1

It is customary that, after spending a period of time together, we gather once more, so that the bonds of unity established will continue even after every individual has returned home.

Every journey undertaken by a Jew is ultimately for the sake of fulfilling that Jew's portion in the universal mission to make our world a dwelling for G-d. As each one of us returns to his individual place, we should strengthen the bonds of oneness which connect us. Indeed, the oneness between us should be so strong that, not only will it not be weakened by the geographic distance, it will generate a yearning for the coming of a time when that oneness will be renewed.

This reflects the mission of the Jewish people during the time of exile as a whole. The true place of the Jewish people is Eretz Yisrael, "the land which the eyes of G-d your L-rd is upon it, from the beginning of the year until the end of the year." More particularly, the home of every Jew is Jerusalem, the Holy City. (As evidence of Jerusalem's connection to the entire Jewish people, Jerusalem was not the property of any tribe -- or tribes.) Within Jerusalem itself, a Jew's home is the Beis HaMikdash, and more particularly, the Holy of Holies.

When a Jew is in such a holy place, it is easier to carry out the mission of making this world a dwelling for G-d, because of the atmosphere of holiness in which one lives. G-d, however, decided otherwise, and sent the Jews into exile.[57] In particular, the exile is felt more powerfully in the present time, ikvesa deMishicha, the era immediately before Mashiach comes. For the darkness of exile is felt more powerfully as the distance from the time of the Beis HaMikdash increases.

Although the darkness of exile increases the difficulty in fulfilling our mission of transforming the world into G-d's dwelling, it does not prevent our fulfillment of it. On the contrary, it increases our desire for redemption which in turn motivates us to dedicate greater energies to the fulfillment of this mission.

The bond of oneness we share relates to Yud-Beis Tammuz as reflected in the Previous Rebbe's statement, "the Holy One, blessed be He, did not redeem me alone on Yud-Beis Tammuz, but rather, all those who love of our holy Torah, those who observe its mitzvos, and all those who bear the name[58] Israel."[59]

This applies not only to the redemption that originally took place on Yud-Beis Tammuz, but also to the commemoration of Yud-Beis Tammuz every year and involves even those individuals who were born after the passing of the Previous Rebbe. Since all redemptions are interrelated, there is a connection between the redemption of Yud-Beis Tammuz and the ultimate Redemption. And it is at the time of the ultimate Redemption that the oneness of the Jewish people will be expressed again, for then, they will return to Eretz Yisrael, to Jerusalem, and to the Beis HaMikdash.

2

The above influences are enhanced by the fact that this year, Yud-Beis Tammuz was celebrated on Shabbos. This indicates that the concept of redemption is permeated with the restful pleasure of the Shabbos day.

From Shabbos, blessing is drawn down to all the days of the coming week. This includes the present night, the eve of the fifteenth of the month, the night when the moon shines in its fullness. This indicates a full blossoming of all matters of the month of Tammuz, including the month's days of redemption.

In particular, there is a unique aspect connected with the fifteenth of Tammuz this year, for it falls on a Tuesday, the third day of the week, a day associated with the repetition of the statement, "And G-d saw that it was good." This refers to a twofold good, "good to the heavens" and "good to the created beings." To translate this into personal terms, "good to oneself" and "good to others," sharing the good one has with others in the spirit of "Love your neighbor as yourself."

There is a connection to the above in this week's Torah reading, Parshas Pinchas, which mentions the census of the Jewish people. Why does G-d count the Jews? Because of their dearness to Him.[60]

Similarly, there is a connection to the Torah reading of the previous week, Parshas Chukas, where there is also an allusion to the concept of oneness. For the name Chukas relates to the concept of hewing letters, chakikah, in Hebrew. When a letter is hewn into stone, like the letters of the Ten Commandments which were hewn into the tablets, it is part and parcel of the stone itself. It can never be separated from it.

In our divine service, this refers to a state of oneness between a Jew and the Torah where the Torah is inscribed upon our souls, as it were. What is the source for this connection? Because the image of the Jews' souls are inscribed before G-d, as it were.[61]

May the oneness of the Jewish people as expressed on Yud-Beis Tammuz be reflected in a continuing bond of oneness which will relate us to each other even when we are geographically distant. And through our fulfillment of our mission of making the world a dwelling for G-d, we will spread that oneness throughout the world. In this manner, we will herald and hasten the coming of the Redemption when "a great congregation will return here," the Jews will return to our holy land as a single unified people.

3

On this occasion, it is also worthy to mention the directive of continuing the farbrengen of Yud-Beis Tammuz by holding three successive gatherings in the days that follow, beginning Sunday, the 13th of Tammuz, and continuing on the 14th, and 15th of the month.

To draw attention to significance of the number 14, âë, in Hebrew. âë means "hand." Thus the 14th of the month can be appreciated as a day when every person has the potential to stretch out his hand and receive G-d's blessings.

This leads to the 15th of the month, the date associated with the full shining of the moon. 15 is also numerically equivalent to the letters ä-ë, which form G-d's Name. Indeed, this name is one of the more elevated names of G-d.

This gathering will be concluded by distributing money to be given to tzedakah, for "tzedakah brings the redemption near." May the Redemption indeed come in the near future. And from the redemption of Yud-Beis Tammuz when people of all nations saw the wondrous miracle of the Previous Rebbe's redemption, we will proceed to the era when "I transform the nations... to serve G-d with one purpose," with the coming of the Redemption. May this take place in the immediate future.

   

Notes:

57. (Back to text) Even those Jews living in Eretz Yisrael are living in exile, as reflected by their inclusion of the phrase, "Because of our sins, we were exiled from our land" in their prayers, and their observance of other customs associated with the exile.

58. (Back to text) The Hebrew term translated as "bear the name," äÉàïë, also has the implication of a name other than one's given name which people at large used to refer to one. In this context, it refers to a person estranged from his Jewish identity to the point that "Israel" is a name he is called by others and not by himself.

59. (Back to text) Moreover, the redemption of Yud-Beis Tammuz also affected gentiles. Indeed, gentiles played a significant role in securing the Previous Rebbe's release.

60. (Back to text) In particular, this point is brought out by the Torah reading associated with the present day which describes the census of the tribe of Levi, the "legion of the king." And as mentioned by the Rambam, the uniqueness of the tribe of Levi is not reserved only to the biological descendants of that tribe, but applies to "all those who hearts motivate them... to serve G-d."

61. (Back to text) The oneness between the Jews, G-d, and the Torah was expressed at the time of the giving of the Torah. Significantly, it was at that time that the unity of the Jewish people also reached its zenith, for then, the Jews camped, "as one man, with one heart."

    The fusion of these two concepts is also reflected in the Ten Commandments themselves. For the Ten Commandments begin, "I am G-d" and conclude with safeguarding "all that belongs to your colleague."