Something very deep is
emerging from our souls.
There is a very intense spiritual process taking place in the world
today. The world is moving toward Moshiach, the long-awaited
Redeemer who will bring us out of the exile of this world into an amazing world filled with the revelation of G-dliness in every aspect of Creation.
There are six days of the work week and the seventh is Shabbos, the wonderful day of Holiness and Rest. According to the Jewish calendar, we are in the year 5,762 almost the end of the 6th millennium. There are only 278 years left till the 7th millennium, the very last possible time that Moshiach can come.
The Shabbos of Creation is almost here!
As we approach Shabbos, the light of Shabbos reaches down to
us. The closer we come to the Shabbos of Creation, the more the light of moshiach intensifies. Like the dawn, Geulah, the time of redemption, comes slowly, bit by bit. Like the dawn, the darkest part of this exile comes just before the light.
When Moshiach comes, folly will cease, evil will vanish, divine
inspiration will be poured out on all mankind, and the knowledge of G-d will fill the world like the water in the sea.
From one kind of world to a different kind of world...
The transition will require us to have a new orientation, a new concept of security. The old illusions of security are crumbling, mirages of power and strength. The shake up of September 11th was to wake us up. We have to prepare ourselves for the immanent arrival of Moshiach. How? We have to separate ourselves from the culture of materialism.
Through deeds of lovingkindness we turn the physical into the spiritual, the mundane into the sublime. If G-d is sometimes harsh with the world, it is only a wake-up call for us to remember to get everything ready to welcome Moshiach. All of our troubles are designed to open our hearts; to break our belief in the power of weapons, the government, the mall, the bank, the boss, the movies, sports. When the Jewish people give up looking elsewhere for redemption and finally realize that redemption can only come from G-d, then Moshiach can come.
What can we do to bring Moshiach
and end suffering in the world?
Here are 10 things you can do to bring Moshiach today!
1. If you are Jewish...Be fully Jewish!
Live your life in such a way that someone looking at you will say," Is that what a Jew is? I want to be like that!" Even if someone has this as a passing thought and never acts upon it, you have changed the world! Explore the world of mitzvahs that are our Jewish inheritance and the keys to an amazingly meaningful and fulfilling life.
2. Reach out to another Jew.
Why hasn't moshiach come? Because all of the Jews have not yet identified as Jews. You cannot begin to imagine the effects of your reaching out to another Jew. You accomplish more than you think. You never know which things you say or do will influence someone for a lifetime. You never know what will spark someone to return to his or her roots, so take a risk! Share whatever Jewish wisdom you know. Share your love, your passion for Torah, for mitzvahs, Shabbos, your favorite holiday, keeping Kosher, the alef bet. Give someone who is unconnected something to connect to. You just never know...
You never know when someone is watching you. You never know when someone will see from across the room, across the street see you doing something holy that will influence someone else to be holy. Give people something to think about when you leave them. Give women Shabbos candles to light if they're Jewish, a brochure about the seven mitzvahs for gentiles if they're not, a pamphlet about Tefillin, a tzedakah box, a Psalm to say - you never know how the little things you do may influence someone and change his or her life forever. Even if they refuse, they may later regret refusing and change their lives because of it.
3. Get as close to G-d as you can
...and bring as many other people as you can with you!
How can a person get closer to G-d? Look for G-d's greatness everywhere. Look for the miracles in your own life each day. Notice the amazing "coincidences" that occur in your life that are really the Divine Hand taking an active role in bringing good to you. Thank G-d for the blessings in your life each day. Turn only to G-d for everything you need. Talk to G-d everyday.
When we do an act of kindness or give tzedakah, we create closeness to G-d by using our bodies to become a vehicle for the Divine Will. When we do a mitzvah, or control ourselves from giving in to a desire to do something wrong, we create closeness by bringing G-d into this world. When we say words of Torah, we merge with the Divine Mind.
When our ancestors cried out to G-d and begged to be saved from their suffering, they were redeemed from Egypt. We must also pray to G-d, like our ancestors did and beg the Master of the Universe, like a child nagging his father, to speedily send us Moshiach and redeem us from the suffering of this world.
4. Release the Moshiach inside of you.
There is a spark of Moshiach within all of us. You have to truly believe that if YOU personally and individually wait for Moshiach, Moshiach will come because G-d loves you SO much, even if you do make mistakes! When you wake up in the morning, ask yourself: What am I doing to bring Moshiach today? Start by doing whatever it is you can do.
Every minute of Torah study, every small act of kindness hastens the coming of Moshiach and reduces our suffering. Pray more often and with more concentration. Keep bringing Moshiach in with everything you do. When we learn Torah, when we do mitzvahs, when we help others learn Torah and learn how to do mitzvahs, we reveal the spark of Moshiach and bring Moshiach into this world. We cannot see the effects of our thoughts words and deeds. Every mitzvah that we do, every Torah thought we learn, every prayer that we say, every word of our prayers brings unimaginable happiness in Heaven. Only when we come to the next world will we see what we have accomplished.
5. Expect Moshiach to come any minute!
This could be it! Right now! Are you ready? Stay ready for Geulah in any moment. Create a sanctuary of holiness wherever you are. Get in the habit of yearning for Moshiach throughout the day. Actively waiting for Moshiach, hastens the arrival of Moshiach. Expect Moshiach now...and now...and now! Imagine what the world and your life will be like when Moshiach comes. Keep your vision of the future intact. Keep bringing G-dliness in. If you really believed Moshiach was coming in one second, what would you be doing right now?
6. Give as much as you can, as often as you can.
The penny we put in the pushke (charity box) looks the same as the penny we put in our pocket, but when Moshiach comes, we will be able to see the G-dliness emanating from the money we gave to tzedakah. Our sages tell us that nothing is as powerful as the act of giving tzedakah for cleansing our souls and bringing Moshiach.
7. Think before you speak every time!
We think we are only saying a few insignificant words, but in fact we are affecting worlds with our speech. Speech is one of the garments of our soul. We express the essence of who we really are through the words we say to others and how we say them. A kind and happy person uses positive and encouraging words. An angry, selfish person uses words as weapons.
Don't fool yourself! Gossip is never innocent. A few thoughtless words can travel thousands of miles in an instant and kill a person's reputation, his livelihood, his happiness, or a relationship and all of the children and grandchildren that might have come from that relationship.
When we speak lashon hara (evil speech, gossip, or slander), we might feel that what we are saying is true and it might make us feel clever or powerful or wise in that moment, but the spiritual reality is that we are causing terrible damage. When a person speaks lashon hara, three people are harmed - the one who says it, the one who listens to it, and the one about whom it is spoken. All three are examined much more closely in Heaven to see if they really merit the blessings they've been given. Whenever the Jewish people speak lashon hara and cause harm to their fellow Jews, measure for measure their power is given over into the hands of their enemies to cause destruction to the Jewish people, G-d forbid! Click here to learn how to become a better person and save the Jewish people by being careful with your speech.
8. Try a little harder, love a little more.
Create unity amongst the Jewish people.
The Jewish people had a very special job. We were chosen as the caretakers of G-d's own special house in this world. 2,000 years ago, G-d's house, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed because of the baseless hatred we had for each other, and continue to have for each other to this very day. It is said that every generation that does not merit to see the 3rd Holy Temple rebuilt, it is as if that generation destroyed
the Temple again.
Does our unity have to depend on the hatred of others?
Over and over, throughout Jewish history, we see that Jews fought and argued with one another until anti-semitism reared its ugly head. Only then did the Jews love and unite with one another to help each other survive. It makes no difference to the anti-semites whether a Jew is religious or not, an atheist or a rebbe. Those who hate the Jews hate the ones who want to give up land for peace, as much as the ones who feel that the Land of Israel is a divine gift to the Jewish people for all time. Our love and caring for one another must transcend our differences. More than anything else, our Creator, like any loving parent, wants us to get along together and treat each other respectfully.
We have the ability to hasten redemption. How? If we make the smallest effort to love each other more, to learn how to disagree respectfully, to speak well of one another, to judge each other favorably, to take care of each other, we create unity and Ahavas Yisrael amongst the Jewish people. Ask yourself before getting into an argument, "Is it really that important?"
9. Light up the world. Do a mitzvah today!
When you bring a little candle into a well-lit room, it makes very little difference on the overall light in the room. But when you bring a little candle into a dark room, it makes
the whole room light. The world we live in is in a very dark state. G-dliness is concealed in our world. Every little prayer, every mitzvah, every tiny act of kindness that we do in this dark
world lights up the whole world and makes a great impact. Now, we can cannot see the tremendous light of the mitzvahs we do, but when Moshiach comes, all of the light we created with our mitzvahs will be revealed. But once the great light of Moshiach is revealed in this world, we will lose the opportunity to do mitzvahs. Just like the impact of a candle on a brightly lit room is small compared to a candle in a dark room, the mitzvahs we do after Moshiach comes will have much less impact than the mitzvahs we do right now.
Take on a new mitzvah today, or improve a mitzvah that you
already do in a beautiful and conscientious manner, with the
intent of bringing about the actual coming of Moshiach.
10. Learn a little bit more about Moshiach every day.
Learning about Moshiach will help us acquire a sense of the
reality of the time of Moshiach and overcome our fears that may
be preventing us from helping to hasten the arrival. Below are
some excellent links to help you educate yourself about Moshiach
and Geulah, the great era of redemption.
May you be blessed with success
& only good things!
