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, President Bush, 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! If you are not Jewish, click here.
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.
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 including this one!
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 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.
