A TASTE OF THE GEULA

By D Chaim

You can see from Yisroel’s face that he is a fine, Chassidishe boy.  He never fights with anyone and everyone knows that he is one of the best students in the class.  But nobody knew that deep inside, a battle raged within him.  Yes, he had to fight with himself in order to help his friends.

Like everyone else, Yisroel liked reading about the Geula and about the wonderful life we will lead then.  When he finished the work his teacher assigned, he took out the interesting book he had taken out of the library from his briefcase and read it.

It’s not that he didn’t know that many of his classmates would be happy to get his help.  “What’s with you? Why do you think only of yourself? There’s Moishy who would surely be glad if you went over and helped him.”  This is what he often thought to himself, but in the end, his evil inclination would overcome him and he would remain in his place.

If someone asked him for help, it didn’t feel comfortable to refuse, but that usually did not happen.  And even when someone asked and he agreed, deep in his heart he felt he was wasting his time rather than reading another interesting story that waited for him in his briefcase.

In the school Yisroel attended, now and then there are festive gatherings to mark special dates.  The principal gives out prizes to outstanding students whom the teacher picks.  Yisroel, as an excellent student, always looked forward to getting a prize but another student was always chosen.  “Why doesn’t the teacher pick me?” he always wondered.  “I get high marks on my tests and always listen in class!”

One day, in the middle of the second lesson, there was knocking at the door of Yisroel’s classroom and in walked the principal.  The room was silent as he said, “For Yud-Tes Kislev there will be a special assembly.  As usual at these events, outstanding students will receive valuable prizes.  But the way students will be selected has changed slightly.  At the next assembly, those students who excel in Ahavas Yisroel will be awarded prizes.”

“How will it be decided who will get a prize?” asked Avrumi when he was called upon.

“That’s a good question,” smiled the principal.  “We decided to let you choose.  I will give out little pieces of paper now and each of you will write down the name of the boy you think deserves an Ahavas Yisroel prize.  The boy who gets the most votes will get the prize at the assembly.”

Yisroel, who greatly wished to get a prize at the assembly, was very disappointed to hear this.  He knew he wouldn’t be the boy who was picked.  “But what name should I write down?” he wondered. 

It was hard for him to pick someone else to get the prize instead of himself, but he couldn’t submit an empty paper.  He continued thinking about what to do when he heard the principal say, “You can write any name you want.  If you think you deserve the prize, you can write your own name.”

There was silence in the room.  The teacher sat in his place and looked at the students, and tried to guess which student would be picked.  Yisroel did not even try to guess.  He had made a decision.  “I know what name I’m going to write on my paper.”

The day of the assembly arrived and the auditorium was filled with boys dressed in Shabbos clothes.  The program moved quickly toward the distribution of prizes.  When the principal began to read the list of those who were picked, Yisroel felt a little bad.  It was hard for him to see someone else in his class get the prize as well as the respect of his classmates.  A tense silence filled the room and the sound of thunderous clapping could be heard as the principal read the first name.

He couldn’t stand the tension and he left the room.  “Hello there Yisroel, how are you?” said his teacher who was behind him.

“I’m sure you’re disappointed,” he said, without waiting for a response, “that the prizes are being given for excellence in Ahavas Yisroel.”

Yisroel remained quiet and just nodded.

“You should know that Ahavas Yisroel has a special significance.”

“Yes,” said Yisroel, “the second Beis HaMikdash was destroyed because of baseless hatred and so the way to correct the cause of galus and bring the Geula is through behaving with baseless love.”

“Correct,” smiled his teacher.  “But the Rebbe says that the Jewish people already fixed the cause of galus.”

“Then … do we no longer have to act with Ahavas Yisroel?!” wondered Yisroel.

“Of course we do, it’s a mitzva in the Torah, but the emphasis today is primarily on Ahavas Yisroel as a taste of the Geula to come, when all Jews will feel how they are one entity, like one person, and then of course they will love one another without limitations.”

Hearing this, Yisroel was reminded of stories that he read about the Geula.  After a tiny battle he resolved, “I want a taste of the Geula!”

He quickly went back into the auditorium and heard the principal announce, “The one chosen from the sixth grade is Levi Kaplan.”  He felt tense again, wondering who would be announced from his class, the seventh grade.  He would try with all his might to be happy for him.

The principal’s voice thundered, “From the seventh grade, Yisroel … was picked as outstanding in Ahavas Yisroel!”

Yisroel’s head spun.  He didn’t have to hear the last name to know that his classmates had chosen him.  Surprised, he went up to get the prize and the thought that went through his mind was, “I guess my friends also want a taste of the Ahavas Yisroel that will be in the time of Geula.”