Moshiach - A Way of Life, not an Abstract Concept

Motek

Wed, Mar 16 2005, 3:19 pm

someone asked - what do you mean when you say that Moshiach is a way of life, not an abstract concept

good question

in a sicha (parshas Balak 5751), the Lubavitcher Rebbe says that additional learning of inyanei Moshiach and Geula is "not (only) as a segula to hasten and bring closer the coming of Moshiach and the Geula, but (also and) primarily in order to begin "living" in inyanei Moshiach and Geula, "to live with the times," of Yemos Ha'Moshiach, through the intellect becoming full and saturated with understanding and a grasp of inyanei Moshiach and Geula in Torah, and from the intellect it spreads and penetrates even the emotions of the heart, until actual behavior in thought, speech, and action, in a way that is fitting for this special time as we stand on the threshold of Geula, and point with a finger that "behold this (Melech Ha'Moshiach) came."

the process involves:

1) learning inyanei Moshiach and Geula
2) having your intellect become full and saturated with an understanding of inyanei Moshiach and Geula
3) having it penetrate your heart
4) having it affect your thought, speech, and action

perhaps we use this thread to post how we're coming along in this process, where we're up to, practical examples

to start with, we can think about what is a Geula mentality as opposed to a Galus mentality

mommy4

Mon, Jul 25 2005, 9:21 pm

Motek, Your post really got me thinking.
It´s so important to make Moshiach a reality but sometimes we get so busy with our lives, the little details, cooking and cleaning, kids or work that our belief remains makif (not internalized).
So after reading your post, I spent a few days thinking, how am I living geula? Just thinking was good because I came to the realization that I am reacting with a galus mentality. As I was trying to figure out how to implement geula mentality, my kids were fighting, and instead of getting nevous and upset (galus mentality) I remained calm and thought of a creative solution.

The difference with galus-gola and geula is the letter alef. The Lub. Rebbe expains in a sicha that geula will be life as it is now with one diff. the alef=Hashem. The reality of Hashem, hashgacha protis will be so clear. Our eyes will be "opened".

I feel my golus mentality is getting upset over things and not reacting with the recognition that it´s from Hashem, it´s an opportunity...then you are calmer and creating a geula home.

Motek

Tue, Jul 26 2005, 6:09 pm

mommy4 wrote:

Your post really got me thinking.

that puts you way ahead of the game already! Smile

Quote:

I came to the realization that I am reacting with a galus mentality.

maybe we can discuss what we mean by a "galus mentality"

some thoughts that come to mind:

1) Jews in galus are used to being downtrodden and attacked for their Jewishness and this is why many (most?) Jews have gotten into the habit of hiding their Jewishness.

Yes, even frum people who are ostensibly proud to be Jewish, have a hide-our-Jewishness-mentality. Have you ever wondered, when traveling on the subway or anywhere out there where non jews are, whether people can tell you are Jewish? Would we feel good or insulted if someone said to us: Oh, I didn't realize you're Jewish! You don't look it!

2) like you said mommy4, and it's a great illustration, if you get upset by anything that happens to you, by anything that people say or do to you, then that means you are not living with the reality that Hashem runs the world and is supervising every detail of it and that everything is good.

Motek

Thu, Jul 17 2008, 4:09 pm

Henya Elishevitz:

The thing to remember is that everything at home has to be connected to Moshiach. One thing that I see is especially effective is when the walls “talk.” I hang up decorations that I constantly change, that instills the fact that the Rebbe is Moshiach and about a Geula life.

I also try to have them feel Geula in their daily activities. When I ask them to pick up the toys, I say: Come, let us imagine that we are in Yerushalayim in the time of Geula and the floor is full of diamonds and precious stones. Who will pick up the most and be a big baal chesed?

You don’t need more than that in order for the children to run and pick up the toys. You have to put in some thought in making connections to Geula.

We sometimes “go bowling” and each one writes a note on a bottle (pin) with traits or things he doesn’t do properly that he wants to “knock down.” There is much enthusiasm when they manage to knock the Evil Inclination out in this way.

Another very important thing is to speak to the children. One of the best times is at the supper table. Each child tells how he saw Hashgacha Pratis during the day and how he lived with Moshiach and Geula. We each listen and it enables us to be strengthened and grow closer.

HooRYou

Thu, Jul 17 2008, 4:17 pm

This is very interesting since while I wasn't trying to live in the Geula I do think about these questions often especially:
who would we be if galus didn't drag us down?

As far as looking Jewish and riding the subway now that I don't do it all the time I am terrorfied of it when I do. I remember my first trip back to NY after 9/11 and thinking about how much more dangerous it felt to me there since I looked like more of a target than I do here where I fit in with everyone else.

So this is kind of like the ultimate think good and it will be good / power of emunah thing?

TheBeinoni

Thu, Jul 17 2008, 5:00 pm

Motek, this is an INCREDIBLE post. Thank you so much for sharing your ideas and knowledge with us!

Quote:

if you get upset by anything that happens to you, by anything that people say or do to you, then that means you are not living with the reality that Hashem runs the world and is supervising every detail of it and that everything is good.

I think this is totally part of having a Galut mindset. In Geula we will all be able to serve Hashem openly and without reservation. Even amongst jew to jew we sometimes hold our "true selves" back. In Geula we will we so incredibly aware of Hashem's presence in the world that we will see kedusha in EVERYTHING. I once asked my family's rav (who is Lubavitch) many years ago when I was much younger, what will life look like when Mashiach is here? He told me that we will see the sparks of holiness in EVERYTHING, and that a chair will not just be a chair - it will have kedusha because we will see Hashem's holiness in it.

Can we go more in depth on how to improve and make Moshiach our "way of life"? Motek - any specific suggestions?

Motek

Thu, Jul 24 2008, 3:43 pm

hotmama wrote:

I once asked my family's rav (who is Lubavitch) many years ago when I was much younger, what will life look like when Mashiach is here? He told me that we will see the sparks of holiness in EVERYTHING, and that a chair will not just be a chair - it will have kedusha because we will see Hashem's holiness in it.

I think he means that we will see how Hashem brings everything into being, as we say in davening, "u'vetuvo mechadesh b'chol yom tamid maasei bereishis" - in His goodness He renews every day, continuously, the work of creation". We will see the Elokus in everything.

Quote:

Can we go more in depth on how to improve and make Moshiach our "way of life"? Motek - any specific suggestions?

The same woman I quoted above, Mrs. Elishevitz, said:

We decided that if Hashem leaves us in galus, we will have a Geula vacation. The first week, each child will get a notebook in which to write or draw those things which hasten the Geula and what special thing they did.

Each one collects as many things as possible that are a segula to bring Moshiach. I assign my little ones to my older children so they can help them. In the evening, we will sit together to illustrate the concepts and of course, we will hang them up on the wall. Each child will have to decide which segula he/she chooses to do the next day from all the choices.

We are also planning to go out and distribute Shabbos candles. On another day, we will work on Ahavas Yisrael in the neighborhood with one helping an elderly neighbor, while another one will go and play with a child who is not popular in class, etc. On another day, we will look for stories and parables about anticipating the Geula.

Motek

Thu, Jul 24 2008, 3:44 pm

cont.

"Last summer, throughout vacation, we built the walls of the Beis Ha’Mikdash. I put boxes in the living room and each one had colorful bricks. On one box it said “respect for parents.” On another it said, “Ahavas Yisrael,” etc.

"I gathered the children and announced: Whoever did any of these mitzvos is invited to add to the building of the Beis Ha’Mikdash. Every day of vacation the bricks piled up and when we completed the first wall, we were all excited. When the second wall was finished, we celebrated. We connected the two walls and took our pictures with them. We felt as though we had brought a korbon to Hashem. The results were amazing. I saw how it spurred them on to be particular in these mitzvos."

TheBeinoni

Sun, Aug 17 2008, 3:11 pm

I want to revive this thread, maybe someone will have something to add, especially coming off of Tisha b'Av and approaching Elul..

I also want to add a comment I made from another thread.

"Whenever there is a physical galut [meaning physical difficulties are put on the Jews, like we cannot live freely and openly] there is a spiritual geula. But when there is a physical geula [meaning we can do things openly and are even encouraged by the non jews] then there is a galut in the neshama."

Thoughts please.

TheBeinoni

Sun, Aug 17 2008, 11:24 pm

When we are oppressed on the outside - for example, we are ridiculed for our traditional dress, Torah study is forbidden, kosher food unavailable, etc - our neshamot are said to flourish and strengthen in emunah, thus achieving a closeness to HKB"H. This can be seen in the various times in history when Am Yisrael was persecuted against outwardly.

When Torah studying was outlawed in the times of the Romans, R' Akiva DAVKA held many, many shiurim for the masses.

When the we were expelled from Spain many, if not most Jews fled in order to live a Jewish life, thus establishing communities like Tzfat and all around the world. Those that did not move, did die al kiddush Hashem.

The Jews (that were already frum) in the Holocaust only strengthened in their emunah, clinging to Hashem and their rebbeim with unfaltering faith.

Of course with each example there were Jews that were not exactly "on the derech" but the high level for those who were is probably not seen today, IMO, and in the opinion of many rabbis.

HOWEVER, when we are not oppressed on the outside, but are even encouraged by the non jews to practice our faith, even Orthodox Jews, what happens? We tend to emulate their ways, and lines get blurred. So we think, "Life is so good. We have it so easy. Look, we can live a fully Jewish life and even with the help of the non jews!" But what happens to our neshamot in a galut like this??? It is detrimental to our souls. Look at the issues today - sure we keep mitzvot, but how do we keep them? We have problems like "tznius" clothing becoming more and more non jewish (tight clothes, cuts to draw the eye to the body), extreme materialism (is this a stem of Judaism?! Absolutely not!), problems with not knowing the right ways to use TV, internet, cell phones, etc etc etc. Because the non jews are good to us, we willingly bring in their influence because we think it is safe since they are "so tolerant" of us, and this is dangerous to the neshama.

Pre-war, The Czar of Russia once called his cousin (sorry, I forget the name) who was leader of Austria at the time. He asked him, "So-and-so, why is it that you are so good to your Jews? You don't oppress them, you let them live as they are?!" So the Austrian leader answered him, "Cousin, you kill your Jews you way, I'll kill my Jews my way." Meaning that the leader knew that assimilation was the WORST death the Jewish nation could face.

[I'm sorry I'm terrible at quoting sources. B"N I will try to relisten to the shiurim I took these concepts from and write down the sources.]

Motek

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 11:15 am

hotmama wrote:

It's true that many times in our history, when we were oppressed by the non jews, we were more religiously observant, but in recent times we don't see it as much. The Haskala (so-called Enlightenment) flourished in Eastern Europe as did Socialism, Communism etc. among Jews from religious homes who subsequently dropped their religious observance. Socialism and Communism in particular appealed to Jews who had suffered so much in poverty and envisioned a utopian society where nobody would lack for anything. The reason why millions of Jews left Eastern Europe for America is because they suffered terribly in poverty and from persecution, and the overwhelming majority dropped strict religious observance.

Quote:

The Jews (that were already frum) in the Holocaust only strengthened in their emunah, clinging to Hashem and their rebbeim with unfaltering faith.

Many Jews who were frum at the start of the war, were no longer religious after the war.

octopus

Tue, Aug 19 2008, 11:35 am

I think a person first has to realize how entrenched we are in golus and how truly bitter golus is, in order to really want the geulah.

One of the problems of today is that we don't really realize on a daily basis (on a second by second basis!) that we are in galus. When you don't feel galus- you are not yearning for geulah in the same way (anochi haster astir panai- or something like that- the double edge sword).

I once heard that all the tzorus and horrible things that happen today are an offshoot of galus. We really do not experience the same level of joy that other jewish ppl felt when living in the times of the bais hamikdash. (One who has not seen the simchas beis hashoevah in yerushalayim has not really experienced happiness).
When we don't get so caught up in our own daily lives, and take moments to feel the pain and suffering that are happening everyday in different parts of the world, and in our own backyards, only then, can we experience the yearning for geulah.