The [1] Biblical simile, [2] "As a rose among the thorns," refers to the soul as it descends into this material world; on a larger scale, it also refers to the existence of the Jewish people within exile.

For both the soul and the Jewish people, this involves a formidable descent, a descent fraught with danger.

At times, the path of life appears to be obstructed by brambles: events sometimes occur which our limited human intellect cannot comprehend.

Paradoxically, however, it is through this very process of descent that both the soul and the Jewish people as a whole ultimately climb to their most complete level of perfection.

This is not to imply, heaven forbid, that the world is in itself evil.

Quite the contrary: [3] "I have come into My garden" is a metaphor that describes the return of the Divine Presence to this world.

This indicates that the world is G-d's own garden, a place which grants Him pleasure and satisfaction.

Though we are often unable to perceive this positive quality, the Jewish people have been charged with a task and a mission:

Holding aloft [4] "the lamp of a mitzvah and the light of the Torah," they illuminate the world and reveal the good which is concealed within it.

Women as Luminaries

In particular, this quality is manifest in those mitzvos that are associated with producing actual light; for example, the kindling of Shabbos candles.

The visible light which they generate reflects how every mitzvah, and in a wider sense, every positive activity a Jew undertakes, brightens the G-dly light within the world.

The mitzvah of lighting the Shabbos candles has been entrusted to Jewish women; [5] it is they who draw G-dly light into every Jewish home, and suffuse it with the inimitable Shabbos atmosphere of tranquil joy and spiritual enlightenment.

On a cosmic scale, the world has been described as G-d's dwelling [6] - His home, as it were, and the Jewish people have been described as His bride. [7]

Developing these analogies: Just as the Shabbos candles are lit before the actual commencement of the Shabbos, our present performance of mitzvos in exile kindles the light that will illuminate the world in [8] "the Day which is entirely Shabbos, and repose for life everlasting" - the Era of the Redemption.

This connection also highlights the role of Jewish women, for the prophecies associated with that age [9] point out the superior qualities which Jewish women possess.

Eternal Life in this World

The eternality which will characterize the Era of the Redemption is likewise reflected in every individual Jewish soul.

This applies not only to the soul as it exists in the spiritual realms, where it enjoys eternal life in the radiance of the Divine Presence, [10] but also to the time it spends in our physical world.

In this spirit, our Sages state in regard to the Patriarch Jacob, [11] "Our father Yaakov did not die: just as his descendants are alive, so too is He alive."

The same is true of each of Yaakov Avinu's descendants, the Jewish men and women of all subsequent generations.

When a person's children continue the positive activities which characterized his own lifetime, then even after that person's passing, he or she is still alive. For that life has activated a dynamic which continues to produce positive changes in the world in the generations to come. And there is also a reciprocal effect: the positive activities performed by one's children can compensate for any time by which a person's life may have been cut short.

Even when a mother is now in the World of Truth, the daughters whom she brought up, and her sons likewise, can replenish the divine service which is now lacking, and which ordinarily would have been completed by her. [12]

The Pinnacle of Our National History

The eternality of the Jewish soul within the context of our material world will be fully expressed in the Era of the Redemption, when the souls of all the Jews of all generations will be resurrected. [13]

Here too the analogy of a wedding can be used to describe the unification of the body and the soul.

The ultimate Redemption of our people and of the world at large is not a remote promise.

On the contrary, the Jews of our generation have been granted complete atonement and are now at the highest pinnacle ever of our national history. All the divine service necessary to bring about the Redemption has been completed. All that is needed is that we open our eyes and perceive that the Redemption is indeed a reality.

Our Sages state [14] that the tzadikkim of all past generations will arise in the early stages of the Redemption, before the resurrection of our people as a whole.

Surely, this applies to the Previous Rebbe, the leader of our generation. He never perceived himself as a private individual and dedicated himself totally to the welfare of his people. [15]

It can thus be readily understood that he will share this privilege too (just as throughout his lifetime he always shared his insights) with all the members of his generation, [16] particularly with those who dedicated themselves to disseminating his teachings and furthering the outreach activity which he inspired.

And when that time comes, we will all proceed together - to Eretz Yisrael, to Jerusalem, and to the Beis HaMikdash, where the Kohanim will offer sacrifices celebrating [17] "our redemption and the deliverance of our souls."

   

Notes:

1. (Back to text) The above essay first appeared after the farbrengen of Shabbos Parshas Bo, 5752 [1992], which took place four days before Yud Shvat - the anniversary of the passing in 5710 [1950] of the Rebbe Rayatz, the saintly Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn.

   On this occasion, the Rebbe spoke of the ultimate purpose for which souls descend to this world, which is one of the dominant themes of the Previous Rebbe's farewell maamar, entitled Basi LeGani (English translation: Kehot; N.Y., 1990), and related it in particular to the souls of women.

2. (Back to text) Shir HaShirim 2:2, and commentaries there.

3. (Back to text) Op. cit. 5:1. This verse is the subject of the above-mentioned maamar entitled Basi LeGani.

4. (Back to text) Mishlei 6:23. On the analogy of a lamp for mitzvos, see footnote 19 to the above essay entitled, "A Partner in the Dynamic of Creation."

5. (Back to text) Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Shabbos 5:3; the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch 263:5.

6. (Back to text) Midrash Tanchuma, Parshas Naso, sec. 7; Tanya, chs. 33,

36. (Back to text)

7. (Back to text) E.g., Yeshayahu 62:5.

8. (Back to text) Tamid 7:4.

9. (Back to text) Cf. Yirmeyahu 31:21, as interpreted in the teachings of Chassidus.

10. (Back to text) Cf. Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Teshuvah, ch. 8.

11. (Back to text) Taanis 5b.

12. (Back to text) In addition to the above explicit statement, this farbrengen included a mystical exposition of a liturgical phrase in which the people of Israel are referred to poetically as a rose, and a mention of the fact that the Sages extol the Kohanim for the vigor with which they traditionally carry out their priestly duties.

    Though personal allusions of this kind are not common, these phrases collectively were an apparent reference to Rebbitzin Reizel (Rose) Gutnick, the wife of a Kohen and the mother of a family of Kohanim - an exemplary chassidic wife and mother who lost her life in a traffic accident two days before the above address. (Publisher's Note.)

13. (Back to text) Cf. Sanhedrin 10:1.

14. (Back to text) Zohar I, 140a.

15. (Back to text) This concept was once expressed by his daughter, the

    Rebbitzin Chayah Mushka, of blessed memory, in these words: "Not only the Rebbe's library, but also the Rebbe himself belongs to the chassidim."

16. (Back to text) Ch. 11 of Basi LeGani describes a king confronted by a formidable and ultimate battle. In order to secure victory he will even distribute the "hidden and sealed treasures,... the precious resources that have been accumulated over the generations," to his rank-and-file soldiers.

    The Rebbe has commented that these words aptly describe the activities of their author, the Previous Rebbe.

    He fought fiercely to overcome the challenges brought about by the darkness of galus. He risked (and sacrificed) his own life and revealed the ancient treasures of the kingdom - the deepest secrets of the Torah.

    These were then entrusted to the rank-and-file soldiers; i.e., they were expressed in a manner that could be understood and appreciated by all.

17. (Back to text) From the Haggadah of Pesach.