Golus: Part 3

00:00 The hemsach in continuation to the early installments in regards to the topic of Galus, we continue now with installment number three, discussing an unusual sikha of the Rebbe given on the fifteenth of Shevat, Tov Shin, Lamed Tes, nineteen seventy-nine. The sikha was translated at that time by Sikhas in English, and the translator added a note as an introduction to this sikha. A number of times in middle of the sikha, the Rebbe cried. He spoke in an unusual tone, interspersing his intellectual analysis with expressions of overwhelming emotion. People have asked, "Why hold a fabringen a Chamisha Shabi Shevat?" To answer this, we must realize that more darkness has come into the world. We cannot stand still without adding new light. The service that was sufficient for a generation ago, or even a year ago, is no longer adequate. Since there has been an increase in darkness, we must work to bring about an increase in light. And the Rebbe continues, "Many Yidden have become sad. They are tired of Galus and its hardships. They are tired of endlessly waiting for Mashiach. They ask, 'How long do we have to wait?' Even in the times of the Navi Yeshaya, Am Yisro were asking, 'When? How much longer must we wait?' In the previous generation as well, even before the times of persecution, we cried out, 'Until when?' And as the expression is in the prophet, 'The summer has passed, the harvest has ended, and still we have not been saved.' And the Rebbe continues, "Especially now, after

02:07 having ended all the trials of Galus, the question, how much longer pierces the heart of the heavens. And we see that even though we cry out and ask, Hashem is silent. The Maggid of Mezrich explained this silence with, with a parable. A father had a son. When the son grew older, the father hid from him, not because he wanted to be separated from him, but because he wanted to make his son appreciate their relationship more. However, the son did not understand. All he knew was that he could not find his father. Likewise, we ask, "Hayesh Hashem b'kirbeinu?" Is Hashem in our midst? We know that Hashem exists, that he's the master of the universe. We will even go further and admit that Hashem created the world, something from nothing, and creates it at every moment. We do not doubt that creation originates from transcendent levels of godliness. We only want to know, is Hashem in our midst? After all, we have seen no wonders, and none of us know how long our enemies will continue to insult. It is not hard to reach the conclusion that Hashem has abandoned the world. The Rebbe is expressing the expression of Yidden in times of trouble. At this point, this son has stopped looking for his father. This," the Rebbe's voice choked with tears, "is the real start of Galus. As long as the son was searching for his father, the Galus was not real. On the contrary, he was at approach to the Gula. The son was

04:07 looking for the father. That is all he cared about, and all his efforts were channeled in that direction. But when the son stops looking, either because he does not know any better or because he has simply given up, then his father really is hidden from him. The Baal Shem Tov," and the Rebbe again, s-his voice choked from tears, "explained that this is a twofold kind of hiding. First, the godliness is hidden from men, and second, the concealment itself is hidden, which means that a person no longer realizes that Hashem is hidden. He no longer thinks about Hashem at all. What does he think about? The world. It is true he thought about it in a kosher manner, so he learns Torah. But why does he learn Torah? Only because he knows he should. He has forgotten about Hashem, the nesan ha-Torah. The same is true of business. He's honest, but still he credits himself for his success. He forgets that his good fortune is dependent on Hashem. And if you ask him, uh, what about Hashem, he answers, 'Do not bring your demands to me. Take them to Hashem himself. After all, how long must we wait?'" And in this sentence, the Rebbe was choking from tears. True, the father has to hide from the son so that the son will look at, for him with a greater thirst and desire. But must he throw his son into a f-twofold darkness? which is the original expression of Achazal. Our spiritual levels have decreased. We do

06:02 not have the powers of our ancestors. As the Gemara says, if the previous generation are considered as men, we are considered as donkeys. And yet, Hashem still demands that we continue searching. And we have searched. Sunday we searched. Monday we searched. And at this point, the Rebbe threw his head, leaned back, and after placing his hand on his forehead for a short time, the Rebbe continued speaking. And the Rebbe said the following. When you look into the Torah, you find a clear statement. The Talmud openly declares all the appointed times for Mashiach's arrival have passed. And now it is dependent only on teshuva, which this is the expression in the Gemara Sanhedrin, And the Yidden have already done teshuva. The Gemara says that even a fleeting thought of teshuva is enough to make a person a tzaddik gamur, a complete righteous person. And today, every Yid has had more than one fleeting thought of teshuva, particularly after the horror of the Holocaust. May such trouble never arise again. We saw and witnessed with our own eyes, and we remember now as well. Having lived through such a catastrophe, it is impossible for a Yid not to have felt fleeting thought of teshuva. And still Mashiach has not come. Given this situation, how can you ask, why does he not wait for Mashiach? What is to be expected from him? He is only a limited being. Furthermore, his limitations were created by Hashem himself. How can you ask why he does not think about the geulah?

08:03 He does. He waits for Mashiach and each day looks forward to his coming. Is he to stand at every moment hoping and waiting? That is impossible. And Hashem cannot demand that. Hashem only demands a service which a Yid can perform. Such a service is beyond our capacities. Hashem did not give us such powers. How can he demand such a service? Therefore, it is necessary to try to add light and joy by making a fabringen. Thus, happiness will break down fences, including the fences of darkness and hiddenness that have covered the world. U'mesaymim b'teiv.