A woman once came before the Rebbe to ask for a singularly significant blessing.

“If you would bring Mashiach, all our prayers would be answered.”

The Rebbe replied, “I am ready, but I require the cooperation of all the Jews around me.”

Without pause, the woman revised her request, asking instead, “A blessing that we should work harder to bring him.”

“Yes,” the Rebbe replied with a smile. “And as soon as possible.”1

If there is one thing that the Rebbe and Chabad in general are known for, it is their fervent belief in the imminent arrival of Mashiach. Sometimes implicit, but more often explicit,2 in almost every one of his talks, teachings, and encounters, the Rebbe revealed this cherished, heartfelt aspiration: To see our imperfect world enter into an era of peace and wholeness, devoid of war and suffering, replete with revealed goodness and the pursuit of G‑dly knowledge.

Without getting too deep into the finer points of Jewish philosophy and prophecy, Mashiach is the main meta-historical character, both perpetually absent and potentially present at all times, throughout our story of creation and redemption. His inevitable arrival will signal the ultimate redemption and end goal of history, when the world will be made right and the Divine presence will be clear for all to see, here, now, in our world.

According to the Rebbe, this greatest of goals is ours to bring about. From his very first discourse as Rebbe to the final moments of his leadership, he made one thing clear. If we want Mashiach now, it is up to us.

Dream On

For the Rebbe, the arrival of Mashiach was a childhood dream. From his earliest days, and despite the immensely challenging times he lived through, he never stopped nursing the dream of Mashiach’s arrival. In a letter addressed to Yitzchak Ben-Zvi, the second president of Israel, the Rebbe wrote:

“From the time when I was a child attending cheder, and even earlier than that, there began to take form in my mind a vision of the future redemption—the redemption of Israel from its last exile, redemption such as would explain the suffering, the decrees, and the massacres of exile...”3

In many ways, this vision is what made the Rebbe unique among other towering Jewish figures of our time. Most leaders see their life and impact in terms of their specific generation, but the Rebbe viewed his role through the wider lens of Jewish and world history in its entirety. He saw his generation as a whole, while at the same time also as a small but critical part of a much larger process that would culminate in the ultimate redemption of creation itself, brought about by the cumulative efforts of each and every individual.

Indeed, on the very night he assumed the mantle of Chabad-Lubavitch leadership, 10 Shvat 5711 (1951), in his discourse entitled Bati L’gani, the Rebbe emphatically stated that after thousands of years of baby steps and quantum leaps, going all the way back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, at this very moment in history, “It is up to us to complete the job and usher in the final redemption.”4

But what exactly does this mean for us, and how does it relate to our individual purpose?

Down and Out

To understand the profound, personal implications of the Rebbe’s call to action and where each and every individual fits into the ultimate trajectory of Mashiach’s story, we must first delve into two paradigmatic modalities that frame the world’s journey from genesis to redemption: mil’malah l’matah, from above to below, and mil’matah l’malah, from below to above.

These two teleologies frame the story arc of creation and will help us understand the various movements and milestones that lead to the grand drama of the final chapter—and why each soul and the fulfillment of its Divine purpose plays such an essential part in Mashiach’s arrival.

As discussed in Chapter 2, the purpose of creation is no less than the marriage of heaven and earth; that is, for G‑d’s unifying presence to permeate human consciousness.

As the Midrash tells us, “G‑d desired to have a dwelling in the lower realms.”5 That is, from among all of the lofty realms, dimensions, and worlds described by the Sages and mystics, G‑d chose this physical universe as his ultimate home.

The means to this ultimate end, according to Kabbalah and Chasidut, is the gathering and elevation of Divine sparks that are hidden throughout creation and the circumstances of our everyday lives, thereby revealing G‑d’s presence and Providence in the world everywhere, always, and to everyone.

According to the Sages, there are two ways for those sparks to be rescued and redeemed: from the top-down or from the bottom-up.

The first, mil’malah l’matah, refers to a process that is initiated from heaven to earth, from G‑d to creation and humanity.

In this top-down model, the Divine imposes its truth and will upon the earth and its inhabitants.

This mode can be seen in Torah stories of miracles, catastrophes, and other wondrous displays of Divine force that shaped the world and humanity in explicit and spectacular ways. The Great Flood, the exodus from Egypt, and the subsequent giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai are three emblematic examples of this dynamic.

The founder of Chabad Chasidut, R. Schneur Zalman, known as the Alter Rebbe, offered an image to illustrate this paradigm of redemption, describing the process as analogous to lit candles drawn to a flaming torch.6 According to this analogy, the flames are pulled toward a spiritual epicenter, which draws and incorporates them into itself by its sheer, overwhelming power and potency, asserting its truth and centrality rather than inspiring or evoking it from within its indigenous setting. According to this model, the source of holiness is singular and highly focused in one place.

Upside: This process is exceptionally efficient and unquestionably effective.

Downside: This process does not affect the natural environment or host of the flames whatsoever, who themselves remain unrefined as the flame contained within is plucked suddenly and forcefully from its mundane container. The spiritual transformation that emerges from this process is superimposed and therefore ultimately superficial.

Bottoms Up

The second approach to redemption, mil’matah l’malah, is initiated from earth to heaven, from creation to Creator. In this bottom-up model, awareness of Divinity in the world is meant to emerge organically from within the context of human perception, experience, striving, and struggle.

In this model, the source of spiritual power and elevation is decentralized and distributed widely throughout the entire world and all of humanity. Accordingly, every one of us becomes a Divine agent to elevate all sparks, in all people, places, times, situations, and objects.

Upside: The elevation process is organic, localized, indigenous, and holistic, thus facilitating a more comprehensive and thorough redemption of the “lower world,” because the Divine truth is internally elicited and revealed rather than externally imposed. This approach results in a more authentic, all-encompassing process of whole system transformation.

Downside: This process is much slower and is dependent on the gradual, emergent, grassroots effort of lamplighters and individuals around the world, committed to elevating the local sparks within every place, culture, and context. In comparison to the overwhelming efficiency of the top-down approach, the bottom-up approach to redemption is much more incremental, unpredictable, and laborious.

Now that we have introduced these two epistemological orientations, we can more productively explore how they relate to our personal lives in the context of the cosmic story of Mashiach, as understood by the Rebbe.

From Revolution to Evolution

Throughout history, according to the teachings of Chabad Chasidut, there has been a gradual shift from the top-down model of redemption and unification to a bottom-up model. This is a paradigmatic shift from revolution to evolution, and it can be seen in two critical contexts—the successive, diasporic movements of the Jewish people from a centralized hub to all corners of the globe,7 and, as it pertains to individual purpose, in the progressive distribution of spiritual autonomy and free will.

From Adam to Abraham, Moses to Joshua, the judges to the prophets, the kohanim to the rabbis, and the rabbis to every individual, for a majority of human history, the top-down mode was predominant. G‑d’s presence and authority, when shown, was overwhelming and obvious. For example, when the nation of Israel was first “born,” their existence and reality was infused and openly imbued with the supernatural, the miraculous, and the revelatory—from the ten plagues, to the parting of the Red Sea, to manna falling from heaven, to the many miracles that blessed the Jewish people on their formative, forty-year odyssey through the desert.

During these early days of Jewish history, the epistemological result of this overwhelming Divine presence was that, for the individual, the free will that infuses every action with meaning and redemptive potency was eclipsed by Divine fiat. So revealed and overwhelming was G‑d’s presence in Jewish life, in fact, that deviation from the Divine will had immediate, stark, physical consequences, such as tzaraat, the Biblical skin condition brought about by speaking gossip. Socially, religiously, and culturally, this manifested in the uniform and ubiquitous rule of religious law. Put simply, in Biblical times the Jewish people didn’t really have much choice to keep the commandments when the consequences for various violations were so concrete, including corporal punishment, and, in more extreme cases of transgression, capital punishment.

That can hardly be called free will. Moreover, even as G‑d’s overt miracles receded from history, spiritual leaders, from prophets to kohanim, were designated as authoritative intermediaries or interpreters of Divine will. This hierarchical model reinforced a passive posture of deference and dependence in the lives of the vast majority of people. But the story does not end there. As history unfolds and humanity experiences progressively greater degrees of free will, there is a concurring realization of the Divine plan for the elevation of—and from within—the “lower worlds,” through the more difficult but ultimately more meaningful and comprehensive vehicle of individual choice.

On average, this model of redemption may result in innumerably more poor decisions, mistakes, and diminished overall religious adherence. Nevertheless, despite these risks and downsides, the bottom-up approach was the Rebbe’s prescription for our time—a time of radical, purpose-driven authenticity that would welcome Mashiach thanks to the cumulative, grassroots efforts of each individual.

Indeed, the Rebbe endorsed this approach precisely because the arrival of Mashiach, which depends on the redemption of the “lowest realms,” requires the completion of the creation-spanning transition from mil’malah l’matah to mil’matah l’malah.

For this to happen, redemption must emerge organically from within the lowest, furthest, and most obscure corners of creation.

As the Rebbe said:

Then, when we [constructed a Temple in the Holy Land and thus] seemed to be near the fulfillment of our journey, G‑d announced, in effect: This is not yet the final step. True, a G‑dly light shines in the Temple in Jerusalem, and from there, it spreads to the entire world, but this is not the objective. The goal is even higher. The goal is not for a fire to glow in just one place and for the entire world to derive benefit from its light; rather, it is that the source of the light itself will reach every place. In every corner of the world, a Divine energy will emanate. As long as there remains one corner where the light does not shine on its own, this is proof that the light is limited. When the boundless light of truth shines, it will illuminate every place and every corner.8

Free Bird

Reflecting this final stage of history, the Rebbe insisted that there was one final missing piece of the puzzle called redemption—namely, the distribution and transfer of spiritual responsibility for the state of world redemption from the leader to every individual.

In his very first discourse, the Rebbe stated boldly and emphatically,

“…We are now very near the approaching footsteps of Mashiach; indeed, we are at the conclusion of this period [of global redemption], and our spiritual task is to complete the process of drawing down the Shechinah [G‑d’s Presence] within specifically our lowly world.”9

After presenting his marching orders in this inaugural teaching, the Rebbe framed the aforementioned, final paradigm shift by sharing a colloquial Yiddish phrase: “Leigt zich nit arayn kayn foigelach in buzem,” lit., “Do not place birds in your bosom.”

This curious phrase traces to antiquity and refers to one who places a bird in their pocket and walks off a cliff, erroneously believing that the wings of another will empower them to fly.10 The reference was a clear declaration that the time had come for each individual to bear responsibility for their own elevation, as well as the world’s. The time for passive dependence on the top-down guidance of spiritual leaders had passed. As the Rebbe elaborated, the traditional interpretation of the verse, A tzaddik lives by his faith, was that one’s salvation depended on their faith in the tzaddik. However, it was now time for each of us to become the tzaddik, spread our own wings, and use the full power imparted to us by G‑d to do our individual part in bringing Mashiach. Each and every one of us must embrace our role as a partner of G‑d, imbued with our own piece of Providence and a sacred mission to become a source of light in our own corner of creation.

Passing the Baton

Nearly forty years after that first paradigm-shifting proclamation, and after countless campaigns and efforts dedicated to the realization of his childhood dream, Mashiach had not yet arrived. At the Purim farbrengen in 5747 (1987), the Rebbe sat surrounded by hundreds of Chasidim and began to speak in a low, even tone about the reasons for Mashiach’s delay, and our precious role in his ultimate arrival.

“Regarding the discussion on the subject of redemption, one may wonder: Why the sudden change of emphasis? The subject is not new, G‑d forbid…but there has been a change in recent years…At farbrengens during the early years, as well as by all the previous Rebbes, this topic was mentioned. But never as a primary focus. Especially not in the same manner as of late, when we specifically select and highlight those Chasidic discourses that explain that the true and ultimate redemption is connected to the actions of every single Jew. In Rambam’s words: ‘young and old alike,’ and as Rambam rules, ‘one good deed, speech, or thought could bring salvation to oneself and the entire world.’ …The Talmud, already in its day, stated ‘all “end times” for the redemption have passed; it now awaits only repentance [which is dependent on the individual].’”

The Rebbe cited numerous “end times” that had been predicted by scholars and Sages throughout Jewish history. Each “end time” had passed without realization, yet the subject of the end of history and the arrival of Mashiach persisted, with renewed permutations spoken as recently as 1906 by the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, R. Shalom DovBer, known as the Rebbe Rashab.

“Now the Talmud states that ‘all end times have passed,’ yet still the Rebbe Rashab discussed an ‘end time’ [which did not come to pass].... After that gathering, the issue was not discussed for decades, until my father-in-law, the Rebbe, began his campaign: ‘Immediate repentance, immediate redemption,’ and he specifically instructed that it be published and disseminated…

This makes our question even stronger: How long must we wait for Mashiach?! There was an end time predicted by the Rebbe, and since then decades have passed? So I searched for an answer. The only explanation I can find is this: The Torah states, ‘The leader of the generation is the entire generation.’ But this responsibility must now be transferred to ‘the generation’—to every individual Jew.

“In the past, the average student relied on the Rebbe [to lead followers toward redemption]. They were a part of his efforts, but they relied on the Rebbe for the results; yet despite this, the redemption did not come. Now, the generation may be spiritually weaker, but at the same time, we are closer to the time of the redemption…This necessitates that we increase our efforts in this matter. What can each individual do? We must expand every effort to publicize to every Jew that by his single deed, by his single word, or by his single thought…his every action can truly bring deliverance to the entire world! So although in the past one relied on the Rebbes and on the end times predicted by them, now that decades have passed since the last ‘end time’ was predicted, it is obvious that the only thing left to do is to alert every Jew that it is now his personal responsibility, and he must weigh his actions to bring the redemption. There is no alternative…this depends on you, and on you…and on every single man woman and child—and everyone together….”11

According to the Rebbe, it is time for each of us to activate our innermost point of holiness and righteousness. No leader, no matter how exalted, can do it for us.12

It’s All Up to You

Ultimately, the Rebbe saw Jewish history through the lens of a human life. Like a baby, whose first steps and development require constant hands-on attention and reassuring affection, the Jewish people in our national infancy required overt miracles and revealed G‑dliness to help us learn to walk out of Egypt. This spiritual caretaking continued as Israel grew up through Divine revelations, and under the wing of kohanim and prophets, judges and kings. But as time passed, the Jewish people continued to mature spiritually; along with this maturation, the revealed Presence and Providence of G‑d diminished correspondingly. This journey has created the conditions for us to grow into our own faith and develop a connection with G‑d and a spiritual worldview that comes from within, without external pressure or even revelation. This has given us the exceptional opportunity to manifest the ultimate, deepest, and highest level of faith from the bottom up, within the context of our own daily lives. For all the struggle and strife it entails, this opportunity and its actualization is the ultimate expression of mil’matah l’malah, and the remaining, unrealized precondition of Mashiach’s arrival.

“For so long as a Jew’s compliance with the will of G‑d is externally motivated—however commendable such motivation is in itself—it is not yet quite complete,” wrote the Rebbe in a letter.13

Indeed, it is clear from many public talks and pronouncements during this period that the Rebbe was consciously preparing his followers to take the baton from his hand.

Through it all, one radical message consistently rings loud and clear: We cannot rely on “help” from without. We must find the eternal light within our own souls and ignite it, not once but over and over again, through good deeds, the cultivation of a providential perspective, and purposeful, passionate expressions of holiness and faith. If we want Mashiach now, it is up to us.

“What else can I do so that all Jewish people should agitate, truthfully cry out, and effectively bring Mashiach in actuality…. We are still in exile…and, more importantly, in an internal exile with regards to serving G‑d,” cried out the Rebbe in the spring of 1991. “The only thing I can do is give it over to you: I have done my part. From now on, you must do all that you can.”14

It is precisely this fractal distribution of Divine responsibility that defines the paradigmatic shift the Rebbe sought to inspire and strengthen within each individual, the Jewish people, and humanity as a whole. It is now up to each of us to redeem our corner of the world as part of a providentially ordained bootstrap effort to bring history to its glorious, final fruition. Each of us, one by one, step by step, spark by spark, will do this our own way, in our own place and time. But the goal is the same—by embracing our Divine purpose, we will ultimately, finally, welcome G‑d home to His heavenly garden of earthly delights.

With this in mind, body, soul, and heart, throughout his life, every day, in every way, the Rebbe reminded us: We are no longer waiting for Mashiach. Mashiach is waiting for us.