A Chassid who wants to speed up the hisgalus of the Rebbe MH”M knows that the direct way of doing this is through learning Inyanei Moshiach and Geula. A Chassid who gives shiurim knows that his most popular shiur is on the weekly sidra. If he can combine the parsha shiur with Inyanei Moshiach and Geula, that would be perfect. But how can you find a connection between the parsha and an interesting Geula idea every single week? * “Moshiach B’Parsha” is a new project which got underway at the Kinus HaShluchim. It is the solution for any shliach and Chassid!
Sunday night the shliach sits in his office, massaging his aching head. In another hour, about twenty mekuravim are going to show up at the Chabad house for a shiur on the parsha. They are highly intelligent and have prestigious jobs, and the shiur always turns into a lively Torah discussion. If he did it right, he would sit for three hours and prepare a shiur that combines a sicha on the parsha with the D’var Malchus, a Chassidishe story and a Geula concept which he concludes with a practical message. But the day had gone by in a blur of running around between offices and banks, donors and friends. He doesn’t have time to open s’farim and prepare a solid shiur.
The shliach thinks to himself, “If only my mind could suddenly fill with material for a shiur, like a miracle of money suddenly being deposited into my account.” He tries to call a friend in order to find out whether, perchance, he has a ready-made shiur for that week’s parsha. To his surprise, the answer is yes. “Open your email and I’ll send you a terrific ready-made class.”
A minute later, the shliach is focused on the papers that his printer has spewed forth onto his desk. After an hour or so he gets up and goes to the lecture room. His headache is gone and he sits down, relaxed and happy. He hands out source sheets and starts the shiur.
***
Every week, the Vaad Kinus HaShluchim in New York sends out a fully prepared well structured shiur called “Moshiach B’Parsha” to about 1000 shluchim and others around the world. At this point, the project is in its infancy and the organizers are clearly looking for suggestions or constructive criticism in order to continue to upgrade. If you run a Chabad house or are a lecturer or simply someone who wants to give a great shiur, you can receive a ready-made shiur each week for free!
It all began about a month and a half before the Kinus HaShluchim of this year. At the Vaad Kinus HaShluchim sat the staff of the Kinus organizing committee. The idea of helping shluchim and making shiurim on Moshiach and Geula accessible for them and their audiences came up long ago. The upcoming Kinus HaShluchim provided the impetus to finally get the project off the ground and ready for the Kinus.
The project is run by R’ Chanoch Chaskind and he was happy to tell us about it as well as their goals and their plans for the future.
Why is the shiur on the parsha and not on Geula-related topics?
Our working assumption was that a parsha shiur is given in the vast majority of Chabad houses in the world. Even a shliach who doesn’t give a shiur probably talks about the parsha on Shabbos. Since we know that the Rebbe said that learning Inyanei Moshiach and Geula is the direct way to speed up the hisgalus, he probably tries to connect the sicha to Moshiach. Often, the Rebbe makes the connection in the sicha. If he doesn’t, the shliach does it himself.
However – and this is the big “however” – aside from the segula aspect of learning Inyanei Moshiach and Geula to hasten Moshiach’s coming, the Rebbe noted the connection between learning Inyanei Moshiach and Geula and the person experiencing and living in a state of Geula. In the sicha of Shabbos Parshas Balak 5751, the Rebbe explained that when a person learns Inyanei Moshiach and Geula, and he really understands what is going to happen, the emuna and anticipation become palpable and he starts “living with Moshiach.”
On the one hand, learning topics in Geula and Moshiach is the most important thing to do. On the other hand, a shliach cannot always be confident that people will show up for a weekly shiur on Geula and Moshiach and then also attend a shiur on the parsha. Many mekuravim feel they cannot come to the Shabbos table without having learned about the parsha, but they don’t have that sense of urgency about learning the topic of Geula, so that they won’t allow a week to go by without learning about it.
Our ultimate goal is to raise awareness so that people will want to attend an interesting shiur on the topic of Geula, but the question was: what is the first step toward achieving this goal. Then the idea was proposed that there be a shiur on the parsha in which participants will learn new ideas about Moshiach and Geula that are connected to the parsha.
After receiving suggestions from lecturers and shluchim on how to structure such a shiur, it was decided to give the collecting, editing and writing work to R’ Menachem Mendel Feldman, the mashpia and maggid shiur in Chassidus in Ohr Yehuda.
We discussed with R’ Feldman how he would go about his work so that the finished product would be clear and not too long, while being well-structured, comprehensible and engaging.
Tell us about the editing and preparing of the shiur. Where do you take material from and how do you decide on the topics?
The shiurim are taken from the Rebbe’s sichos, of course. We try not to take abstract concepts but those topics which are down-to-earth so that the participant will readily relate to them.
When the Rebbe himself connects the sicha to Geula, we develop the Geula topic based on the sources. Even if in the sicha itself the Rebbe doesn’t make an explicit connection, but there is a mention of the Geula even in a footnote, we expand on the Geula topic. Sometimes there is a reference to another sicha where the Rebbe explains a parallel topic which he connects to the Geula.
Often, the Rebbe innovates something in Inyanei Moshiach and Geula, which is more readily understood after learning another sicha on the same topic, even if there is no direct connection to Moshiach and Geula. For example, in the shiur on Parshas Mishpatim, after the first part of the shiur which is based on sichos that do not deal with Geula and Moshiach, what the Rebbe says in the D’var Malchus 5752 becomes far more significant and understandable.
Then we spoke with another talented person who is on the editing team:
What are your goals in writing “Moshiach B’Parsha?”
That Moshiach not be abstract or even something that relates to the distant future but something real and current.
That’s not easy. How can you achieve that goal in a parsha shiur?
People attend a shiur given by a shliach, even one who really “lives” Moshiach, and they hear concepts from the D’var Malchus that they don’t quite understand. Even if they agree with the idea, they don’t necessarily understand it, and most importantly, they don’t live with it. For example – and I will mention simple concepts – things like “Moshiach will come and we will bring korbanos in the Beis HaMikdash,” living with Moshiach, or going out of galus are inyanim that remain disconnected from their reality.
When constructing these shiurim, our goals are that the shiur be interesting, varied and edifying. This is so that by the end of the shiur, which should be easy to transmit both for the shliach and the listener, the listener will learn a new Geula concept that will be added to the concepts he learned in previous weeks and it will be fully understood.
SO THAT PEOPLE SPEAK ABOUT MOSHIACH AS A HAPPENING EVENT
Many of the subscribers to the shiur are in touch with the publishers. They thank them for the shiur and offer suggestions to improve it. R’ Chaskind emphasizes that the shiur is being offered as part of a “trial run,” i.e. he wants comments in order to improve the product and make it suitable for all types of audiences.
A shliach who gives shiurim to varied audiences says that he is getting enthusiastic feedback:
“Boruch Hashem, we are fortunate that people know what the parsha is about. Today, even those who are close to religious observance can quote a vort on the parsha. As for those who are close with Chabad, they know concepts from the Rebbe’s sichos on the parsha. However, their focus is not on Moshiach.
“These wonderful shiurim, which are well organized and come consistently, provide a hidden benefit in that even before people understand the concepts, they are made aware of the significance of the times we are living in. I believe and hope that the participants in the shiurim will begin to feel that they understand and live with Moshiach just as they are familiar with the parsha.”
Today, just two months since it began, the subscriber list to Moshiach B’Parsha numbers over 1000. R’ Chaskind is not satisfied and hopes to double that number shortly.
How does the shiur work?
The lecturer receives a shiur via email at the beginning of the week. The shiur is constructed in such a way that the basic content of the shiur is in the body of the text. On the bottom of the page are extensive footnotes, short stories, etc. The lecturer decides, based on his audience, whether to expand on the shiur or go through it quickly.
Also, each participant is provided with a source sheet that the shiur is based on. When the lecturer cites a source, with the question, proof or answer, the participant sees the text in front of him.
The concept is based on the efficacy of lectures that are given along with a PowerPoint presentation, in which the person learning sees the structure of the lesson and the lecturer explains, expands, and develops the topic. In order to make the shiur readily accessible to every shliach, we decided to implement this concept of visual aids in a simpler and easier way. Instead of making the shiur dependent on having a laptop and portable screen, which not every shliach has, the shliach receives a sheet which he prints out in advance for the people attending his shiur. The shiur then becomes professional without the shliach having to do extra work.
Who can receive these shiurim?
At this point, it is sent for free via email. Since there are many Lubavitchers giving shiurim on the parsha who would like to receive this format, we decided to allow any Chassid who gives a shiur on the parsha to use them. Our goal is to help Chassidim do what the Rebbe wants, which is to make learning Inyanei Moshiach and Geula understandable to all.
What are your goals?
That every shiur on the parsha given at Chabad houses or by those who give shiurim on army bases, shuls, etc. will be given along with an Inyan of Moshiach and Geula. Even if not every shliach sticks with the format of the shiur, but takes at least the Geula concept and exposes his audience to it, Dayeinu.
What other plans do you have?
In recent weeks we have added a translation of sources into English so that English speakers can benefit from the shiur.
Also, as we announced at the Kinus HaShluchim, we are working on preparing a year-long course for learning Inyanei Moshiach and Geula. At first, the course will be in English and then in Hebrew.
To receive the shiur each week via email, send a request to: chanoch@kinus.info
Those who are using Moshiach B’Parsha can enter a raffle for $1800 that will take place on 11 Nissan. This raffle is connected with another project that was announced at the Kinus HaShluchim – a Gift for the Rebbe. This latter mivtza is based on the statement of Chazal that the kings of the world will bring gifts to Melech HaMoshiach. If the kings of the world will bring gifts, then surely we Chassidim of the Rebbe and his shluchim should bring him gifts.
The Rebbe often said that he is not interested in gifts of silver and gold. The one thing that makes him happy is hearing that Jews increased in learning Torah and teaching it, that they opened Chabad houses, and do mivtzaim.
In accordance with what the Rebbe said at the Kinus HaShluchim 5752 that the avoda of shluchim today needs to be permeated with Geula and Moshiach and how this will lead to kabbalas p’nei Moshiach, the best gift is when we can tell the Rebbe that we fulfilled his horaa and increased in things having to do with Inyanei Moshiach.
Our gift will be given on the day of the hisgalus. If, G-d forbid, that is delayed, everyone will publicize the gift that he prepared for the Rebbe on a website set up for this purpose: Matana4Rebbe.com
The publicity is meant to encourage others to join in and prepare more and more gifts for the day of the hisgalus.
This is what R’ Dudu Lieder, who runs a Chabad house for Israelis in Melbourne, had to say:
“First, a big yashar ko’ach for the terrific shiurim which are a big help to me, especially during busy times, so that I come to the shiur prepared and ready with handouts and sources. I give the shiur every Wednesday at eight in the evening to Israeli tourists who come to Melbourne. The last two shiurim were attended by 25 and 30 people respectively, and have shown a clear increase in the number of participants in the shiurim.”
Another email, this one from R’ Eldad Ilan of Gedera, said:
“First, a big yashar ko’ach! The work put into the shiurim is very apparent. I used the shiur last week, for Parshas VaYigash. The ideas explained, the integration of Chassidus and the Zohar, Midrashim, etc. is simply excellent and generates a lot of interest.”
Another shliach began with praise and ended with a helpful suggestion which was implemented the following week:
“It’s a great project and immensely important. We were really missing something like this and the idea is spot-on since there are many shluchim who want to teach Inyanei Moshiach and Geula as the Rebbe wants, especially when this is the derech ha’yeshara, but there isn’t always time to construct a shiur. As you know, most of the time we look for a short sicha and this project really fills a need.”
And this reaction from a female resident of Kfar Chabad who gives shiurim all over the country:
“What a pleasure! I have been teaching Chassidus for nearly thirty years. Finally, someone has prepared superlative material for a shiur.”