Who am I? Who is anybody? We have a horrible, gaping vacuum in leadership, an absence of direction, a resistance to being captivated by really the only thing that matters: maintaining heightened enthusiasm for Moshiach. Gimmel Tammuz is not to blame for that…
If our eyes are lying and nothing has changed since Gimmel Tammuz, if the laws of nature do not apply to such a tzaddik, how can he be said to have self-sacrifice?! * More than anyone, the Anti-Meshichist wants to see redemption unfold in a way that is truly compelling, tangible and overt – and with the Rebbe as Moshiach at our lead.
What a peculiar tale. Such fascination with fat Sages? But maybe their waistline is not the point here, and the Talmud is hinting at something very deep…
What kindness is there in resurrecting Jews in the filthy clothing of exile? What compassion is there in prolonging their ailments in the Future Era? * Try to be a tzaddik?
We live in unpreceded times. The Rebbe’s broad shoulders that carried the world’s weight is now our load to bear. How can that possibly be? If the Rebbe did all he can to bring Moshiach, what more can we possibly do? * Now it’s clear why it is imperative to the Rebbe to make leaders, not followers.
Hauntingly reminiscent of prewar lampoons in Nazi Germany, depicting fanged, menacing, demonic Jews, here contemporary Jewish leadership is likened to a dog. * Naturally, the Torah has something to say about leadership. In particular, the state of leadership on the threshold of redemption: “The face of that generation is like the face of a dog (characterized by brazenness and chutzpa).”
It is not enough to celebrate 11 Nissan because it is the right thing to do, because we know it is required of the Rebbe’s Chassidim (even though it is virtually Erev Pesach). That approach does not suffice and it is a sure-fire strategy for us to remain in the same status quo another year, G-d forbid. Let’s give the Rebbe the ultimate birthday gift, giving ourselves over truly and completely to the mission of perfecting ourselves and everything around us to bring Moshiach now!
A famous teaching of the Baal Shem Tov has it, that “Once there was a seven-year war between two gentile [kings] so a Tzadik would be able to hear a melody from the war marches which he used to serve Hashem.” (Kesser Shem Tov, Hosafos, Chapter 150) In this next part of the letter, the Rebbe expounds on the historic message this miraculous war carries for the spiritual mission of the Jewish people:
Our vision is so distorted that the proverbial elephant we are so accustomed to and so adept at ignoring has camouflaged itself completely. * Everything hinges on us conquering ourselves.
“A person buys a ticket to win the lottery – not the second or third prize, but first prize! Someone has to win – he reasons – so why shouldn’t it be me? What makes me less likely to win than all the others? * So too in our case, he can indeed be one of the Lamed-Vov tzaddikim…”
July 10, 2019