NEEDED: CHAYUS!

A point from the weekly D’var Malchus with a relevant life message. * Which type of study fills the learner with chayus in inyanei Moshiach and Geula?

A renowned king had a stunning bird the likes of which was unknown throughout the world. The king loved his bird and always amused himself with it. The king’s great love for the bird was considered an indecipherable mystery by his faithful servants. It was the king’s secret.

One day, the bird became sick. The king called experts to treat it, but alas, its condition continued to deteriorate. One by one, its beautiful feathers fell out and later on it began to lose weight and shrivel. But the king still loved the bird. Even in its final moments, when it had lost all of its former beauty, the king regarded it just the same as he always did.

When the sad news of the bird’s death and the king’s great sadness became known, a committee was formed to come up with an idea of what to do to restore the king to his usual joyous state. They searched and made inquiries until they found the solution. With a lot of money and much effort, they made a magnificent silver bird. Whoever looked at it couldn’t take his eyes off it, due to its great beauty. With great joy the delegation went and placed the bird in the king’s room.

One day passed and then two and the king did not even look at the new bird. From the look on his face it seemed that in addition to not being consoled, what they had done had increased his sorrow since his loss had been misunderstood.

There was another consultation, more discussions, and the members of the delegation decided that they had to ask the king himself what was lacking with the beautiful bird. The king loudly exclaimed, “All your work is for naught; the first bird was alive!”

***

Despite the “shturem” in the matter recently, this year, may it be a year of “I will show them wonders,” after seeing the wonders which testify that this is the year in which Moshiach is revealed, we see that there is a difficulty in instilling the awareness and feeling that we are on the threshold of Yemos HaMoshiach so that people start “living” in matters of Moshiach and Geula.

The counsel for this is … by learning Torah in inyanei Geula you are lifted up to a state of Geula and you start to live inyanei Geula with the knowledge and awareness and feeling that “hinei zeh ba.”

There are many levels of beauty. Imagined beauty, real beauty. In real beauty there are levels. “Tell me, what is sweeter than a daf Gemara.” 

***

Beauty is relative. Starting with Nigleh, moving along to Tanya, Torah Ohr, and Likkutei Torah, then the maamarim of the Mitteler Rebbe, Derech Mitzvosecha and Ayin-Beis. Continuing with the sichos and maamarim of the Rebbe MH”M from the early years of his nesius and concluding with the sichos on inyanei Moshiach and Geula about promises of Geula and resurrection of the dead. Beautiful, more beautiful, and even more beautiful!

To live! That is the point. To live in the present time you need to learn inyanei Moshiach and Geula. Start with the basics, inyanei Moshiach and Geula as they appear in the Written and Oral Torah, especially as they are explained in the sichos of the Rebbe and most especially, in the sichos which speak about the present time.

If all learning of inyanei Moshiach and Geula makes the learner “live” Geula, then all the more so the last sichos we merited to hear from the Rebbe, from the years 5751-2, in which the Rebbe “infuses life” into the entire topic of Geula and Moshiach and clarifies that this is the topic that pertains to our generation, today!

We need to learn the D’var Malchus in order to “live” in the present, to live Geula. Annotated, pocket sized, vowelized, every day, every week, with a chavrusa, alone, at a shiur. World-space, year-time, soul. To live!

We will conclude with an insight from one of the ziknei Anash in Kfar Chabad: the Rebbe says that polishing excessively ruins the button. What does that teach us? What avoda did we do until now which is presently harmful and which we need to stop so we don’t ruin the button?

He answered: In the early years, the point was to show everyone that Chabad is beautiful. Yes, at first this was the avoda, and as an avoda it was to get people to know that Chabad exists and it’s beautiful. Today, we need to put chayus into everything, into beauty too. Avoda that is beautiful but without chayus ruins the button.

Yehi ratzon that the real chayus in inyanei Geula and Moshiach will bring about the immediate and complete hisgalus of the Rebbe MH”M!