I have been thinking a lot lately. As the Lubavitcher Rebbe said over thirty years ago on Chaf Ches Nissan: “Do all that you can to bring the Geula in actuality.”
What does that mean exactly? Of course we need to learn about Moshiach and redemption. That is first and foremost.
We need to get into the Moshiach mentality: to live with the idea of Moshiach and to envision a new world order. A world of health, happiness, abundance and no wars or illness or problems.
But I see that the side of unholiness is attempting to reduce our enthusiasm in Yiddishkeit and in Moshiach. Instead, people are looking to other things to find happiness and escape from a reality which is painful to deal with. People are constantly watching movies or videos to find some sort of hope or just to take their minds off their difficulties. People are constantly on their phones doing all sorts of “important” things. People have lost their enthusiasm for many things and feel uninspired.
So what is the antidote? We know that Amalek was the nation that met the Jewish people on their way out of Egypt and cooled off their enthusiasm, trying to make everything look “natural” and not miraculous. Amalek breeds doubt. We need to eradicate doubt within ourselves and not allow our enthusiasm for Moshiach to waiver. We need to plough ahead despite all obstacles. We need to go forward with joy and a victorious attitude despite any setbacks.
And we need to be a light unto the nations: to bring inspiration and truth to the entire world.
We need to publicize the coming of Moshiach. What are you doing to bring Moshiach? This is the question we each must ask ourselves. What are we willing to give up or sacrifice to show Hashem how much we want the Geula and are ready to be redeemed?
Or do we choose secular values and put our enthusiasm into materialism and things that separate us from holiness? Where do we put our enthusiasm? Where do we put our efforts and our determination?
Yes, it takes an effort to give up things we enjoy doing which have no purpose in our service of Hashem. But that is what we need to do in order to break the apathy of the world and the veil covering the eyes of most people these days. Many people have given up. People are tired of exile; tired of problems. Nobody can understand anything. The world is a confusing place.
But we cant give up now! Now is the time to push ahead to the finish line! Now is the time to increase our enthusiasm and our efforts and to increase in light, deeds of goodness and kindness, and to increase in joy. May we all succeed in our personal battles and in the general effort to bring the Geula. Just before the dawn, the darkness is greatest. Just before the end of exile, the exile is the most difficult. But precisely when we see all the confusion, depression and difficulties is when we need to utilize all our inner strengths and get rid or doubt and apathy and work to actually bring Moshiach. We need to be stubborn about it. Never to give up or become lax. We need to want Moshiach, as the Rebbe said. Not because he told us to but because we truly want a new world of perfection.
In his last maamar that he published, the Rebbe said that in the past Jews suffered from persecution and needed self sacrifice to keep Torah and mitzvahs. But now we no longer have that type of persecution in most places. And yet, we are crushed and broken even more than in past generations. Why? Because deep inside we want a spiritual life. We are broken living in a materialistic world. We need to be crushed in order to bring out our hidden light, like olives are crushed to bring out oil for light. And this is what exile has accomplished. This generation longs for spirituality, inspiration and truth. And this requires even greater self sacrifice: to give up materialism and choose spirituality instead. We each need to ask: what are we willing to give up to speed up the coming of Moshiach? how can we demonstrate to the Almighty that we want Moshiach and we are ready for geula?
May we all merit to get to the finish light and merit the redemption now with the ultimate coming of Moshiach.