Moshiach: Beyond Politics
Interview by Rabbi Shalom Yaakov Chazan

With one tragic murder after another, and in light of the psak din of the Beis Din Rabbanei Chabad forbidding involvement in the elections, we turn to Rabbi Shalom Dov Ber Volpe, who was told by the Rebbe MH"M to publicize his views concerning shleimus ha’Aretz, to hear from him what the mission of Chabad Chassidim is at present
 

Before answering that question, I would like to tell you about a discussion I heard on Arutz 7. The listener to the radio program said that at a time like this we can rely only on Hashem. The host didn’t accept this and said, "Stop talking in a tone of ‘Acharis HaYamim’ (the End of Days)! Of course we must rely on Hashem, but I’m asking you – practically speaking – what should be done now?" The listener had nothing to offer.

What was the error of the listener, and of the host, for that matter? Both agree that the conditions fit the description of, but they don’t realize that this is actually the time we are living in now!

The Rebbe informed us a long time ago that we are really in Acharis HaYamim, and that we were chosen to be Moshiach’s army to fight the wars of Hashem that will lead to the final Redemption. The responsibility is enormous. We must liberate ourselves from our Exile mentality and begin waging war in the manner of Acharis HaYamim.

In these momentous times, Chabad Chassidim, who are all the Rebbe’s shluchim, cannot be involved in matters that do not concern Moshiach. The salvation of the Jewish people will not come about in a natural manner through one party or another, but only when we succeed in instilling the acceptance of the Rebbe’s prophecy in every Jew.

The Torah tells us to conduct ourselves according to the rules of nature, and the famous law in Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, siman 329, is based on natural considerations: when gentiles enter a city near the border, they are likely to want to conquer the entire country. But regarding the salvation needed by millions of Jews in Eretz Yisroel, due to our great sins there is no leader willing to lead us towards true security according to Torah, i.e., by canceling all agreements and talks about giving away parts of Eretz Yisroel. This proves that the time has come to rely solely on Hashem and Moshiach. This is also the reason to publicize the psak din of the rabbanim against getting involved in the elections, and their announcement to protest against the government’s approach, and to publicize the besuras ha’Geula.

How can we understand this test Hashem has given us? According to natural means, the situation is hopeless.

In the sichos of 5751-5752, the Rebbe said that at this time we have to act in a way of "not placing our hope in man." By Divine providence, Hashem has mercy on us in Heaven, so that we can see for ourselves that "from G-d is the salvation." I think that many Jews today feel that there is no political route to salvation. This realization prepares them to accept the besuras ha’Geula.

When a person hears on the radio about the latest bloodshed, r’l, the threats of the terrorists, and the Arab nations, along with news of the liquidation of Eretz Yisroel and Yerushalayim, which our traitorous government sanctions, he despairs. In particular, he could have one of two reactions: He could think that we must concede more and more in order to finally achieve peace, or he could think that we are lost, because the more we concede, the more danger we are in, yet if we don’t concede, all the Arab nations will immediately begin attacking us.

In response to these two approaches, the "soldiers of the House of Dovid" must bring the king’s message to the public. The message must include two points: 1) a powerful protest to shake up the entire country against national suicide, which is actually "open war against Hashem" (as the Rebbe declared in the sicha of Yud-Tes Kislev 5742), and 2) the besuras ha’Geula. In fact, these two points are actually united; protesting is one way of taking part in Hashem’s wars, which the soldiers of the House of Dovid are waging along with Moshiach.

There is no political approach in accordance with the Shulchan Aruch’s opposition to negotiations about peace. That gives us the opportunity to protest, not only against the government, which is giving away Yerushalayim and the Temple Mount, but also against the entire corrupt notion of "land for peace."

We must prove that the Rebbe is the prophet of the generation, and demonstrate how right he was in warning against negotiating with the Arabs, the result of which has been the spilling of Jewish blood on a daily basis.

When we speak in the Rebbe’s name against the very principle of conceding parts of Eretz Yisroel and its security, we will get our message across without being accused of mixing into politics. At the same time, we must publicize the besuras ha’Geula, and encourage the nation that the Redemption is about to come, not by means of a political party, but from the Creator of the world.

I’ve heard that too and I was shocked, because at the same time they also wrote that our victims are called "korabnos ha’shalom" (sacrifices for peace). They wrote that "Jews are quiet and are allowing the government to continue giving land to the Arabs, and they still toy with the hope that this will make it better for them."

Obviously, this message – that concessions to the Arabs do not lead to peace – has still not been internalized. On the contrary, the media’s brainwashing has made many Jews sure that if we only conceded Yerushalayim and the Temple Mount, etc., then we’d have peace and the shedding of blood would cease.

On Friday, the 26th of Cheshvan, there was an article in HaTzofeh under the headline, "We erred, but..." Here’s a paragraph from that article: "It’s true that we cannot return to the negotiating table with Arafat now, for he isn’t our partner, but the day will come when he will be our partner... in order to arrive at a true peace agreement... on the basis of ‘land for peace.’ This is the best solution for this extremely volatile area. It’s true that when we have a partner, we’ll have to pay a steep price, including the price of the settlements... but that will be a small price to pay relative to the price of eternal warfare."

If that’s what written in HaTzofeh, the official organ of the religious Zionists, what should the rest of us say? The weekly chareidi papers are full of articles justifying continued negotiating and concessions (though not at a rate as quick as Barak suggests).

It’s all our fault for neglecting to protest and to explain the grave danger that talks with the Arabs lead to, and for being remiss in publicizing the law in Shulchan Aruch.

How strange it is that we don’t learn what the Rebbe’s shluchim throughout Eretz Yisroel have to do from the clear and unequivocal directives the Rebbe gave us all about protesting and publicizing the Torah’s view against conceding even an inch, and about publicizing the existence of the prophet of the generation and the besuras ha’Geula. Where do they get their directives from? From a few words said privately to an individual! It’s just unbelievable. As long as we don’t protest against the government or speak about Moshiach, the two new cardinal sins for Chabad Chassidim!

I’ve said it before: were Chabad Chasidim to fight against the peace talks the way they fought for Netanyahu, no government could carry out these agreements. Now is the time to go to war against the government, any government. At the same time, we must publicize the Rebbe’s prophecies and about his being Moshiach, and bring his besuras ha’Geula to all the Jewish people.

In the yechidus I had with the Rebbe in 5742, the Rebbe screamed from the depths of his heart about the obligation to publicize that all his warnings concerning the terrible consequences, which according to Torah would transpire as a result of peace agreements, are actually coming true, due to our great sins. (If there were consequences occurring over 20 years ago, what should we say today?)

We all heard the sicha of Shoftim 5751, that we must announce to all the Jewish people that there is a prophet and we must listen to him. At the Kinus HaShluchim, the Rebbe said that the only remaining avoda is to bring the besuras ha’Geula and to greet Moshiach. That’s why I produced a pamphlet emphasizing all these points. By distributing it, each of us is able to carry out the Rebbe’s wishes and hasten the Geula.

Baruch Hashem, the pamphlet is eye-catching and has been warmly received by the shluchim. They have reported about the tremendous excitement with which the public has responded to the material.

I don’t want to sound like a prophet of doom, but the way things look, we are about to face difficult times (to say the least) in Eretz Yisroel, a period of time the likes of which we have never experienced before, and from which only Moshiach can rescue us.

In all the difficulties we experienced before, what calmed the people was the Rebbe’s encouraging words and his directives. Today, unfortunately, people don’t hear the Rebbe, and the nation doesn’t have anything to encourage them. Of course, what the Rebbe said in 5751-5752 prepared us for today, and his besuras ha’Geula in these sichos is supposed to provide us with faith and hope in these difficult times.

We must see to it that the Rebbe’s words reach every Jew, and that they accept the Rebbe’s malchus. The Rebbe promised that the coronation implicit in the proclamation of "Yechi HaMelech" by the people is what will bring about the revelation of Dovid Malka Meshicha and will bring the complete Redemption.