Mazel Tov to Avrumi Creimer on the occasion of his engagement. May you use out the special period of Yokor Mikol yokor to its’ utmost! Mazel Tov to Srully Deitsch on the birth of his son. Mazel Tov to our esteemed menahel Rabbi Mendel Plotkin on the birth of his son. Mazel Tov to Moshe Weiner on the birth of his daughter Rivka (named after the shlucha kedosha Rivka Holberg). May the new children be raised LTOvCHuMaaT mitoch harchovo, to be true chayo”lim, and may they know a much better world!
The following story about the baal hageulah is in Likkutei Sippurim of R’ Moel Perlov:
R’ Nochum, the son of the Mitteler Rebbe, was once talking with Chassidim, and he said to them: “People speak about moifsim performed by my father. I don’t know anything about it, all I know is one thing that I personally witnessed: Once, there was a fire in the ohel of my father, and all those present were trying to extinguish it. I wanted to save the sefer Torah, however, as I neared the aron kodesh, the fire was so intense that I was unable to get any closer. As I stood there trying to figure out what to do, I suddenly saw my father in front of me, holding the sefer Torah. He handed me the sefer Torah, and immediately disappeared.
Sometimes, when we consider the world around us, we see a conflagration, that is threatening to r”l consume all that we know and all that is dear to us. We clearly witness the legendary blaze as it descends to the altar of the baal, to encourage the wicked, and empower them to carry out their evil designs.
We know undoubtedly that we are entrusted with a sacred and vital mission; - to rescue and salvage the Torah. But, at times, this task appears very daunting; the fire intimidates us, its’ flame seems too intense, the inferno too threatening. Our abilities, our strengths, seem to us to be so puny, so insignificant, next to the enormous task that we are expected to achieve.
At such times we have to remember that we are not expected to do anything alone. Our Rebbeim, our Rebbe, is the one who will rescue the Torah from the inferno. We have merely to be ready to accept the sefer from his hands, and carry it out to safety.
This lesson is applicable on two fronts: When dealing with ourselves; - with our own nefesh habehamis. When we are attempting to salvage the sefer Torah, - the nekudas hayahadus that dwells within us, to awaken it and protect it from being engulfed by the flames of our mundane desires, it sometimes appears as if we can’t even get close to it! Yoda inish benafshei, and to each person the negative fire burning within appears to obstruct his access to his spark of G-dliness.
But in fact, all we have to do is to resolve that we want to save the Torah, to decide that we are committed to behave in a way that reflects our spark of G-dliness (see the maamar of Yud Kislev in melukat vov: “the thought about yechida and resolution to act accordingly brings about the podoh besholom”). Then we will see that the Rebbe will enable us to bypass the inferno, and will hand us the sefer Torah.
This lesson is also applicable with regards to shlichus: Sometimes the darkness that we have to penetrate in order to accomplish anything meaningful, the obstacles that we have to confront in order to meet with any success, appear so overwhelming that we question whether it’s a viable option to go on shlichus in the first place.
At such times it would be a good idea to take heed of all of those who went on shlichus and were successful beyond their wildest imaginations [I know, it’s customary in such situations to focus on the few horror stories etc., but you have to look at the entire picture, and the success stories are disproportionately more both in number and in remarkability]. They expressed a readiness to be the carrier of the sefer Torah, and the Rebbe miraculously handed it to them.
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The Rebbe has entrusted our generation with the sacred mission of bringing about the complete geulah. Not to sigh about it, not to cry about it, not even to get excited about it. But to actually bring about the revelation of Moshiach Tzidkeinu.
[A very prominent Rov and poseik was once by the Rebbe for dollars, and the Rebbe instructed him to pasken that Moshiach should come. The Rov gestured with his hands, and the Rebbe said to him (not the exact words): “Vos macht ir mit di hent, men meint bepoiel mamosh” (- I am not telling you to get excited, to gesticulate with your hands, to go through any type of motions. I am instructing you in something practical and actual: Bring Moshiach now!)]
And, unquestionably, at times this appears to be the most daunting job of all. If in Tanya, with regards to the generation of the Alter Rebbe and the lofty Chassidim (and Yidden in general) that lived then, the Alter Rebbe testifies in Tanya that this world is “olam hakelipos vehasitra achara.. kol maaseh olam hazeh koshim ve’ro’im vehorisho’im govrim bo”, then what would he write specifically about our generation?! Who can survive in this inferno, let alone overcome it?!
Yet, here too, all that’s being demanded is our dedication and commitment. We have to endeavor to bring about Moshiach, to look for ways to get closer to the aron hakodesh – to the Rebbe.
And suddenly, instantly, we will see the Rebbe handing us the holy Torah. But, unlike in the above story, the Rebbe will never again disappear ch”v, but will lead us triumphantly and joyously into the ultimate geulah, when we will once and for all experience the true podoh besholom nafshi!
L’chaim! As we are in a yom geulah, and Chazal tell us l’mismach geulah l’geulah, may the podoh b’sholom nafshi be not a song or a commemoration of past events, but actual and current, both the immediate individual geulah for all, and more importantly the final and complete podoh b’sholom; - the hisgalus of Moshiach Tzidkeinu TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
