Weekly Story: I Am Giving It Over To You

by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon

This past Wednesday was the 28th of Nissan, 32 years since the Rebbe cried out in public and expressed his tremendous anguish (agmas nefesh) that Moshiach has yet to come. In that sicha, the Rebbe also informed us, that since he did whatever he could and yet, he didn’t succeed in bringing Moshiach, he is giving us the task and responsibility to do so.

Many discuss what they take from this sicha, and in this week’s post, I will write a thought that I said at a farbrengen in regard to this message.

As always, your comments and feedback are appreciated.

Many commentaries ask why does the possuk use the expression “Come to Pharoh,” when apparently the expression should have been “Go to Pharoh.” The Rebbe noted in numerous Sichos and Maamorim that this question is asked in the Zohar, and the answer given is that Moshe Rabeinu was hesitant to go to Pharoh.

The reason he was to meet Pharoh was in order to weaken his power. However, Moshe recognized that Pharoh was still strong. and he felt that at this time he won’t be able to weaken him. This is based on the saying, “Don’t question when you see the wicked are successful.”

Hashem responded that is true, only if you are going on your own, then you won’t be able to weaken him. However, when Hashem said “Come to Pharoh,” He was conveying to Moshe that you’re coming with Me, and since I will be present then, you will succeed. This gave Moshe the strength to go forward, knowing that he would succeed. 

The same can be said here. We all know our shortcomings and yes, we’re not Moshe Rabeinu. Therefore, if Moshe felt that he cannot eradicate the evil that is in the world (in Pharoh), how is it expected of us to succeed in bringing Moshiach, when those who are greater than us, people whom we all know as tzaddikim, weren’t successful? How can it be expected that our actions will succeed?

This thought has repercussions; it can convince the person not to try at all since it seems futile anyways, or even if he puts in effort, it may not be with a full heart and all his energy.

Therefore, to counter this thought, the Rebbe stated I am giving it over to you – meaning I am informing you that you can and will succeed, as long as you do it with a full heart.

But one may ask, how can we succeed when the Rebbe didn’t succeed?

Chassidus explains that the reason Hashem created the world is for the world to be uplifted to the point that it becomes a dwelling place for His glory His essence to reside. In the Maamar Vata Titzavah, the last maaamar we received from the Rebbe, the Rebbe explains that when a tzaddik recognizes that another Jew is not complete, since all Jews are connected to each other, he too is still incomplete.

In other words, it is not enough that the Rebbe and other tzaddikim were ready to receive Moshiach, the Rebbe was informing us that we have to be ready to do so too. Therefore, the Rebbe said after that sicha that people said that they didn’t understand what I meant and asked for; I want people to learn about Moshiach and bring a Geulah/Moshiach mentality into their lives.

To put it in simple words, we heard the Rebbe quote many times the Rambam’s statement and halachic ruling, “Every person should see the world as if it is equally balanced (by good and not good) and one positive action will tip the scale to the good and bring the redemption.”

There was a Farbrengen where the Rebbe discussed that a certain project should be taken care of. Three people were appointed to oversee the project. On Motzei Shabbos they gathered together to discuss the logistics and various difficulties were cropping up throughout their discussions. Rabbi Leibel Groner called them to check in where they were holding, and they proclaimed that they wanted to back out since this project is impossible and they can’t do it! On Sunday morning, the Rebbe called Rabbi Groner to see if there were updates with the project and Rabbi Groner shared the response of the three Chassidim.

The Rebbe responded that he knows that it seemed impossible. However, if they would’ve done it, they would’ve been going on my Kochos, and they would’ve seen success. Rabbi Groner’s immediate response was if he should quickly notify them of what the Rebbe just said! The Rebbe shook his head and responded, “No, because at this point they’ll just be relying on my kochos. I wanted it to be coming from them.”

This is the idea of Chof Ches Nissan. The Rebbe wants it to come from us and for us to invest ourselves into the project. By taking this thought to heart, when we are thinking of whether to do something positive, no longer will we postpone doing it at a later time, but we will do it immediately with a sense of urgency.

May all of our collective actions indeed bring the Geulah with the revelation of Moshiach Tzidkeinu.

Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeim and their chassidim. He can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com