בִּזְמַן הַזֶּה בְּעִקְבְתָא דִּמְשִׁיחָא מַמָּשׁ, הַחוֹבָה עַל כָּל אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל לִדְרוֹשׁ בְּטוֹבַת זוּלָתוֹ, בֵּין זָקֵן בֵּין צָעִיר, לְעוֹרְרוֹ לִתְשׁוּבָה, לְמַעַן שֶׁלֹּא יֵצֵא חַס וְשָׁלוֹם מִכְּלַל יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁיִּזְכּוּ בְּעֶזְרַת הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרֵךְ, לִגְאוּלָה שְׁלֵמָה.

In this present era of ikvesa diMeshicha,1 [the generation that can already hear the approaching footsteps of Mashiach,] every Jew is obligated to seek the welfare of his fellow, be he an elder or a youth — to arouse him to teshuvah, so that he will not leave the fold of the Jewish people, who, with G‑d’s help, will merit the complete redemption.2

Peering Over the Horizon

In the letter that includes this teaching, the Rebbe Rayatz speaks of the Jews who died during the plague of darkness in Egypt. He explains that they died because they did not believe in the possibility of imminent redemption.3 G‑d forbid that a similar thing should happen to any of our brethren today! For today every Jew believes in the redemption, as the Rebbe Rayatzcontinues; he only needs to have that belief awakened.

In that vein, the Rebbe Rayatz tells the story of a chassid who returned home from a visit with him, and related to a non-observant Jewish neighbor how earnestly the Rebbe Rayatz had spoken about the imminent arrival of Mashiach. The conviction in his words motivated the neighbor to immediately ask the chassid to get him mezuzos for all his doors. “The last thing I would want,” he told the chassid, “is for Mashiach to come when I don’t have mezuzos on my doors!”