Day 21/30 - What Would You Do If You Really Believed?

 B”H Day 21/30 - *What Would You Do If You Really Believed?*

Yesterday, when I invited one mekureves to join us for the pesach seder, she replied that she couldn’t come, but that “Next time in Jerusalem!”

In the evening, I received a text from one baal teshuva who moved to Germany, that she wants to organise a tambourine decorating event in her city. She asked for the verse that talks about women greeting Moshiach with tambourines, and to remind her how to decorate it and which materials are needed, because “We need Moshiach right now!” 

And this morning, after sending out invitations to the Rebbe’s birthday, one girl replied, 

“120 years! It surely feels like Moshiach is coming right now!”

I’m not sure what it was exactly, but there was something about their faith which was so contagious! 

Somehow, hearing these comments specifically from these “unexpected” sources, gave me this feeling of, “Oh my goodness, what if this is for real?! I think this is really happening!” 

I realised that even though we are all “believers the sons of believers” and we officially await Moshiach’s coming every single day… This time was different. I knew that it was for “real” because I felt this fear in my heart of, “Oh my, am I REALLY ready?!”

And I thought, what would it look like if I REALLY believed that Moshiach was coming today?! Or even in the next few days or weeks? 

Would I do anything differently? Would I spend my time any differently? 

I realised that even if I would mostly DO the same exact things, it would be with a totally different feeling in my heart! With much more sincere intentions! With much more emes! With much more emotion! With much more passion and excitement and confidence! With much more joy and pleasure! 

I would feel responsible to let everybody know that Moshiach was coming, and that they need to quickly prepare, and to try to help them greet Moshiach in pride! 

I would quickly make a new Welcome Moshiach sign with my kids! I would gather together our tambourines! I would once again choose our Moshiach outfits and prepare them. 

My davening would be different. My learning would be different. My teaching would be different. My program planning would be different! My time with my children would be different. My Pesach cleaning would be different. My eating and sleeping would be different.

Everything would be l’sheim shamayim…

We would all do real teshuva! 

We would all forgive and ask forgiveness! 

We could go on and on… because I guess we would all kind of be like tzaddikim :)

אחכה לו בכל יום שיבוא…

If I really expected that today was the last day of Golus, If I really expected that this hour was the last hour of Golus, I would feel an adrenaline rush, I would be in a hurry… I wouldn’t want to waste any time! I would want to use every moment to the fullest! 

Because we know that in the very moment when Moshiach comes, in that very same instant, we will suddenly deeply miss the golus days! We will suddenly feel a deep yearning for the chance to serve Hashem while the lights were still off, while the game was still on, while it was still difficult and challenging to make the right choices…

As the Rebbe wrote in the Hayom Yom, “When Mashiach will come (speedily in our time, amein), then we shall really long for the days of the exile. Then we will truly feel distress at our having neglected working at avoda; then will we indeed feel the deep pain caused by our lack of avoda. These days of exile are the days of avoda, to prepare ourselves for the coming of Mashiach, speedily in our time, amein.”

So in truth, it’s easy to test if we REALLY believe, if we REALLY expect…

Because there is no possibility that our true emunah and bitachon wouldn’t immediately spill over to all our thoughts, words, and actions!

***

True, it feels really scary to let ourselves believe! To let our hearts even go there! 

We are afraid of being “naive”, we are afraid of being proven “wrong”, we are afraid of being disappointed… again! We are afraid of “what if chas v’shalom it doesn’t happen in the nearest future?!” 

As Rabbi Wolf said, it’s like we’re in the story of, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” - We already cried wolf so many times that we wonder, “What if this is also a false alarm chv?!” 

But what if we ask ourselves a different question every day, what if we ask ourselves, “*What if this is NOT a false alarm? What if Moshiach IS really coming today*?!” 

Because if I don’t expect Moshiach TODAY, then I actually don’t EVER expect Him to come. 

Because it will never be “soon”, it will never be “later”, it will never be “tomorrow”, - it will always be NOW! 

"ואם אין עכשיו, אימתי?"

We have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Because that is the whole power of bitachon! That’s what makes it work! That’s what makes our bitachon so precious to Hashem, to the point that He gives us what we expect of Him, even if He wasn’t “planning” to, even if we didn’t fully “deserve” it.

The fact that we are vulnerable enough to put our full trust in Him, and even allow it to affect our emotions and our actions -

That’s what guarantees that Hashem will definitely prove us right! 

"לעולם לא נבוש כי בך בטחנו" - 

We will NOT be ashamed for trusting in You! 

So if our generation is guaranteed to be the last generation of Golus and the first generation of Geulah, then it is more likely than ever that TODAY is the last day of Golus and that TODAY is the first day of Geulah!

עמדו הכן כולכם - 

Let’s all stand ready!!!