STAY STRONG!

We must hold on! Please do not let Galus shake your Emuna at the very last moment. We all know that right before daybreak the darkness is strongest. 

Dear Reader sh’yichyeh,

This week we will be marking the day of 27 Adar Rishon. It is 22 years since the Rebbe had a stroke by the Ohel. 

Yet, there is another Moshiach aspect of this day. Regarding the era of Moshiach, the navi (Daniel 12:10) says:

“וַיֹּאמֶר לֵךְ דָּנִיֵּאל כִּי סְתֻמִים וַחֲתֻמִים הַדְּבָרִים עַד עֵת קֵץ:יִתְבָּרְרוּ וְיִתְלַבְּנוּ וְיִצָּרְפוּ רַבִּים וְהִרְשִׁיעוּ רְשָׁעִים וְלֹא יָבִינוּ כָּל רְשָׁעִים וְהַמַּשְׂכִּילִים יָבִינוּ:”

“And he said, ‘Go, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. They will be clarified and whitened, and many will be purified, and the wicked will pervert [them], and all the wicked will not understand, but the wise will understand.’”

The Rebbe (Seifer HaSichos 5750 pg. 377 footnote 110) connects this Pasuk to 27 Adar (זך) that this is a day when we can reveal the purpose of all concealed happenings (צמצומים).

When we think about the above Sicha, it becomes quite clear that the Rebbe was preparing us for 27 Adar 5752. For there can be two approaches that a person can take:

1) We know that from the beginning of the Nesius, the Rebbe stated that our job is to bring Moshiach. We were almost there and then 27 Adar happened…..

2) 27 Adar is part of the plan and process of bringing Moshiach. Even though it is painful and we do not understand how this can be good and helpful (and therefore we scream for Moshiach), we know that the Rebbe is our faithful shepherd and he would not leave his flock alone like this. We know that the Rebbe spoke of the coming of Moshiach as a prophecy (not a prayer!) and therefore it will be a reality. (I hope to write a more extensive article about this approach next week B’ezras Hashem.)

The first approach seems more sensible and logical, while the second approach demands more faith and inspiration. It is truly an era when the words of Daniel “They will be clarified and whitened” are taking place. It is a time when it is becoming crystal clear who has kept alive the flames of Emuna and Bitachon in the words of the Rebbe.

Dear Chassidim!

We must hold on! Please do not let Galus shake your Emuna at the very last moment. We all know that right before daybreak the darkness is strongest. We must learn from history. What happens when Jews “give up” on the arrival of Moshe Rabbeinu? They build a Golden Calf! We must act like the tribe of Levi that remains pure and idealistic in our faith. The only way to keep that going is through learning Inyanei Moshiach.

In the words of the Rebbe (Balak 5751): “Despite the uproar associated with this matter in recent times within this year, the year of ‘I shall show him wonders,’ and after witnessing the wonders which testify that this is ‘The year that the King Moshiach will be revealed,’ we see how difficult it is to inculcate the awareness and the feeling that we are literally standing on the threshold of the Messianic Era, to the point that one begins to thrive on matters of Moshiach and Redemption…

“The solution to this dilemma is Torah study concerning Moshiach and Redemption. For Torah – which is G-d’s wisdom, and thus transcends the natural order of the universe – has the capacity to alter the nature of man. Even when one’s emotions are still outside the parameters of Redemption – G-d forbid – (because he has not yet emerged from his internal exile), he can nevertheless learn the Torah’s teachings concerning Redemption, and thereby be one elevated to the state of Redemption. One then begins to thrive on matters of Redemption, borne of the knowledge, awareness and feeling that ‘Behold he is coming.’”

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.