Anticipating The Redemption - Volume 1: Publisher's Foreword

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Directly after calling on the Jewish people to "do everything you can to bring Mashiach,"[1] the Rebbe Shlita explained[2] that the primary catalyst in this effort is the study of the concepts of Mashiach and Redemption "as they are developed in the maamarim and the Likkutei Sichos of the Nasi of our generation."

With this intent, we would like to present translations of seven maamarim that focus on the Redemption and its ultimate consummation the Resurrection of the Dead. Translating a maamar involves a change of form and structure as well as the communication of ideas. For the word maamar - discourse - implies that the concepts were intended to be presented in a spoken form. In the Hebrew original, a sentence may be continued for half a page, connecting a series of verb clauses. In the translation, an effort was made to shorten these sentences and adopt the text to a more familiar form. Nevertheless, the basic structure was not changed.

To maintain the flow of the text and to explain some terms and concepts that might be unfamiliar, additions were made. These additions were placed in square brackets [ ] to distinguish them from the original text. However, the additions were woven into the structure of the text so that in its present form, the original and the bracketed additions should be read as a single entity. In addition to the references included in the original text, we have additional references cited in square brackets. The parenthesis ( ) in our translation refer to parenthesis in the original text. Squiggle brackets { } refer to square brackets in the original text.

The first of the maamarim in this collection,[3] entitled Tziyon BaMishpat Tipadeh ViShaveha BeTzedakah ("Zion shall be redeemed through justice and her captives through tzedakah") probes into the meaning of that verse, offering several different interpretations. These different interpretations enable us to appreciate the dynamic of exile and redemption, and to comprehend how the darkness of exile is merely a phase leading to the light of the Redemption.

The second maamar, entitled Lehavin Inyan Techiyas HaMeisim (To Understand the Concept of the Resurrection of the Dead), highlights our Sages' statement "Every Jew has a share in the World to Come," explaining two rationales for this statement:

All Jews are involved in tzedakah (which in an expanded sense refers to all the mitzvos). Through this virtue, they earn a share in the eternal reward of the World to Come.
Every Jew's soul is "an actual part of G-d from above." This spark of G-d transcends all of a person's individual virtues. The revelation of this quality will be the fundamental dimension of the Era of Resurrection.

This concept enables us to appreciate a related idea: that in contrast to Gan Eden, the spiritual realm of incorporate souls, the Era of Resurrection will not be characterized by a continued striving to advance. The essence of the soul is one with G-d's essence. In the Era of Resurrection, this quality will be openly revealed, bringing mankind and the world to a state of complete fulfillment.

The third maamar, entitled Kimei Tzeischa MeiEretz Mitzrayim ("As in the days of your exodus from Egypt"), explains how the entire sequence of time from the exodus until the Future Redemption reflects a process of ongoing growth.

The Hebrew for Egypt, Mitzrayim, is related to the term meitzarim which means "boundaries" or "limitations." The Future Redemption will liberate mankind from all limitations, even the most subtle forms of restraint. These revelations are dependent on our divine service. Thus to introduce the Redemption, we must also manifest a level of devotion that is unlimited in nature. This is indeed the nature of the mesirus nefesh demanded in the period immediately before Mashiach's coming.

The fourth maamar, entitled Kol Yisrael Yesh La'Hem Cheilek L'Olam HaBah ("Every Jew has a share in the World to Come"), focuses on the same statement of our Sages. It emphasizes another point, that the Jewish body was chosen by G-d. As such, it possesses a higher quality than the soul itself. Therefore, the ultimate revelations of the Era of Resurrection will be appreciated by the body and the soul as they are joined together once more.

The existence of this essential dimension within the body also explains the universality of the revelations of the Era of Resurrection. For unlike the revelations of Gan Eden, where selectivity is the rule, all Jews - regardless of their personal virtues - will merit the revelations of the Era of Resurrection.

The fifth maamar, entitled Gadol Yiheyeh Kavod HaBayis HaZeh... ("The glory of this later House will be greater that of the former House") explains the uniqueness of the Third Beis HaMikdash. Using concepts and terms that are familiar only to experienced students of Chassidus, the maamar highlights the nature of the fusion of finiteness and infinity which will characterize the Third Beis HaMikdash and, because of its influence, all existence in the Era of the Redemption.

This maamar presupposes an extensive familiarity with chassidic terminology. For this reason, many of the terms it uses were merely transliterated and not translated. This option was taken to emphasize that the terms have specific meanings that cannot be communicated with a single word or phrase. Despite this maamar's abstract content, we chose to include it in this collection to give our readers a taste of the depth of Chassidic thought.

The sixth maamar, entitled VeAtah Tetzaveh ("And you shall command"), emphasizes the inspiration generated by Moshe Rabbeinu and the "extensions of Moshe Rabbeinu in every generation," the Torah leaders of the Jewish people. It is the Moshe Rabbeinu of the generation who stirs our people's desire for Redemption and prevents them from being lulled into complacency by the exile. Even when a person is blessed with success and prosperity, Moshe's influence causes him to feel a hungering want for Redemption because of the very fact that he is in exile.

This maamar is significant in that it was the last maamar edited by the Rebbe Shlita before he suffered the stroke from which he is presently recuperating. And that significance is heightened by the fact that the Rebbe Shlita personally gave a copy of the maamar to the thousands of men, women, and children who flocked to 770 for that reason on Purim Katan, less than two weeks before the 27th of Adar. In that vein, attention has been drawn to the maamar's conclusion which emphasizes how Moshe's inspiration enables each individual to continue their divine service on their own initiative, shining as "a constant light" without change or variation.

The significance of last maamar in this collection, Borei Niv Sifasayim ("I will create the fruit of the lips") is obvious from the verse on which it is based which emphasizes the importance of speech and healing. Unlike the other maamarim in this collection, this maamar does not focus directly on the subjects of Mashiach and Redemption. Nevertheless, to any reader, the connection is obvious. And that connection is further borne out by statements like: "The matter... is a matter of necessity for the generation [as a whole] and for many individuals [in a personal sense]" and "When... the healing comes from 'I G-d am your Healer,' the infirmity is removed as if it never was."

The concept of healing also relates to another motive for the publication of this text. In a talk delivered approximately a month and a half before the 27th of Adar, 5752,[4] the Rebbe Shlita related that once the Previous Rebbe's doctor approached the Previous Rebbe with a question: Why were the Rebbe's physical afflictions such that they prevented him from speaking properly? Since he used the capacity of speech to spread chassidic teachings, seemingly, Divine Providence should have granted him a greater proficiency in this quality than possessed by others. Instead, the opposite was true.

The Rebbe Shlita did not resolve the question asked by the Previous Rebbe's doctor. Instead, he proposed a solution to be applied by every chassid in his conduct: "Each person must accept a personal challenge, that his study of Torah should be carried out in a manner that can, in whatever way possible, compensate for the difficulty in communication possessed by the leader of our generation."

One of the fundamental elements of preparing for the Redemption is achdus, unity and oneness. And in that spirit, the composition of this text represented the fusion of the efforts of many individuals. Among those contributing were:

Rabbis Sholem Ber Wineberg and Eliyahu Touger who translated the source material;

Yosef Yitzchok Turner for layout and typography;

Rabbi Yonah Avzton, Director of Sichos in English, for the many long hours of painstaking effort in all phases of the project.

May our study of the Rebbe Shlita's maamarim on the Redemption arouse divine blessings that hasten to his complete speedy recovery and enable him to lead the entire Jewish people to Eretz Yisrael in the Redemption in the most immediate future. And then we will hear new teachings from Mashiach in perfect health.

Sichos In English

Erev Shavuos, 5754

Notes:

(Back to text) Sichos of the eve of the 28th of Nissan, 5751 (Sound the Great Shofar, p. 36).

(Back to text) Sichos Shabbos Parshas Shemini, 5751 (ibid., p. 42).

(Back to text) The maamarim are ordered according to the dates when their Hebrew originals were published.

(Back to text) See the sichos of the third of Shvat, 5752.