At long last, when will Moshiach come?

Reproduced with permission of the authors from “A Sacred Trust: Stories of Our Heritage and History.

Three days before the arrival of Moshiach, Eliyahu the prophet of peace and redemption will appear and proclaim: “Mountains of Israel! How long will you remain desolate and waste. Peace has come to the world. This is the coming of the age of redemption. This is the beginning of the great day!” (Pesikta Rabati 36:4)

We do not know when the Moshiach will arrive. But until the arrival of that great day, we must work together in a process of tikun olam, to fix the world and prepare it for redemption.

Chassidim believed that the unlearned could approach the Heavenly Throne through prayer and good deeds. Serving G-d with joy, song, and dance in addition to the study of Torah created an emotional environment of love and caring. The mitnagdim insisted on intensive Torah study and the strict interpretation of halacha, believing that the performance of the commandments was the ladder to reach the Heavenly Throne. Although their styles were different, oftentimes creating animosity between the leaders of the two movements, both chassidim and mitnagdim ultimately had the same goal: To elevate the Jewish people to the highest possible level of holiness.

Tired of battling for the legitimacy of the chassidic movement against the mitnagdim, Rebbe Menachem Mendel Vitebsk decided to make aliya in mid-life, to live his remaining years in Eretz Yisrael.

Three hundred chassidim and their families accompanied him. They settled in the towns of Tiberias and Tzefat (Safed) in the Gallil, (the Gallilee) the northern part of the country, and were followed by many others, setting the foundation for chassidic life there.

Rebbe Menachem Mendel concluded his daily morning prayers with Anee Maamin, (I believe) and waited patiently for the arrival of the Moshiach.

One day, rumor spread through the Gallilee that a man had ascended the Mount of Olives in Yerushalayim and had blown the shofar, to announce the arrival of the Moshiach. The followers of Rebbe Menachem Mendel were in a frenzy; for if in reality the Moshiach had arrived, they considered themselves totally unprepared. Confused, they rushed into his study to consult him.

“Wait, one minute,” he told them calmly. “I will go out into the street and try to find out if the rumor is true.”

It did not take him long to return.

“I want you to know,” he sighed, “that the Moshiach has still not come!”

How do you know?” asked one student. “Why did you have to go outside? Further, if you had to go outside, how could you find out any information in the few minutes you were there?”

“I’ll tell you,” whispered Rebbe Menachem Mendel, sadly, “I had to go outside because inside, in this study hall there is always so much love, so much caring, it feels like the Moshiach is among us always.

“On the other hand, when I walked around outside, I had no such feelings. I saw that the majority of the people still haven’t changed, so I assume that the Moshiach still hasn’t come.”