Moshiach's Meal - the Deep Secret of the Last Day of Pesach and What the Baal Shem Tov Revealed

00:00 What is the story behind the Seudas Moshiach? When did it begin? What does it mean to us? What are its customs, and why were they established? In 5666, in the town of Lubavitch—the year 1906—the Rebbe was the Rebbe Rashab, the founder of the yeshiva. The yeshiva had been founded only a few years earlier, in Elul 5657, 1897. Within a few years, it had earned such a great and distinctive reputation throughout Russia that by 5666 it already had more than three hundred young men, students who had come from cities all over Russia. They came to study at a yeshiva where they learned not only the revealed parts of Torah—Gemara and halachah—but also Chassidus. It was the first yeshiva where Chassidus was studied this way: not casually, but in depth, for several hours every day, both morning and evening. The Rebbe Rashab, who founded the yeshiva, established its schedule of study to bring together the study of the revealed Torah and Chassidus: Gemara and halachah alongside an in-depth study of Chassidus. He devoted himself to this. He delivered maamarim and gave the students a wealth of Torah teachings so they could understand the depths and foundations of Chassidus. On Acharon Shel Pesach, the Rebbe Rashab instructed that a meal be prepared toward the end of the day, called the Seudas Moshiach. The story of the Seudas Moshiach had begun with the Baal Shem Tov. He instituted a custom among his students to hold a special meal at the end of Acharon Shel Pesach, even though there is no requirement to have a third meal on Yom Tov. At this meal, they would wash their hands, eat matzah, and bring the holiday to a close with great joy. The Baal Shem Tov called it the Seudas Moshiach. We’ll explain why in a moment. The Rebbe Rashab then came to take part in the meal himself

02:38 together with the students. During the meal, he asked that the students also be given four cups of wine to drink over the course of the meal, which continued with a farbrengen and words of Chassidus. Just as on the first night of Pesach we not only eat matzah but also drink four cups of wine, the Rebbe Rashab instituted the same practice on that occasion. From then on, it became a regular custom: at the Seudas Moshiach, we wash our hands toward the end of Acharon Shel Pesach, eat matzah, and drink four cups of wine. This meal is called the Seudas Moshiach. So it’s very interesting that the entire custom of the Seudas Moshiach was instituted by our holy teacher, the Baal Shem Tov. He began it, and later the Rebbe Rashab instituted the drinking of four cups of wine. So let’s explain today what its essence really is. What does it symbolize, and what does it teach us? Why was it specifically the Baal Shem Tov who began the custom of the Seudas Moshiach? And why was it the Rebbe Rashab who instituted the drinking of four cups, specifically at the Tomchei Temimim yeshiva in 5666? These questions are very relevant to us today as well, so that we can draw lessons from them for our daily lives right now. We know that the days of Pesach are days of Geulah. At the beginning of Pesach, we celebrate the redemption from Egypt. On the seventh day of Pesach, we celebrate the splitting of the sea, which was really the conclusion of the Exodus from Egypt. We know that when the Jewish people left Egypt, the redemption was not yet complete. They were still afraid of the Egyptians—and indeed, the Egyptians pursued them. Then they reached

04:59 the sea, and the great miracle of the splitting of the sea took place. There the Egyptians met their end, bringing the Egyptian exile to an end. At the splitting of the sea, the Jewish people stood before it and saw the great miracles: not one of the Egyptians remained. They saw how Hakadosh Boruch Hu split the sea for us so that we crossed on dry ground, how the Jewish people walked through the sea on dry land, and how Hakadosh Boruch Hu then drowned all the Egyptians, and so on. Everything that happened in the Exodus from Egypt led the Jewish people to sing that song, the Song at the Sea: “Then Moshe and the children of Israel sang this song.” When we look at the words of that wonderful song, we see that the Jewish people were not only singing and rejoicing over every detail of their redemption from Egypt. They were also speaking about the future Geulah. Toward the end of the Song at the Sea, it says, “You will bring them and plant them on the mountain of Your inheritance,” and then, “The Sanctuary, Hashem, which Your hands have established.” It speaks of entering the Land of Israel and building the Beis Hamikdash, and continues through the words, “Hashem will reign forever and ever.” As Rashi says about this verse, it refers to the reign of King Moshiach. In other words, the Jewish people knew that the redemption from Egypt was only the beginning of a process, the beginning of an ongoing Geulah. They had seen great miracles, but they knew it was not over; it was only the beginning. We have a goal: to reach the Land of Israel and build the Beis Hamikdash. And the ultimate goal is “Hashem will reign forever and ever”: that the sovereignty of Hakadosh Boruch Hu will be revealed throughout the world, everywhere and for all eternity. This will happen fully in the days of King Moshiach, when

07:06 “The sovereignty will be Hashem’s,” and “Hashem will be King over all the earth; on that day Hashem will be One and His Name One.” As is customary in Jewish communities everywhere, we recite the Song at the Sea every morning, and at its conclusion we add these verses. They tell us that the Song at the Sea ultimately leads to the complete Geulah for which we are all waiting. Therefore, in the final days of Pesach we celebrate not only the Exodus from Egypt and the splitting of the sea, but also the future Geulah, the Geulah through Moshiach. We see this in the haftarah as well. On the seventh day of Pesach, after reading the Song at the Sea, we read King David’s song as the haftarah. There are several songs—the Sages say there are nine—and yet the song we read as the haftarah on the seventh day of Pesach is specifically the song of King David, the ancestor from whom King Moshiach, Moshiach ben David, will descend. It also ends, “He grants great deliverance to His king and shows kindness to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.” That is how the haftarah of the seventh day of Pesach concludes: it speaks of the kingship of King David and its continuation forever, of the time when Hakadosh Boruch Hu will bring King Moshiach, from David and his descendants forever. Then, outside the Land of Israel, we also have Acharon Shel Pesach, with its special haftarah from the prophet Yeshayahu: “This very day he will halt at Nov; he will wave his hand toward Jerusalem.” It is a special, wonderful haftarah about the complete Geulah, the Geulah through Moshiach. It speaks of how “a shoot will emerge from the stem of Yishai,” and gives all the details: who King Moshiach will be, what his greatness will be, “And there shall rest

09:15 Upon him will rest the spirit of Hashem, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of Hashem. He will sense the fear of Hashem and judge the poor with righteousness.” And then the prophet goes on to describe what will happen in that time: “The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid.” He continues with all these wondrous things: “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea.” The rest of the haftorah is one of the most wonderful passages about the promises of the Geulah that we are all waiting for. So the last days of Pesach symbolize the complete Geulah—the longing, the yearning, the thirst of the Jewish people. We understand that the redemption from Egypt is not yet complete, not until we merit the complete Geulah. The Baal Shem Tov wanted to make this more tangible: the faith that burns within every Jew despite the long, grueling exile. Every Jew has this faith in the coming of Moshiach, as we say in the familiar words of “Ani Maamin”: “I believe with complete faith in the coming of Moshiach, and though he may delay, I await his coming every day.” A Jew waits every day for Moshiach to come today. It is not that every day he waits for Moshiach to come whenever it happens; he waits for the Geulah to come today. And that faith has always been present in Jews, in every generation, in every situation, in every place and at every time. But when Pesach arrives—and, more broadly, the month of Nissan, about which the Gemara says, “In Nissan they were redeemed, and in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed”—especially on Pesach, when we celebrate the redemption from Egypt, and even more so on the last days of Pesach, that burning faith in the coming of Moshiach awakens within every Jew. The Baal Shem Tov was among those who merited to begin the tremendous effort to prepare the world for

11:35 Moshiach. Everyone knows the famous story that the Baal Shem Tov himself recounts in a letter to his brother-in-law. On Rosh Hashanah 5507, he experienced an ascent of the soul and went up to Heaven. There he entered Moshiach’s chamber and met the soul of Moshiach, and he asked him, “When will you come, master?” When will that special day we all hope and wait for arrive? When will Moshiach be revealed? “When will you come, master?” And Moshiach told him, “When your wellsprings spread outward.” When the wellsprings of the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings, the wellsprings of Chassidus, spread to every place and every corner, Moshiach will come, as he recounts in detail in his wonderful letter. The Baal Shem Tov’s teachings thus give us a taste of what it means to live at the beginning of a period of preparation for the Geulah of Moshiach. One of the things the Baal Shem Tov introduced was the teaching that on the last day of Pesach, a revelation of Moshiach’s radiance shines for every Jew. This is one of the wonderful secrets the Baal Shem Tov revealed: on this day, the last day of Pesach, a revelation of Moshiach’s radiance shines for every Jew. In other words, something wonderful awakens, is revealed, and shines in the world. Something of Moshiach’s revelation shines on this day. This is expressed, as we said, in the haftorah we read and in the way faith in the coming of Moshiach awakens within every Jew on this day. To make it more tangible, the Baal Shem Tov introduced a meal, at which we eat matzah toward the end of the day. What is the point of eating matzah at this meal toward the end of the day? When we do something in a tangible, physical way, we also help bring it into the physical, tangible world. One of the things

13:57 the Alter Rebbe said he had heard in the name of his teacher, the Maggid of Mezritch, a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, was that when a thought or an idea occurred to the Maggid, he would express it aloud, even if it had no relevance to the people around him. He said that when a person says something aloud, it gains a physical expression. That helps bring it into being in this physical world. We see the same thing with the prophets. Often, when they delivered a prophecy, they would perform some physical act in this world—take a stick or take a plant. In Tanach we find all kinds of actions the prophets performed as they spoke their prophecies. What is the purpose of grasping physical things? Chassidus explains that this is precisely the point: things must be brought into the physical world and not remain only on the spiritual plane. And so the Baal Shem Tov instituted Moshiach’s Seudah at the end of the eighth day of Pesach. We wash our hands and eat matzah to strengthen our faith. As we know, the Zohar calls matzah “the food of faith.” Matzah is the bread of faith. It is also the bread of healing. The Zohar explains at length that eating matzah on the night of Pesach is meant to heal the king’s son, who is ill, may G-d protect us, having fallen into the impurity of Egypt, into its spiritual and inner sicknesses. By eating matzah, the Jewish people were healed of the impurity of Egypt, and their faith in Hakadosh Boruch Hu grew stronger. That is why they left Egypt with complete trust. As the verse says, “I remember the kindness of your youth, the love of your bridal days, how you followed Me into the wilderness, into an unsown land.” The Jewish people believed in Hakadosh Boruch Hu, trusted Moshe Rabbeinu,

16:00 and left Egypt even though they had nothing prepared, because they had faith and trust in Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That was the first redemption. Eating matzah has a special power to strengthen faith, as Chassidus explains at length. What is it about eating matzah—specifically this matzah, which has no flavor, no salt, no rising? This matzah expresses a Jew’s complete self-nullification before Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So the matzah we eat during the seven days of Pesach has the power to strengthen a Jew’s faith in Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And just as there is faith in Hakadosh Boruch Hu, there is also faith in the complete Geulah. Among the thirteen principles of “Ani Maamin” are a Jew’s belief in the coming of Moshiach and belief in the resurrection of the dead. So when we eat matzah on the seventh day of Pesach, our faith and awareness grow stronger: Moshiach really is about to arrive. “The voice of my beloved! Here he comes, leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills.” “Here he stands behind our wall.” Moshiach is already here, and we are all ready, ready to receive him. So that began with the Baal Shem Tov: strengthening faith in the coming of Moshiach. Several generations later, the Rebbe Rashab, at the Tomchei Temimim yeshivah, introduced an addition to this custom: not only eating matzah, but also drinking wine—four cups of wine. What is the explanation for four cups of wine on the last days of Pesach? The Midrash says that there are four expressions of redemption in Parshas Va’eira, connected with the first redemption, the redemption from Egypt, corresponding to which our Sages instituted four cups of wine. There are also four cups of retribution in the future. In other words,

18:14 In the verses of Tanach, in Yechezkel, the word “cup” appears in connection with the cups that Hakadosh Boruch Hu will bring—cups of punishment for the nations of the world. At the same time, there are also cups of Geulah for the Jewish people: “the cup of salvation,” and other verses in which the word “cup” appears four times in connection with the salvation of the Jewish people in the complete Geulah, the Geulah of Moshiach. And so, the Rebbe Rashab says, to add even more, since we are moving ever closer to the Geulah, eating matzah alone is not enough. There is also the matter of drinking wine, as a preparation for internalizing and instilling faith in the Geulah more deeply. What is the reason for this? What does wine add to matzah? What is the difference between eating matzah and drinking wine? This will also help us understand why the Baal Shem Tov instituted eating matzah on Pesach, while the Rebbe Rashab established the practice of drinking wine on Pesach. The explanation is that matzah, as we discussed, is all about faith. Matzah has no flavor. And the reason matzah specifically has no flavor is that the beginning of serving Hashem must be simple faith. A Jew’s first connection with Hakadosh Boruch Hu is simple faith, without calculations, without clever reasoning, without explanations, without understanding: complete devotion and self-nullification to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. It is like what happens every day when we wake up in the morning. A Jew wakes up; his mind is not yet active, he is not fully awake, he does not yet feel anything, but he says, “Modeh ani lefanecha, Melech chai vekayam, shehechezarta bi nishmasi bechemlah; rabbah emunasecha”—“I thank You, living and eternal King, for returning my soul to me with compassion; great is Your faithfulness.” Modeh Ani is simple faith. That is the simple faith that eating matzah brings about. But remaining at the level of faith forever is not the goal either. The goal is that there must be “and nurture faith,” as the verse says, “and nurture faith.”

20:20 … In other words, faith needs to be nourished, fed, like a shepherd who takes his flock and gives them food so that they grow and develop. The same idea is called ra’aya mehemna, the shepherd of faith: nourishing, feeding, internalizing, and increasing faith, so that faith does not remain just an abstract, intangible point of belief. Sometimes we see a person who believes, but his faith is disconnected from the reality of his life. For faith to truly permeate every part of a person, there must be understanding, study, and explanation. There is a wonderful teaching from the holy Shelah about the Song at the Sea, which we say on the seventh day of Pesach. He discusses the verses we recite in the Song at the Sea. Among them is, “This is my G-d, and I will glorify Him; the G-d of my father, and I will exalt Him.” There seems to be a repetition here: “This is my G-d, and I will glorify Him; the G-d of my father, and I will exalt Him.” What is the difference between the first part of the verse and the second? There are certainly many interpretations, but the holy Shelah offers a wonderful one. He says that there is a Jew whose entire connection with Hakadosh Boruch Hu is a connection of faith. He inherited that faith from his father, who inherited it from his father and grandfather, all the way back to Avraham Avinu, the first of the believers. This is called the faith we received as an inheritance. When faith is inherited, it remains something very lofty, exalted, removed, and wonderful. Although it is very important—it is the foundation—leaving it at that is not enough. We need to take that faith and try to study it, delve into it, contemplate it, and understand it as much as a person can. This is what the verse says: “This is my G-d”—that Hakadosh Boruch Hu should be my G-d, the G-d I have studied, understood, and contemplated as much as I can. Then, “and I will glorify Him”—the holy Shelah says, “I and He.” The Hebrew word ve’anveihu is

22:39 a combination of two words: “I and He” together. We become one. But when it is “the G-d of my father”—my father believed, and therefore I believe—then “I will exalt Him”: it is lofty and sublime, but it does not become part of me. And that is the point of wine in relation to matzah. Matzah is faith, as we said. The Sages instituted wine because wine does the opposite: “When wine enters, secrets emerge.” Wine reveals what is hidden and brings it into the open. Wine has flavor. Wine brings joy—“wine that gladdens G-d and people,” as the verse says. In other words, bringing it into the wine ensures that these things do not remain only an abstract point of faith, but come with appreciation, understanding, and comprehension, so that a person truly becomes one with them. Then the person becomes permeated through and through with faith. It penetrates him and takes hold of him, bringing him to joy and love. That is the power of wine, which gladdens G-d and people. And so, too, we come to faith in the Geulah, faith in the coming of Moshiach. The Baal Shem Tov, who founded the teachings of Chassidus, revealed faith. We all know the history of the Baal Shem Tov. He came into the world to strengthen the faith of the Jewish people. One of the reasons the Baal Shem Tov was given the name Yisroel is that his name was not common at that time. Today it has become widespread, but in those years it was not common at all. The Baal Shem Tov was named Yisroel because, as is known, when someone faints, calling him by name helps rouse him from his faint. Through the Baal Shem Tov’s name, it was as though the Jewish people were being called by name to awaken their faith. We all know the history of the Jewish people

24:36 at that time, three hundred years ago. It was a period when faith was very weak. The Jewish people were living through a time of great bitterness and much weakness in matters of faith. After the episode of Shabbetai Tzvi and the various pogroms that took place then in Poland and elsewhere in Europe, the Jewish people were going through an extremely difficult period. The Baal Shem Tov breathed a new light of vitality and faith into the Jewish people. He sustained—he strengthened the power of faith among the Jewish people. And so, on the last day of Pesach, when we receive inspiration for faith in Moshiach for the entire year, he instituted the practice of eating matzah. But after generations of Chabad Chassidus—the Alter Rebbe, the Mitteler Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek, and the Rebbe Maharash—the Rebbe Rashab came along. It is well known that under the Rebbe Rashab, Chabad Chassidus developed on an enormous scale, with wonderful explanations. The Rebbe Rashab’s maamarim, in what were called hemsheichim, were comprehensive and profound explanations of Chassidus, with analogies and explanations presented in a way that everyone could understand. Especially in the year 5666, which we are discussing now. There is, as is well known, a whole volume from 5666 containing the deep, expansive, and wonderful maamarim that the Rebbe Rashab delivered throughout that year. It explains the purpose of the creation of the world and the coming of Moshiach, and how that connects with everything we do in our daily lives. It is one of the most wonderful books of Chassidus. The Rebbe Rashab said at the time that there was something about the year 5666: it was a year designated for the end of exile. We know that various works by Kabbalists and others make calculations, and that certain years are auspicious times. Of course, Moshiach must come at any moment, and we await him all the time. But according to certain calculations, some years are a kind of auspicious time, when there is a greater opportunity than in an ordinary year to bring the Geulah

26:40 In practice. The year 5666 was one of those predicted dates for the Geulah, and the Rebbe Rashab devoted that entire year to developing the remarkable maamarim that explain the purpose of the Geulah, the purpose of the world's creation, the whole idea of making a dwelling for Hashem in this world, and how we accomplish that through Torah, mitzvos, and a Jew's avodah. They are remarkable, wide-ranging maamarim. And so, on that Acharon Shel Pesach, the Rebbe Rashab came to the Tomchei Temimim yeshivah. As we said, this was the first place where young men sat and studied both the revealed and the inner dimensions of Torah. They studied Chassidus carefully, broadly, and deeply. And then the Rebbe Rashab said: The time has come not only to eat the matzah, but also to drink the wine. Faith in the Geulah should not remain something abstract, intangible, and disconnected. It should be something we truly taste, feel, enjoy, and rejoice in. Only when a person truly studies the teachings about the Geulah in a personal, deep, and broad way can he really connect with it genuinely and deeply. That is what drinking the wine, the four cups on Acharon Shel Pesach, is about. And so, since we are already in the final moments of galus, in a time when we can feel that the whole world is moving toward the Geulah, this is the most fitting time for each and every one of us to make use of these great days, the last days of Pesach. In particular, make use of the seventh day of Pesach and Acharon Shel Pesach to hold this special meal, and tell our acquaintances about it too, those who do not yet know about it. Have the meal at the end of the day: eat the matzah and drink the wine, the four cups of the Geulah. Keep the Geulah in mind at every moment; speak about it, encourage and strengthen one another—“Each will help his fellow and say to his brother, ‘Be strong’”—strengthening ourselves

28:48 and others in the matter of the Geulah and the coming of Moshiach. Know that the moment when Moshiach will be revealed is already almost here. May we merit, this year, in the month of Nissan, to see the fulfillment of what our Sages tell us: “In Nissan they are destined to be redeemed.” May we merit the complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu, and may all the words of the prophecy be fulfilled, as we mentioned—including “The spirit of Hashem will rest upon him.” May each and every Jew reveal within his soul the spark of Moshiach that the Baal Shem Tov speaks about. Through this, we will bring Moshiach to the entire world. Then the world will be full of-- a world of peace, a world of unity, where “the wolf will dwell with the lamb.” If even animals can live together, how much more so the Jewish people and the nations of the world. May there be peace on earth, and may we merit to see “the earth filled with knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea.” Amen, may it be so. A happy Yom Tov to everyone.