This week reading begins the book of Deuteronomy and is always read before Tisha B'Av; the date that both the first and second Temples were destroyed. It begins:
"These are the words (D'vorim) that Moses spoke to the Jews before they entered Israel."
Rashi explains that these were really words of reproof; chastising the Jews for their sins in the desert and exhorting them to repent. A very fitting message to read before this tragic holiday when; because of our sins two Temples were destroyed and when we repent the Third Temple will be built.
So, it is very practical to read these words now.
Or is it?
After all, we have been reading these reproofs every Shabbat, for over 3,300 years with no apparent results. Exactly the opposite! In the course of that time both Temples got destroyed and we have been dispersed throughout the world because of our repetition of the same sins over and over again.
So if the previous generations didn’t get the point, how does G-d expect us to get it? After all, according to Judaism the further we get from the Revelation on Mt. Sinai the lower we are spiritually. So, as the lowest generation of all time, how can we expect to change!
But on the other hand, the Lubavitcher Rebbe has said time and time again that OURS is the generation of Moshiach!
Perhaps this story will help us understand.
Over 300 years ago a Jew by the name of Yisroel Baal Shem (a.k.a. the Baal Shem Tov or Besh’t for short) began revitalizing Judaism by advertising his deep and inspiring ideas called "Chassidut". But he met with great opposition. Judaism at that time was seriously divided into two groups; the Torah scholars and the simple working class and there was little or no contact between them. The Baal Shem, wanted to change all that. He stressed that each and every Jew is a "son" of G-d and, although knowledge, erudition and understanding are essential, simplicity and humility are even more so. So he ordered his followers to teach the simple Jews Torah and the intellectual Jews humility.
This raised the scholarly Jews up in arms. They felt that the Baal Shem Tov was doubting the supremacy of intellect and thereby was threatening Judaism. They branded the Besh’t as an apostate and forbade the learning of his teachings. He and his followers were ostracized and even beaten. And although they never managed to find real facts to support their accusations and the Chassidic movement became increasingly accepted; their opposition was fierce.
One of the spearheads of the opposition was a G-d fearing scholar and Kabalist by the name of Rabbi Dovid Forkis. He vehemently despised the Chassidim but, one day it dawned on him that he had no real evidence.
He first sent a pupil of his to attend one of the Besht's Shabbat meals and the pupil returned with the following report: He didn’t find anything wrong. The Besh't had all types of followers some simple people and some great scholars. But one interesting thing was that when they all sat down to eat the Sabbath meal, just before eating bread, everyone except the Besh’t fell asleep for several seconds. He decided to go see for himself.
The next Friday afternoon Rav Dovid rested up well so he wouldn’t be among the sleepers. He then prepared for Shabbat went to the synagogue and after the Shabbat evening prayers, he walked over to the Besht's Synagogue and arrived just as they were preparing the table for the Shabbat Meal.
He sat among the participants. The Besh't arrived, filled a cup with wine, made "Kiddush", everyone went to the sink, washed their hands for bread and took their seats. But as soon Rav Dovid sat down with everyone else he suddenly felt drowsy.
Usually he succeeded in fighting slumber and keeping awake but this time his head drooped down on his chest, he fell into a deep unexplainable sleep and had a dream.
He was standing with several rabbis and all were listening to an argument between the Baal Shem Tov and his pupil Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritz. Rabbi Dov Ber contended that his master's mystical explanation regarding N'tilat Yadaim (Washing before bread) disagreed with the Kabalistic opinion of the Ar'i Zal (Rabbi Isaac Luria). While the Besh't held that his opinion, although novel, was correct and even the Ar'I himself would agree with it.
From nowhere appeared another Jew, younger and of indescribable radiance and holiness, who announced "I agree! The Baal Shem Tov is correct!" Rav Dovid began trembling with awe. He realized that the intruder was obviously the Ar'i himself.
Suddenly he awoke at the dinner table and all the Chassidim were singing, swaying back and forth. It only had been a dream!
Suddenly the Baal Shem Tov cleared his throat, the room fell silent, and he began to speak about the commandment of washing the hands before eating bread. He connected it to the Torah section of that week and explained the connection from many angles bringing sources, exact quotes and pages, for every idea.
"Nice!" thought Rav Forkis to himself. "He is certainly a genius! But there are a lot of geniuses.
But when he began expounding Kabalistic ideas suddenly his prize pupil Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritz who sat in the closest seat to him voiced an objection. Exactly as it had been in Rabbi Forkis’ dream!
"Excuse me but the Ar'i writes something different!" he said. And he began quoting by heart from the Shaar HaKavanot, (the book of kabalistic intentions).
"No no!" Answered the Besh't, 'I am right, and if you don't believe me just ask Rav Dovid Forkis, he just heard the Ar'i agree with me in heaven."
At that point Rav Dovid Forkis became the Baal Shem Tov's follower.
Before we see how this relates to the question we asked above, let us consider an interesting statement of the Lubavitcher Rebbe about sleep.
The Rebbe rhetorically asked; what is sleep? Why did G-d create such a seemingly useless thing? Man exists only to consciously serve the Creator, but when we’re asleep we are unconscious. So what is the purpose of sleep?
And he answered; when we’re asleep we think that what we dream is real.
But then, when we actually wake up, we realize we were wrong. Suddenly we experience a new, truer reality!!
So, sleep teaches us that it could be that even now, in our normal waking state, perhaps we also have to ‘wake up’ to a truer reality.
In other words, sleep teaches us that each day’s service and appreciation of G-d can and must be TOTALLY NEW and INCOMPARABLY BETTER than yesterday’s.
And that is what can be learned from sleep; we learn to leave the false security of yesterday and begin anew, in a totally higher way.
This is what happened to Rav Dovid in our story; his falling asleep and waking up enabled him to see things in a TOTALLY different way.
So according to this, the destructions of both Temples and the ensuing ‘exile’ we are now experiencing are really wakeup calls to reveal an incomparably higher appreciation of G-d.
And being TRULY awake will only be realized by the arrival of Moshiach and the Third, final, Temple he will build.
This answers our question about how can Moshiach come in our low generation.
True, our generation is apparently in the deepest sleep. But ours will be the first to truly wake up to the above lesson!!! As King David writes in Psalm 126:1.
That is what Moshiach will do. He will awaken the Jews, build the third Temple, reveal the true nature of the Jewish soul and transform the entire world to reveal INCOMPARABLE infinite good.
And the Lubavitcher Rebbe says this should happen at any moment. We are standing on the merits of thousands of years of Jewish hopes, prayers and suffering. Now it could be that just one more good deed, word or even thought can bring ...
Moshiach NOW!!
Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel
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