The final days of Pesach - The illumination of Moshiach on the last day of Pesach - Rabbi Asher Perkash

00:01 The Frierdiker Rebbe tells an interesting story at a farbrengen on Acharon Shel Pesach 5695, about something that happened in the days of the Mitteler Rebbe. It was the well-known wedding of the Mitteler Rebbe’s daughter, Rebbetzin Devorah Leah, to the tzaddik Reb Yaakov Yisroel of Cherkas, son of Reb Mottele of Chernobyl. It was a large wedding held in Liadi, while the Alter Rebbe was still alive. Many tzaddikim and rabbis attended, among them students of the Baal Shem Tov and students of the Maggid of Mezritch. At that wedding, Reb Mottele of Chernobyl wanted to get a sense of what his fellow father-in-law, the Mitteler Rebbe, was like, and asked him to say Chassidus. Although the Alter Rebbe was still alive, as mentioned, the Mitteler Rebbe was already saying Chassidus during his father’s lifetime. So Reb Mottele of Chernobyl asked the Mitteler Rebbe to say Chassidus—Chabad Chassidus, to share a teaching. And the Mitteler Rebbe, as was his holy way, would expound Chassidus at great length and in great breadth. As is known, the Mitteler Rebbe was characterized by expansiveness: everything he did was on a grand scale. He would expound Chassidus very broadly, very deeply and at great length, explaining every point extensively. And that is how the Mitteler Rebbe said the Chassidus.

01:50 As was his way, he said Chassidus at length, with great depth and richness, and in great breadth. When he finished, Reb Mottele of Chernobyl said to him, “My fellow father-in-law, doesn’t it say, ‘Let a little water be brought’? Avraham Avinu said, ‘Let a little water be brought.’ Water alludes to Torah, and when giving someone Torah, it should be ‘a little water.’ There’s no need to give so much, such a great quantity; a little water is enough.” The Mitteler Rebbe replied that the verse was said about guests, and for people who do not want to learn so much, a little water is enough. But someone who wants it and wants to receive it is another matter; he should be given an abundance, a great deal of water. This was an exchange between the two tzaddikim, the two fathers-in-law, at that wedding. A few days later, the Frierdiker Rebbe relates, the Mitteler Rebbe told his fellow father-in-law, Reb Mottele of Chernobyl, that he wanted to ask him a question. He said he had heard from the Alter Rebbe that some of the Maggid of Mezritch’s students were distinguished by their sense of smell. The Alter Rebbe said this about Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, the holy Berditchever, and about other students of the Maggid. In general, he said that it was specifically among the Polish students of the Maggid, the tzaddikim from Poland, that the sense of smell was highly developed. What does “sense of smell” mean? It means that they

03:50 have the ability to perceive, to smell, to sense lofty matters of holiness. The Mitteler Rebbe asked his fellow father-in-law, Reb Mottele of Chernobyl, “And what do you sense on Acharon Shel Pesach?” It is well known that the Baal Shem Tov said that on Acharon Shel Pesach, an illumination of Moshiach shines; the illumination of Moshiach shines in the world. I want to know whether you perceive this with your sense of smell, whether you can sense, smell the revelation of Moshiach’s illumination on Acharon Shel Pesach. And Reb Mottele gave an answer, after having spoken earlier about “Let a little water be brought.” In just those few words, in a formulation of two words [unclear], he replied, “One soul can [unclear] through all four worlds.” What does that mean? With the few words in which the Mitteler Rebbe asked him—yes, by raising the very matter that concerned him, when he asked about Moshiach’s illumination—Reb Mottele raised him and placed him in a loftier state, a revelation above the four worlds. Yes, the four worlds are Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. In Chassidus, this is also called hishtalshelus, the four worlds. The revelation of Moshiach is above the four worlds, as is known: Moshiach is the level above all four...

05:30 worlds, the fifth level, which is above all four worlds. That is what he told him: that in two words, he had raised him. That is the story. Later in the Chassidus, the Rebbe explains that this is, of course, about lofty levels and great tzaddikim. But for people on our level, ordinary people, what is Moshiach’s illumination? We need to understand that. And also the idea of Pesach: Pesach is a time of freedom, a time of Geulah, “a night of watching,” “protected from harmful forces.” Indeed, the whole of Pesach is above limitations. But this level is a leap, this level is freedom; it is loftier. When Pesach passes and we return to the world, we might, G-d forbid, fall into this world and once again fall into all of galus. That is why there is Acharon Shel Pesach, the revelation of Moshiach’s illumination, the strength a Jew receives on Acharon Shel Pesach. The revelation of Moshiach’s illumination on this day gives a Jew the strength to enter the world and bring light into this world throughout the entire year. That is more or less the content of the sicha. Yes. Years later, the Rebbe spoke at a farbrengen about this story. He wanted to understand the depth of the incident, what had happened in the conversation between the Mitteler Rebbe and his relative by marriage, Reb Mottele of Chernobyl.

07:04 What was their conversation? What was it all about? Yes. Reb Mottele says [unclear] that in two words, one can dispense with the four worlds. What was the Mitteler Rebbe seeking with that whole question? What was the conversation between the two of them? The point is—and this will help us understand what takes place on Acharon Shel Pesach—that the Baal Shem Tov revealed the secret of Acharon Shel Pesach. As is known, the Baal Shem Tov revealed that on Acharon Shel Pesach there is a revelation of Moshiach’s illumination. That is why it is known that the Baal Shem Tov had a custom of holding a special meal on Acharon Shel Pesach. At that meal, he would eat matzah and say that it was Seudas Moshiach, the Meal of Moshiach. That was the Baal Shem Tov’s practice. For generations, it was kept secret and passed from Rebbe to Rebbe among the Chabad Rebbeim. Then, in the days of the Rebbe Rashab, whose soul is in Eden, he introduced the custom among the students as well. When the Rebbe Rashab founded the Tomchei Temimim yeshivah, he instituted the practice of holding Seudas Moshiach there. That is how it became known—and not just the practice of eating matzah, but also that of drinking wine: four cups. At the meal, the Rebbe Rashab instituted

08:40 that at Seudas Moshiach, on Acharon Shel Pesach after Minchah, a special meal is eaten. At this meal, not only is matzah eaten, as the Baal Shem Tov had already instituted, but four cups are also drunk. And the four cups are not merely a matter of cups; they are connected to the future Geulah. This practice has its source in the holy Baal Shem Tov. So what was the conversation between these two great tzaddikim? The Mitteler Rebbe spoke Chassidus with fervor, and Reb Mottele of Chernobyl thought that it should be [unclear]. But the Mitteler Rebbe held that one should speak about [unclear]. And when he spoke to him about Moshiach, Reb Mottele of Chernobyl said that in two words, one can dispense with the four worlds. That is, he meant that this was what happened to him at that moment: when the Mitteler Rebbe asked him the question, the very act of speaking about it had already caused him to let go of his concern about Moshiach. But there is great depth, a very rich depth, to this story, which the Rebbe explained at a farbrengen on Acharon Shel Pesach. The point here is based on what is explained in the maamarim of Chassidus dealing with the maamar for Acharon Shel Pesach, in the Alter Rebbe’s maamar “Behaniach” in Likkutei Torah for Acharon Shel Pesach. This maamar of Chassidus discusses the revelation of Moshiach and asks what

10:15 the greatest innovation in the revelation of Moshiach will be, compared with the revelation at Matan Torah and the revelation at Yetzias Mitzrayim. One of the subjects explained in Chassidus is what the revelation of Moshiach’s Torah will be. After all, Moshe Rabbeinu gave the Torah, and we need to understand this again. In the Torah that Moshe Rabbeinu received and gave to the Jews—“Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and passed it on to Yehoshua”—he gave them the entire Torah. Nevertheless, the inner dimension of the Torah, its secrets, were concealed within it; they had not come into the open. Over the generations, the time came when the light of the Torah’s inner dimension began to be revealed little by little, as is known. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai; then there was a further revelation through the Kabbalists, especially in the time of the Arizal, when it became “a mitzvah to reveal this wisdom”; until the holy Baal Shem Tov came and made the Torah’s inner dimension, the Torah of its secrets, into a path in the service of Hashem. This is the path of Chassidus that was revealed through the Baal Shem Tov, his students and their students, through all the generations, until the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu. And the revelation of Moshiach’s Torah has been revealed through Chassidus. As the Rambam states: in Hilchos Teshuvah, the Rambam says that Melech HaMoshiach will be a great prophet. He uses several expressions in speaking of Melech HaMoshiach’s greatness: he will be wiser than King Shlomo, and also

11:52 He will be a great prophet, close to Moshe Rabbeinu. He describes several great qualities of Melech HaMoshiach. And he says that when Moshiach comes, he will teach Torah to the entire world. Moshiach will learn Torah with all the people; that will be the point. On a simple level, when he says “the entire world,” he means all Jews: from the greatest and loftiest tzaddik, Moshe Rabbeinu, who stands above them all, down to the simplest Jew, the simplest of the simple. A person, a Jew, whose only distinction is that he is a created being, a human being, with no special distinction at all. Nevertheless, we are told that the revelation of Moshiach’s Torah will be for all Jews. From Moshe to every Jew, all will learn from Moshiach: “He will teach Torah to the entire world.” The Rebbe asks: Seemingly, how can one person, Melech HaMoshiach, teach Torah to the entire world? After all, there are many kinds of Jews. There are extraordinarily great people, scholars and Torah giants—and here we are speaking even of Moshe Rabbeinu, who stands above them all, and of the greatest tzaddikim of every generation, the leaders of the thousands of Israel. On the other hand, there are people who are the simplest of the simple, the least of the least, ordinary Jews, as they are called. How can all of them receive from the same Torah that Moshiach will teach—“he will teach Torah to the entire world”—and how can the entire people receive from the same Melech HaMoshiach? The Rebbe answers that the revelation of Moshiach’s Torah, the secrets of the Torah and its inner dimension that Moshiach will reveal, will come in the manner of seeing. That is to say,

13:27 it will be in a way that Moshiach will not need to speak, to make people understand and to explain. Rather, it will be in the manner of seeing. As we know, when a person sees a revelation, sees something, sees a sight, sees something beyond comprehension, he may see it for just one second, one minute. Then it is gone and disappears. But making someone understand what he saw and what he truly experienced—that can take hours, and much longer. Seeing takes one second; speaking can sometimes take hours, sometimes weeks, sometimes months, sometimes years. As in the well-known story about the Arizal: Once, Rabbi Chaim Vital, the Arizal’s student, saw the Arizal lie down to sleep on Shabbos Parshas Balak. He slept for a few minutes, and when he opened his eyes—Rabbi Chaim Vital saw that even in his sleep, his lips had still been moving. He asked him why. The Arizal explained to his student that during those few minutes when he had fallen asleep, the secrets of Parshas Balak and Bilam had been revealed to him from Above. To reveal and explain them to his student would take him—one source says “sixty years,” and another says “eighty years.” It would take him sixty to eighty years to explain everything he had heard during those few minutes of sleep. Seemingly, that is truly extraordinary. How can it take sixty or eighty years for him to

14:57 Something a person saw might take an hour to explain, but here the difference is enormous. He slept for a few minutes, saw what was revealed to him about the parsha, and explaining it could take sixty or eighty years. The gap is beyond comparison. That is the advantage of seeing: when something is seen—yes, for the Arizal, the secrets and the inner dimension of the Torah revealed to him came in the manner of seeing. Through sight, a person can receive in one minute, or in a few minutes, an entire revelation, complete clarity, a complete light, an entire greatness revealed all at once. Afterward, making it understood and explaining it can indeed take many years, as it should. Yes, and that is the point of the statement that he “will teach Torah to the entire world”: when the time of the Geulah arrives, what Melech HaMoshiach will tell the Jews and reveal to them from the inner dimension of the Torah will be in the manner of seeing. And seeing does not take a great deal of time. When something is shown, yes, you grasp it all at once; it happens quickly. Then every Jew will grasp and understand, but [unclear], each according to his own capacity. And regarding the verse, “No longer will one person teach another, for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest”—where does “No longer will one person teach another” come from? Because everyone

16:28 in the Geulah, it will be in the manner of seeing. And the order of Torah that Moshiach will reveal to them will come and add for each person, by way of explanation, all the worlds, the sefiros, the names, and the things he will reveal to them; it will be explained. Yes. And afterward there will be the avodah; that is what is needed, yes, that is the [unclear]. And that is the meaning of “they will all know”—everyone will be able to say [unclear], one who adds explanation. And that is Moshiach’s revelation. And in truth, [unclear]. What the Mitteler Rebbe said, [unclear] the inner dimension of the Torah. The Mitteler Rebbe also revealed the inner dimension of the Torah. The inner dimension of the Torah is the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov. And what the Rebbe always comes to explain—that too is a revelation of Moshiach. As is known, when the Baal Shem Tov was with Melech HaMoshiach, when he ascended Above—as the story is well known—the Baal Shem Tov writes that this was on Rosh Hashanah 5507: he met Moshiach’s soul and asked him, “When will you come, Master?” When will Moshiach come? And he answered, “When your wellsprings spread outward.” That means that when the wellsprings of Chassidus spread, Moshiach’s revelation will become possible. And in truth, [unclear], why elaborate? [unclear] the inner dimension of the Torah. Moshiach’s Torah, Moshiach’s Torah, comes in the manner of seeing, and that can be expressed in two words. You can say two words, and those two words contain all the vitality, the warmth, the fire of seeing, the tzaddik’s explanation, which presents everything in the manner of seeing. In two words, it can become clear to Jews, above everything and all the worlds. That is to say, this is the point of Moshiach’s Torah coming in the manner of seeing. And why can it not come in the manner of seeing now? And indeed, as the Mitteler Rebbe argued, this is the avodah, and this

18:25 When Chassidus, the inner dimension of the Torah, is revealed, it should be in the manner of seeing. That is to say, in two words one says: we reach the soul, above all the worlds, and connect with Atzmus, with Hashem’s Essence. To this the Mitteler Rebbe said: No. The Mitteler Rebbe argued that this was said to the soul of the non-Jew. Yes, it can prepare the way for Moshiach’s Torah and for seeing, and for all these matters. But it was said to the soul of the non-Jew, and he can be satisfied with that. We, however, are not on that level. We are still in a darkness that is doubled and redoubled, still in exile. When Moshiach comes, there must be the inner dimension of the Torah; that is what makes it possible to reach Moshiach’s Torah. But the only way, the avodah that will allow it to become clear now, at this time, for Jews to have light, for Jews to have the illumination, the light of the inner dimension of the Torah, for Moshiach’s Torah to shine for Jews—for that, we specifically need extensive study, contemplation, and sustained engagement. There must be a great deal of [unclear]. That is what he said: there specifically must be a great deal of [unclear]. That means that it is specifically through studying at length, and through extensive engagement—quite simply, learning Chassidus with understanding and comprehension—that we can reach, reach and draw close to the illumination, to Moshiach’s light. That is how we can attain an inner revelation of Moshiach’s light. It must come specifically through abundant study of the inner dimension of the Torah, with constancy, diligence, breadth, and understanding and comprehension. And that is the point of this story. From this we also understand one more small point: when the Baal Shem Tov said that Moshiach’s light is more manifest, and that is why we hold a Moshiach’s Seudah. Then we eat matzah, drink wine, and farbreng. In this way we feel the Geulah in that matzah, even though [unclear].

20:31 We are still in exile, and Moshiach has not yet actually come. Nevertheless, the Baal Shem Tov, who revealed and strengthened the core of emunah and the core of bitachon, revealed what a Jew can be: even while he is still in exile, he can place himself in a state in which he becomes a vessel for Moshiach’s light. There is something noteworthy here: the custom that spread of holding a meal connected with matzah and wine, and calling it Moshiach’s Seudah, while we are still in exile. What, really, is the explanation for this? The Rebbe once spoke about it in a longer sicha, at an Acharon Shel Pesach farbrengen in another year. The Rebbe connected it to a teaching of Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl, the father of Rabbi Motele, in the sefer Meor Einayim. This is something the Rebbe said many times. It appears in Meor Einayim, at the end of Parshas Pinchas, where he discusses “Pinchas is Eliyahu” and several matters concerning Eliyahu as the herald of the Geulah. Among other things, he cites the Baal Shem Tov, who said that every Jew has within him a part of Moshiach’s stature. Moshiach is a collective soul. Just as there are collective souls—Moshe Rabbeinu was a collective soul, who—

22:04 In other words, he was a soul that encompassed “the six hundred thousand people on foot, among whom I am.” All the Jews were included within Moshe Rabbeinu, within Moshe himself. And similarly, as it says in the Zohar, there is “an extension of Moshe in every generation.” In every generation there is a Moshe Rabbeinu, in whom the collective soul is found, the soul from which all souls receive. Through their connection to him, they receive all the spiritual influence. The same applies to Moshiach: every Jew has a part in the complete stature of Moshiach. This is what the Baal Shem Tov says—that within every Jew there is a part of the complete stature of Moshiach. The point is that every Jew must reveal and refine the part of Moshiach’s soul within him. For Moshiach, Melech HaMoshiach, is a collective soul. In particular, [unclear] yechidah. The point about Moshiach is that his level is yechidah, the highest level. There are five levels, and each of the five is connected to its corresponding level. Thus it is brought in the writings of the Arizal that Adam Harishon has five levels, associated with various tzaddikim: King David is the level of nefesh, Eliyahu Hanavi is the level of ruach, Moshe Rabbeinu is the level of neshamah, and Adam Harishon is the level of chayah—as brought by the students of the Arizal. And the soul of Moshiach is the level of yechidah,

23:42 the fifth level. This is the yechidah of the soul. In other words, in Melech HaMoshiach the yechidah will be revealed: the essence, the essential bond, “the yechidah that unites with You.” There is a level of the soul at which its bond with Hakadosh Boruch Hu reaches its peak, in the loftiest way. That is yechidah. Moshiach is the collective yechidah, the essence of the soul of the Jewish people. When Moshiach comes, it will be revealed that all Jews are one with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. But now, although we are in exile and that revelation has not yet come, nevertheless, there is great kindness. [unclear] so that people will know what kind of grace there needs to be. And this is what is meant when we say that every Jew must reveal within himself, must bring about within himself, that a spark of Moshiach shine in him—that Moshiach’s light shine in his service, within his soul. In a new month, in a new moment, in a single minute, he can move into his part of Moshiach and bring himself, even now, to a state of Geulah. This is one of the greatest things revealed by the holy Baal Shem Tov: not only must a Jew believe in Moshiach—“I believe”—but a Jew must know that Moshiach is within him. Through the work a Jew does on himself, working on himself, he can bring himself to a state of

25:12 Geulah. To study Torah, to study the inner dimension of Torah, to study the Torah of Moshiach; to study those parts of Torah that reveal what the world will look like when the oneness of Hashem is revealed down here. To study Torah, live with it, and bring ourselves into a state of Moshiach. In this way, a person refines his part of Moshiach in the world. And through this, he also helps bring Moshiach speedily. So said the Baal Shem Tov. The Rebbe adds that this is what we say on Yom Tov, in the prayers for the three pilgrimage festivals. What is the order of the prayers on Yom Tov? At the end of the prayers we make a request: Master of the Universe. This is the wording we say. The wording is: “Fulfill in us the verse that is written.” [unclear] It says in the siddur: “May it be Your will.” [unclear] After the Torah reading. This is the wording we say to Hakadosh Boruch Hu on every Yom Tov: Master of the Universe, what do we ask? “Fulfill in us the verse that is written”—that the verse be fulfilled in us. And which verse do we ask to be fulfilled? “The spirit of Hashem shall rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of Hashem.” The verse speaks about Moshiach. We read it on the last day of Pesach, in the haftorah from Yeshayahu, which speaks of “a shoot shall emerge from the stem of Yishai.” It speaks about Melech HaMoshiach: who he will be, where he comes from, and what he will accomplish in the world.

26:52 Then the verse says, speaking about Melech HaMoshiach, “The spirit shall rest upon him”—upon Melech HaMoshiach—“a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of Hashem.” So in the siddur for Pesach, it says that at the Torah reading we say, “May it be Your will.” [unclear] And what do we ask? That the verse said about Melech HaMoshiach be fulfilled in us. How can that be? What does it mean? It can be understood only in light of this teaching, says the Baal Shem Tov. This is what the Rebbe cites in the name of the Baal Shem Tov: within every Jew’s soul there is a spark of Moshiach, and his task is to reveal it. By revealing it, we also draw closer to the Geulah, when Moshiach comes. So we can understand the request we make: “Fulfill in us”—in every Jew—“the verse that is written: The spirit of Hashem shall rest upon him.” That “the spirit of Hashem shall rest upon him” be fulfilled in every Jew’s service. That the light of Moshiach shine in him: a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge of Hashem—all the qualities, all the [unclear]. We reach this on the last day of Pesach. And this is what [unclear]. We are speaking about the revelation of Moshiach’s lights, and so not just in two words, because

28:22 it takes two words, but Chassidus is brief in its words, and the idea shines through them. [unclear] What is the proof? [unclear] the Torah of Moshiach, in the very act of seeing. You look at a tzaddik, hear a word from a tzaddik, and it can change your whole life. But [unclear] that does not mean it is enough. And especially when speaking about Moshiach, the main thing must be study, persistence, understanding and comprehension. That is why we see the difference between study by recitation and studying the inner dimension of Torah, the Torah of Moshiach. These are the things discussed in the teachings of Chassidus, and in Chabad Chassidus in particular: we discuss and explain ideas, and look at the world as it will be when Moshiach comes. We speak about the unity of G-dliness, yichuda tata’ah, the oneness of Hashem, the true oneness of Hashem. And this [unclear]; on the contrary, these are matters of Jewish unity. So everyone needs to take part in this. We need to adopt the practice of eating matzos, which strengthen faith. The matzos of the last day of Pesach are especially for strengthening faith—faith in the Geulah. And we do not only eat matzos; we drink wine too. Yes, because wine has taste. Matzah alone is a life of faith without taste. When we have wine together with the matzah, it means that faith should not remain abstract faith alone. Faith should come down into the wine, into something with taste, into comprehension and understanding, into joy. It should carry over into actual practice throughout daily life. So may Hakadosh Boruch Hu help us, and with Hashem’s help, we ourselves are living at a time when we see more of the lights of Moshiach. We need to see that [unclear]. That the time has already come, that we need to see that [unclear], and that this be fulfilled in us. That all the Jews, what is discussed in the parsha and the—

30:06 haftorah and so on, which speak about the Geulah—that exile will already be behind us. This is the revelation of Moshiach. And we must remember that this is the last day of Pesach, when we need to be together with Melech HaMoshiach. That means hearing Torah from Melech HaMoshiach, from his own mouth, in person. May it happen immediately, in the true and complete Geulah.