Wake Up! The Signs of Geulah Are Right Before Our Eyes - We Mustn't Miss Them!

00:00 These days, after all the miracles and wonders we have seen with our own eyes through Divine Providence—how Hakadosh Boruch Hu protected the one sheep among seventy wolves, and how great is the Shepherd who saved us, who is saving us and watching over us—extraordinary things have happened before our eyes. Every one of us, all over the world, feels a handbreadth above the ground. How much more so our fellow Jews in Eretz Yisroel, who are living these days under the impact of the tremendous miracles and wonders that have taken place. And we all ask ourselves: What are we supposed to think and do? How are these events supposed to affect us? How should we look at these days, at this period, and see them in the right way? What does the Rebbe tell us our work, our role, should be today in light of what we have seen? Today I want to share with you a wonderful farbrengen that I had the privilege of hearing from the Rebbe exactly thirty-seven years ago, on Shabbos Parshas Chukas, 5748. We will talk about what was said at that farbrengen, because I think what the Rebbe spoke about then is just as true and important for these moments, for these days. I also want to share with you what I had the privilege of experiencing and seeing in the days after the Gulf War. I had the privilege of being with the Rebbe in Nissan 5751, 1991. Those, too, were days of great miracles after the Gulf War, and of the miracles and wonders we all saw. The whole world saw how Hakadosh Boruch Hu protected our fellow Jews in Eretz Yisroel, how Hakadosh Boruch Hu performed great miracles when the whole world was gripped by fear, tension and anxiety. In those days, before the war, the Rebbe said there was nothing to fear, that Hakadosh Boruch Hu watches over Eretz Yisroel. Eretz Yisroel is a land of promise, “a land upon which the eyes of

02:27 Hashem your G-d are always set, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.” Then the war took place and passed, with all the miracles and wonders of that time. I am speaking now about the Pesach that followed. We will talk about both things. First, let us begin with the time, with what is relevant to these days. By Divine Providence, Parshas Chukas always falls during Tammuz, the days of the Frierdiker Rebbe’s liberation. The Frierdiker Rebbe was imprisoned in 5687, 1927. It was a harsh, terrible imprisonment. As is well known, at that time the government, then at the height of its power—the Russian government—was waging war on Judaism, fighting to erase it from the face of Russia. The Frierdiker Rebbe stood like a lion and fought against that mighty government. They imprisoned him, and great miracles followed. The intention of the imprisonment was, G-d forbid, to bring about his end. But through great miracles, Hakadosh Boruch Hu turned the entire situation around, as we know. On Gimmel Tammuz of that year, 5687, the Rebbe left prison with a sentence of exile, as was customary in Russia. They sent him to a very distant place for what was meant to be three years. Then, through great miracles, within a week the whole situation changed, and the Rebbe was freed on 12 Tammuz, his birthday. That was the day of his extraordinary liberation. The Rebbe was in Kostroma, a remote town. The aim was to distance him from the chassidim so that he would be unable to act, unable to do anything for Judaism. But within a week, through great miracles, the government reversed its decision. They themselves granted him a full release, and he returned home. 12 Tammuz was the day of his liberation. The wonderful thing, the remarkable Divine Providence, is that 12 Tammuz was also his birthday—the very same day. Now, one of the stories the Rebbe told at the farbrengen we are discussing, on Shabbos Parshas Chukas in 5748—this was also the year in which

05:05 Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka passed away. She passed away on 22 Shvat, 5748, a”h, and we are speaking about several months later, about half a year later. The Rebbe held a farbrengen that Shabbos and told a story that, as is known, he heard from the Rebbetzin herself. She was one of the few who had the privilege of accompanying her great father, the Frierdiker Rebbe, on his way into exile. When the Rebbe was sent into exile, the government did not want many people traveling with him. But a few people went to help with the various things he needed. They were exceptional individuals. Among them was one of the well-known chassidim of that time, an elder chossid named Reb Michoel Dvorkin. He was a chossid who had been with the Rebbe Rashab; some say he had even been with the Rebbe Maharash. As soon as he heard that the Rebbe was going to Kostroma, he went ahead of him. He bought a ticket, took a train and arrived before the Rebbe to prepare the place and open a cheder there—a place of learning. As was known, the Frierdiker Rebbe’s entire self-sacrifice was devoted to educating the young, the next generation, the children in Russia. That was precisely what the government was fighting to erase: Jewish education in Russia. So the first thing Reb Michoel did was travel there. He gathered a child or two from the small handful of Jews living in that remote place—whoever was there—and started a cheder with them, started a school. That was how it began. Then 12 Tammuz arrived, and miraculously, within a week, the whole situation had turned around. The Rebbe was informed that he was free and could return home. The joy was immense, as was the excitement. This chossid, Reb Michoel, was so overwhelmed that he began dancing around the house where they were staying. What was his dance? The dance

07:21 was to a song in Russian, one of the songs sung in Chabad Chassidus. The Rebbe very much loved to sing it at moments of joy and spiritual uplift. It is the niggun with the Russian words, “Nyet, nyet nikavo krome Boga adnavo.” Translated, the words mean: We have nothing but Hakadosh Boruch Hu. There is nothing besides Him. There is nothing in the world but Hakadosh Boruch Hu. There is another version, too: There is no fear in the world except fear of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. But I believe that the words as they were sung with the Rebbe meant that there is nothing besides Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself. In other words, it conveys the meaning of the well-known verse, “There is nothing besides Him.” Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka was also the only member of the family who traveled with her father to help. She spoke Russian and knew how to write it, so she could communicate with the relevant offices. She was able to help, and she was there too. She recounted what had happened, later telling the Rebbe what the atmosphere had been like. Among other things, she told him about this. At the farbrengen on Parshas Chukas, the Rebbe repeated this incident, this story, and built on it a whole, wonderful explanation of its deeper meaning. On the face of it, this is a beautiful, joyous song expressing what that chossid felt when he said, “There is nothing besides Him; there is nothing but Hakadosh Boruch Hu.” But the Rebbe went into its deeper meaning. The Rebbe said that everything happens through Divine Providence, including the fact that at that moment this chossid felt that the way to express his joy and gratitude to Hakadosh Boruch Hu was specifically with these words, in the Russian language, saying that there is

09:19 any reality besides Hakadosh Boruch Hu, because those words express the whole depth of the miracles and wonders of the Geulah, of the Rebbe. The Rebbe goes on to explain that we are in a period that began with the Baal Shem Tov. We know that the Baal Shem Tov came into the world to prepare it for the complete Geulah, to prepare it for Moshiach. Everyone knows that the Baal Shem Tov received the message from Moshiach himself. As is well known, during an ascent of the soul, the Baal Shem Tov heard from the soul of Moshiach the words, “When your wellsprings spread outward, I will come.” With Hashem’s help, the complete Geulah depends on spreading the wellsprings of Chassidus. Through his teachings and his messages, the Baal Shem Tov began preparing the world for the era of Moshiach. One of the foundations of Chassidus, of the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings, is Divine unity: revealing Divine unity within creation, revealing the true reality—that not only is there just one G-d, that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is one and unique, but when we say, “Hear, O Israel, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One,” at a deeper level we are saying that there is no, there is no other reality besides Hakadosh Boruch Hu. All of creation cries out, “There is nothing besides Him.” All of creation is an expression of Divine unity. Chassidus discusses this at length. The Baal Shem Tov revealed this secret and explained it briefly. As is well known, the Baal Shem Tov spoke in few words. Then came the Maggid of Mezritch, his outstanding disciple, who expanded on it further, though still briefly, until the Alter Rebbe came and developed Chabad Chassidus, where these ideas are presented openly, at length, with explanations, analogies and examples. It begins in Tanya, with the twelve chapters of Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah, in which the Alter Rebbe explains at length the foundations of the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings about the meaning of creation and Divine unity, so that we can understand “There is nothing besides Him” in the deepest way, in the most

11:30 profound and wondrous way. This entire subject, this whole understanding of Divine unity, is actually part of the process of preparing for the complete Geulah. Because what is really going to happen in the complete Geulah? What is the Geulah we are all waiting for? The Geulah means revealing the reality of Hakadosh Boruch Hu in the world. The entire purpose of the world’s creation—from the beginning of creation, through the Exodus from Egypt, the Giving of the Torah and the whole history of the Jewish people, through the beautiful times of the Beis Hamikdash and the times of exile—is for the world to come to full recognition. That is what will happen when Moshiach comes: the Divine reality within creation will be revealed, Divine unity within creation will be revealed, and we will see “There is nothing besides Him” in the world, in our own reality, in our own world. Every stone, every corner, everything in the world will cry out, say and proclaim, “There is nothing besides Him.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu will be revealed within the reality of creation. That, in essence, will be the revelation of the future. There are the well-known verses in the Prophets: “The glory of Hashem will be revealed, and all flesh together will see that the mouth of Hashem has spoken.” Moshiach will come, and there will be a Divine revelation in the fullest, most complete way, so that the flesh, the world itself, will cry out, “There is nothing besides Him.” “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea,” the prophet Yeshayahu tells us. The world, the entire world, will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem. “And Hashem will be King over all the earth; on that day Hashem will be One and His name One”—in the deepest and most wondrous way. The Baal Shem Tov and those who followed in his path began teaching the people, preparing the ground, refining creation, teaching us—in our minds, in our hearts, in the way we look at things—to change our glasses and see the world from this perspective of “There is nothing besides Him.” So the miracles and wonders happening in these generations are also all part of that process. And that is what the Rebbe explained at that farbrengen: that the entire imprisonment and liberation of the Frierdiker

13:45 Rebbe—anyone who reads the story, the history, can see it. There is an account, a diary, that the Previous Rebbe, the Frierdiker Rebbe, wrote himself about his imprisonment, and we can see it in every line. One of the wondrous things that stands out in the story of the Frierdiker Rebbe’s imprisonment and liberation is this outlook, this true perception of Divine unity within creation. The Frierdiker Rebbe describes how, when he was in the harshest, most difficult, darkest place, at moments of extraordinary concealment, when the officers were abusing him, he made a firm decision to feel that “There is nothing besides Him” and to act accordingly. Not to be shaken, not to be intimidated, not to pay them any mind, not to be afraid to answer them the way he wanted to answer them. He would not tell them what they demanded or wanted from him. Throughout the days he was there, the three weeks he spent imprisoned while they tried every possible way to extract information from him, he would not say a single word he did not think he should say to them. He spoke to them with Jewish pride; he spoke to them about Judaism; he spoke to them about Hakadosh Boruch Hu. There are wondrous stories from the time of his imprisonment. And so the essential point of Yud-Beis Tammuz was revealed fully and completely at that time, nearly a hundred years ago. The whole world could not believe it would happen. They held all the power; they could do whatever they wanted, and, as is well known, they did whatever they wanted. Yet the Rebbe prevailed over them. The Frierdiker Rebbe stood firm and showed the power of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the power of Judaism, the eternal nature of Judaism and of Torah and mitzvos. So this is really the innermost revelation of “There is nothing besides Him.” It is the beginning of that revelation: how the world, the world itself—you can see nations that hate the Jewish people, hate Judaism, hate Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and they themselves are

16:01 the ones who release the Rebbe, allowing him to continue spreading Judaism. In the language of Chassidus, this is called is’hapcha: the greatest transformation of darkness into light, of bitterness into sweetness. And this is the preparation for the coming of Moshiach. That is why this niggun says, “Nyet, nyet nikavo”—there is nothing besides Him, nothing at all besides Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That is the one thing. That is, in essence, what these days of the Festival of Liberation are all about. That is as far as the world is concerned, but the Rebbe added: All this concerns creation, but everything actually begins with the Jew. The soul of creation is the Jew. The Jewish people are the inner essence of creation. If we are meant to reveal the inner essence of the world, first we have to reveal the inner essence of the Jew. This is one of the things Chassidus revealed. The Baal Shem Tov taught it, and Chabad Chassidus also discusses it at length. In Tanya, the Alter Rebbe speaks about it in several places, especially in chapter 32—chapter 32, the heart of Tanya: how we look at a Jew. How do we look at a Jew? By knowing that a Jew is literally a part of G-d above. His outward behavior, where he is in life—that comes second. First, look at a Jew and see that, in his essence, he is a pure being: “The soul You have given within me is pure.” Look at a Jew through a G-dly lens and see the Jew, his inner self; reveal the Jew’s inner self. This is the power of Ahavas Yisroel that Chassidus teaches us. The Rebbe said that the two are connected: once a Jew succeeds in seeing another Jew from an inner perspective and sees his depth, the profound beauty within him, the G-dliness within him, that also gives him the power to reveal the inner essence of creation. That is why, regarding the liberation of Yud-Beis Tammuz, the Frierdiker Rebbe wrote in the first letter he wrote that he asks that these days of Yud-Beis

18:15 And on 13 Tammuz, he says: “Hakadosh Boruch Hu did not redeem me alone on 12 Tammuz, but every single Jew, even those who are merely called by the name Israel.” Even a Jew with no connection to Judaism through observing Torah and mitzvos—whose only connection is that he is called a Jew, that he bears the name Israel—is part of the Geulah. Because the liberation and Geulah of 12 Tammuz revealed the inner depth, the inner strength, of “a people that rises like a lion”; the inner power of a Jew, of a Jewish soul. Whatever state it may be in, it has a pure soul, “literally a part of G-d above.” And a Jew has the power to reveal that truth in creation as well: to see the true reality, that the entire world is Divine oneness; to drive away the darkness, the impurity, the sitra achra, and reveal the inner reality of the world—that there is nothing besides Him. That is really what it all means. It is the beginning of the Geulah, and it leads us toward the complete Geulah. So if, nearly a hundred years later, we look at what has happened in the world throughout this period—and here I want to return to the time I began speaking about earlier, more than thirty years ago, in 1991, 5751, after the Gulf War—everyone saw the miracles and wonders that happened then. In the month of Nissan, around Pesach, I had the privilege of being with the Rebbe. It was an extraordinary, uplifting month of Nissan. Everyone’s spirits were soaring; everyone felt a handbreadth above the ground. Everyone saw the great miracles and wonders. The whole world was speaking about them in an extraordinary way. The Rebbe’s words of ruach hakodesh, his prophetic words throughout that winter, were on everyone’s lips. He had said: “Jews, do not be afraid. Eretz Yisroel is a promised land. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is watching over us. Nothing will happen. Keep going; be strong.” And so, when they saw the

20:29 great miracles during the war, and even the extraordinary way the war ended—the Rebbe had also foretold that it would end on Purim, and indeed it did—when Nissan arrived, there was an extraordinary sense of uplift, an atmosphere of Geulah. In those days I had the privilege of hearing the Rebbe. I was at 770 then. I was there with the Rebbe throughout that... that entire month: 11 Nissan, the Rebbe’s birthday, Pesach, the last day of Pesach, Seudas Moshiach. The days that followed were wonderfully uplifting. The Rebbe spoke then about what a Jew’s role should be now, at this time, when we see what is going on in the world. It should open our eyes. It should open our eyes and help us begin to understand that the world is moving toward the complete Geulah. What does that mean for every one of us as Jews? This is the time for us to enter the atmosphere of the days of Moshiach. The time has come not just to believe in the Geulah. We have believed in the Geulah for thousands of years. It is time to start living in an atmosphere of Geulah, to get the exile out of our heads, our minds, our hearts; to leave behind the exile-minded thoughts of restriction and darkness, limitation and boundaries. Who am I? What am I? I’m afraid of myself, afraid of my yetzer hara, afraid of my animal soul, afraid of the non-Jew, afraid of my surroundings, afraid of what the nations will say. Reveal the pride of Yaakov. The time has come to start living in the atmosphere of the days of Moshiach, the Rebbe said in those days. How do we enter that atmosphere? How do we start living it? By studying Torah on all the subjects of Geulah and Moshiach. Simply start studying with much more vitality and much greater depth the words of the Torah, the Prophets, the teachings of our Sages, Chassidus, Chabad Chassidus—the many thousands of maamarim and sichos that explain the time of the Geulah, what the world will be like

22:44 at the time of the Geulah, the Divine oneness that will prevail in the world then—and start living in that atmosphere right now. The power of study, the power of the mind, the power of Torah, the power of contemplation. A person has this power; it is a power we have. In Chassidus, we speak about the faculty of daas. When a person connects to something, studies it, contemplates it—chochmah, binah, daas, the initials of Chabad. Especially with daas, you connect to the subject; you experience it. It becomes a way of seeing things. It becomes an outlook, a way of life. It takes on living meaning, a real, inner experience. That becomes your reality. Entering this atmosphere is in our hands. And so, at this time, in these days, after we have seen the miracles and wonders of Hakadosh Boruch Hu with our own eyes and all of us feel uplifted, it is time for every one of us to begin—with ourselves and with those around us. Reach another Jew, start another Torah class, and begin studying Chassidus in a truly regular, genuine, inward way: the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, Chabad Chassidus, which explains the depth of Hashem’s oneness and the depth of the world of Geulah. Get the exile mindset out of our minds; begin to think... to live with the feeling that there is nothing besides Him, to live the truth, to look at the world through the eyes of Geulah, to see the reality of creation differently. And to see the Geulah not only in the big things—in wars, in victories, in major global events—but in every detail of our personal lives, in our... our private, everyday lives, in the simplest things. Once a person connects with the messages of Chassidus, through in-depth study of Chassidus, even the simplest things become full of meaning. In every little thing he sees a Divine message; in everything he sees Divine providence, as the Baal Shem Tov

25:05 taught us to look for and see Divine providence in every detail of life. Everything a Jew sees and hears becomes a lesson in serving Hashem, because nothing happens for no reason. Nothing happens just because it happens. Everything takes on a dimension of Geulah, something Divine, something that comes to strengthen us and give us the power. And so, in these days when we celebrate the days of the Frierdiker Rebbe’s liberation on 12–13 Tammuz, we are also celebrating the Geulah of all the Jewish people, the redemption of the world. We are in the month of Tammuz. On the one hand, Tammuz is a month of destruction: the month when the city walls were breached, the sin of the Golden Calf, the breaking of the Tablets, and the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls. But at the same time, as the verse says, “the fourth month,” as the prophet says, “these days will become days of joy and gladness and festive occasions.” And it is within our power to begin truly living with the... with the... with the messages of Geulah, to start entering the atmosphere of the days of Moshiach. Then we will indeed merit to see it tangibly: how the month of Tammuz becomes a time of joy and gladness and festive occasions with the coming of Moshiach, amen, may it be so.