When Hindsight becomes 20/20

It was a special event that had almost become ordinary. A maamar had been published in connection with Purim Katan, 5752 (1992). After the Evening Prayers, the Rebbe delivered a short talk. He then personally distributed freshly printed copies of the maamar to the chassidic community as they passed him individually. Less than two weeks later, on the 27th of Adar I, and increasingly so in the months and years that followed, the significance of what had transpired became apparent.

Spiritual Synergy

The maamar the Rebbe distributed – and which is translated and explained in the coming pages – is based on the maamar entitled VeKibeil HaYehudim, 5687 (1927),1 by the Rebbe Rayatz. Nevertheless, it is far more than a review and even an explanation of the Rebbe Rayatz’s maamar. In it, the Rebbe uncovers and develops insights that one who studies the Rebbe Rayatz’s maamar would not appreciate alone.
After asking several questions concerning the passage VeAtah Tetzaveh,2 the maamar proceeds to explain that the verse, “And you shall command (tetzaveh) the Children of Israel,” carries with it the implication that Moshe binds and connects (as in the term tzavsa) the Jewish people with Or Ein Sof, G‑d’s infinite light. But the relationship is not a one-way dynamic. Instead, to borrow the analogy of a human body, just as the head directs the functioning of the feet, the feet also contribute to the head, bringing it to places which it could never reach on its own. Similarly, Moshe elevates the Jewish people, but also, through the Jewish people, Moshe himself is advanced to a higher level.

Shepherds of Faith

The maamar proceeds to state several seminal concepts:
a)Moshe functions as “a shepherd of faith,” sustaining and nurturing the faith of the Jewish people. Although the Jewish people possess inherent resources of faith, it is possible for this belief to serve merely as an encompassing force, without being actively internalized within a person’s conscious thought processes. Moshe fosters and nurtures the faith of the Jewish people, enabling them to internalize this potential.
b)The designation of Moshe as “a shepherd of faith” applies not only to Moshe Rabbeinu himself, but also to “the extensions of Moshe in every generation.” In every era, there are spiritual leaders who perform the same function as Moshe, strengthening the faith of the Jewish people.
c)The phrase “crushed for the luminary” implies that in the era of exile, when everyone is broken and “crushed,” we are able to draw near to the luminary, the essence of the soul which is bonded to G‑d’s Essence.

What will Motivate a Jew to Surrender his Life for G‑d?

These three concepts are all interconnected. Moshe’s impetus, empowering Jews to bond with G‑d, is ongoing: it impacts every generation, even during the bitterest of exiles. For Moshe – and likewise each of his extensions in later generations – enables every Jew to reveal the essence of his soul.
To clarify: There are two explanations given for the fact that all Jews inherently believe in G‑d, without resorting to intellectual proof:
a)The source of a Jew’s soul in the spiritual realms sees G‑dliness. As a result, the soul as it functions within the body likewise believes in G‑d.
b)The essence of a Jew’s soul is an actual part of G‑d.3 This is the core of a Jew’s being and when that core surfaces, a Jew believes.
Although the faith evoked by the perception of the soul in the higher realms is a powerful influence, it will not necessarily motivate a Jew to sacrifice his life for G‑d. For ultimately, it is an external factor; it is not who the person is, and therefore it will not be able to impel him to sacrifice his life.
When, by contrast, the core of a Jew’s soul is called into expression, “a Jew neither wants nor is able to become severed from G‑dliness.”4 If necessary, he will sacrifice his life for G‑d. This is the contribution of Moshe as “a shepherd of faith.” He stirs the essence of the soul of the Jewish people as a whole, charging their faith with inner power and transforming it into a dynamic force.

Bridging Gaps

This interpretation of Moshe’s function as “a shepherd of faith” differs from the explanation generally given for that term. Generally, it is explained that Moshe – and likewise each of the extensions of Moshe in every generation – enables faith to be internalized within the Jewish people’s powers of thought by imparting knowledge to them. This knowledge enables them to bridge the dichotomy between the ordinary workings of their conscious minds and the essential spark of the Jewish soul. In this maamar, by contrast, it is emphasized that Moshe enables them to internalize their faith – that is, to connect with their infinite Source – by calling the essence of the soul into expression.
There is, however, no contradiction between the two explanations. Moshe’s achievements in internalizing faith, bringing it within the realm of knowledge and comprehension, is an outgrowth of his efforts to sustain and nurture faith itself through the revelation of the essence of the soul. For the possibility for faith to be internalized comes from the revelation of the essential bond between G‑d and the essence of the soul. Indeed, in the Holy Tongue, the root of the verb ידע implies both “knowledge” and “connection.”5

When the Essence Shines Forth

It was stated above that Moshe enables faith to be internalized via knowledge, and that this results from a revelation of the essence of the soul. Nevertheless, self-sacrifice expresses the essence of the soul more than such efforts express it. When a person internalizes faith through knowledge, what is evident is rational thought. True, there is a difference between such thought and ordinary thought, but we are still speaking about thought, and thought is by definition finite. In contrast, through self-sacrifice, the essence of the soul shines forth in all its transcendence.
In Moshe’s era, self-sacrifice was not demanded of the Jewish people. In contrast, in later generations, when self-sacrifice was required, there arose “shepherds of faith,” Jewish leaders who were able not only to affect a small group, but to motivate the people as a whole to reveal the quality of mesirus nefesh. As such, it can be said that these “extensions of Moshe” expressed the qualities of a shepherd of faith to a greater extent than did Moshe himself, for they, unlike Moshe, inspired the Jewish people to actual self-sacrifice.
At this point the Rebbe adds that not only did the Rebbe Rayatz speak of these concepts in his maamar: he epitomized them in his life. Despite the rigors of Soviet persecution, he was able to inspire the Jewish people to display self-sacrifice in their observance of the Torah and its mitzvos.

Shaken to the Core

From this point (sec. 9) on, the maamar takes on a different complexion, as the Rebbe introduces entirely new concepts. His explanation focuses on a question concerning the verse on which the maamar of the Rebbe Rayatz is based, “And the Jews accepted what they what they had already begun to do.” The verse is cited as an allusion to the concept that the Jews’ acceptance of the Torah in the time of Achashverosh represented the consummation of their acceptance of the Torah at Sinai. The maamar of the Rebbe Rayatz explains that the intent is that even though the Jews were “crushed” by Haman’s decrees, their essence rose to the surface and, with mesirus nefesh, they affirmed their acceptance of the Torah. In this maamar, the Rebbe notes that according to its simple meaning, the verse is speaking about the time after the Purim miracle, and not the time when the Jews were confronted by Haman’s decrees.
In resolution of that apparent difficulty, the Rebbe explains that there are two dimensions in the acceptance of the Torah by the Jews at the time of Achashverosh:
a)the acceptance of the Torah and its mitzvos at the time of Haman’s decree as expressed by their self-sacrifice; and
b)the acceptance which came after the miracle of Purim, which, as will be explained, was on an even higher plane.
Similarly, there are two different explanations of the phrase, “crushed for the luminary” – that being crushed in the era of exile leads a Jew to reach “the luminary,” the essence of the soul:
a)the Jews are crushed because of the oppression of other nations;
b)even when Jews are living in a state of prosperity, both in a material and spiritual sense, they feel crushed because of the very fact that they are living in exile.
To explain the latter point: After the Purim miracle, “the Jews enjoyed light and joy, gladness and honor,” in the literal as well as in the spiritual sense. Nevertheless, they were still “servants of Achashverosh,”6 still in exile. And this very fact was sufficient to cause them to feel crushed, shaken to their very essence and core. And precisely because of this crushed state, they bonded with “the luminary,” the essence of their souls.
Why is a Jew crushed from the fact that he is exile, even when he is blessed with material and spiritual prosperity? Because the true desire of every Jew, a desire that emanates from the very core of who he is, is that G‑dliness become revealed.

Aligned with the Essence

The feeling of being crushed from the very fact that one is in exile expresses the soul’s essence more completely than self-sacrifice. To explain: The essence of the soul can operate as an outside influence, independently of a person’s conscious faculties. Thus, even when the essence of one’s soul is revealed, it is possible that his conscious thinking will not be changed. Indeed, we see that there have been individuals who displayed mesirus nefesh continuously for many years when they were living in a country where oppressive decrees conflicted with their observance of the Torah and its mitzvos. When, however, these same individuals came to a country in which they could observe the Torah and its mitzvos amidst prosperity, the mesirus nefesh which they previously displayed was not apparent to the same degree.
The mesirus nefesh they expressed stemmed from the revelation of the essence of the soul which transcends their revealed faculties. It did not, however, bring about change within those faculties. In contrast, the revelation of the essence of the soul that is expressed in the feelings of being crushed from being in exile affects even the revealed faculties, and aligns them with the essence of the soul.

Two Levels within the Essence of the Soul

The rationale for this distinction can be explained as follows: It is possible to say that “the luminary” of the soul revealed through mesirus nefesh refers to the essence of the soul as it is defined as a transcendent entity, above the framework of our revealed faculties. By contrast, the dimension of “the luminary” of the soul which is revealed through the feelings of being crushed because of the exile is a revelation of the essence of the soul as it is rooted in G‑d’s Essence. Accordingly, its transcendent dimension can permeate our revealed faculties and become integrated and even manifest within them.

When the Feet Raise the Head

On this basis, it is possible to explain one of the points mentioned at the beginning of the maamar – that through their Divine service, the Jews can increase the revelation of light on Moshe’s level. As mentioned, Moshe connects the Jewish people with Or Ein Sof (G‑d’s infinite light), sustaining and nurturing their faith by bringing out a dimension of faith that reflects the essence of the soul. Such faith is reflected in self-sacrifice. After Moshe’s endeavors have enabled the revelation of the essence of the soul, the Divine service of the Jewish people brings out a higher quality. By striving to align even their revealed faculties with the essence of the soul, they reveal the source of the essence of the soul as it is rooted in G‑d’s Essence.
The above concepts enable the resolution of one of the questions raised at the beginning of the maamar: whereas one verse speaks of kindling a “constant lamp,” another states that the lamps must burn “from evening until morning.” From the perspective of Moshe himself, it is “at night,” i.e., when there are oppressive decrees, that the essence of the soul is called into expression. When, however, the Jewish people “bring oil to Moshe,” i.e., when they internalize the influence of the essence of the soul, the essence of the soul shines as a “constant lamp,” projecting its light even in times of security and prosperity.

Moments before Dawn

The internalization of the essence of the soul, and its reflection in our revealed faculties, are both a foretaste and a catalyst for the coming of the Redemption, for it is in that era that G‑d’s transcendence will be revealed. Nevertheless, this transcendence will not run contrary to the framework of ordinary, mundane existence. Instead, it will permeate that framework, elevating it to the point that it too reflects His infinity.
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As mentioned initially, the Rebbe distributed the maamar two weeks before the 27th of Adar I. After that time, the concept of being crushed, shaken to the core, by the very fact that we are found in exile, became real for everyone whose life was touched by the Rebbe. It is our hope that the study of this maamar will play its part in enabling the motif the maamar describes to blossom forth, and hasten the coming of the time when we will hear new maamarim from the Rebbe.