This week’s Torah reading opens as Moses begs G-d (Va'etchanan means ‘I pleaded’) for permission to enter the Holy Land.
It comes immediately after the saddest ‘holiday’ (see Lam. 1:15) in the Jewish year, Tisha B’Av, when we, like Moses, also beg G-d to enter the Holy Land; only we beg it should happen via Moshiach who will build the Third Temple.
This week’s Torah reading also contains the commandment of Tefillin (Phylacteries); tying two leather boxes; each containing four special Torah paragraphs, one on the arm and another on the head.
According to Kabala and Chassidut, everything in the creation, and how much more so in the Torah, is interconnected. So there must be a connection between the destruction of the Temples, arrival of Moshiach, and the commandment of Tefillin.
To understand what it is here is a story.
Judaism is not like the other religions. While the other religions are interested primarily in heaven and receiving rewards from G-d, the aim of Judaism is perfecting the world and GIVING to G-d.
This selflessness is the secret of happiness and it was rejuvenated and taught by the ‘Baal Shem Tov’ some 300 years ago in the Chassidic Movement. But it wasn’t easy as we will see from the following story.
Some 150 years ago in Russia the Czarist government, in an attempt to divert public attention from its ineptitude and the poverty and corruption that prevailed everywhere, began an unofficial program of hatred against the Jews blaming them for everything.
Anti-Semitic pamphlets began appearing on the streets and they fell on fertile soil; the Russians were natural anti-Semites; their religion was founded on anti-Semitism and the Jews were easy targets. Here a Jew was beaten, there a Jewish factory was broken into, and elsewhere a Jewish store was ransacked.
Wealthy Jews tried bribery, connections, favors etc. but to no avail. The air was full of hatred and everyone knew that at any moment full-scale Pogroms would break loose.
It must be remembered that the Jews in Czarist Russia had virtually no power. Their very lives were dependent totally on the whims of the Czar, the police, the Church and the government. Something like how it was in Egypt under Pharaoh.
The Jews believed that the same G-d that took them from Egypt and had been protecting them ever since was protecting them now. But they needed a Moses to actually bring it into reality.
That ‘Moses’ was Rebbe Shmuel - the fourth leader of the Chabad Chassidic movement. (aka HaMaharash)
He decided to take drastic and very dangerous action.
He traveled to Germany and France and several other European countries, arranged meetings with powerful, important people including major bank owners and investors and convinced them not to loan money to or support Russia until she promised to protect her Jewish citizens.
The Rebbe did not keep the meetings a secret and when he returned to Russia all the rich or influential Jews there were afraid to even be seen with him. They were certain that his brazen actions would be treated as treason and earn him and anyone associated with him imprisonment or worse.
But the Rebbe announced that there was more to come. He sent letters to all the Jewish leaders in Russia explaining that his deeds in Europe were only the first step in his plan. The second step was to pressure his way into a private meeting with the Czar himself! And he wanted them to accompany him!!
The others thought he was insane and refused outright. His plan was suicidal!
But the Rebbe calmly replied to them, “Don’t worry. I’ll take two of my Chassidim (followers) who have no idea what fear is.... and we will succeed!”
He chose Rabbi Chaim Moshayav and Rabbi Nachum Hermant to accompany him and they related the rest of the story.
“We traveled with the Rebbe to Petersburg, the capital city where the Rebbe arranged for himself a meeting with the Minister of the Interior of Russia. The meeting was set in one week’s time. When we asked the Rebbe what his approach would be he replied ‘I am no different than my predecessors who put everything up for sacrifice, including their very lives, for the Jewish people. I do not think about myself at all and there is no room here for compromise.’”
“When the date arrived, we entered the huge, massively decorated building, passed tens of guards and soldiers and approached the door of the minister’s room. The Rebbe’s appearance was royal; his face shone holiness and his countenance was so splendid and awesome that it even made an impression on the Minister; when he entered the room the Minister seemed startled. He stood in respect, shook the Rebbe’s hand and even offered him a seat next to himself for the conversation.
“But quickly the Minister took hold of himself and remembered that he was the official and the Rebbe was just a ‘Jew’. His face changed to red, his eyes narrowed and he began pounding on the table and screaming at the Rebbe and us with fury.
‘Do you think we don’t know what you were up to in Europe!? The Czar knows EVERYTHING about you. EVERYTHING!!! We know who you met with and what you said. You should know that in our eyes and in the eyes of His Majesty the Czar you are a traitor! A traitor against your country!!! And you will pay!!! You ALL will PAY!!!’”
“Our eyes were glued to the Rebbe. We had no thought what-so-ever about ourselves rather we stared at his face, followed each movement of his hands or utterance of his mouth. But despite the frightening words of the Minister, he did not seem to be in the least moved.
“The Rebbe rose slightly in his chair and, staring intently at the Minister announced, ‘What?! Does your government think that the blood of our brothers and of our sons and daughters can be spilled, our property can be ransacked and we would remain quiet and mute?! And even bend our knees to you and bow in subservience?!’
“The Rebbe spoke with total certainty and fearlessness as though he was conveying a message from G-d. ‘We are faithful citizens of Russia with equal rights!! Is it not enough that you have forced us to live in restricted areas for no reason? Do we not deserve to be protected from evil blood-thirsty and money-thirsty vandals?!!?’
“The Minister was in shock. The Rebbe, took a few long breaths, waited for his words to sink in and continued. ‘I have come in the name of all my Jewish brothers to request an appointment to speak to his glorious majesty the Czar and to present before him our miserable plight. Certainly, he will grace us with the assistance and protection that we deserve.”
“The Minister, who quite probably had a hand in many of the evil decrees on the Jews himself, suddenly could not summon up the courage to reply... the Rebbe took all the wind out of his sails. He sat back in his chair, relieved that the Rebbe had finished, wiped his brow, opened his collar and said, ‘Give me a few days in order to see what can be done. Only then can I reply to your request.’ He answered meekly.
“When we left the Minister’s office the Rebbe was so exhausted that he had to be helped to walk and when we arrived at the hotel where we were staying he fainted! It was necessary to call a doctor to revive him. Then, when he woke, he said, ‘That meeting cost me a lot of health, but I am certain that it was worthwhile.’
A few days later the Rebbe was invited to another meeting with the Minister who informed him that due to the Czar’s extremely tight and vitally important schedule it was impossible to arrange a meeting with him. But nevertheless, the Czar did hear the Rebbe’s requests and promised that they would be honored.
And, so it was! Just a few days later letters were sent to all the governors of the outlying districts ordering them by Royal Decree of the Czar to protect the Jews and to put an end to the threats on their lives and property. This opened a period of relative peace in many areas of Russia. (Sefer HaToldot, Moharash pg 52)
This answers our question about the Temples, Tefillin and Moshiach.
The commandment of Tefillin is to put boxes on the arm and the head each containing the ‘motto’ of Judaism “Shma Yisroel” Listen Jews, G-d is Our power, G-d is ONE...” (Deut. 6:4).
In other words, we must put into our head that G-d is One; creating, ruling, enlivening and directing everything. But this awareness must also enter our heart.
That is the reason the Two Holy Temples were destroyed. The Jews believed in G-d but their hearts were elsewhere; into idolatry, selfishness etc.
And so, it was necessary for the true Jewish leaders of every generation (Like the Rebbe in our story) to use self-sacrifice to arouse and save them.
But today our generation has become the generation of Moshiach when the minds and hearts of ALL Jews will be awakened to the ONE G-d.
Today our enemy is not the Czar or anti-Semitism but rather ... ignorance. Jews simply do not know what Judaism, Moshiach or G-d is. But ALL the Jews are ready to learn.
Therefore, the Rebbe, broke through all boundaries and established ‘Chabad Houses’ throughout the world in order to teach and put the idea of Moshiach in the minds and hearts of the entire world.
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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