WE CAN DO THIS
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WE CAN DO THIS
Harav Y. Ruven Rubin Shlita
Step into any hiemisha home and you will undoubtedly find shelves groaning under the weight of books with rich looking covers and smart golden lettering. These volumes are the life’s blood of who we are and offer the warmth that flows through the generations of our people. There is no definitive accounting for why certain Seforim speak to us more directly than others, perhaps it’s down to our personal set of spiritual needs which find a response in the words of a particular tzadik. How we discover these personal favourites in the sea of thousands of holy and worthy pages can be found in the mysterious formula that we call colloquially as “Bashert”. In a special kiss from the Eibishter, these life affirming volumes just slide into our life, awakening us with a jolt of care. As one who has amassed a large personal library during a life spent on several continents, I admit to having those special titles that possess the ability to reach into my heart and grab hold of my inner trials. One series of Seforim in particular have come into my life and with every page stocks my soul with hope. The Mevaser Tov was authored by the Biala Rebbe Ztl who was recently nifter, and his holy words have uplifted me over the years and hopefully through my efforts in relating them, given others a taste of the Rebbe’s supreme love for Klal Yisroel. Time and again, the Rebbe’s words on the weekly parshah ignite sparks of understanding and truth that offer illumination within the darkest moments of our golus. The tzadik knew what our reality is and pointedly showed how we can grow no matter where life finds us.
In the past years the scholarly and talented translator, Rabbi Daniel Worenklien, brought the words of the Rebbe to those who speak and think in English. This opened up an entire new fountain of chizuk to a world of Yidden thirsty for Torah truth. I have long cherished his brilliant translations and have been the thankful recipient of his regular emails. Recently he sent this:
“Dear Friends,
One of the things that made everyone love the Rebbe so much was that he saw the good in all of us, and helped us to believe in ourselves. People went into his office feeling broken and depressed and came out feeling hopeful and uplifted. He taught us never to give up on ourselves, and made us feel how much Hashem loves us. He empowered people with self-confidence.”
With this came a few insightful stories and a translation of a shiur from the Rebbe that has long given me great support. Allow me to share a small taster:
“Just as we are obligated to believe in Hashem, in the Torah, and in the Torah leaders of each generation, we are also obligated to believe in ourselves. We must recognise the gifts we were granted, and the great powers we have to influence the world, as part of our special segulas Am Yisrael. We are called: “A kingdom of noblemen and a holy nation.” As Hashem’s holy nation, we have great power and great responsibility to influence and improve the world.”
The Rebbe issues a clarion call to each of us individually to have Faith in ourselves. As children of Hashem, we each have the ability to actually change the world, correct what is broken and most of all, bring promise within our own soul.
The Rebbe continues: “Rebbe Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin thus writes: “Just as a person must believe in Hashem, he must then also believe in himself. He must believe that Hashem interacts with him. His good deeds do not go to waste. His immortal soul is not something that was “created overnight and overnight is lost.”
The Rebbe pleads with us: “We must recognise how much joy we create in Heaven through our Torah and mitzvahs, and how we rectify all that is incomplete in the upper spiritual worlds.”
Dearest Yieden, listen to what we are learning here, we are a great people, tasked with responsibility to raise ourselves, each and every one of us, and there with the entire world, to completeness. Shevuos saw a nation of former slaves being chosen to carry the entire future of the world on their shoulders.
However, says the Rebbe:
“Our generation is plagued by low self-esteem, which afflicts our identity both as individuals and as a nation. Once, even Jews who abandoned their Torah heritage remained proud of their Jewish identity. Today this is no longer the case. Yaakov Avinu was renamed Yisrael after having defeated his angelic adversary, as the verse explains, Your name shall no longer “ַbe called Yaakov, but Yisrael, since you have struggled against angels and men, and overcome” (Bereishis 32:29). Therefore, this name symbolises his ability to master all the elements of creation. The powers of Bnei Yisrael are supernatural. Our survival and success defy any logical explanation.
So too, the infinite love that Hashem has for every Jew is a segulah of Bnei Yisrael, which defies explanation. We are His beloved children, at all times and in all situations, regardless of our merit.”
The Rebbe speaks to the broken Yied within us. We are loved by the Eibishter, no matter our faults, this love is eternal. Shevuos is there to affirm the flame we carry, bolster our awareness and regenerate our individual sense of positive worth.
Society today doesn’t speak to such lofty goals, such thoughts aren’t in their lexicon. Theirs is a world living in a world of spiritual slumber. Voices of light are thrown into the darkness of today’s gods of technology. The people shuffle along with their minds held captive by the hand-held screens they worship.
We are Yieden, gifted in the knowledge of who we are, and blessed with Tzadikim whose vision invokes hope and light. The Rebbe knew our inner struggles, and taught us how great we are. His words will continue to give light, continue to give strength, continue to be the essence of what we all should aspire to.
Shevuos is here, take a deep breath and pray together that the Final Mevaser Tov will soon be heard, and we all will celebrate the greatness of Klal Yisroel with the Moshiach Amen.