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וידבר אל קרח ואל כל עדתו
לאמר, בוקר וידע ה' את אשר לו ואת הקדוש והקריב אליו.
“And he spoke to Korech and his entire congregation
saying, ‘[wait till] morning and Hashem will let us know
who is for Him and who is holy to sacrifice for Him.’”
(Bamidbar 16:5)
Rashi comments: “At this time we are as if intoxicated
and we cannot show ourselves to Hashem.”
The disciples of the Rebbe R’ Shmelke of Nikolsburg once
asked him: “We are constantly reminded to prepare
ourselves for Moshiach and to improve ourselves to
enable him to come. On the other hand, the Rebbe keeps
on telling us that each generation is spiritually weaker
than the generation before. If so, how can the weaker
generation be expected to accomplish that which their
predecessors were unable to achieve? How can we keep our
hopes up that we will bring Moshiach, when our
far-greater ancestors were unable to bring him?”
The tzaddik Rebbe Shmelke replied with a parable: “A
powerful king constructed a magnificent city some
distance from his capital. He built a strong protective
wall around the city and designed beautiful gardens
around palatial homes within the city. The king settled
his children and relatives there and requested of them
to maintain the city’s beauty and keep up the splendor
of its gardens and orchards. He promised to visit
periodically to check on his beloved city.
“Unfortunately, after the king left, a group of rebels
entered and took control of the city. They intoxicated
all of the king’s relatives with wine, which made it
impossible for them to keep the city in good shape.
Within a short time, the gardens were overgrown with
weeds, the streets were full of refuse and the mansions
showed signs of neglect. The orchards produced thorn
bushes instead of fruits, the decorations on the gates
fell apart, and the entire city lost its beauty.
“One day, the king arrived at the city gates for an
unexpected visit. The rebels quickly locked the gates;
the strong walls that were built for protection were now
used to the city’s detriment. To ensure that the king’s
relatives do not come to his aid, the rebels gave the
residents even more wine to drink, so they were unable
to act decisively. The king and his ministers stood
outside the city, looking for a way to enter. Since they
knew all the secrets of the wall, they were able to
think of ways to overcome it. They tried various methods
until they finally succeeded to break the wall and enter
the city.
“Upon seeing the terrible destruction of the city and
its extremely filthy state, the ministers told the king,
‘Your Highness cannot walk through such unclean streets!
It is not befitting for the king’s honor; we must first
clear the city as much as possible and then the king
will enter.’
“So the king waited outside the city, while his
ministers walked through the streets proclaiming, ‘The
king is waiting to enter the city! We must do a thorough
cleaning to enable him to come in. don’t worry about the
orchards and the gardens; we will replant them later.
But at least you should all pitch in and pick up the
garbage!’
“The news about the king’s visit penetrated the
intoxicated minds of the city residents. Even though
they were not fully coherent, they were able to see to
the immediate task of cleaning up the streets, and they
all got to work. The king had an excellent view from
outside the city and was able to see who was helping and
who was getting in the way. The people worked
frantically, despite their mental limitations, trying
their best to prepare the city for the king.
“When the king finally entered the city he was able to
point his finger at each person and say whether or not
he helped clean up the mess.”
Reb Shmelke concluded the parable and explained its
deeper meaning: “Our great ancestors, the tzaddikim of
previous generations, used their wisdom and Torah
greatness to break the walls that prevented the King
from entering the city. Now, in our times, the gates are
open! The King is standing outside and waiting for us to
clear the garbage so that He should be able to enter.
True, we are like drunks, with limited mental and
spiritual abilities, but we are still able to help clean
up the mess! If we were able to mess up the place, we
should be able to clean it up. We don’t need to be
spiritual giants to do the cleaning; even people of our
spiritual stature can do this.”
This parable and its explanation are just as true in our
times. This message can be seen in the above-mentioned
verse, and in Rashi’s comment: “At this time we are as
if intoxicated.” In truth, Moshiach should have been
here already; the work was already done by previous
tzaddikim. However, we are all drunk and “cannot show
ourselves before Hashem.” The King cannot come between
us in the state we are in! So we must clean up our
hearts and souls – a task that even simple people like
us can do, even while drunk.
The verse concludes with a poignant reminder: “[Wait
till] morning and Hashem will let us know who is for
Him.” When the long-awaited redemption will finally dawn
and Moshiach will come, Hashem will announce the names
of those who helped prepare themselves for Him - those
who helped clean up the mess so that He should be able
to reveal His glory.
The Satmar Rebbe used to say, “Moshiach will point his
fingers showing which people helped him come and which
people delayed his coming!” May he come speedily, in our
days, Amen.
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