha].

Moshiach will be Moshe Rabbeinu — for the essence of a person is his soul

What you mention regarding the teaching that Moshiach will be Moshe Rabbeinu — this is mentioned in several places, some of which are noted below. And the strong question in it is understood: Moshiach comes forth from David, as is the usual way in all of chazal — “Moshiach ben David,” or “ben David” without qualification.

But the understanding in this is: the essence of a person — and especially of a Jew, and still more of the tzaddikim, of whom the Alter Rebbe writes in Iggeres HaKodesh §27, in the explanation that “the life of the tzaddik is not physical life but spiritual life, which is faith, awe and love” — the essence is the soul. Therefore where the soul of Moshe is, that is the essential Moshe; that is Moshe.

An example of this: the body is called a “garment” to the soul — and where a person’s garments happen to be does not touch upon him, since he himself is present. (The comparison is not entirely exact, for the body does unite with the soul, and to perform a mitzvah the soul must come to the body — but it gives an understanding of the matter.) And as we draw near to the month of Elul, the month of mercy, when the thirteen attributes of mercy shine — “bearing iniquity and transgression” — which nullifies the “because of our sins we were exiled from our land,” may this too draw near the coming of the first redeemer who is the last redeemer, Moshe Rabbeinu, Moshiach Tzidkeinu, very speedily in our days.

The niggun “Kaosi Mar” — and the Baal Shem Tov’s answer as Moshiach’s own words

As far as is known to me, the melody is a Jerusalemite niggun, and it is not clear who composed it. Some years ago a number of the observant began to sing it to the said words, because of the feeling that the melody aroused in them; but it is plain that this is not fixed — and were a G-d-fearing musician of feeling to compose a melody more fitting to arouse the soul, and to contemplate the matter of “when your wellsprings spread outward, master will come,” everyone is free to adopt his view.

As to the substance of “when your wellsprings spread outward, master will come” — these are the words of Malka Meshicha himself, his answer to the Baal Shem Tov when he was in his heichal on high, as the Baal Shem Tov made known in his Iggeres HaKodesh, printed in the sefer of one of his great disciples, Ben Poras Yosef of R’ Yaakov Yosef of Polnoye — and there is no clearer instruction than this.

And regarding what he saw — that the study of Kabbalah, the inner Torah, brings near the days of Moshiach and his coming — more than this is brought in many places: wondrous, and even alarming, things, of how through the absence of this study the exile of Israel and of the Shechinah is prolonged.

As the day of Moshiach draws near, even children will grasp the hidden wisdom

We stand in the time of Chanukah, whose mitzvah of these days is in oil — the secret of secrets of the Torah [razin d’razin], as is explained in the Zohar and the seforim of Kabbalah in many places — but in such a manner that its light shines forth; and moreover — at the doorway of one’s house, outward.

And especially in this generation of ours, the generation of the footsteps of Moshiach [ikvesa d’Meshicha], the last of our exile — a darkness doubled and redoubled — of which the Zohar says (I 118a): “when the day of Moshiach draws near, even the children of the world are destined to find the hidden things of wisdom” — that the innermost dimension of the Torah be revealed, and shine outward.

The deed is primary; prophecy is its reward — until “I will pour out My spirit on all flesh”

The mussar of the Torah, which is the “holy mussar,” has as its foundation and also its purpose the deed in actual practice — deed in the broad sense, whose particulars are in thought, speech and action — as it is written, “fear G-d and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man.”

The resting of ruach hakodesh, or more than that — the spirit of prophecy — is, at the very most, in the category of the reward of the avodah and the deed; as is proven too from the fact that it is not within a person’s power. In the Rambam’s words: “although they focus their minds, it is possible the Shechinah will rest upon them, and possible that it will not” (Yesodei HaTorah 7:5). And all the more so, not every person was commanded to be a prophet, nor even a possessor of ruach hakodesh.

This is doubly so in our era, which requires the emphasis — many times over — on the necessity of fulfilling the practical mitzvos, in actual deed, in daily life, for which there is no substitute in any other matter whatever, even though “the Merciful One desires the heart.” And only after the coming of Moshiach is the time of the promise: “I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.”

The ladder of purity — from taharah to Chassidus to ruach hakodesh to Eliyahu, herald of the redemption

There is a connection [of your work on purity] to these days [of Chanukah] — and, as the Baal Shem Tov stressed, how every matter and every detail is, by particular Divine providence, from the Holy One, who watches over each and every one — as in the wording of “Al HaNissim”: “You delivered the impure into the hands of the pure… and they purified Your Sanctuary and kindled lights.”

And this accords with the words of the prophet regarding the coming redemption, the true and complete one, close [at hand]: “and I will sprinkle upon you pure waters, and you shall be purified… and you shall dwell in the land.”

For the one depends upon the other: purity brings… to Chassidus, and Chassidus brings… to ruach hakodesh — and to Eliyahu the prophet, who is himself the herald of the redemption.

Do not enter into calculations of the End — await him, and hasten him by deed

In reply to what he writes, of what he heard — that they rest upon verses and hints, and so on: in general, one should not enter into the said calculations. That matter belongs only to those who have some tradition [mesorah] and the like; whereas without that — every single one believes in the coming of Moshiach, “and I await him every day, that he will come.”

But together with this, upon each one lies the duty to do all that depends on him to hasten and bring near the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu — and in particular, through spreading the wellsprings outward, as is known from the Iggeres HaKodesh of the Baal Shem Tov, the answer of Malka Meshicha: “when your wellsprings spread outward, he will come.”

“Between redemption and redemption” — the concealing force itself is turned into a redeemer

As we stand “between redemption and redemption,” joining redemption to redemption — which, though they differ in their content, as is explained elsewhere, share a common trait: that both are a redemption seen and revealed even to eyes of flesh; and more than that — that it comes with the full consent of the opposing side [the sitra achra], which had concealed and hidden and opposed before the redemption.

And as King David says in the verse of redemption: “He redeemed my soul in peace… for there were many with me” — may it be His will that it be so in all the matters of which you write; and, as said, that even that which concealed and hid until now shall be transformed into a helper and a redeemer, and bring good tidings, in good that is seen and revealed, with joy and gladness of heart.

What greeting Moshiach requires: the Jewish heart, head and hands — not wealth

I was especially pleased to read, at the close of your letter, of soon greeting Moshiach Tzidkeinu — for this gives me well-founded hope that one stands ready, and acts in a fitting manner, to greet Moshiach Tzidkeinu.

For, as is understood, Moshiach is not concerned so much with how many dollars one will have in one’s pocket, and how many houses one will leave behind in the exile. What is of concern is the Jewish heart, and the Jewish head and hands — in other words, that the mind of the head be permeated with the study of Torah, that the Jewish heart feel for Torah and Yiddishkeit, and that in daily life one act in that spirit and according to the directives of our Torah, the Torah of life.

And one sees plainly and clearly that when one resolves to conduct oneself as above with true firmness, it is far easier than it had seemed beforehand — and, what is more, one can do it with good health, with good spirits, and with joy.

The Rambam’s days of Moshiach: “the occupation of the whole world — only to know Hashem”

Regarding the Rambam’s words (at the end of Hilchos Melachim), “and they will be free to engage in the Torah and its wisdom”: in my opinion there is no room whatever to interpret “Torah” here as the practice of the mitzvos — and especially since he immediately adds “and its wisdom” (of the Torah). Rather, his intent is to the two matters that are within the Torah, as is understood from the saying of our Sages: “if one tells you there is wisdom among the nations, believe it; there is Torah among the nations, do not believe it.”

The distinction, simply: chochmah — wisdom, unqualified; Torah — from the language of hora’ah, instruction, together with a conclusion and a command — which has no place among the nations, since intellect founded on premises has no basis except in will and acceptance, and not in intellect itself.

And a further proof: for in Hilchos Melachim he explains and writes, “and the occupation of the whole world will be only to know Hashem.” Hence there is no room to say that Israel’s yearning for the days of Moshiach is a “desire” pertaining to Torah alone, while their occupation would still be in the mitzvos — for the occupation of the whole world will be only to know Hashem.

The three lines — Torah, acts of kindness, prayer — illuminated by Chassidus, as a state of redemption

As we stand between the redemption (of the Mitteler Rebbe, Yud Kislev) and the redemption (of the Alter Rebbe, Yud-Tes Kislev) — both of which were fixed for the generations after them as a set time and a festival, an everlasting remembrance — and the redemption, in its content, is bound up with the words of David, King of Israel, spoken in the name of every single Jew: “He redeemed my soul in peace… for there were many with me”:

may it be His will — in keeping with the exposition of our Sages on that verse: “said the Holy One, blessed be He: whoever occupies himself with Torah, and with acts of kindness, and prays with the congregation, I account it to him as though he had redeemed Me and My children from among the nations of the world” — that each and every one strengthen himself, within the whole of Israel, in the three lines mentioned there: in the occupation with Torah, in the occupation with acts of kindness (and mitzvos generally), and in the service of prayer — all of them illuminated with the light of the teaching of those [Rebbeim], the teaching of Chassidus.

And let all this be in a state of redemption from all impediments and hindrances, and in the manner of going ever onward and adding light in all the above — until our complete and true Redemption through Moshiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days.

Even the redemption of the whole is drawn through the individual — the lesson of the Korban Pesach

The redemption from Egypt, the content of the festival of Pesach, is bound up with the Korban Pesach. And the redemption from Egypt was not merely a redemption of many individuals — of six hundred thousand adults with their families; rather the redemption began from “I have surely seen the affliction of My people” — for which it was demanded of Pharaoh, “send out My people” — and Moshe carried out his mission, “and bring forth My people, the children of Israel, from Egypt.”

Accordingly, in the Korban Pesach too the motif of “the people, the children of Israel” — the whole community — should have been stressed. In fact, however, the approach and the directive are precisely the reverse. The command was indeed given to “all the congregation of Israel,” to all Jews together as they are one congregation — but its content was: every house must have its own Korban Pesach; each person had first to be set apart and counted toward the offering; and each had to remain, the whole time of eating it, in his designated house or company [chaburah].

By this the Torah teaches us that the way to accomplish — even when it concerns the redemption of the collective, and even when the address must be to the collective — its content must be that each single person first of all concentrate upon himself, upon his household and his very closest circle; and here too, to devote his main attention and energy not to sweeping general resolutions, but to carrying out, in daily life, the individual “small” resolutions — for it is precisely this that brings, in the end, the redemption of the individual and the redemption of the whole.

The shul is a “small sanctuary” — and the Rambam’s ordered sequence of Moshiach’s deeds

All the matters of the shul and the study-hall have a special bond with this month; as in the prophecy of Yechezkel the Kohen: “though I have removed them far off among the nations, and though I have scattered them among the lands, I have been to them a small sanctuary [mikdash me’at]” — these are the shuls and study-halls — “in the lands where they have come.”

For as we stand in the days of remembrance of the destruction of our Beis HaMikdash, the first and the second, the intent of the remembrance — since “the deed is primary” — is that it bring to actual deed. And first of all: the churban and its cause, “because of our sins we were exiled from our land.” From which the conclusion follows — that warring against the cause (our sins), weakening it, weakens and diminishes what it brought about (the exile), and brings near the true and complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu.

And as the Moreh Nevuchim rules clearly, in his “Yad HaChazakah”: it is Melech HaMoshiach, and he alone, who gathers in the dispersed of Israel — and preceding this, as its introduction and preparation: besides his being “immersed in Torah and occupied in mitzvos like David his father,” “he will compel all Israel to walk in it and strengthen its breaches”; and after this, in order — “he will wage the wars of Hashem” and prevail over “all the nations around him,” and “build the Mikdash in its place and gather the dispersed of Israel.” “And he who comes to purify is helped” — may these days be turned to gladness and joy.

The Rebbe’s Geulah reached “whoever is called by the name of Israel” — and one who comes to purify is helped from Above

As we stand in the days of the Geulah of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, from his imprisonment for the spreading of Judaism — the Torah, the revealed and the Chassidus, and its mitzvos — a spreading with mesirus nefesh and without reckoning with any hindrance, delay, or opponent: our Geulah then was, as the Baal HaGeulah himself wrote, also the Geulah of “all who cherish our holy Torah, the keepers of mitzvah, and even one who is merely called by the name of Israel — for the heart of every Jew (without reckoning with his private state in the keeping and fulfilling of the mitzvos) is perfect with Hashem and His Torah.”

And as chazal assured: “one who comes to purify” [ha-ba l’taher] — a transitive verb, that is, to purify others as well — “is helped” greatly from Above; “Hashem his G-d is with him,” and Israel (including even one who is merely called by the name of Israel) “triumphs” [oseh chayil]:

until there be fulfilled the verse in its plain sense: “a scepter shall arise from Israel” — this is the King Moshiach — “and shall crush all the sons of Seth” (“and he shall rule from sea to sea”), and Israel shall triumph.

Awaiting Moshiach itself hastens his coming — and the bridge from the twelfth principle to the thirteenth

And though “he tarries,” nonetheless — in the known wording — “I await him every day that he will come,” as it is said, “if he tarries, wait for him.” And as is brought in many places, one may say that through awaiting him, this itself hastens the coming of Moshiach — “and G-d will act for the one who waits for Him” — for thereby one adds in “merit” [zachu], and so magnifies and hastens what it brings about: the “I will hasten it.”

And there is more to add, by the interpretation of our Sages on “the one who waits for Him” [limchakeh lo]: those who press toward a word of wisdom and are precise in it, and await it — to know the clarity of the matter, and thereby to recognize their Maker. That is, they toil and strive to clarify the truth of a word of wisdom until they know their Creator — by overcoming the darkness (the darkness within, in intellect or in the feeling of the heart, or the darkness without, the concealment of the world) so as to nullify it, and further — to transform it into a help, until “darkness itself is turned to light.” And G-d will act — that these very days be turned to gladness and joy, at the coming of Moshiach our righteous one.

And from the twelfth foundation — the coming of Moshiach — to the thirteenth foundation, the resurrection of the dead: that the promise be fulfilled, “these bones shall live” — the whole house of Israel are they — through “I will put My spirit in you and you shall live”; and there be fulfilled “your dead shall live… awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust… a great assembly shall return here” — “for thus said Havayah: sing to Yaakov with gladness… and I will turn their mourning to joy.”

“Redemption in peace” — the three lines that draw down the sun of healing

Standing on the day of the redemption of the Mitteler Rebbe, and days before the day of the redemption of the Alter Rebbe — both of them “our redemption and the ransom of our soul,” a ransoming in peace specifically; as is known in the Alter Rebbe’s words, that “before I had finished the verse ‘He redeemed my soul in peace,’ I went out in peace.”

May it be, in accord with the teaching of our Sages on this verse: “the Holy One said — whoever occupies himself with Torah, and with acts of kindness, and prays with the community, I account it to him as though he ransomed Me and My children from among the nations.” Let each one strengthen and add — within the whole of Israel — in these three lines: the study of Torah, acts of kindness (and mitzvos in general), and the service of prayer, illumined by the inner Torah, the teaching of Chassidus; and thereby draw near the fulfillment of the promise, “and there shall shine for you who fear My name a sun of righteousness, with healing in its wings” — the day of the redemption of the Holy One and His children, the day of our Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu, very soon indeed.

The Sanhedrin cannot be manufactured — its renewal comes only with the Geulah

Whoever studies the laws of appointing a Sanhedrin — who is fit by halacha to appoint one, and who is fit to be a member — will see clearly that just as it was impossible for the Sanhedrin to be renewed from the day it ceased until now, so too the impediments to its renewal by halacha have not been removed even now. Any body that would be called “Sanhedrin” without regard for halacha is nothing but a great deception; it can in no way be reckoned a Sanhedrin, and its whole effect would be to mislead — doing more harm than good, and not even bringing the imagined gains.

For it is clear that the Sanhedrin has no power to yield on the tip of a single yud of the Torah; its whole matter is only to instruct according to the Torah, and to stand guard that its rulings go forth from the potential into the actual — fearing no man and no thing, submitting to none but to the will of the Holy One as revealed in our holy Torah. Those who imagine that through renewing the Sanhedrin certain “stringencies” will be lifted, or that the rift between the Torah-observant and those who now oppose the Torah will be healed, are mistaken: even were the Sanhedrin renewed, the thirty-nine labors forbidden on Shabbos would not be lessened by one, nor would anything be eased in the laws of family life and modesty.

The true preparation for the renewal of the Sanhedrin is this: that all who have influence should act — with courage, unashamed before the scoffers — to restore the crown of Torah to its former glory, and to strengthen and spread the observance of Torah and mitzvos in daily life. Each and every one can do his part, according to his standing, to remove the causes for which the Sanhedrin ceased, and to draw near the true Redemption through Moshiach our righteous one; for then will the assurance be fulfilled: “and I will restore your judges as at first, and your counselors as at the beginning” — as the Rambam rules at the beginning of Hilchos Melachim ch. 11.

This era is not aschalta d’Geulah — contrary to the Rambam’s explicit ruling, and echoing the pattern of the false messiahs

They have added, one matter upon another, to proclaim publicly that we now stand in the midst of aschalta d’Geulah [the beginning of the Redemption] — the opposite of an explicit ruling in the Rambam (who surely knew of the Yerushalmi, and of the foundation of the Ramban, and the sugyos in Sanhedrin and elsewhere).

And I would not have written all this had I not seen in it — in the proclamation of “aschalta d’Geulah” — a matter of danger. For this is the only explanation I have (so far) found for the casualties and the fallen in the Holy Land, among them even those saved from the Shoah, who saw open miracles and yet fell in the Holy Land, in an unnatural manner. And the explanation is along the lines of what has been seen every time a false messiah arose and enticed and drew someone after him — it ended, G-d forbid, in casualties. So too regarding the notion that the Geulah has already begun.

And although the situation is a miraculous one — a rescue and a greatness of millions of Israel — nevertheless this is not the Geulah from the fourth exile; on the contrary, by all the signs this is a descent lower into the doubled and redoubled darkness of this exile, in which “they call darkness light.”

Three ascending relations of redemption to exile — until the darkness itself becomes light

Every redemption — its content and essence is that it comes after imprisonment and exile. More than this: it comes out of the imprisonment and exile — in the language of our Sages, “out of darkness, light.” And our Sages said: all that the Merciful One does, He does for the good [kol d’avid Rachmana l’tav avid].

And there is yet a third in it, and it is the highest of all — that the darkness itself is transformed into light; in the idiom of our Sages: “this too is for the good” [gam zu l’tovah]. In the former, the good comes after the darkness and in spite of it; in this, the very darkness is itself turned to good.

Chesed, din, rachamim — why the mercy after the judgment is greater than the kindness before it

And our Rebbeim explained that such is the order of [Divine] conduct: chesed, din, rachamim. Therefore, after a matter and an event of din, the attribute of rachamim is aroused — which is greater than the attribute of chesed that preceded it; for, as is known, it is the attribute of Yaakov, “an inheritance without boundaries” [nachalah bli meitzarim].

And when the sitra achra is subdued and the darkness is transformed into light, one “joins redemption to redemption” — the redemption of one’s own soul to the redemption of the whole — thereby drawing near the true and complete general Redemption through Moshiach Tzidkeinu, when “night will shine like the day” and “Havayah will be for you an everlasting light.”

War against the cause hastens the Geulah — and the special task of the youth

Standing in this month — a month of “weeping from one side, and joy from the other,” a remembrance of the events of the churban, and together with it a month destined for a doubled consolation, as its name, Menachem Av — the intent of the remembrance is that it bring to actual deeds. Its content is the churban and its cause: “because of our sins we were exiled from our land.”

From which the conclusion follows: that one must act to weaken and diminish the cause (our sins) — and thereby one weakens and diminishes what it brought about (the exile), and brings near the complete and true Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu.

And in this there is a special task for the youth — and especially graduates, who by the very fact of being “graduates” stand, in a certain measure, on their own understanding, together with the nature of youth that by its very character rejects compromise and reconciliation with the situation and the current. First of all, that they be themselves a living example in their daily conduct, in the careful keeping of Torah and mitzvos, and also in influence upon their surroundings. And we have been assured: “he who comes to purify” — and in the Alter Rebbe’s precise wording, “to purify himself and to purify others” — “is helped.”

“When your wellsprings spread outward” — the spreading begun on Yud-Tes Kislev as the vessel that brings Moshiach

As we stand on the day of the redemption of the Mitteler Rebbe — and the meritorious day adjacent to it, the day of good tidings, Yud-Tes Kislev, the redemption of the Alter Rebbe, on which the essential matter of “spreading the wellsprings outward” was begun — may we very soon merit to “join redemption to redemption”:

to the fulfillment of the assurance — “when your wellsprings spread outward,” then “the master will come” — this is the King Moshiach; who, as the Rambam sets it in order, “shall wage the wars of Hashem and prevail and vanquish all the nations around him, and afterward build the Beis HaMikdash in its place, and afterward gather in the dispersed of Israel” — in the true and complete Redemption of the children of Israel, and of the Shechinah in exile, “which returns with them when they are redeemed.”

as it is written, “and saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge… and the kingship shall be Havayah’s.”

Masmich geulah l’geulah — inner freedom in exile, and the redemptions through the Jewish woman

In connection with the months of Adar and Nissan, the Gemara says: “masmich geulah l’geulah” — one joins redemption to redemption. There are levels in redemption: the redemption of Purim redeemed the Jews from the decree “to destroy… in one day,” but it was bounded — the Jews remained in exile (“we are still the servants of Achashverosh”); whereas the redemption of Egypt was a complete liberation, “and the children of Israel went out with an upraised hand.”

And there is an intimation in it: that every Jew has the power to raise the redemption of Purim to the redemption of Pesach — to transform a bounded redemption into a complete one. In other words: even when outwardly, in material and peripheral matters, a Jew is in exile, inwardly — in the essential things, in all that pertains to the life of the soul — he can be, and must be, entirely free; and this depends on himself. And more: by bringing redemption into his spiritual life, through Torah and mitzvos in daily life, he brings a redemption also into material life — freedom from decrees, from the worries of livelihood and of health.

A further point shared by the two redemptions is the role of the Jewish woman and daughter, as our Sages say, “they too were in that miracle” — and as Rashi explains: “by the merit of the righteous women of that generation they were redeemed [from Egypt]… through Esther they were redeemed [in Purim]” — showing that women had an essential part in the redemptions.

To engage in Torah and mitzvos is itself Geulah — “there is no free man but one who occupies himself with Torah”

And this itself — occupying oneself with Torah and mitzvos — is a matter of Geulah, as chazal said: “there is no free man except one who occupies himself with the study of Torah”; and the doing of a mitzvah is the fulfillment of the mission of the King of the world (as understood from the saying of chazal, “they would honor the mitzvos, for they are His agents”) — and the servant of a king is [as] a king.

And especially since in all this the merit of the fathers assists — as the Baal HaGeulah opened, at the very outset of the Geulah (Gimmel Tammuz): “we beg of Hashem, may Hashem our G-d be with us as He was with our fathers, may He not forsake us nor abandon us.” One may add an explanation: because the sons grasp the deeds of their fathers in their hands, the heir stands in the place of the one who bequeaths — as it is written, “in place of your fathers shall be your sons” — so that [the fathers’ avodah] comes into revelation and is expressed in actual deed, until in these deeds it is the fathers themselves.

And though the continuation is: “we are not equal to our fathers, who were literally masters of self-sacrifice for Torah and mitzvos” — nevertheless the pain over this, the regret, and a firm resolve for the future avail (as is known in the matter of teshuvah); and especially when one joins to this, in accord with the Alter Rebbe’s explanation, mesiras nefesh — nefesh in the sense of ratzon, will — the surrender of one’s will. And the well-known teaching of the Baal Shem Tov: “where a person’s will is, there he is, entirely.”

Every Jew is a Mikdash; in exile we rebuild it within

Every Jewish home — its essence and completeness is to be a dwelling and a sanctuary for the Shechinah; and more particularly, every man and woman in Israel is a sanctuary and a dwelling for Him, as our Sages expounded on “And they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in them” — within each and every one of Israel.

And since the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed because of our sins — through teshuvah and good deeds, through our own actions and avodah throughout the length of the exile, we build and raise up the Mikdash within each and every one, and draw closer the redemption of the whole people of Israel through Moshiach our righteous one — who will build the (general) Beis HaMikdash in its place, with even greater strength and might.

The oil must be pure: a light kindled at the doorway, facing outward

The emphasis of the Chanukah lights teaches a great and encompassing principle: one must examine even the oil found in the Sanctuary — whether it is pure or not. For it was over the miracle of the oil that they fixed the days of Chanukah — teaching that the oil for illumination (in the Mikdash, the general and the private alike) must be pure, untouched by anything impure.

The light that shines through a Jewish man and woman in daily life is “a mitzvah is a lamp and Torah is light.” In this light one must take care that nothing impure touch it — and then one walks his way securely, in the manner of “increasing and adding light,” until it illumines even the darkness of the whole surroundings, as the Chanukah lamp is kindled at the doorway of one’s house, facing outward. And the fulfillment of the mitzvos — and of the mitzvah of the Chanukah lamp in particular — brings the fulfillment of the promise of the true and complete Redemption through Moshiach our righteous one, and the building of our Beis HaMikdash. May it be so, very soon indeed.

Two kinds of miracle, two kinds of nature — and hashgacha pratis in every detail

Miraculous conduct can be of two kinds: (a) open miracles, wholly above the natural order and in complete opposition to nature — as at the Exodus from Egypt; (b) miracles “clothed” in natural garments, as at the miracle of Purim — where Esther becomes queen, Mordechai sits at the king’s gate, and the decree is undone through a chain of “natural” events, though each event, and above all their converging, was a hidden miracle.

So too natural conduct is of two kinds: one that outwardly appears wholly natural (like sowing and reaping), and one in which Divine Providence is plainly seen — what the world calls “luck” or “good fortune,” words that state only the negative. The Torah of truth tells the truth: this is hashgacha pratis — the blessing of Hashem in children, life and sustenance. And this is the lesson of “This month is for you”: since the Torah begins the Jew’s reckoning from Nissan — the month of open miracles — it teaches that so is the Holy One’s conduct through every month of the year: He alone is the Master of the world, guiding it in every detail and sub-detail, and all the more so man, the “small world.”

In the days of Moshiach, nature itself is raised above nature

The psalm “To Shlomo: give the king Your judgments” describes the conduct in the days of King Shlomo — who “judged as his Creator judges,” whose reign was one of peace without wars — and the Sages read it also as an allusion to the era of Melech HaMoshiach, when nature will be lifted to the level of the supernatural. In place of the order of sowing and then reaping, threshing and grinding and baking, there will be “an abundance of grain in the land” — the Land of Israel bringing forth ready loaves and fine garments.

The world’s conduct will be so miraculous that even against the miracles of the Exodus it will be a wonder — “as in the days of your going out of Egypt I will show him wonders”: even relative to those miracles, these will be “wonders” upon wonders. And this is the settling of the Rambam’s ruling that in the days of Moshiach the order of creation is not annulled: nature is not bypassed but elevated — so that the supernatural is drawn down into nature itself.