Moshiach and Geulah

Those[92] who say that histalkus means that the Rebbe [Rayatz] is removed from us, are wild folk who do not know what they are saying....[93]

The strength which the Rebbe [Rayatz] draws down by means of the teachings of Chassidus, continues now too to be drawn down and given to us, without any change on his part -- and for our part, too, there has been no change that should make us think that the Rebbe [Rayatz] is not with us, G-d forbid. (Those who knew the Rebbe throughout his thirty years as Nasi, know that he would not let his chassidim remain alone on Shabbos Parshas Zachor, for example, when they have to do battle with Amalek....)

For us, there is only one change. In the past, some individual might have thought that when he entered the Rebbe's study he could talk about the things that he wanted to talk about, and hide the things that he wanted to hide from the Rebbe. Now, however, it is clear to everyone that the Rebbe knows even the things that are hidden within us -- for in the past he was garbed in a physical body, unlike now, when he transcends the limitations of a physical body, and is all spirituality.

On the other hand, since[84] "when a tzaddik departs he is to be found in all the worlds more than during his lifetime...; even in this world of action... he is to be found more [than during his lifetime]," it is certain that the Rebbe is continuing to lead the world at large and the chassidic brotherhood49 in particular, and is interceding with requests for compassion -- as he was doing until now, and in fact even more intensely.

And just as in the past it was a self-evident truth for each one of us that the Rebbe would lead us to encounter our righteous Mashiach, so too should that be self-evident today.

As to the event which took place, and so on, this is so only in our fleshly eyes; it is only a test (one of the tests comprising the birthpangs of Mashiach which must precede the coming of the righteous Redeemer), whose function is only to conceal the truth -- except that an explanation is still required as to why according to the Torah there now has to be Kaddish, and so on. The purpose of this test is that people should strengthen themselves when confronted by it. In this way, the obscurity will be banished and nullified, and the truth will be manifest (as explained in the teachings of Chassidus[85]).

Accordingly, through strengthening our bond [with the Rebbe] by studying his Torah teachings and giving practical application to his directives (both his public directives, and also -- especially -- those given face-to-face [to individuals] at yechidus), we will immediately be granted the merit (since we are at "the footsteps of Mashiach"[86]) of seeing the Rebbe with fleshly eyes, and the Rebbe will lead us to the Redemption.

The truth is, that the Rebbe's life is spiritual life[88] -- "the life of a tzaddik is not a fleshly life, but a spiritual life."[89]

From this it is apparent that as far as the Rebbe is concerned, there is no difference between the previous situation and the present situation. Now, too, the Rebbe is with us begashmiyus.[90]

Before we answer this question, there is another question that has been asked: How is it at all appropriate to address requests to the Rebbe? Is this not putting him in the position of an intermediary?[143]

Some people apply this question to requests relating to the awe of heaven.[144]

The answer to the question regarding intermediaries is as follows.

Just as "Israel and the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are all one" -- i.e., not only is Israel connected to the Torah and the Torah is connected to G-d,[145] but they are all absolutely one -- so, too, in the bond between chassidim and their Rebbe, these are not like two entities which unite, but they become absolutely "all one." And the Rebbe is not an intermediary who intercepts,[146] but an intermediary who connects.[147] Accordingly, for the chassid, he and the Rebbe and the Holy One, blessed be He, are all one.

A written record has arrived here (from Eretz Yisrael) of a sichah delivered by my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rayatz], when he was still in Russia, concerning the complete Redemption. There he said: "This will take place in my days!"

These words of the Rebbe -- that the Redemption will take place in his days -- are still valid. The present situation, in these few months, does not constitute an interruption, because now, too, he judges Israel. As our Sages state, when the people continue to "stand in awe of him," it is as if now, too, "he judged Israel."

http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/pr ... r-3/15.htm

"We should know that even after the histalkus there is life without interruption, eternal life, in the case of the Nasi of the generation, and through him eternal life is forthcoming for the entire generation."

Sicha of the Rebbe, 5710 (1950) (shortly after the histalkus (passing) of the Previous Rebbe)

…the situation [after the passing of the Previous Rebbe] is not what it appears to eyes of flesh (physical, and much more so material), that there has occurred, G-d forbid, an interruption [in the life of the Previous Rebbe], etc. – rather, here and now he “stands and serves”.

Immediately a question is raised: now, an incident occurred a certain number of years ago, and we ourselves were there and we did certain things, in accordance with Shulchan Orech, which are connected with an interruption!

Now, as has been said several times, everything has its source in the Torah – not only the inner dimension of Torah, but also the revealed dimension of Torah.

This is what the gemara states (Taanis 5b): “Yaakov Avinu didn’t die.” Immediately the gemara questions this: “but they eulogized him, embalmed him, and buried him?”

Nonetheless, even after this question the gemara does not recant and explain it in a different way, rather the gemara remains with this statement that “Yaakov Avinu didn’t die”, despite that they “they eulogized him, embalmed him, and buried him”, and despite that these activities were really performed, because after all they are told to us in the Torah!

So the gemara explains: “just as his progeny are alive, so too he is alive”. As long as “his progeny are alive”, then even if “they eulogized him, embalmed him, and buried him” – something that really happened and were done in accordance with Shulchan Orech – with all this “so too he is alive”.
And this is not to be understood according to the explanations of those who want to “cool off” the subject, who want to explain that through the fact that his progeny are alive then it is as if he himself is also alive.

Firstly, according to an explanation like this it would come out that the gemara recanted what it said that “Yaakov Avinu didn’t die”, for it is only as if he didn’t die – that by his progeny being alive he derives benefit from this exactly as if he was alive.

Secondly, this is the opposite of the language of the gemara: the gemara doesn’t say that through this that his progeny are alive it is as if he is alive, rather the gemara equates the two things – “just as his progeny are live” – in exactly the same way – “so too he is alive”. And this is brought by the gemara as an answer to the question “but they eulogized him, embalmed him, and buried him”.
[…]

The physical aspect [of a true and complete tzaddik]…is nothing more than a secondary thing and merely an external garment.

From this it is understood, that when this secondary thing is removed from him and the main thing remains, this cannot be called by the name “death”, since this is only relevant to say about one whose life was connected with the physical thing in the body and the physicality of the world. But by the tzaddik, even though when he was a neshoma in a body the body was something that had to be taken into account, except that for him the body was not the main thing, rather the ruchniyus in it; only the external garment was a physical garment. Therefore, when he removed one garment and donned another garment, there is nothing lacking and consequently “Yaakov Avinu didn’t die”.

And when there is a question: but “they eulogized him, embalmed him, and buried him”? – the response is: all of these activities were done on the physical aspect of his body. By any other person, even a Jew, when he’s down in this world, this is the main aspect of his life…which is not the case by him [this complete tzaddik], that even his life in this world was a spiritual life.

[…]the gemara knows that “they eulogized him”, this is a posuk in Chumash, and connected with halacha, etc., but this is no contradiction, because all of this was done with his physical garment, and this garment was exchanged, in order that he could now have a different garment.


Sicha of the Rebbe on the Hillula of the Previous Rebbe, Yud Shevat 5726 (1966)

YAAKOV AVINU DID NOT DIE; HE LITERALLY LIVES IN A BODY
By Rabbi Sholom Dovber HaLevi Wolpo
Translated By Michoel Leib Dobry
In response to requests by our readers, we now present the next segment from “V’Torah Yevakshu MiPihu,” Rabbi Sholom Dovber HaLevi Wolpo’s seifer on the Rebbe’s teachings regarding Chabad chassidus, its approach to emuna, and its various customs.

For those who have difficulty accepting strange things of this type — namely, the fact that there are tzaddikim who live in the physical sense, even after they appear before our eyes to be in the exact opposite state — asking to find a source for all this in the Torah, the subject is actually stated explicitly in the sayings of our Sages, of blessed memory. We find in the Gemara (Taanis 5b): “Rabbi Yochanan says, Yaakov Avinu did not die,” and Rashi comments that the fact that they embalmed and buried him was because “they thought that he was dead…it appeared to them that he was dead, but he was actually alive.” It is further explained in the Maharsha’s Chiddushei Agados that in Rashi’s opinion, the meaning here is that Yaakov Avinu “literally did not die, even in body.”

Furthermore, the Rif’s commentary to Ein Yaakov on the aforementioned Gemara states: “The power of the soul remained in Yaakov Avinu’s body, and the soul was not separated from the body…his soul was still connected to his body, and the fact that he was buried and eulogized is because the powers of movement were nullified; he gathered his legs into the bed and expired like a man who has fainted… they didn’t know that his soul was still within him, and therefore, they embalmed, eulogized, and buried him.” By the same token, the Alshich writes on Parshas VaYechi that Yaakov Avinu was “as someone in a faint that the powers of the soul and the spirit of his neshama still essentially clung to him.”

See also at the end of one of the Rebbe shlita’s letters (Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 4, pg. 1261), where he writes that at no time did there cease within Yaakov Avinu the connection between the soul and the body. Similarly, in Vol. 6, pg. 414, note 3, the Rebbe adds that according to Rashi’s commentary on the Torah, even the sons of Yaakov did not think that he had died; they knew that he was alive. Nevertheless, they wept and eulogized him since their connection to him had been severed (as in Rashi’s commentary, B’Reishis 50:3 — that his passing ceased the bracha that came through him).

Rashi also comments on the previous pasuk that the embalming was “(merely) a matter of mixing spices [and not the full embalming process].” There is also noted the explanation on how Yosef kissed Yaakov after he had already “expired,” since Yosef knew that Yaakov really had not died. Furthermore, as the Ohr HaChayim writes (VaYechi 50:1): “‘And he kissed him,’ but it would be improper to so with anyone else deceased, because the dead are brimming with impurity…(and he did not kiss anyone) except Yaakov because he was alive, rather he was called dormita — as someone sleeping and dozing.”

Thus, we see from all this that when they said Yaakov Avinu did not die, it was not merely in the spiritual sense, rather quite simply in the physical sense. Consider what is written in the seifer Toras Levi Yitzchok on the aforementioned Gemara, where he brings a marvelous allusion, stating that “Emes L’Yaakov” (truth to Yaakov) is comprised of the same letters as “Yaakov Lo Meis” (Yaakov did not die), i.e., this represents the simple truth. (See also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 26, the first sicha on Parshas Shmos, and the sichos from Yud Shvat 5726, Chaf Menachem Av 5731, and Shabbos Parshas VaYechi 5751.)

16. WE HAVE FOUND NUMEROUS SAGES OF THE MISHNA AND THE GEMARA WHO LIVED EVEN AFTER THEIR HISTALKUS

We have seen throughout the Talmud how many tzaddikim had an eternal connection between their body and their soul. For example, it is related in the Gemara (Shabbos 152b) that Rabbi Achai bar Yoshiya, who had already been buried decades earlier, rebuked people who dug in the earth near his grave, and Rabbi Nachman came to him, spoke with him, even felt him, and saw that he had not decayed. When Rabbi Nachman asked him about this, Rabbi Achai brought the pasuk (Mishlei 14:30): “Jealousy is the rot of the bones,” and commented, “Anyone who has jealousy in his heart, his bones rot; anyone who does not have jealousy in his heart, his bones do not rot.” Thus, when Rabbi Nachman invited him to come to his house, Rabbi Achai replied that until the Resurrection of the Dead, he has no permission to rise, and proved it from the pasuk.

See there the Maharsha’s Chiddushei Agados explaining that Rabbi Nachman saw how Rabbi Achai bar Yoshiya had bones, flesh, and a soul, and therefore, he asked him why he doesn’t get up. Rabbi Achai replied that “even though all three parts exist, there is a need for an opening from G-d, who has the key of the Resurrection in His hand.”

It should be noted that Rabbi Nachman was the student of Shmuel (as in general, Rabbi Nachman refers to Nachman bar Yaakov), and thus he was from the second generation of the Amoraim, whereas Rabbi Achai was from the beis midrash of the Tanna, Rabbi Yishmoel (whose words appear in the Mechilta). Therefore, about two hundred years had passed since the histalkus of Rabbi Achai until that meeting.

It is also related in the Gemara (Bava Metzia 84b) about Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Shimon, who asked his wife not to give him over for burial, but to leave him in his room in the loft after his death. So while he remained complete in body, he would speak with his wife, and people would come to him for halachic litigation as they stood behind the door as they presented their arguments, and a voice would be heard from within the room: “This person is innocent and that person is liable.” Afterwards, when the Sages learned that he was dead, they said that it was not respectful to leave him in this fashion, and they brought him for burial in his father’s cave at Mt. Meron. (See other such stories in the Gemara, Bava Basra 58a.)

Furthermore, we find in Tractate Kesuvos (103a) that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi would come every Friday night to make Kiddush in his home. In addition, it is written in Seifer Chassidim (Remez 1129, as brought in Gilayon HaShas): “And Rabbeinu HaKadosh (Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi) would appear in the attractive clothes that he would wear on Shabbos, not shrouds, to make known that he was still in his vigor and exempted others in their obligation to make Kiddush… as someone alive wearing clothes, just as he wore during his lifetime.”

See also in the Gemara the reason why he eventually stopped coming to make Kiddush. (This proves further that even though he continued on his own as a soul within a body, nevertheless, due to some seemingly insignificant reason, he stopped appearing to them.)

There is also the well-known discussion among the Acharonim on how Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was able to fulfill the obligation of others in making Kiddush, when he was a soul in the World of Truth and “among the dead who are free.” In general, the explanation is that since he came to his home in the manner of a soul within a body, he was obligated at that moment in the observance of the mitzvos. (See Gilyonei HaShas, Rabbi Yosef Engel, on the aforementioned Gemara, and in Bris Olam and Makor Chesed on the aforementioned Seifer Chassidim.)