Weekly Dvar Torah: Shabbos of Redemption
On the seventeenth of Tammuz, which this year falls on Shabbos, historically by the Rebbe was unusually a joyous Shabbos.
Why is this so important to know?
The 17th of Tammuz is observed every year as the fast of ‘Shiva Asar B’Tammuz’, we fast on this day to mourn the breach of the walls of Jerusalem after the siege by the Romans during the second temple, and prior to this by the Babylonians during the first temple, which ultimately led to the destruction of both temples on Tisha B’Av.
However, this year, since the 17th of Tammuz falls on Shabbos, instead of fasting, we actually observe a Shabbos with festive Shabbos meals, and we are forbidden to display any form of mourning, and the fast is delayed till Sunday, after Shabbos.
May we merit to have this fast pushed off not just for one day, but it should be pushed off totally since we will experience the ultimate redemption with Moshiach NOW!
So what are we actually going to do on this Shabbos?
We will read the Parsha of Balak, the Parsha which teaches us all about Moshiach.
Wow, we are taking it from one extreme to the other, instead of mourning for the destruction of the old temples and the exile that followed, we will be all engrossed in Geula and redemption, which will lead to the rebuilding of the third temple.
What exactly is happening here?
Balak the king of Moav, a descendent of Moav who was born out of a curious union of Lot and his daughter, hires Balaam the prophet to curse the Jews.
Balaam, the greatest prophet amongst the nations, the antithesis of Moshe, the greatest prophet of the Jews, tries his hardest to please Balak, but instead he ends up praising the Jews and prophesying about their ultimate redemption with Moshiach, and this becomes the first source in Torah teaching us about Moshiach.
How curious that there is no earlier or better source to teach us about Moshiach, but this ultimate evil scheme of Balak and Balaam.
Let’s dig a little deeper.
Moshiach is a descendent of King David, who is a descendent of Ruth (and Boaz), who herself is also a descendent of Moav, not a very pristine pedigree, so why is it important that Moshiach come from Ruth?
Furthermore, King David who is also a descendent of Boaz, who descends from Judah, he comes from Peretz who was born to Tamar who became pregnant from Judah, a complicated union at the time, and Moshiach comes from such unusual pedigree to put it mildly, couldn’t it be that Moshiach, the ultimate purpose and goal of the entire creation should come from more noble pedigree?
Chassidus teaches that the purpose of creation is to take a world which seems to be the antithesis of G-dliness, and it should be transformed from the bottommost part of creation, the most anti G-dly part of creation, and to take even the most illicit and most un-G-dly, to serve G-d’s desire to make for Him a dwelling place in this lowest-of-the-lowest part of the world.
In order to get there, there is a process of trials and tribulations, challenges to behaving G-dly, people have to deal with temptations and overcome them, and when and if we fail, G-d gave us the opportunity to do Teshuva, we can make up for all transgressions and make good with G-d, and G-d accepts our sincere repentance and welcomes us back home into His open and welcoming arms.
When Moshiach comes, even the most righteous will do Teshuva, because at the end of the day, even the most righteous have something lacking in their connection with G-d, and Moshiach will help them do Teshuva to make up for those deficiencies, and this runs all through the entire spectrum, from lack of perfection, to the evilest behavior and the most illicit relationships.
Yes, we are coming from the most anti-G-dly extreme to the most G-dly extreme, and this is the ultimate purpose and the ultimate goal of creation.
So, this Shabbos we experience those two extremes at once, on the one hand it is the date of the beginning of the destruction, on the other we are enjoying a joyous Shabbos with festivity, on the one hand we read about Balak and Balaam’s evil scheme to curse the Jewish people, and we end up benefiting to hear the good news coming from Balaam about Moshiach and the redemption.
Yup, it’s a roller-coaster of a ride, but a thrill like none-other, ask any child and he will tell you, and aren’t we all G-d’s children?
Let’s prepare a hearty Shabbos with all the trimmings, let’s sing and dance hearing the great news of the imminent revelation of Moshiach, and let’s look forward to a fast-less Sunday, because we will instead be feasting and dancing at the arrival of Moshiach NOW!
Have a party of a Shabbos,
Gut Shabbos
Rabbi Yosef Katzman
