Our Connection to the Rebbe Today
Gives Us the Strength to be Bold and not Compromise
By Rabbi Shimon Raichik
In this week’s parshios of Vayakel and Pekudei the Torah describes the gathering of all the materials needed for the building of the Mishkon, in all its detail. The extensive detail shows the exactitude and accountability that Moshe Rabbenu had to fulfill Hashem’s command for building the Mishkon.
In these parshios Hashem is giving each one of us the ability to transform this world, our homes and our lives into a Mishkon for Hashem’s presence. But we cannot do this alone, we need first the; “Vayakel Moshe”, the power of Moshe to give each one of us the strength as well as to gather us all together and to unite us.
Today we do not find ourselves in the shtetl of Lubavitch nor do we find ourselves with Moshe Rabbenu in the desert. Instead we are in a demanding and distracting physical environment. When confronted with this dichotomy between our purpose, to transform this world into a Mishkon for Hashem and the demands of our physical environment to make a living and to ‘live’ the first and most logical option we seek is; compromise. We try our best to reach a consensus within the environment and blend in. While this looks attractive at the outset, in the end we get caught up within this strange double dance step, a persona split between our shul self where we act and speak like Jews dedicated to serving Hashem and our outside world self where we try and be like everyone else. All of this is nothing more than a modern version of the eigel hazahav!
When Moshe descended from Har Sinai and saw all the dancing and how far things had gone it was clear that the luchos needed to be broken. Moshe Rabbenu called out; Mi l’Hashem eilai!- Who ever is for Hashem come to me! That was the pivotal moment when Shevet Levi stood up and united one hundred percent with Moshe Rabbenu. When we look backward in history we see clearly how central and decisive this moment was.
This too is our situation today in 5775-2015. We, Lubavitch are the Shevet Levi of today. When the feeling, attraction, and even logic draws us toward compromise, either personally or on a communal level we unite with the Rebbe and he gives us the personal strength to withstand the challenge, not to give up. We remain firm and do not bend, regardless of how things look and how far out of control the situation seems. It may difficult to stand up in the moment but our decision to remain strong is what bolts our homes and our lives to the foundations of Torah and mitzvos. We saw this kind idea at work when Israel bombed the nuclear reactor in Iraq. Looking backward although it was highly controversial at the time (many condemned Israel at that time) everyone agrees now that it was the right thing to do. Jews worldwide take pride in the Jewish approach of boldness and courage in the face of difficulty.
The Rebbe gives us the strength to work together as a community to be the ones to complete the building of Hashem’s Mishkon in this world with the revelation of Moshiach Now!
A Good Shabbos