From the year 5648, the Rebbe Rashab, whose birthday is 20 Cheshvan, would spend much time travelling for health-related issues. This was very hard on his young and only son, the Frierdike Rebbe. During the time that the Rebbe Rashab was in Lubavitch, he made a point to really spend time and connect with his son on a very deep level.
In one of the Sichos (Seifer HaSichos 5702 pg. 29), the Frierdike Rebbe describes a particular event that took place in the year 5651. He was ten years old at the time: “It was the Shabbos morning of Parshas Lech Lecha. It was still before Davening and I went to see my father, the Rebbe Rashab, in his private room. He was reviewing the sidra (Shnayim Mikra V’Echad Targum) and I saw that he was in a very elated mood. At the same time, I saw tears coming down his face. I wondered how it can be that on one hand he was so happy, yet he was crying at the same time. I did not have the chutzpa to ask the question to my father.”
[That Shabbos, as was his custom every Shabbos, the Rebbe Rashab davened at great length. He finished davening, made Kiddush, and went directly to daven Mincha. A few minutes before the shkia, he washed his hands for the official seudas Shabbos. Every Motzaei Shabbos, the Rebbe Rashab would test the Frierdike Rebbe on what he learned the previous week. He would test him on his learning as well as on the Mishnayos that he learned by heart that week.
When they were done, and the Rebbe Rashab would obviously have much Nachas, the Rebbe Rashab would give the Frierdike Rebbe a present. It would either be a Chassidishe story with a lesson, or a Maamer that he had said in the past. That Motzaei Shabbos, the Rebbe Rashab gave his son the Maamer Chanuka 5643.]
“That Motzaei Shabbos,” continues the Frierdike Rebbe, “I really wanted to ask my father the question that was on my mind about his behavior earlier that morning. I stood there, very uncertain, if I should ask or not. My father, sensing my uncertainty, encouraged me to ask whatever I wanted. So I mustered the courage and asked him my question. My father responded: The tears were tears of joy!
He continued (HaYom Yom 2 Cheshvan): “Once, in his first years as Rebbe, the Alter Rebbe declared in public: ‘We must live with the times.’ The younger Chassidim asked the older Chassidim what they thought the Alter Rebbe meant by this. The elder chassidim discussed it amongst themselves, but they could not up with a satisfactory explanation. Through his brother, R’ Yehudah Leib, the elders of the chassidic community discovered the Rebbe’s intent: We must live with the Torah portion of the week and, more specifically, of the current day. It is not enough to study [a segment of] the weekly Torah portion every day; we must live with it.”
The Rebbe Rashab continued (HaYom Yom 3 Cheshvan): “B’Reishis is a happy parsha, even though its conclusion is not so pleasant. Noach is [the parsha of] the Flood, but the end of the week is cheerful: our Patriarch Avraham is born. The really joyful week is Lech Lecha, for throughout that entire week we live with Avraham, who was the first to utterly devote his life to proclaiming G-d’s existence in the world. And this mesirus nefesh he bequeathed as an inheritance to all Jews.”
In the sicha, the Frierdike Rebbe continues: “The famous Chassid Reb Hillel Paritcher said that there is much to be learned from this chassidic saying. He borrowed a saying from the Gemara, Eruvin 64b, that says, ‘And at that time we also learned three matters of halacha from Rabban Gamliel’s behavior,’ and said the following:
[The context of the Gemara: “There was an incident involving Rabban Gamliel, who was riding a donkey and traveling from Akko to Keziv, and his student Rabbi Elai was walking behind him. Rabban Gamliel found some fine loaves of bread on the road, and he said to his student: Elai, take the loaves from the road. Further along the way, Rabban Gamliel encountered a certain gentile and said to him: Mavgai, take these loaves from Elai. Elai joined the gentile and said to him: Where are you from? He said to him: From the nearby towns of guardsmen. He asked: And what is your name? The gentile replied: My name is Mavgai. He then inquired: Has Rabban Gamliel ever met you before, seeing as he knows your name? He said to him: No.
At that time we learned that Rabban Gamliel divined the gentile’s name by way of divine inspiration that rested upon him. And at that time we also learned three matters of halacha from Rabban Gamliel’s behavior: We learned that one may not pass by food, i.e., if a person sees food lying on the ground, he must stop and pick it up. We also learned that we follow the majority of travelers. Since the area was populated mostly by gentiles, Rabban Gamliel assumed that the loaf belonged to a gentile, and was consequently prohibited to be eaten by a Jew. Therefore, he ordered that it be given to a gentile. And we further learned that with regard to leavened bread belonging to a gentile, it is permitted to benefit from this food after Passover. The incident recounted above occurred not long after the festival of Passover. By giving the loaf to the gentile instead of burning it in accordance with the halachos of leavened bread that remains after Passover, Rabban Gamliel gained a certain benefit from it in the form of the gentile’s gratitude. This benefit is regarded as having monetary value.]
“‘A man’s quality is his intellect. This is what separates a person from an animal. Nevertheless, intellect is not used consciously during all hours of the day. “Living” is constant. It does not matter if a person is awake or sleeping. Even if a person is involved with activities that do not directly involve intellect, he is still living. Thus, “living with the weekly Torah portion” needs to encompass the entire person and the entire day.’”
Dear Chassidim!
There is a tremendous lesson from the above for us in our present situation. We have all been given the most special Avoda: To receive our righteous Moshiach in the true and complete Redemption. Indeed, the preparation for the coming of our righteous Moshiach is the most all-encompassing aspect of Judaism and includes all the other points and details of the work of shlichus.
The Rebbe wants us all to be “living with Moshiach.” Based on what Reb Hillel Paritcher explained, we understand what that means. It does not just mean to learn about Moshiach as an intellectual exercise, rather it must permeate our existence. It cannot just be something that we do; it needs to be who we are.
The Rebbe made this abundantly clear in the Sicha of Toldos 5752 (besuras HaGeula chapter 49): The essential point in the life of every Jew and that of the Jewish people as a whole throughout all the generations has been: “All the days of your life to bring about the days of Moshiach.” This requires extra emphasis in this generation and in our times, as mentioned frequently of late, that all aspects have been completed and we need only greet our righteous Moshiach in actuality.
‘”All the days of your life” means every moment of a person’s life, day or night, awake or asleep, for he is still alive then through his breathing (“All that breathes praises G-d,” and “with each and every breath a person breathes…”), which is necessary every moment (unlike eating and drinking). And “all the days of your life to bring about the days of Moshiach” means that his life (every instant of it) is bringing the days of Moshiach. That is, a Jew does not limit himself only to those times when he thinks or speaks or does something to bring Moshiach. Rather the essence of his life (“your life”) is to “bring the days of Moshiach.”
L’chaim! Let us all begin living!
Rabbi Avtzon is the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Lubavitch Cincinnati and a well sought after speaker and lecturer. Recordings of his in-depth shiurim on Inyanei Geula u’Moshiach can be accessed at http://www.ylcrecording.com