NOT A TRUE EXILE BUT A PAPER TIGER

Translated by Boruch Merkur

The fact that Pharaoh can force him into backbreaking labor – it is not Pharaoh King of Egypt who truly forces him! Rather, when G-d wants to test a Jew, He wields an axe, rod, or stick. But this is only “the axe in the hand of the woodchopper.” G-d checks whether he will stand up to the challenge and be strong in his Judaism. It is then that the exile is not real! * Part 2 of 2 (continued from last issue)

 THE PARADOX 
OF OUR TIMES

[It has been established above that the Jewish people at the time of the exile in the Land of Egypt had such faith in the word of G-d regarding the promise of the exodus, as they had heard it from Moshe Rabbeinu, that to them it was exactly as if the matter has already come to pass. That is, to them, even from the time of Rosh Chodesh Nissan, two weeks before the exodus actually took place, it was if they had already been redeemed. The lesson for us today is that we must attain the same degree of faith, knowing – with a certainty that is as if it had already taken place – that if we return to G-d, we will be immediately redeemed from this final exile.]

Nowadays, a Jew must summon this degree of faith even though he did not hear the words directly from Moshe Rabbeinu; he believes with simple faith that everything said in the Oral Torah is true (and how much more so regarding what is stated in the Written Torah, as elucidated by the Oral Torah). Indeed, the Torah demands of a Jew that he rejoice in the Month of Redemption, just as if he had already been redeemed. And as all requirements of the Torah, it is not demanding that one present himself as if he rejoices – a contrived, disingenuous joy. Rather, the Torah of Truth demands of a Jew a true, sincere expression of happiness.

Even prior to experiencing the redemption on Pesach, a Jew must know, from the beginning of the month of Nissan, that this is the Month of Redemption. And this perfect faith is despite his knowing that we are presently in exile, being well aware of the fact that the Onset of Redemption (Is’chalta D’Geula) has not yet taken place. In fact, the exile has actually increased in strength with the passage of time.

To illustrate this paradox with a look at the cycle of the darkness of night: It is specifically at the final moments prior to the break of dawn that the darkness increases in strength, a process that is even observed as a natural phenomenon. Similarly, in comparison with the darkness of former days and years, the darkness of exile in recent times is doubled and redoubled, in manifold strength. But this is not the forum to speak at length about a matter connected with pain and suffering.

SHABBOS HA’GADOL: 
TIME TO LIVE WITH 
THE REDEMPTION 

Notwithstanding the profound and growing darkness of exile, a Jew is told that he must know, as soon as Rosh Chodesh Nissan, that it is the Month of Redemption. And since it is now Shabbos HaGadol, then, in the words of the Alter Rebbe (Shulchan Aruch siman 430), “It has been established for generations” – it has been set up, on a permanent basis, in absolute terms, that in every generation, when Shabbos HaGadol comes around, “A great miracle took place there.” Indeed, this is the preparation for the beginning of the redemption of the exodus from Egypt (as the Alter Rebbe writes (ibid 430:2)).

How much more so is this the case when only three days remain prior to the Holiday of Pesach, when one must prepare [in a more practical way] for “the time of our emancipation.” At this time, a Jew is told that he needs to assume behavior that reflects true freedom, exactly as if the true and complete redemption through our righteous Moshiach had already begun.

G-D FORBID TO CALL OUR TIMES “REDEMPTION” 

At the same time, however: G-d forbid to call our present condition [in exile] “redemption”! Even if a Jew lives in a country that accommodates his Torah study and Mitzva performance, living like a Jew and conducting all of his affairs with complete freedom, not experiencing discrimination for being a Jew amongst Gentiles (in a place where it is in fact that way) – one should nonetheless know that even in such a place, Jews are in a state of exile. In fact, all the while that we have not returned to our holy land through our righteous Moshiach, “And he builds the Temple in its place,” it is the most deeply-rooted and harshest exile possible.

It is just that within exile itself, G-d is tempering the severity of this Jew’s circumstances, in order that he will be able to devote every opportunity toward the proper intent, and in so doing, quicken the advent of Moshiach and the Onset of Redemption, leading to the further unfolding of the process of redemption, until the true and complete redemption is fully realized.

IN EXILE DURING “THE TIME OF OUR EMANCIPATION”

A Jew might ask: How is it possible to know, on the one hand, that “On account of our sins we were exiled from our land,” and on the other hand he is told that already from Rosh Chodesh Nissan – and even more so, from Shabbos HaGadol – one must experience “the time of our emancipation”? In fact, the closer it gets to Pesach, the more “the time of our emancipation” gains prominence in him, and he is then asked to truly perceive that this is a concept of redemption. How is it possible to simultaneously maintain these two opposing beliefs?

The explanation of the matter is as discussed several times (we will at least review the main point here):

The true expression of a person’s freedom is with regard to his feelings and his conduct, and in a very subtle way it is even dependent upon the superficial conditions and circumstances that surround him, from the outside.

It can be that a Jew is in the Land of Egypt, subjected to forced harsh labor, yet he knows and feels – when he comes home – that the sole “proprietor” that has charge over him is G-d Himself. The fact that Pharaoh King of Egypt can force him into backbreaking labor – it is not Pharaoh King of Egypt who truly forces him! Rather, when G-d wants to test a Jew, He wields an axe, rod, or stick. But this is only “the axe in the hand of the woodchopper.” G-d checks whether he will stand up to the challenge and be strong in his Judaism. It is then that the exile is not real!

 INCARCERATED IN ONE’S OWN PRISON

For example, when a person causes himself suffering and restricts himself, it is apparent that this is not a true incarceration, since he is in control of his own circumstances. He personally chose to resist and not to give in to his [true] will, for whatever reason. And for the moment, he locks himself into this place and this servitude. However, notwithstanding the confines to which a person submits himself, he still remains free, being that any moment he is able to change and resolve to go where he wants and do what he desires. Then he will truly feel that this is not actually servitude but freedom.

So too, in our case. There is the promise that “[Moshiach will come] today – if you will listen to His voice.” And the Gemara says in Sanhedrin that it is dependent upon the Jew. When he begins to conduct himself in a manner of “if you will listen to His voice,” [he is immediately redeemed] as Rambam writes, “the Jewish people repent and immediately they are redeemed.”

Seen in this light, this is not a true exile but a paper tiger, intended to test the Jewish people to see if they will not panic, but firmly commit themselves to G-d and Judaism. Indeed, they are entrusted with a key to free themselves and nullify the exile (as in the above example of self-imposed confinement).

THE SOUL NEVER WENT INTO EXILE

Even if for some reason it does not work out, then – as stated above – when a Jew finds himself in exile, he knows that “the soul never went into exile” and exile does not rule over it, as in the well known saying of the Rebbe Rashab, whose soul resides in Heaven. That is to say that with regard to Judaism, exile has no capacity to change anything, insofar as these matters pertain to the [eternally emancipated] soul (though done by means of the body).

When the soul is given primacy and the body is recognized as being secondary, a Jew understands that he is indeed free. This is because the head is indeed the main thing not the feet, for in the head the soul rules, and the souls reigns over the heart. In this sense, those who strive for spirituality are truly free on account of the soul never going into exile. […]

G-D IS ON OUR SIDE

In this regard, there is a lesson for every Jew.

Even when in exile, even a darkness that is double and redoubled, when a Jew resolves to begin for and prepare for “the time of our emancipation,” a kosher and joyous festival of Pesach, then G-d assists him, and the difficult challenges keep diminishing.

In fact, G-d helps him prepare not only himself, his household, his family, etc.; He even helps him assist a second Jew [one who is not in his immediate sphere of influence] prepare for a kosher and joyous Holiday of Pesach, by providing him with financial assistance (maos chittim), and the like. So too with regard to disseminating Judaism by means of publicizing the laws of Pesach to those who still do not know, in every place one can reach. When they are also prepared in a kosher manner, then Pesach is “kosher and (also) joyous.”

Then a Jew is completely free spiritually, even amidst the final days of exile. The personal freedom of an individual Jew then joins together with a second Jew and a tenth Jew, until the chain reaction reaches thousands and tens of thousands and even millions of Jews, bringing about “the Jewish people are immediately redeemed” – the freedom of all the Jewish people from all distractions. And this process will be in a manner whereby they will be able to complete the final moments of exile in tranquility and go out to receive our righteous Moshiach with the true and complete redemption, according to the promise that “in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed.” 

(From the address of 11 Nissan 5736, bilti muga)