אות - קכו

On Saturday night, right after Shabbat Shuvah 198 "The Shabbat of Repentance,” the Shabbat immediately preceding Yom Kippur. During that year, Shabbat Shuvah fell on 6 Tishrei (September 16, 1809). See Tzaddik #527. 5570/1809, the Rebbe spoke about the Mashiach.

It is a well-known fact that many people were saying that the Mashiach would come that year. The Rebbe, however, did not agree with this. The Rebbe said, “When the Mashiach is ready to come, more than one person will cry out about faith. Many tzaddikim will raise their voices, just as I do today. They will scream until they tear out their throats ( ein reisen die keili ), and it will not help.”

Regarding the Messianic age, it is written, “And it will be that he who is left in Zion, and he who remains in Jerusalem, ‘holy’ shall be said to him” (Isaiah 4:3) . The Talmud teaches that the angels will chant, “Holy, holy, holy” before the tzaddikim, just as they do before God ( Bava Batra 75b; cf. Isaiah 6:3) . This means just what it says. The tzaddikim who remain faithful before the coming of the Mashiach will deserve this and much more – so difficult will it be to remain firm in faith and not be misled by everyone’s mistaken beliefs in the pre-Messianic era.

At that time, there will be many spurious religious leaders. A group such as ours, in which people gather together thirsting for God’s word, certainly will no longer exist. There will remain some truly religious individuals, but they will be very widely scattered.

The Rebbe then quoted the verse, “Write this as a record in a book” (Exodus 17:14) . In days to come, let people know that there was one who already predicted this (see “ His Wisdom ” #35, #220) . Then they will know and be encouraged in their faith in God and the true tzaddikim.