THE ONE AND ONLY POINT

When the Rebbe spoke about the new avoda as a “gateway to all matters of shlichus,” it meant – whoever does the smallest action which is permeated with this point, is inside. One who is moser nefesh and puts all his efforts and energy into a major project, but is not permeated with this point, will remain outside. * Thoughts about the sicha of Parshas Chayei Sarah, said at the Kinus HaShluchim 5752, a foundational sicha for our avoda today.

“WHAT WILL THE BENEFIT BE THAT I AM AMAZING?”

On my last trip to Cincinnati I was in the airport and had some free time until my plane was going to take off. I began looking around for Jewish faces so I could spend the time on Mivtza T’fillin. It didn’t take long before I noticed an obviously Jewish face. I sat down next to him and waited for him to finish his phone conversation. From the little that I overheard, I could make out some Yiddish words and expressions that made it obvious that he belonged to the Jewish world.

The man hung up and turned to talk to me. When I got a better look at him, I realized that he looked familiar and I wondered where I knew him from. Within a short time I was reminded of an interview that had been done with him in which he recounted a fascinating yechidus that he had with the Rebbe.

I referred to the interview and he was willing to repeat his experience to me:

In the 60’s, he came up with an idea to save Judaism. He advertised in the papers about a fund that at least one hundred philanthropists would contribute to, who wanted to be a part of a project to save Judaism. Each one would give a million dollars and he would use this money to carry out his plans.

Within a few days, he received a message from the Rebbe’s secretary that the Rebbe wanted to meet with him. He had heard of the Rebbe and he immediately bought a ticket for New York.

At the yechidus, the Rebbe told him that if he truly wanted to save Judaism, he should give the Rebbe the millions of dollars … If he wanted to make the best use of the money, he shouldn’t play around with foolish ideas but send the money here (to 770).

For an hour and a half, he tried to convince the Rebbe that his approach was valid and that he could save Judaism. The Rebbe did not accept what he had to say and ended the yechidus by saying: If you want to save Judaism, drop your plans and invest all your money in Jewish education. That is what will save Judaism.

The second part of the story is a little more familiar to people. After nineteen years of not being in touch with the Rebbe, he went to Crown Heights and passed by the Rebbe’s house (in 5748) when the Rebbe was giving out dollars for tz’daka. He introduced himself and the Rebbe immediately said to him: What about Jewish education?

The man was astounded by this and said emotionally: Rebbe, you are amazing!

BRINGING THE REBBE’S PROPHECY TO THE WORLD

This question of the Rebbe should reverberate in our ears whenever we hear or read a story about the Rebbe. The question is how to translate our initial “wow” about the Rebbe’s greatness into making a practical difference in the world.

I recently heard two bachurim talking amongst themselves and expressing their amazement about the Rebbe’s prophecies about the Yom Kippur War (which took place forty years ago). One of them said in wonder, “How come the Chassidim didn’t turn the world over with this prophecy? How could they remain indifferent about this open prophecy of the Rebbe?”

It’s very easy to ask a question like that about times long gone. You can ask it about the generation that left Egypt, who did not believe Moshe because of the “shortness of breath and hard labor” and about every person who found it hard to believe the prophets of G-d over the millennia. But the truth of the matter is, this question needs to be asked of ourselves: How can we sit back when we have the Rebbe’s explicit prophecy of hinei zeh Moshiach ba? How is it possible that we still haven’t brought this message to every person we come in contact with?

Many Jews whom I meet ask me various questions about practices of those Chassidim known as Meshichistin that seem strange to them. They consider this activity far-out and that practice insane, etc.

My response t to them is: What are you doing to bring Moshiach? How are you infusing the only remaining shlichus in all details of your avoda? Did you learn the sicha of Chayei Sarah 5752?

Most of the time, they have nothing to say. They don’t even know the significance of Chayei Sarah 5752.

A Chassid, a shliach, needs to know what his shlichus is. He needs to live with the sicha of the Kinus HaShluchim 5752 every moment. There are sichos that get publicity when it’s twenty or forty years since they were said, maamarim that are learned enthusiastically when there is a round number since they were said. But the sicha of Chayei Sarah 5752 is a sicha whose time is every day. This is the sicha which needs to be learned with the greatest enthusiasm and which needs to be etched into the soul of a Chassid in the deepest way. It is the basis and foundation of all his avoda.

WHEN THE REBBE WANTS THE SHLUCHIM TO BE “COOKED”

Numerous discussions in halacha revolve around the ability of hot water to cook that which falls into it. Water that has been transferred to another vessel loses warmth and cannot cook; if it’s transferred into yet another vessel, it is even less hot. The rule that everyone agrees upon is: A kli rishon cooks. Something that was placed into water in a kli rishon will definitely become cooked.

The same is true for hiskashrus of a Chassid to his Rebbe. There are sichos that he heard secondhand, i.e. he received the printed sicha right after Shabbos and learned it in depth, or perhaps he even heard a recording of it. There are answers of the Rebbe that he heard third-hand, from a Chassid who heard it from his friend, and so on.

As for the sichos that he heard firsthand, when he stood at the farbrengen and heard it directly from the Rebbe, he gets “cooked” with those sichos and lives with them forever.

If you carefully observe older Chassidim, you can tell which era they were by the Rebbe. A Chassid who was at the Rebbe at the end of the 60’s will be enthusiastic about Mivtza T’fillin. Someone who learned in 770 in the 80’s will be enthused about Chabad Houses. This is because the horaos that a Chassid lives with are (mainly) those that he heard himself from the Rebbe. They are the ones etched in his soul and it is through them that he feels connected to the Rebbe.

A Chassid who goes on shlichus, goes with the sichos that he heard at that time from the Rebbe. They are the ones that will accompany him throughout his life on shlichus and they are what provide the fire for the work that he does.

When he gets hold of a copy of the sicha of 28 Nissan 5751, he will shudder just as Anash around the world did, but his heart and mind will remain fixated on the task he took on since the last time he heard the Rebbe directly.

Shabbasos and months will pass, he will learn more and more sichos of the Rebbe about the uniqueness of our era, but it will all remain “secondhand” for him. He won’t be “cooked” with the inyan as he should be, and it won’t effect a significant change in his work.

If the Rebbe had announced a chiddush in the avoda of shlichus in the summer of 5751, it would not have penetrated the hearts and minds of the shliach as it ought to. The Rebbe waited for the shluchim to come to 770. When they all gathered in his presence and eagerly awaited to hear what the Rebbe had to say, that was the time to make the announcement about a major change in the avoda of shlichus.

NOT TO REMAIN OUTSIDE

The Rebbe begins the sicha with words that were never heard in Lubavitch before:

In addition to the point in common in the avodas ha’shlichus in general, of the Jewish people in general, as G-d’s emissaries, which is “I was created to serve my Maker,” especially the shluchim of Nasi Doreinu – the point of this shlichus being equal in all times – from time to time a chiddush is added to the shlichus, a special shlichus, which permeates all aspects of shlichus and becomes the “gateway” through which all matters of shlichus “ascend.”

What the Rebbe is leading up to is, he is about to reveal a new point in the work of the shluchim which will serve as the gateway to everything else they do!

Imagine a Chassidishe bachur, who saved up his money bit by bit and arrived at 770 with mesirus nefesh after days of preparation in which he was involved in Torah and avoda to the nth degree, but when he approaches the building, he discovers that the door to 770 is locked!

In contrast to him, there is an ordinary fellow, a workingman, who had the money to buy a ticket and whose preparations were no more than packing his suitcases. But he is able to open the door and walk in.

All the mesirus nefesh, spiritual preparations, and efforts of the bachur won’t help if he cannot get past the door. He remains outside! He did not get to the Rebbe because the Rebbe is inside and he is outside.

The ordinary guy who invested no effort in getting to the Rebbe is in the presence of the Rebbe and absorbing the k’dusha. The refined, Chassidishe bachur won’t get to the Rebbe if the “gateway” does not open.

When the Rebbe spoke about the new avoda as a “gateway to all matters of shlichus,” it meant – whoever does the smallest action which is permeated with this point, is inside. One who is moser nefesh and puts all his efforts and energy into a major project, but is not permeated with this point, will remain outside.

This sounds shocking, but the Rebbe is the one who said it. We are not the ones who are pushing anyone out.

Let us imagine the reaction of a shliach to a Chassid who is involved in the avoda of t’filla but does not go on mivtzaim. He will look down on him and relegate him to the “sixth generation.” The following story illustrates this point:

R’ Yitzchok Horowitz (a.k.a. R’ Itche Masmid, may Hashem avenge his blood) who was a giant in Torah, both Nigleh and Nistar, and was deeply mekushar to the Rebbe, was once at a farbrengen of the Rebbe Rayatz. The Rebbe spoke about the importance of being involved with the education of children and then turned to R’ Itche and said: “Listen closely Itche. If you are involved in tashbar (chinuch of children), then you are mine; otherwise, you are still Itche, but you are not mine.”

THE ONLY MOSHIACH OF THE GENERATION

The essence of what shlichus is, said the Rebbe, will be understood by explaining the shlichus of the first redeemer who used the phrase “send please, through the one You will send.” According to the Rebbe’s explanation, we too can examine Moshe’s shlichus and learn something about our own shlichus:

The first words that Moshe said right after being appointed to redeem the Jewish people were: and they won’t believe me. What connection is there between his mission to redeem the Jewish people and the Jewish people’s belief in him? After all, Moshe had to go to Pharaoh and do what he was commanded, regardless as to what the Jewish people thought!

From Moshe’s shlichus we see that the redeemer of the Jewish people needs the people’s faith in him. He must be accepted by the people, for the “kabbalas ha’malchus” depends solely on the people. Moshiach, as it were, cannot do what he needs to do without the people accepting his malchus.

Kabbalas ha’malchus includes a complete avoda with a p’nimius, but to begin with, it consists of awareness and recognition: a Jew says to the Rebbe, I recognize that you are Moshiach and I accept your malchus. Thereby, he gives the Rebbe the ability to redeem the people.

This is perhaps what the Rebbe means when he says, “l’kabel p’nei Moshiach Tzidkeinu,” when a few lines earlier the Rebbe quoted the Bartenura that speaks about the Moshiach in every generation and announced that the shlichus of the “only Moshiach of our generation” began and we need to accept it.

OBLIVIOUS

This year, bachurim in Lubavitch yeshivos around the world are learning Meseches Shabbos. At the beginning of the tractate, Rashi brings one of the derivatives of “yedi’os ha’tuma” which is “ne’elam mimenu Mikdash.” This is talking about someone who knew he was impure and entered the Beis HaMikdash, but did not know he was in the Beis HaMikdash! This is a shogeig for which he must bring a korban chatas.

How could a person not know he is in the Mikdash?! How could he be so blinded to the place where the Sh’china dwells? There are commentaries that explain that he is someone from Bavel who went to Eretz Yisroel and this is the first time he is entering the Mikdash. Another explanation is that this law applies after the destruction of the Mikdash when we don’t know for sure the exact location of the Mikdash.

But in our generation, this has practical application. There are people who have no idea about the existence of the Beis HaMikdash in our times and about Melech HaMoshiach who sits there. This is our responsibility, to ensure that no Jew is oblivious of the Mikdash and no Jew who is unaware of the identity of Moshiach, the one who builds the Mikdash.

From a shiur given in 770