Not
To Become A Bigger Chassid
By Rabbi Levi
Yitzchok Ginsberg
Shortly
before leaving Eretz Yisroel for a year in 770 as part of the k’vutza,
my friends and I had the z’chus of farbrenging
with our mashpia, the late Reb Mendel Futerfas. For hours
on end the mashke and niggunim flowed freely, till
mere words were insufficient to express our emotions.
Reb
Mendel then said something that caught our attention. “What does
being in the k’vutza really mean?” he asked us. “Is
it just another stage in your development as Tmimim, or a higher
level of growing ‘from strength to strength?’ Let me explain
what I mean…
“Consider
the little boy from a Chassidic home who is about to begin
learning in cheider. The child is happy to have reached
this milestone, as it means that he is no longer considered a
baby. The child begins to conduct himself more maturely and shows
greater self-control. He demands of himself more Chassidishkeit,
more yiras Shamayim, and resolves to spend a little less
time playing with his friends and more time learning.
“Over
the next few years the process of maturing continues. He begins to
study Mishna, then Gemara, and derives satisfaction
each step of the way in his accomplishments.
“At
long last he becomes a bar mitzva, and delivers the maamer
‘Isa b’Midrash Tehillim’ after months of preparation.
Everyone wishes him the traditional blessing of the Rebbe — that
he should grow up to be a ‘Chassid, yerei Shamayim, and a
lamdan.’”
At
that point Reb Mendel paused for emphasis. “Make no mistake –
the progression has to be in that particular order: first a
Chassid, then a yerei Shamayim, then a lamdan. If yiras
Shamayim comes before Chassidus, the result will not be a real
fear of G-d, just a run-of-the-mill frumkeit. If the
learning comes first, it will always have the potential to be
abused.
“Now
the bar mitzva boy is a ‘man.’ Everyone reminds him
that he can now be counted in a minyan, and that from now
on he is obligated in the Torah’s mitzvos. The bar
mitzva boy accepts his new responsibilities and duties with an
appropriate sense of gravity.
“A
few years later he is a full-fledged yeshiva bachur. His
enthusiasm and excitement reach new heights. Then he moves up from
the yeshiva ketana to the yeshiva gedola. He is now
a Tamim, grateful to be among the select Chayalei Beis Dovid.
His whole being is dedicated to fulfilling the will of our holy
Rebbeim.
“Finally,
he is chosen to be part of the k’vutza to spend an entire
year in the Rebbe’s daled amos. But what does it mean?
What does it really signify?”
Reb
Mendel paused to say another l’chaim, and when he resumed
speaking he was almost shouting. “No, it’s not just another
stage in the child’s education. The step you are about to take
is another matter entirely! The time has come for you to divest
yourselves of form. Your objective is not to become a bigger
Chassid or one that is more mekushar. No, the time has come
for you to cease being a meztius [i.e., a discrete
existence]!
“Up
until now it was all right to be a metziyus, because it was
a holy metziyus. You were a Chassid, a yerei Shamayim,
or a lamdan. You were a mekushar, a Tamim, or a shliach.
These were all good things, but the bottom line was that you were
still a metziyus, and compared to Hashem, it’s still
considered a helem v’hester.
“You
are now going to the Rebbe,” Reb Mendel concluded, ‘not
to learn how to become better individuals, but to transcend being
individuals entirely. You’ve got to go beyond the form,
regardless of how sublime that form may be. You must belong to
Hashem alone, and the only way to do this is by giving yourselves
over to the Rebbe unconditionally. For even the greatest meztius
is still limited…”
*
* *
As
the Rebbe MH”M has explained in many sichos kodesh, the
fact that the Yom HaGeula of Gimmel Tammuz always occurs on
the same day of the week as the 17th of Tammuz and Tisha B’Av
underscores their inner redemptive quality.
Externally
representing destruction and exile, the 17th of Tammuz and Tisha
B’Av are defined according to halacha as being negative,
and for that reason we avoid doing things that require making the
special bracha of SheChechiyanu. At the same time,
however, we know that nothing in the world occurs by coincidence,
and that “no evil descends from Above.” Thus, it is precisely
when something appears to be the furthest from good that it
actually contains the very highest level of concealed goodness.
Indeed, this is the lesson of Gimmel Tammuz:
Gimmel
Tammuz 5687 was the day on which the Rebbe Rayatz was found
“guilty,” “deserving of punishment” and sentenced to
exile. In fact, in the Rebbe Rayatz’s own words, on that day
“I was forced to go into exile in my city of refuge.” Later,
of course, it would become obvious how Gimmel Tammuz was actually
the beginning of the Rebbe’s redemption, leading to his
departure from the Soviet Union and the dissemination of Yiddishkeit
around the world on a truly unprecedented scale. This was also
when he first declared “Immediate teshuva will bring
immediate Geula.” This entire chain of events, which will
ultimately culminate in the final Redemption with Moshiach, was
thus initiated on Gimmel Tammuz, which all along contained the
potential for the highest good.
Gimmel
Tammuz also contains the key for understanding the inner nature of
the Three Weeks. The entire period of Bein HaMetzarim,
which outwardly symbolizes destruction and exile, is only for the
purpose of leading to the highest level of hiskashrus and
G-dly revelation in the Messianic era. In other words, the events
that occurred were nothing but a removal of the form and
limitations that will ultimately transcend all limitations, when
“Yerushalayim will exist without walls.” However, it is only
when Moshiach comes that we will be able to correctly perceive the
positive role that the Galus played.
In
the times of the Beis HaMikdash, open miracles were
observed as a matter of course, and it was easy to perceive G-dliness.
Everyone could attain a very high level of bittul and hiskashrus,
because it didn’t require much effort. At the same time, people
were limited by their own perceptions. They were spiritually
elevated, but only in direct proportion to what they could see and
hear.
It
was not until after the destruction, when it appeared as if “G-d
has abandoned the earth,” chas v’shalom, that the inner
and essential connection between the Jew and G-d was revealed. It
was then that we were able to perceive that this bond is
independent of all external factors. Immutable and eternal, the pintele
Yid transcends the very concept of revelations.
Nonetheless,
during the Galus we are forbidden to thank G-d for the
destruction and exile. In fact, a Jew is obligated to despise the Galus
with every fiber of his being. Only afterward, in the Messianic
era, will we be able to declare, “O L-rd, I will praise you;
though you were angry with me.”
In
a certain sense, the concept of redemption involves “opening our
eyes” to the true reality, which was not readily apparent during
the Galus. We are now at the end of the redemptive process,
on the very threshold of the final Redemption. We are the last
generation of Galus and the first generation of Geula.
The service of refining the world has been completed, and even the
“buttons have been polished.” And as the Rebbe MH”M has
explained, the closer we get to the Geula, the less we
perceive the painful and negative qualities of Galus, and
the easier it is to have a foretaste of the ultimate simcha.
That
is why the month of Tammuz had only negative connotations prior to
our generation (the name itself is the name of a Babylonian
idol!), whereas now, with the advent of the “holiday of
holidays,” Yud-Beis/Yud-Gimmel Tammuz, the entire month is known
as the “month of Geula.”
All
this, the Rebbe has explained, was only to uncover the essential
quality of the day of Gimmel Tammuz as the “beginning of the
redemption.” Not only was it not a descent (even for the
purpose of ascent), but an integral part of the redemption itself,
which is further reflected in the 17th of Tammuz and in Tisha
B’Av, when Moshiach is both born and revealed. Gimmel Tammuz,
the Rebbe concludes, is thus the key to the ultimate
transformation of this period into “days of rejoicing and
happiness.”
Our
essential connection to Hashem, which transcends all external
factors, will be completely manifested in the third Beis
HaMikdash, which, as “an edifice built by G-d,” will last
forever. Melech HaMoshiach himself will then be revealed as
existing above all limitations (the appearance of illness, etc.),
by virtue of his complete and total unity with G-d and his bittul
to Him.
On
Shabbos Parshas BaMidbar 5751, the Rebbe described the practical
difficulties involved in rising above the Galus in order to
perceive the true reality: “They were born in Galus, they
grew up in Galus, and they are, therefore, people who are
steeped in Galus. And all of the questions and inquiries
they pose stem from the darkness of the Galus.”
The
only way to succeed is to follow the exact tried and true recipe
for bringing the Geula that has been given to us by the
Rebbe MH”M: learning about Moshiach and Redemption. Of course,
during the Three Weeks, this also includes the Rebbe’s teachings
(maamarim and sichos) that pertain to the Beis
HaMikdash.
There
is no substitute for studying the weekly Dvar Malchus, if
not several times then at least once. In such a manner will our
hearts and minds be filled with Moshiach-awareness, until the
whole world will cry out in one voice: “Yechi
Adoneinu Moreinu V’Rabbeinu Melech HaMoshiach L’olam Va’ed!”
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