Suspicion, and they needed to discuss with him matters of great urgency. Only after they were safely in the house did the two introduce themselves. They said that after their research into him, they were assured he could be trusted, and that what they wanted of him was to convey a message to the Lubavitcher Rebbe for each of them. They each had major life decisions to make for which they urgently needed the Rebbe's input, and they couldn't wait for the usual channels.
The older-looking one had recently learned out that the KGB was actively pursuing him, so he wanted to know if the Rebbe thought he should flee Moscow and move to another city, or should he remain there, despite the obvious danger, in order to maintain and further his important educational activities in the Jewish underground, which the Rebbe already knew about.
The second, younger-looking, one wanted the Rebbe's advice whether to apply for an emigration visa to Israel. Recently, a number of such requests had been approved. On the other hand, he currently held an excellent position as a top engineer, and submission of his request would quickly get him fired. Naturally, official refusal of his request would leave him without any means of livelihood.
Rabbi Teitz was moved by this encounter and the fiery dedication of the two Chassidim. He promised to commit to memory their names, their mothers' names and their questions to the Rebbe, because writing them down and having such a paper in his possession would be much too dangerous.
Having achieved their original goal, the three men then relaxed and engaged in conversation, marveling at the differences between their lives. In the course of their conversation, Rabbi Teitz happened to casually mention that the Rebbe had given him a copy of Tanya to keep with him throughout this trip.
The eyes of the two Chassidim opened wide. "Do you mean to say that you have this Tanya from the Rebbe in your possession? Now? Here?" they exclaimed. They begged to see it, and Rabbi Teitz silently withdrew the Tanya from his coat pocket and showed it to them. Eagerly they grabbed it from him and examined it from all sides and angles. Their excitement was palpable: clearly they were overjoyed to be holding a book that less than a week ago had been in the Rebbe's own holy hands. Rabbi Teitz was extremely impressed and affected by their obvious excitement at just holding an item that had recently been held by the Rebbe.
However, it turned out there was more. While fondling the book, the older chosid suddenly shouted out in amazement and pointed to what their scrutiny had uncovered: a page slightly crimped by a folded top corner, as is sometimes done in place of a bookmark. He opened to the page (162 in the standard edition; 630 in the bilingual) and read in awe the very first words: "שהשעה דחוקה לו ביותר" – "...he is extremely pressed for time and finds it utterly impossible to delay".
"That's it! That's my answer from the Rebbe!" he exclaimed, visibly shaking with emotion. "The Rebbe is telling me to hurry and escape from here."
The younger-looking Chassid now quickly picked up the sefer, and examined it even more closely, hoping to find another crimped page. And indeed, there was one! Again they were overwhelmed. This time (38 in the standard edition; 134 in the bilingual) it only took two words: "ליכנס לארץ" [to enter the Land]. "That's the answer for me!" he shouted. "I should apply to make aliyah to the Holy Land now."
The two pleaded with Rabbi Teitz to allow them to keep the Tanya. He refused, saying that the Rebbe had specifically instructed him to carry it with him, and had said nothing about giving it to anyone.
"To this day," related Rabbi Teitz to his good friend Rabbi Halperin, "whenever I study something from this volume, or even happen to glance upon it, I recall this extraordinary episode and get excited all over again."!!
There is much to learn from this extraordinary story, amongst others about the Rebbe’s open ruach hakodesh, and his devotion and care for the Jews in Russia. But, let us focus for now on another point in the story; - on the excitement that was felt by the chassidim to hold, if only briefly, an item that had been handled by the Rebbe; - an excitement that had so impressed the Litvishe Rabbi Teitz.
These were chassidim who personified the greatest levels of mesirus nefesh. This is illustrated in this very story, in which one of the chassidim knew that his welfare – his very life – was in grave danger, and yet he knew that he needed permission to try to protect himself, if it would mean curtailing his activities in hafotzas hamaayonos.
Their guidance and inspiration came from the Rebbe, and, once again, this very story illustrates their readiness to risk their life and liberty, just to establish a contact with the Rebbe. Their whole lives were connected with, and dedicated to, the Rebbe.
And yet, this Tanya brought them to a whole new level of excitement. What was special about the Tanya? Simply stated – it was tangible. Undoubtedly, these unsung heroes learned about, thought about and farbrenged about hiskashrus very extensively. They lived it, and breathed it with the most unimaginable level of self-sacrifice. But, this sefer was something physical, that had been in the Rebbe’s room, in the Rebbe’s hands, in a physical literal sense. And they were now holding it in their own hands, physically. This enabled them to experience and sense their connection, or an aspect of it, in a different dimension, in a much more tangible way.
Making Redemption Tangible
Which helps clarify something very puzzling in the Parsha of this week: Everyone knows that when you travel, you want to travel as lightly as possible, and therefore you only take essentials with you. Of course, there is a huge range in the definition of “essentials”, but there are certain non-essentials that all would agree are not for schlepping on a trip. We all know the story of the Maggid, how when he was asked by an acquaintance, a businessman, why he didn’t have furniture in his house except for the bare minimum, the Maggid responded by asking the businessman why he didn’t have any furniture with him. The man was surprised, and explained that he was not at home, he was merely travelling, and therefore didn’t have his fancy furniture with him (to which the Maggid replied that his sojourn in this world was merely a transition). So, all will agree that something like heavy furniture is surely not to be found in one’s luggage.
But, in this week’s Parsha, we seem to find behaviour that is contrary to this rule: When the Possuk lists the materials needed to construct the mishkan, it includes “atzei shitim”, - wood from Acacia trees. On this Possuk Rashi tells us the midrash, that asks, from where did the Yidden acquire this wood? And the midrash says: Yaakov Ovinu planted trees in Mitzrayim, and instructed his children to take them with them when they leave, so that they should have material with which to build the mishkan.
Now, this is very puzzling. If you are travelling somewhere, and you are planning to build there, why, the building materials would surely not be part of your luggage. When you arrive at your destination, you’ll search for the local Home Depot, or Amazon or ebay and purchase whatever materials you may need. The Yidden, too, conducted extensive business dealings with the non-Jewish merchants throughout their travels, as Chazal tell us, and none of this wood is especially rare. Why then would they need to plant their own trees all those years in advance(!), and then schlep this huge load of wood with them throughout their travels?! What could have necessitated such extensive advance preparations just to acquire the materials?!
The Rebbe explains that Rashi gives us the key to understanding this by quoting this midrash from פירש ר' בית נחומא (which an unusually manner for Rashi to quote). The source is (the midrash of Rabi) Tanchuma, which comes from the root “tanchumin”,- comforting and consolation.
This, then, is the explanation for that practice: The Yidden were enduring the terrible trials and tribulations of Golus Mitzrayim with all of its hardships. Of course they knew that Hashem promised to redeem them, and they believed in the promise (as the Possuk itself confirms ויאמן העם), and they were surely eagerly anticipating the geulah.
But in the meantime they were suffering in golus. They needed some “tanchumin”, some extra comfort, extra strength, to help them endure and survive. And to address this need, Yaakov planted, all those years in advance, the trees which would provide the materials for the mishkan. Like the Tanya in the story, this caused the geula, and the subsequent building of the mishkan, to be concrete and tangible for them. They could look at these trees and know that these very trees are what we will use to construct the mishkan after being liberated from Mitzrayim! The geulah becomes – not something abstract or theoretical – but very practical and concrete. And that is the ultimate “tanchuma”, the comfort and strength that would enable them to reach that point.
This could be an important lesson for us in our golus as well. We all are waiting and anticipating and yearning for the geula. We believe with certainty that the coming of Moshiach is imminent. But that belief and that yearning can be abstract. The Rebbe tells us to live with Moshiach, in a concrete tangible way. That means, it’s not just something somewhere in the future that we’re awaiting, or even eagerly awaiting. But, rather – like the Yidden in Mitzrayim – we must already begin to live geula in a tangible and actual manner. We must begin now the טועמיה, - to already start living the life that we will live when Moshiach comes. It should be something that we can see and sense and touch and feel.
Of course, we all know what the Frierdige Rebbe taught, and what the Rebbe told us, that it is okay to make golus plans. Even though we know that the geula is imminent we still undertake long term projecting, building and planning and organizing, because these plans themselves help speed up the arrival of Moshiach.
But that is merely that it is okay to also make golus plans, despite our certainty about the very speedy arrival of Moshiach. But we don’t even need an explanation or a justification for making geula plans, for beginning to live now as we will live after the redemption. Not merely to wait for it, or even to do things that will hasten Moshiach’s arrival, but begin to sense and experience, in a concrete and tangible way, what we will experience once Moshiach is here (the undiluted ahavas Yisroel, the liberation from any aspect of worldly preoccupations and the לא' יהי עסק כל העולם אלא לדעת את 'ה בלבד).
One of the ways to achieve this is through learning chassidus: The different lifestyle that will be experienced when Moshiach comes is reflected in the fact that then we will conquer the final 3 nations (in addition to the 7 which were already conquered). Chassidus explains that the 7 nations represent the 7 midos. In the times of golus, even the study of Chassidus is geared towards the effect and influence that it can have on our feelings, - our nature and our behavior.
But the coming of Moshiach is marked by conquering the 3 nations that represent the 3 faculties of the intellect, for then will be דיעה את ה', knowing and experiencing G-dliness, not merely as a tool and a means to an end, but as an end in itself. And we can begin to experience that and sense that by learning Chassidus, the deepest and most profound ideas, not merely as a means to refine our character, but to begin living now as we will in the geula.
And this will be our tanchuma, our comfort and strength to survive these last bitter moments of golus, and to experience the ultimate tanchumin that the Eibishter Himself will send us with the coming of Moshiach Now!
L’chaim! May we all be involved, in a very tangible way, with the times of Moshiach, - not caught up with our restaurants and our business deals and our fancy toys and all the rest of our golus plans (we were already yotze the mitzvah of making golus plans behidur long ago!) – but, rather, with those activities that we know will continue to be relevant even after Moshiach comes, and with the materials that we are preparing to use to actually build the third beis hamikdash, and the Eibishter should make it truly concrete and truly tangible and truly real, with the immediate revelation of Moshiach Tzidkeinu NOW!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
לזכות ב"ש ד בן מרים, 'ש יק"ל רפושוט"ו לאויוש מתוך בריאות הנכונה ס"וכ ט בטוב !ג"ה נרו ה נ לזכות ת"ה רה אהרן בן, חנה ק"ל רפושוט"ו אויוש ה" בליל ק"ו עש' פר, תרומה פרשת, זכור שבעים, שנה א" תשפ'ה
