THE HAYOM YOM’S BLUEPRINT FOR OUR GENERATION

Dear Reader sh’yichyeh,

This Shabbos (Bo) is the Shabbos before Yud Shvat. All Chassidim are preparing themselves to be “Mekabel the Nesius and Malchus” of the Rebbe. In this article we will “farbreng” based on the HaYom Yom that the Rebbe personally chose for Yud Shvat.

The Rebbe writes: When my grandmother, Rebbetzin Rivka, was eighteen (in 5611, 1851) she fell ill and the physician ordered her to eat immediately upon awakening. She, however, did not wish to eat before davening; so she davened very early, then ate breakfast. When her father-in-law, the Tzemach Tzedek, learned of this he said to her: “A Jew must be healthy and strong. The Torah says about mitzvos, ‘Live in them,’ meaning bring vitality into the mitzvos. To be able to infuse mitzvos with vitality, one must be strong and joyful.”

Then he concluded: “You should not be without food. Better to eat for the sake of davening rather than to daven for the sake of eating;” he then blessed her with long life. [She was born in 5593 (1833) and passed away on Yud Shvat, 5674 (1914)]. My father told this teaching of the Tzemach Tzedek to someone at yechidus, adding: “And this must be done with joy.”

The simple and most apparent reason that this HaYom Yom was placed on Yud Shvat is because Yud Shvat is the Yahrtzait of Rebbetzin Rivka. How appropriate it is to tell us a story about her on her Yahrtzait. Yet, we have been trained by the Rebbe to view things on a deeper level. If the Rebbe chose this HaYom Yom to be the HaYom Yom of Yud Shvat, it must be connected to the whole Avoda of the “Dor HaShvii – seventh generation.”

[There are those who may argue that this is a stretch, to which I counter with three observations: 1) The Maamer Basi L’Gani of 5710 was prepared in advance to be given out to Chassidim on Yud Shvat to be learned in honor of the Yahrtzait of Rebbetzin Rivka. Yet, the Rebbe teaches us that this maamer is the basis for the avoda of our generation; 2) There is a Maamer (Ani L’Dodi – Meluket Aleph) where the Rebbe connects the Alter Rebbe’s Maamer of Ani L’Dodi to the page number that it is printed in Likkutei Torah! The basis of the connection is the fact that B’hashgacha Pratis, it was printed on that page; 3) As chassidim always say: If we can learn a positive lesson from something, it is always good.]

As a whole, the matzav of Chassidim in general and Yiddishkait in particular when the Rebbe took the Nesius was “ill”. Many chassidim and Yidden were lost in the Holocaust or stuck behind the Iron Curtain. Those that were fortunate enough to be in America were broken physically, emotionally and were facing a serious spiritual dilemma, namely, America. Assimilation was rampant and the younger generation was being lost. The future did not seem very promising.

At that point, many took the attitude of “She, however, did not wish to eat before davening; so she davened very early, then ate breakfast.” This was the attitude of acknowledging that the world (“eating”) is a necessity and cannot be used to help strengthen our Avodas Hashem, and therefore I will try to “daven before” (i.e. either develop and move to a sheltered community or try to maintain my own Avodas Hashem) and then have to begrudgingly deal with the terrible spiritual realities of America.

The same is true with the general perspective of our generation: We read stories about the Chassidim of previous generations and we really feel that in comparison, we are “ill.” We don’t see the same type of personalities and aspirations today. It is very easy to feel that we cannot add or accomplish something that they did not. Therefore, the attitude of some has tragically been that we just “need to keep the culture of Chabad going,” without expecting major growth or accomplishments from this generation.

But such a perspective is misguided. From the very beginning of the Nesius, the Rebbe ingrained in us the opposite weltanschauung. Not only is the world not a contradiction for G-dliness, it is the only place where the ultimate revelation of G-dliness can be revealed. We must learn to see the world at its essence, the ultimate place of the revelation of the essence of Hashem. We must remember “You should not be without food. Better to eat for the sake of davening rather than to daven for the sake of eating,” i.e., we are not demanding the old-time mesiras Nefesh (“being without food”), we are demanding that you go out and use the world to reveal the essence of Hashem. Realize that we must “eat for the sake of Davening,” have the world serve us and our Avodas Hashem.

This paradigm shift is reflected in the very first words of the very first Maamer of our Rebbe: “Basi L’Gani – I have returned to my garden.” The Rebbe reveals to us that not only is the world not a jungle, it is not even just a dwelling place, it is the luscious garden of Hashem. This world is where the hidden essence of Hashem can be revealed.

Then the Rebbe adds another vital point at the end of the HaYom Yom: “And this must be done with joy.” Not only should we not feel “ill” or handicapped, we have to be very joyful about our status. We have to realize that our generation was charged—and therefore given the ability to accomplish—a very special mission. We—yes, we—the seemingly ill and handicapped generation, will bring the world to its’ perfection and original purpose, we will bring the world to Moshiach.

In the words of the Rebbe (Basi L’Gani 5711 – the very first Maamer): The fact that our Sages say that “all those who are seventh are cherished” rather than “all those who are cherished are seventh,” indicates that the seventh’s primary quality lies in his being seventh. In other words, he is cherished not on account of his choice, desire, or spiritual service, but because he is seventh – and this is something that he is born into.

Yet, the fact remains that “all those who are seventh are cherished.” It was for this reason that it was Moshe who was privileged to have the Torah given through him… This, then, is why the seventh is so cherished: it is he who draws down the Sh’china, in fact – the essence of the Sh’china; moreover, he draws it down into this lowly world.

It is this that is demanded of each and every one of us of the seventh generation – and “all those that are seventh are cherished”: Although the fact that we are in the seventh generation is not the result of our own choosing and our own service, and indeed in certain ways perhaps contrary to our will, nevertheless “all those who are seventh are cherished.” We are now very near the approaching footsteps of Moshiach, indeed, we are at the conclusion of this period, and our spiritual task is to complete the process of drawing down the Sh’china – moreover, the essence of the Sh’china – within specifically our lowly world.

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This knowledge should fill us with the ultimate joy. We are a special generation, chosen with a special purpose and given extraordinary abilities. While, if by judging the Chassidim, it may seem that we are much less-capable than the previous generations, we have been blessed with what the other generations have not been: The Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach.

The Rebbe has given us through his D’var Malchus, Sichos, Igros, Maamarim, and following the horaos, tremendous strength and revelations that have not been revealed heretofore. The Rebbe has literally shared with us the “light of the Geula and the Torah Chadasha” and when we allow ourselves to enter the Rebbe’s world and take these lights of empowerment, we will see that we can accomplish the goal of our generation.

This in itself should instill joy in us, as we say in the 12th of the “p’sukim” that the Rebbe chose for all of us to internalize: “The Jews should rejoice in their Maker. Every Jew should share in G‑d’s joy, Who rejoices and is happy in His dwelling place in this world.” (Tanya, Chapter 33). It is with this joy that we will be able to be successful in our special mission, because joy breaks all boundaries. It bears noting that the Baal HaTurim points out that the word Yismach has the same letters as the word Moshiach. Through joy, we will bring the Geula.

By serving Hashem in this unique way of “A Jew must be healthy and strong. The Torah says about mitzvos, ‘Live in them,’ meaning bring vitality into the mitzvos. To be able to infuse mitzvos with vitality, one must be strong and joyful” and “You should not be without food. Better to eat for the sake of davening rather than to daven for the sake of eating,” i.e., when the world is part of the process of serving Hashem, we will merit the era of Moshiach when, in the words of the Rambam (Hilchos Melachim 12:5):

“In that era, there will be neither famine nor war, envy or competition for good will flow in abundance and all the delights will be freely available as dust. The occupation of the entire world will be solely to know God. Therefore, the Jews will be great sages and know the hidden matters, grasping the knowledge of their Creator according to the full extent of human potential, as the Navi Yeshaya (11:9) states: ‘The world will be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the ocean bed.”

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