In what is known as the “famous sicha (talk)” which the Rebbe spoke on the 28th of Nisan, 5751 (1991), one of the things that the Rebbe mentioned that evening was quite difficult to hear: everything he had accomplished until that point was for naught—because we are still in galut (exile). Imagine, for anyone, especially Chassidim of the Rebbe, to hear the Rebbe pronounce such a weighty statement is extremely painful. After all the years of the Rebbe’s leadership, and after all the Rebbe’s accomplishments, the Rebbe still said such words!
A possible explanation can be found in the Rebbe’s maamarim (Chassidic discourses) of Bati L’gani from the years 5721 and 5741 (1961 and 1981).
The Rebbe explains that the soul attribute referred to as Netzach, the innate need for victory, is primarily felt by great people. The greater the person, the more this sense of nitzachon, victory, is entrenched deep in his soul. That’s why within the greatest of all the people, the king himself, is where the sense of nitzachon is in its deepest, truest, and strongest form.
There are two reasons a king might fight a war: either to enrich his kingdom from the spoils of war, or simply in order to be victorious and win over the opposing nation. A war fought for spoils is a calculated risk, and it will only be carried out in a manner that makes sense. But the second form of war, a war for victory, defies all logic and reason. For this type of war, the king disposes of all his prized possessions, including the most precious treasures of his ancestors. If that doesn’t suffice, the king is ready to put his very life on the line to ensure that the war ends in victory. How is such a thing possible? If the king loses his life in battle, then what worth was the whole war to begin with?
The answer is that the victory is so deeply entrenched in his soul, it takes precedence even over his regular everyday life!
The Rebbe teaches we are not in this fight to reap benefits and gain “spoils”—even the most lofty and spiritual ones. We are in a war for victory! Anything less than total and complete victory is meaningless! The Rebbe set a clear objective: to finish the job and bring Moshiach.
From the time the Rebbe arrived to the United States (1941), he immediately began to work fervently and incessantly to bring Moshiach. Obviously then, if we measure success against our objective—complete victory with the coming of Moshiach—as long as this goal is not achieved, the Rebbe is telling us that we haven’t really accomplished anything at all!
This is the Rebbe’s very life, like the king for whom the need of victory is so deeply entrenched in his soul, that he is ready to put his physical life on the line to achieve it. And here we stand, still working towards this goal—to finally bring about what the Rebbe set out for us. It is now up to us to complete the job and win the battle, putting an end to the galut and ushering in the redemption. As the Rebbe said in the “famous sicha”: do all that you can to bring Moshiach, immediately!
Adapted from Derher
