My
Anointed, My Children
By Basha Majercyk
When
one so much as looks at Jewish children one sees Moshiach, especially when they
are dancing in the Hakafos of Shmini Atzeres and Simchas Torah. * Adapted from
the sicha of the night of Simchas Torah 5752, before Hakafos
A.
There is a special connection between Simchas Torah and the final Redemption
with Moshiach. This is reflected in the piyut (liturgical hymn) recited
on Simchas Torah after the Torah reading, "Sisu V’simchu B’Simchas
Torah" ("I will be glad and rejoice on Simchas Torah; may Tzemach
[one of Moshiach’s names] come on Simchas Torah.")
This
association is also alluded to in the verses recited before the Hakafos
(which enumerate the reasons for our joy), beginning with "Ata Horeisa"
through "Ki Mi’Tziyon." The last of these seventeen
verses (seventeen being the numerical equivalent of the word "tov"
[good], and "there is no good other than Torah") is, "For the
Torah shall go forth from Tziyon, and the word of G-d from Yerushalayim."
This is a prophecy concerning the Days of Moshiach.
In
truth, all seventeen verses are about the Days of Moshiach, for they all lead up
to their culmination in the final verse, "Ki mi’Tziyon." In
Hebrew, the word "ki" can also mean if or when. Thus, the final
verse, "Ki mi’Tziyon" can also be interpreted to mean that
everything mentioned in the first sixteen verses will be fulfilled (completely
and fully), "When the Torah will go forth from Tziyon, and the word
of G-d from Yerushalayim." This will happen with the true and complete
Redemption.
The
first of these verses is "Ata Horeisa" ("To you it was
shown for you to know that the L-rd is G-d; there is none other beside
Him"). The revelation of G-dliness that occurred at Mount Sinai will
culminate in the Messianic era. As the Alter Rebbe explains in Chapter 36 of Tanya,
this future revelation will be as perceptible as if seeing G-dliness with the
physical eye, "without any intervening garments." (The prophet Isaiah
described this future state as, "Yet your teacher shall not withdraw
himself any more, but your eyes shall see your teacher" [30:20].) Something
of this revelation has already been experienced on earth, at the Giving of the
Torah. It states, "To you it was shown for you to know that the L-rd is
G-d; there is none other beside Him," meaning, "You were actually
shown with the perception of vision." (The Alter Rebbe goes on to explain
how our service and actions at the present time effect this future G-dly
revelation in a manner of ‘seeing,’ bringing about the culmination of what
occurred at Mount Sinai, which was only a semblance.) This revelation will take
place in the future, "When the Torah will go forth from Tziyon."
The
same theme runs throughout the following verses, which in general explain how
transcendent G-dliness is connected to and manifested in the world, and which
will reach its zenith in the final Redemption.
Simchas
Torah is one of the festivals of the month of Tishrei. Therefore, as a
"general festival" affecting the rest of the year, it is understood
that the emphasis on Redemption and Moshiach on Simchas Torah is extended even
after the holiday and continues throughout the coming year.
This
is especially relevant this year, 5752 (Tav-Shin-Nun-Beis),
the letters of which stand for "it should be a year of wonders in it,"
including the most important wonders, those of the Redemption. This is
particularly true in light of what has been discussed many times lately.
According to all the signs, we are standing today on the threshold of the
Redemption, when "Behold, he [Moshiach] is coming," and immediately in
the very next moment he will have already come.
B.
Thus, it is also understood that the service required of Jews on Simchas Torah
(and its continuation throughout the year, especially this year) is a service
that is completely permeated with Moshiach and Redemption. This means that a Jew
should conduct himself in all of his daily affairs even now, just before the
Redemption, in a similar way to how Jews will be living in the Days of Moshiach.
[This
also explains the recent emphasis on studying Hilchasa L’Meshicha, the halachos
that pertain to the time of the Redemption.]
A
major component of the Messianic era (quoted from Tanya) will be the
fulfillment and culmination of the concept of "To you it was shown, for you
to know that the L-rd is G-d; there is none other beside Him." At that
time, the reality that there is no true existence other than G-d will be
revealed throughout the entire world—"there is none other beside
Him."
This
concept must be incorporated into a Jew’s daily life, until he actually
perceives and feels that "there is none other beside Him" in all of
even his most mundane affairs. It is not enough for the intent and purpose
of everything in the world to be G-dliness. (It goes without saying that a Jew’s
service should embody the ideals of "All your deeds should be for the sake
of Heaven" and "Know Him in all your ways.") On this level, the
person perceives the existence of chol (secular, non-holy), "your
deeds" and "your ways," the purpose of all being holiness. On a
higher level, however, the minutiae of the world themselves are G-dliness,
and the person is unaware of anything other than G-d to begin with, for
"there is none other beside Him."
This
also explains the difference between two versions of what superficially seems to
be the same statement. It states in the Mishna and Braisa (at the
end of Kiddushin), "I was not created except to serve my G-d."
The more widespread version, however, is "I was created to serve my
G-d." In the statement "I was created, etc.," the emphasis is on
the existence of a certain creation, the intent and purpose of which is to serve
G-d. In the statement "I was not created, etc.," however, the
existence of man is not even noted, and the only thing that does exist is the
service of G-d.
In
light of the above, one might conclude that the reason the Redemption has been
so frightfully delayed is that the service of the Jewish people has fallen short
in perfecting the higher level of "I was not created except to serve my
G-d." This is precisely how the Redemption (and its revelation of
"there is none other beside Him") is attained. But even this delay has
long since expired, and everything is prepared for the great feast of the Leviason,
Shor HaBor, and Preserved Wine, which will be celebrated with the true
and complete Redemption, immediately and at once.
C.
All of the above is especially relevant to Jewish children. Indeed, our Sages
interpreted the verse (Chronicles I 16:22), "Do not touch My anointed ones
[meshichoi]," to mean, "Do not touch the Jewish children."
One
explanation, in addition to those given by traditional commentators, is that
Jewish children must be educated in a manner in which they become completely
saturated and imbued with the concept of Moshiach. In this way, just by looking
at a Jewish child, one should see Moshiach!
In
truth, the entire existence of Jewish children consists solely of "You have
been shown...there is none other beside Him."
This
concept is also connected to the fact that on Simchas Torah (which in itself is
particularly associated with Moshiach), the custom is for children as well as
adults to rejoice with the Torah and to dance with it. (In fact, is it through
the tremendous joy of Jewish children on Simchas Torah that their status as
"My anointed" becomes even more revealed.)
On
the contrary: the main joy of Simchas Torah is not derived from studying the
Torah per se but by dancing with the rolled-up Torah scroll, adorned with
mantle and crown (in which case studying it is not even possible). This in
itself emphasizes that the Torah is relevant to all Jews, from the greatest to
the smallest, in equal measure.
This
also relates to the special relevance of Moshiach on Simchas Torah. The prophet
Yermiyahu describes the Days of Moshiach as a time when "They shall teach
no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the
L-rd,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of
them" (Yermiyahu 31:32). The custom on Simchas Torah, therefore, reflects
this and provides us with a semblance and foretaste of the coming era.
D.
All of the above is particularly relevant to the Jewish children of our
generation, who have been called (with the approval of Gedolei Yisroel),
"Tzivos Hashem" (the "Army of Hashem").
The
name Tzivos Hashem indicates that Jewish children are completely
nullified before G-d and devoted to Him, in the same way (and even more so) that
soldiers in a conventional army are submissive and nullified to their general.
In truth, Jewish children occupy an even higher level, as the Torah states about
the exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12:51), "And the L-rd brought the Children of
Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies." The Hebrew words for
"by their armies," "al tzivosam," can also be read
"above their armies," meaning that the Jewish people transcended the
limitations of a conventional army (due to the fact that the children were
included).
In
this light, it is even more apparent that the Jewish children of this
generation, boys and girls, are meshichoi (My anointed), the anointed
ones of G-d Himself. In this capacity, they lay the groundwork for the imminent
revelation of Moshiach in the broader sense, with the true and complete
Redemption.
The
Torah states, "As in the days of your going out of the land of Egypt I will
show you wonders." Just as in the first exodus, "All of the armies of
G-d went out of the land of Egypt," so too will the Tzivos Hashem
leave our present exile with the true and complete Redemption very soon.
This
is particularly so of the Jewish children who are present here now, who were
educated this past year (and surely this will continue throughout the coming
year) in a manner in which when one so much as looks at them one sees Moshiach,
especially when they are dancing in the Hakafos of Shmini Atzeres and
Simchas Torah.
E.
In order to hasten the Redemption (may it happen as soon as possible, to the
point of immediacy), it would be appropriate for all of the children who are
here now (individually, and in unison) to say l’chaim.
The
educators, teachers and principals of the Tzivos Hashem should also
participate by singing (together with the children) the niggun that is
associated with Tzivos Hashem. (It is customary for every army to have
its own special march; and as the saying goes, "When one goes to the city,
one must follow its etiquette.") Surely, everyone else will join in, which
is considered meritorious for them, as it is through the Jewish children that
the title Meshichoi is also extended to the adults.
Doing
so will provide the strength for the service of the coming year (Simchas Torah
extending throughout the year, as explained above). This is particularly so for
educators and school administrators, and especially for the shluchim of
the Nasi of our generation, the Rebbe Rayatz. This is because their
service and shlichus consists of spreading Torah and Judaism and the
wellsprings of Chassidus outward, most particularly, the service and shlichus
of bringing our righteous Moshiach. (The numerical equivalent of the word "shliach,"
with the addition of ten [symbolizing the ten powers of the soul], is the same
as Moshiach.) This includes placing a special emphasis on the education of the
Jewish children, called Meshichoi.
May
it be G-d’s will that every Jew and the entire Jewish people, including Jewish
children, celebrate the Hakafos of Simchas Torah together with G-d
Himself. As our Sages said, "In the Future to Come, the Holy One, blessed
be He, will make a dance for the righteous...and each one will point with his
finger, etc." "And it will be said on that day, this is our G-d, for
Whom we have waited that He would help us; this is the L-rd for Whom we have
waited, we will be glad and we will rejoice in His salvation" (Yeshayahu
25:9).
This
sicha was translated in honor of the bar mitzva of Yosef Yitzchok Yaffee, the
13th day of Cheshvan, 5760.
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