Moshiach Specifically From the Tribe of Yehudah - the Mission of Every Jew Nowadays!

00:00 The night of Simchas Torah 5746 was an especially joyous night. The farbrengen with the Rebbe was very joyous. The usual order was that on the night of Simchas Torah, before hakafos, there was a farbrengen. It would begin a little after [unclear] and continue until late, close to midnight or after midnight. Only then would they go to the Simchas Torah night hakafos. That year, the farbrengen was especially joyous. The Rebbe was in a state of great revelation, with tremendous joy. There was a lot of dancing and singing, and the Rebbe spoke about exceptionally profound matters, in an unusual way, with great openness. Among the things he spoke about at the time, he spoke at length about joy. There were very profound sichos devoted to the subject of joy. But the Rebbe spoke especially about the joy connected with the fact that we are now in a time of preparation for the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu. The Rebbe then said a special sicha for the shluchim. He asked the shluchim at the farbrengen to say l’chaim, and asked them to say l’chaim over a large cup. The Rebbe explained in particular what the purpose of each of us is today, and said that today, in our generation, every

01:53 person carries within them the strength, the privilege and the ability to be a shliach of the leader of the generation. The Rebbe explained what it means to be a shliach of the leader of the generation. He said that the numerical value of “shliach” is 348. Add another ten, and you get 358. What has that numerical value? “Moshiach.” In other words, “shliach” is 348, and you add ten to it. What are those ten? The ten powers of the soul. That brings you to the numerical value of “Moshiach.” What does this mean? The Rebbe spoke then about what is written in the sefer Meor Einayim by Rabbi Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl. He cites the Baal Shem Tov, who teaches that there is the soul of Moshiach, and that every Jew has a spark of Moshiach’s soul. As the Baal Shem Tov explains, the concept of Moshiach exists within each person. Every Jew has a spark, a soul, that is part of Moshiach’s soul. And when each person brings out, reveals, awakens and sets right that spark of Moshiach within their soul, through this we will merit the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu. The Rebbe explained what this means: as Chassidus explains, there is a level of the soul called the “yechidah of the soul.” The yechidah of the soul

03:46 is the point, the spark, “the yechidah that unites with You.” This is the part, the point within every Jew: their bond, their devotion and their connection to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, to Whom they are bound with the deepest connection. This is called the spark of Moshiach within the soul. Moshiach is the collective yechidah. When the time comes for Moshiach Tzidkeinu to be revealed, Moshiach is the collective yechidah. As brought in the writings of the Arizal, there are five tzaddikim, each of whom brought one of the soul’s five levels to its perfection: King David corresponds to the nefesh of all the Jewish people; Eliyahu Hanavi corresponds to their ruach; Moshe Rabbeinu corresponds to their neshamah; Adam Harishon corresponds to their chayah; and Melech HaMoshiach corresponds to their yechidah. In other words, this is the role of Melech HaMoshiach: he is the level of yechidah. Moshiach will come and reveal this “yechidah that unites with You.” Then the verse will be fulfilled: “Hashem will be King over the entire earth; on that day Hashem will be One and His name One.” This is the greatest oneness, bond and connection a Jew has with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. It will be revealed through Melech HaMoshiach. What is more, at this time, when a Jew connects with the mission of the leader of the generation, they reveal the

05:26 aspect of Moshiach within my soul. This is what shlichus is about: joining the very essence of the soul’s powers to it, putting the full essence of one’s powers into this mission and task in order to bring the Geulah. Each person should devote themselves “with all my heart and all my soul”; do everything in their power, do one more deed, say one more word, think one more thought, take one more action. Reveal in another Jew their connection to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Through this work, we prepare every Jew to be ready for the revelation of Moshiach. And not only that, the Rebbe said—not only within oneself, but throughout the entire world. After all, the Baal Shem Tov revealed that everything in the world contains a Divine power, the word of Hashem, a holy power present within every created being. At every moment, Hakadosh Boruch Hu brings every created being into existence anew, gives it life and sustains it. The Baal Shem Tov revealed the oneness of Hashem: that everything in the world is G-dliness. A Jew’s work is first to reveal this spark within themselves, to reveal within themselves this point, the Divine spark, the yechidah of the soul, the Moshiach within my soul, their connection to Hakadosh Boruch Hu; and to reveal it in another Jew, and another Jew, and ultimately throughout the entire world. It should shine in the world and be openly apparent: “You have been shown to know that Hashem is G-d; there is nothing else besides Him.” This is what Moshiach is about, and it is within

07:07 every Jew, and this is the task of every Jew. There was then boundless joy, and the Rebbe spoke about this and insisted that everyone know: there are no limits in this. Everyone has this capacity, this strength and this ability within them to devote themselves to the mission of the leader of the generation and bring Melech HaMoshiach through their work—through the work of every Jew. This is the point the Rebbe spoke about even more afterward, in a stronger tone and with greater intensity; what came next was a continuation of this. He spoke about how “shliach,” together with the ten powers, has the numerical value of “Moshiach.” And as for the joy he had spoken about earlier—there must be joy—one must bring the very essence of the soul’s powers into it as well. The shlichus a Jew carries out, [unclear] joy, and it must be done with joy. [unclear] Shabbos Parshas Vayigash 5747 arrived. As is well known, that period, the years 5746 and 5747, was a difficult time. A difficult court case was underway concerning the books in the Frierdiker Rebbe’s library. The Rebbe then stirred a great awakening, that [unclear] through the darkness, because it was a time of darkness, and there was a great accusation against the matters the Rebbe was speaking about then. The court case concerning the library books was connected with the broader accusation against spreading the wellsprings outward. The Rebbe spoke then about the need to understand: the great stir that had arisen in the world, the tremendous expansion of the work of the shluchim and chassidim and of “your wellsprings will spread outward,” as the light of Chassidus shone throughout the world, had aroused a new accusation. That was what caused all the darkness at the time. And thank Hakadosh Boruch Hu, 5 Teves arrived, and then came the victory. Chassidim called it “Didan Notzach”—“ours has prevailed.” It was the victory in the court case, declared openly and aloud, as the Alter Rebbe wrote in his letter about 19 Kislev: even the non-Jews in the land, even the judges, the nations of the world in the land, “for Hashem has wondrously magnified what He has done in the land.” So it was that year, on 5 Teves 5747, when the tremendous joy of the Rebbe and the chassidim was plainly visible, as it became clear that the books belong to—

08:51 and that this would be forever. The Rebbe then spoke, after 5 Teves, about a new era beginning. It was like what happened with the Alter Rebbe on 19 Kislev, when there was an accusation against Chassidus. The Alter Rebbe asked the Baal Shem Tov then whether he should stop or continue. The Baal Shem Tov told him to continue with even greater vigor and strength. Similarly, the Rebbe said then, there had been a quiet accusation, hidden and concealed, against the whole matter of “your wellsprings will spread outward.” And now, not only must the opposite not happen, not only must there, G-d forbid, be no weakening; on the contrary, we must continue with even greater vigor and strength, with an even greater stir and an even greater revolution. Everyone should know their purpose and their mission: they must go out and spread Chassidus, spread the wellsprings, flood the world with the inner dimension of Torah and prepare the world to “stand ready, all of you, to greet Moshiach Tzidkeinu.” The Rebbe then spoke on Shabbos, Shabbos Parshas Vayigash 5747. 5 Teves fell on Tuesday, in the week of Parshas Vayechi. There was an especially heartfelt sicha then, in which the Rebbe spoke about the whole matter. And continuing from that, on Shabbos Parshas Vayigash, there was a tremendous stir.

10:16 And that this is forever. Then, after 5 Teves, the Rebbe spoke about the beginning of a new era. It was like what happened with the Alter Rebbe on 19 Kislev, when there was a heavenly accusation against Chassidus. The Alter Rebbe asked the Baal Shem Tov whether he should stop or continue, and the Baal Shem Tov told him to continue with even greater strength and vigor. Along those lines, the Rebbe said that there had been a quiet accusation, hidden from view, against the whole idea of “spreading your wellsprings outward.” And now, not only must the opposite not happen—not only must there, G-d forbid, be no weakening—but on the contrary, we must continue with even greater strength and vigor, with an even greater surge of activity and an even greater revolution. Everyone must know their purpose and their mission: to go out and spread Chassidus, to spread the wellsprings, to flood the world with the inner dimension of Torah, and to prepare the world to “stand ready, all of you, to greet our righteous Moshiach.” The Rebbe then spoke on Shabbos, Shabbos Parshas Vayigash 5747. 5 Teves fell on Tuesday, in the week of Parshas Vayechi. There was an especially heartfelt sicha then, in which the Rebbe spoke about the whole matter. And following that, on Shabbos Parshas Vayigash, there was a real surge of activity.

11:44 It was a farbrengen celebrating Didan Notzach—a joyous, spirited, uplifting farbrengen. Chassidim came from all over the world to share in the joy of Didan Notzach. And that Shabbos, the farbrengen was especially rich. The Rebbe spoke about the whole matter with tremendous intensity, in connection with Parshas Vayigash. Let’s go back over the point the Rebbe discussed at that farbrengen. In the weekly parsha, we see that it is about Yosef and Yehudah: “And Yehudah approached him.” Yehudah approaches Yosef—the coming together of Yosef and Yehudah. As the Zohar says, their coming together is the greatest meeting of all: “The mightiest of the world with the mightiest of the world.” Two worlds met: Yosef’s world and Yehudah’s world. What is the significance of their coming together? When we look at the haftorah, we see even more. Hakadosh Boruch Hu tells the prophet Yechezkel that there are two kingdoms. As we know, the kingdom of the Jewish people split into two: the kingdom of the House of David, and the kingdom of the House of Yosef, ruled by Yeravam ben Nevat, who was from Ephraim, of the tribe of Yosef. There were also the kings of the House of David, whose kingship is eternal. There were two kingdoms. Hakadosh Boruch Hu told Yechezkel to take

13:18 two pieces of wood and join them together. What does that mean? Until now there have been two kingdoms, but a time will come when “they will no longer be divided into two kingdoms.” There will no longer be two kingdoms; everyone will form one single kingdom, and that kingdom will be the kingdom of King David. “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one leader.” There will be only one leader. The tribes—the kingdom of Israel, comprising the Ten Tribes, which had been under Ephraim and Yosef—will all submit to Yehudah. And Yehudah, King David of the tribe of Yehudah, “My servant David,” will be the one and only king. What is the point of Yosef and Yehudah here? And why, in this parsha, was Yosef second to the king, while Yehudah had to bow to Yosef and plead with him, “Please, my lord”? Yet when we look at the haftorah, we see exactly the opposite: Yehudah is foremost, and he will be the one and only king, Moshiach of the House of David. The Alter Rebbe offers a wonderful, profound explanation. Its central point is that the difference between Yosef and Yehudah is the difference between plant life and inanimate matter. The Alter Rebbe explains that this is also the difference between the Mishkan and the Beis Hamikdash. What is the point? First, let’s talk a little and understand the [unclear].

14:50 On this subject, the Alter Rebbe explains the difference between Yosef and Yehudah: how it parallels the difference between plant life and inanimate matter, and the difference between the Mishkan and the Beis Hamikdash. In fact, as we recall, the Mishkan was a temporary dwelling: “I have gone about in a tent.” In other words, it was a temporary dwelling. The Beis Hamikdash, by contrast, is Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s permanent dwelling. One difference we see between the Mishkan and the Beis Hamikdash is that the Mishkan was built with inanimate matter, plant life, and animal materials. The ground beneath the Mishkan was inanimate, but the main structure of the Mishkan was specifically plant life—the boards, which came from trees. And the coverings, the roof over the boards, came from animals: goat-hair coverings, tachash skins, and so on, as written in the parsha. All of these were animal materials. So this was the usual order: inanimate matter, plant life, animals. Inanimate matter is the lowest level; plant life stands above it, and animals stand higher still. That is the usual order in the chain of spiritual worlds, in the order of creation. The Beis Hamikdash was different: there, everything was stone. The Beis Hamikdash was made neither of plant nor animal materials, apart from, apart from [unclear]. Everything was made of stone. [unclear]

16:25 [unclear] But the Gemara in Tractate Rosh Hashanah tells us about Cyrus: when they built the Second Beis Hamikdash, he inserted wood. Cyrus wanted wood put into the Beis Hamikdash, and that ran counter to the intent, counter to what was wanted. For the Beis Hamikdash had to be entirely inanimate matter; from the ground to the roof, everything was stone. At first glance, the simple explanation is that plant life belongs in a temporary dwelling, while inanimate matter belongs in a permanent one. But the Alter Rebbe explains the inner meaning. The inner meaning is that, in the usual order, the difference between inanimate matter and plant life is that growth means moving from smallness to greatness: a plant keeps growing. In serving Hashem, this is the growth in a person’s avodah. It is a person’s spiritual work—in love of Hashem, fear of Hashem, Torah, and avodah—spiritual work in which growth is possible. When we speak of spiritual work, growth from smallness to greatness is possible. “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree; they will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” This is also the meaning of the name Yosef. The name Yosef alludes to this whole idea: Yosef comes from a word meaning “to add.” Adding is growth. Today he is small, but tomorrow he grows and becomes greater; he keeps adding and becoming greater and greater—“he will flourish like a palm tree; he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” He rises and grows more and more. In serving Hashem, growth is chiefly in inner work, in spiritual work: Torah study, love and fear of Hashem, and working on one’s middos. There, one experiences growth from smallness to greatness. A person can keep advancing and rising, going deeper and deeper, broadening further and further, going from strength to strength.

18:25 But the defining quality of inanimate matter is seen in stones. Stones are inanimate, with no growth and no life at all. And the whole point of the stones in the Beis Hamikdash is bittul. A stone is inanimate. King David said, “I have calmed and quieted myself.” “Quieted”—“Be silent before Hashem and wait patiently for Him.” The quality of inanimate matter is silence. It has no movement; it stands in a state of bittul, still and silent, utterly nullified, completely submissive. This is true physically as well: people walk on the earth, which is inanimate. “Everyone treads upon it”—people tread on earth and dust, and they allow themselves to be trodden on, becoming something to walk upon. In other words, the quality of inanimate matter is bittul. Looking at the outward, straightforward order of avodah, it follows the pattern of the Mishkan. That is, there has to be dust—bittul. In serving Hashem, this is the foundation. When a person builds a Mishkan for himself, the Mishkan of his service of Hashem, he must have this: the foundation of avodah must be bittul. A person must have fear of Heaven and kabbolas ol of the kingdom of Heaven: “First, he should accept upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven.” He needs the bittul of an inanimate stone; that is the first stage of avodah. A person accepts what the Rebbe wants. But afterward, it must not remain that way; there has to be growth. He must begin to grow, to develop feelings of love and fear of Hashem, to begin learning and begin understanding. All of that is growth. And beyond that comes the animal level: first plant life, then animal life. A plant develops from smallness to greatness; it grows and grows and grows, but it still

20:21 remains in one place. An animal has an advantage: it not only grows, but also moves from place to place. And in the human soul, Chassidus says, this is the difference between working on one’s middos and working with one’s intellect. Working on one’s middos involves growth, but a person’s nature remains as it was. Someone naturally inclined toward kindness remains rooted in that trait; his kindness simply grows from smallness to greatness. As we said, a young child’s kindness finds expression in small things; as he grows, it finds expression in greater things. But by nature, he remains within the same trait. The intellect is different: it can move from one subject to another, explore, and change a person’s nature. That is the advantage of intellect, like an animal that moves from place to place. And the order of the levels in the Mishkan is the usual order, from below upward. First one begins with the bittul of kabbolas ol, the level of inanimate matter. Then comes plant life, growing from smallness to greatness. After that one reaches the level of animal life, the level of intellect, as we discussed. All of these belong to Yosef’s level—addition and growth. Yehudah parallels the level of the Beis Hamikdash. And that is indeed what we find: the Mishkan was in Yosef’s territory. The Mishkan at Shiloh stood in Yosef’s territory. In other words, Yosef has a connection to the Mishkan. The Beis Hamikdash, by contrast, was in Yehudah’s territory. Jerusalem was

21:51 On the whole, it was in the territory of Judah. Part of it was in Benjamin’s portion and part in Judah’s, but in any event it had a connection to King David and to Judah’s portion, as related in Tanach. It follows that the Beis Hamikdash, where everything was inanimate, [unclear], shows the special quality found specifically in the inanimate: the level of bittul, self-nullification. And the name Judah points to this bittul. We spoke about how Joseph represents growth, increase, development, and the aspiration to rise ever higher. With Judah, by contrast, it says in connection with his name, “This time I will praise Hashem,” and then, “She ceased bearing children.” In other words, Judah comes from the word for acknowledgment: “I acknowledge You,” “We acknowledge You.” A person stands in the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, bows, bends down, and says, “We acknowledge You.” This is acknowledgment and bittul, through which he nullifies himself before Hakadosh Boruch Hu. We also see that acknowledgment does not mean only thanking someone for what he has done. It can mean conceding that what he says is right, yielding to him: “The Sages concede to Rabbi Meir.” They accept what he says and give weight to his words. So acknowledgment is a matter of bittul. And that is why, again, there is the idea of being still: “She ceased bearing children.” Chassidus explains that Judah is associated with Shemoneh Esrei, with “She ceased bearing children.” Bearing children means growth, development, and progress. When one reaches Shemoneh Esrei, one is completely nullified, like a servant standing before his master, [unclear]

23:27 and sees the truth. The Alter Rebbe explains that the Mishkan represents the order of our avodah in the present time, whereas the Beis Hamikdash is a model of the time to come. The Beis Hamikdash was built as a model of what will be in the future. In the time to come, the source of malchus, the source of the inanimate, and the source of earth will be revealed. It will become clear that the lowest level of existence is rooted in the loftiest place. Therefore, as Chassidus explains at length, the time to come will reveal the unique quality of malchus, of earth, of what is lowest, and of this physical world. Precisely in the lowest thing lies the deepest and loftiest quality, together with the strength of bittul found specifically in the inanimate. That is why we say that in the time to come, Judah will be higher than Joseph. This is the story of the parsha and the haftarah. The weekly parsha tells the story as it happened in the present era: Joseph was viceroy, and Judah received from Joseph. Judah had to plead with Joseph, “Please, my lord,” to receive from Joseph the righteous one. Joseph is the one who bestows; Joseph is “the righteous one, the foundation of the world,” and “Joseph was the provider of grain for all the people of the land.” That is Joseph’s role: he truly bestows, whereas Judah is the one

24:57 who nullifies himself and receives from Joseph. “Please, my lord”—he asks Joseph, the one who bestows upon him: I want to receive from you. But that is only in the present era. When the time to come arrives and Moshiach comes, this whole matter will be revealed: the unique quality of the recipient, the unique quality of malchus. Then it will be, as it says in Chassidus, “A woman of valor is the crown of her husband.” That is, the woman of valor, the recipient, will be higher than the one who bestows. Malchus will be higher; Judah will be higher than Joseph. Then people will understand the greatness of a Jew’s bittul, of a Jew nullifying himself before Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This bittul comes from the very deepest point of the yechidah of the soul; that is where true bittul comes from. This is what is meant by the spark of Moshiach within each and every person. When Moshiach comes—“My servant David,” as the verse in the haftarah of Parshas Vayigash says—“My servant David”: “My servant” emphasizes precisely the role of a servant, kabbolas ol. This quality of “My servant,” the kabbolas ol and bittul of a simple servant, is the unique quality of David, of the tribe of Judah. As King David says, “Surely I have stilled and quieted myself.” His avodah was one of complete bittul and devotion to the Divine will. “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” That stone, that kabbolas ol, is the cornerstone; and that is what will be revealed in the time to come.

26:29 Through King Moshiach, the leader—he specifically will be the one and only king. “My servant David will be their leader, and one shepherd will be for them all,” and everyone will devote themselves to King Moshiach’s leadership. The Rebbe spoke about this on Shabbos Parshas Vayigash, [unclear]. There is something wonderful here. By the time Shabbos Parshas Vayigash arrives, Chanukah has passed. I remember once, at a farbrengen, the atmosphere was very warm and joyful. The Rebbe said: Chanukah has only just passed. Chanukah is a holy time, an exalted time. And what does Chassidus say about Chanukah? “For You, Hashem, are my lamp, and Hashem illuminates my darkness.” Chanukah is light, G-dliness. On Chanukah there are greater revelations. Then Chanukah passes, and we enter the month of Teves. It is cold and dark, the nights are long—it is the month of Teves. One might think there is nothing special about it, that this is a real descent. The Rebbe says: No, just the opposite. After all, the principle we received from Chanukah is that “we ascend in holiness,” in accordance with the view of Beis Hillel: each day we rise higher and higher. It cannot be that after Chanukah has passed, we have become lower. Can it be that after all of Chanukah, we enter cold, dark days, and that is a descent? That would undo the whole point of Chanukah. The Rebbe said: We see the answer in Parshas Vayigash. What do we read after Chanukah? We read Parshas Vayigash. And what does Parshas Vayigash say, as explained in Chassidus? As the Alter Rebbe explains in Torah Or, [unclear], this is the—

28:10 the Alter Rebbe’s teaching on the parsha. So what is the point of Parshas Vayigash? To bring out Judah’s superiority over Joseph. Judah is the one who pleaded with Joseph so that Joseph would not [unclear]. Then we reach the haftarah, which tells us, “My servant David will be their leader, and one king will be for them all.” The Rebbe says: Chanukah, for all its greatness, is connected with the Mishkan. Chanukah is the Mishkan. We read the section about the tribal leaders, which is connected with the dedication of the Mishkan—that is the explanation of the dedication of the Mishkan. When Chanukah ends, we begin to learn about the House, the Beis Hamikdash: the superiority of the Beis Hamikdash over the Mishkan, the superiority of Judah over Joseph, “My servant David will be their leader, and one king will be for them all.” This gives us a very great [unclear]. The Rebbe spoke about this in very warm, very powerful words: We must know that we are now living in this time, our time, when Moshiach is about to come at any moment. This is the avodah required of every person, of everyone in the generation. And the Rebbe, I think, spoke then about how it makes no difference which community you belong to, who you are, or where you come from—if you are a Jew. If you are a Jew, a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and you have merited to live in our generation, at this time, you must know that the purpose of our time and the mission

29:37 of every Jew in our time is to prepare, to prepare all the people around him, and to prepare the entire world [unclear] to welcome Moshiach Tzidkeinu. The world already stands ready for the time of the Geulah. The world is already in a state of [unclear], and it is completely ready. The world is already in a state in which Moshiach is about to come at any moment. All that is missing is for a Jew to do the final act: one more deed, one more word, one more thought, one more action, and one more prayer. The Rebbe spoke then about one more prayer as well: to pray, to ask, and to cry out, “Until when?”—because Hakadosh Boruch Hu longs for the prayers of the Jewish people. The Rebbe is waiting for one more Jew to voice one more cry from the depths of his heart: “Until when?” “May You speedily cause the offspring of David Your servant to flourish,” and “May our eyes behold Your return to Zion in mercy.” To ask Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and in this way to accomplish something. As is well known, the Chida comments on the words, “May You speedily cause the offspring of David Your servant to flourish, and raise his glory through Your salvation, for we hope for Your salvation all day long.” The word “for” gives the reason. What does “for” mean? The very fact that Jews ask and hope—that itself is the reason Hakadosh Boruch Hu should bring the Geulah. The Rebbe spoke about this then, and called on the chassidim to know this,

31:07 each person for himself and throughout his surroundings, especially in connection with Parshas Vayigash—this is the central point of the parsha. We must know that at any moment the time is about to arrive when “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one leader.” Then the avodah must be specifically [unclear], as Judah teaches us: the avodah of kabbolas ol, of bittul, of dedication and giving. Every Jew must have all these qualities in order to complete the mission that remains in these final moments of exile; to prepare together with the whole family, with those around us, and with the entire world; and to awaken the faith expressed in “I await him every day, that he may come,” so that we may indeed merit to see with our physical eyes the true and complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu help us see it this very day.