- Rabbi Benzion Milecki
One day, as the founder of Chabad, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, was leaving his room, he heard his wife say to her friends, Meiner Zogt (literally, "mine [referring to her husband] says").
Said Rabbi Schneur Zalman, "If by virtue of one Mitzvah - the Mitzvah of marriage - I have become hers, by how many more Mitzvot have I become G-d's?" Meditating on this, he fell into a swoon of Divine ecstasy.
When he awoke he quoted the Song of Songs [1], "Go out and see, O daughters of Zion", explaining the verse as follows: "If a person wishes to 'go out' of himself (move to a higher plain) and 'see' G-dliness, he must be inspired by 'the daughters of Zion' (here referring to the Jewish woman). This parallels the level of Malchut (the feminine aspect of G-dliness) which stimulates Zo (the masculine aspect of G-dliness)".
And the Rebbe concluded, "The time of the future will see the fulfilment of the verse [2], 'A woman of valour is the crown of - and hence higher than - her husband'."
This concept is elaborated upon in other sources as well. In Hemshech Ranat [3], Rabbi Sholom Ber of Lubavitch explains that whereas nowadays the principal Divine Emanations come from the masculine aspect of G-dliness, in the time of the future they will come from the feminine aspect. In support of this he quotes the Zohar [4] where it says lav ihi meshamsha gabay - she will no longer be secondary to him.
Hence, according to the teachings of Chassidut, and of Kabbalah generally, it is clear that the messianic era will see women on a higher level than men.
Actually, Rabbi Sholom Ber goes further still. He contends that even nowadays the feminine aspect is greater. It is for this reason, he explains, that the ability to give birth and create new life, a power deriving from the very essence of G-d Himself, is more manifest in women than in men. Still, the superiority of women is not yet acknowledged. In the time of the future, however, it will be revealed for all.
Thus, the connection between women and the messianic era can be said to exist on several plains:
1) Just as Moshiach is associated with Malchut ("Royalty"), the seventh Divine sphere, so too are women associated with Malchut.
2) The principal Divine Emanation in the Messianic era will be from the feminine aspect of G-dliness.
3) The process of Redemption is compared to child-birth, and hence women, in whose possession lies the Divine ability to give birth and create life, have a pivotal role at this most important time.I would now like to suggest that there is another, perhaps even deeper, connection between Moshiach and women.
The Rebbe stated in Cheshvan 5752 [5] that Moshiach already exists and is manifest. According to the Rebbe, the only thing remaining now is to receive ("lekabel") Moshiach.
It is the Rebbe's emphasis on receiving which I now wish to draw attention to, elaborating on the special connection that exists between women and receiving Moshiach.
As is well known, Rabbi Schneur Zalman attributed much of the seminal thought in his Sefer HaTanya to his famous ancestor, Rabbi Yehuda Loew (more commonly known as the Maharal of Prague). It is from the Maharal's writings that I wish to draw inspiration today.
The Maharal asks: "Why were women given the Torah first, as it says [7], "So you shall say to Beit (the House of) Jacob" - Beit referring to the women?"
He goes on to explain that the answer can be found in the phrase itself. Beit apart from meaning "House" also means "receptacle". Women, explains the Maharal, have a greater ability to receive than men!
In another of his writings [8], the Maharal explains that both women and Moshiach are intrinsically connected to receiving. In support of this, he quotes the Talmud [9] where it says that the promise of the Messianic Era is greater for men than it is for women.
In explanation of this puzzling statement, the Maharal discourses on the essential differences between the male and female natures.
The Maharal explains that men have a nature of Hitgavrut - from the root gever, the Hebrew word for "man" - constantly desiring to fight, to overpower, to conquer new ground. Women, on the other hand, have a nature of Menucha which implies the ability to derive deep pleasure from what has already been accumulated.
An everyday example of this: How many times do women ask their husbands to spend more time with them and the family? And what does the husband respond: he can't, he is busy making a living so that the family can survive. And yet, even well after the family is established and is no longer in need of the husband working so hard, he still gives the same excuse. Why? Because it is the nature of man to gain pleasure from the act of achieving rather than from what has been achieved. This is as our Rabbis, so perceptive of human nature, explain [10], "one who has one hundred, desires two hundred; one who has two hundred desires four hundred."
This distinction between the male and female nature is actually alluded to in Rashi's commentary to the Torah [11]. Rashi quotes the Talmud [12] where it is written: "An old man in the home is a burden in the home; an old woman in the home is a treasure in the home." An old man, because he can no longer achieve and conquer, is frustrated and makes a nuisance of himself. An old woman, however, because she doesn't feel the need to achieve and conquer, because she can receive, because she can enjoy and nurture what is already there, can live her best years in her old age.
And so the Maharal explains that in this world, which is a world of achievement, a world of action hayom la'asotam [13] - a time to conquer the world for G-d - it is the masculine element which is dominant. However, in the world of the future, where the main thing is to receive reward machar lekabel secharam [14], it is the female element which will be dominant.
It should not however be assumed that the receiving associated with women and the messianic era is merely a passive phenomenon. This is clearly not the case.
In kabbalistic terms, women are compared to Shabbat - bride and queen - whereas men are compared to the days of the week. And although no one would argue with the Talmudic dictum [15] that "only one who toils before Shabbat, eats on Shabbat", and hence that Shabbat receives from the days of the week, it is clear that the ultimate aim is Shabbat and not the days of the week! And what is Shabbat if not a day, when free of the need to conquer the physical, one can reveal and nurture one's true inner essence.
And so too is the difference between the masculine and feminine, the this-worldly and the future-worldly aspects. Whereas the masculine is involved in conquering the outer, it is the feminine, once this has been achieved, which nurtures and develops the inner.
Hence when the Rebbe said [16] that now is the time Lekabel Penei Moshiach - to receive Moshiach - because as he has said, the work of conquering the world for G-d (Avodat Habirurim) is at an end, and we are now at the beginning of the period of receiving - Lekabel Secharam - it is only logical that both the merit and responsibility of women are at unprecedented heights.
Furthermore, as this new era dawns, it is even incumbent upon men to reveal the feminine aspect which they too contain within themselves.
The call of the moment, to arouse the feminine aspect within ourselves, emphasises the need to be receivers.
Here it is worth noting that just prior to his illness the Rebbe [17] placed renewed emphasis on the age-old custom of sanctifying the new moon, asking that it be observed - as stated in the Code of Jewish Law [18] - with great joy and dancing.
It is not difficult to draw connections between the moon and women. Both are cyclical in nature, and it is the festival of the moon, Rosh Chodesh, which was given to women.
At the same time the moon is connected with the House of David from which Moshiach derives. This is ellaborated upon by Rabbi Tsaddok HaCohen, who notes [19] that the very first time that we find a Rosh Chodesh festive meal mentioned in the Bible is in association with King David.
However, the connection between the moon, the House of David and women is greater still. They are all receivers and hence dependent on others. The moon constantly requires the sun without which it cannot shine; a woman cannot reveal her essential essence without a man; and the House of David cannot exist without the input of others. This is stated by our rabbis who explain that David's very existence was dependent on the years donated to him by Adam [20], or according to the Zohar [21], by our forefathers, Abraham, Jacob and Joseph.
When speaking of Moshiach, the Rebbe [22], too, emphasised that he was dependent on us: "I have done everything I can, now you do everything you can, in order to make the coming of Moshiach a this-worldly reality."
It is because women and Moshiach share this sense of dependency with the moon, explains Rabbi Tsaddok, that women have a greater ability to feel the pain of exile - a time when Israel is deprived of the source of her dependence - than men. Whereas men are deluded by a false sense of self-sufficiency which prevents them from seeing how dependent they really are on Redemption, women don't share this delusion.
Nevertheless, even as she suffers the pain of Exile, a woman remembers another aspect of her connection with the moon. The moon, even when enveloped in darkness from our perspective, basks in sunlight on the side not visible to us. So too, even at times of great spiritual pain and anguish, the essential unity that exists between G-d and his chosen Moshiach continues to flourish and grow [23].
In fact, even the most negative phenomena are themselves ultimately part of the process of Redemption.
This sheds light on a rather surprising incident in the Talmud [24]. When Rabbi Akiva and the Rabbis encountered the Temple ruins, Rabbi Akiva laughed whereas the other Rabbis cried. Confronted for an explanation of his unusual behaviour, Rabbi Akiva explained that upon seeing the fulfilment of the prophecy of destruction he became convinced that the prophecy of restoration would also be fulfilled.
Nevertheless, the Maharal [25] asks, "Why did he laugh?" Because it will be good?!?! Right now things aren't good at all!
The Maharal goes on to explain that the destruction is in actuality part of the process of Redemption. In fact he goes so far as to say that the building of the Third Temple is predicated on the destruction of the first two. Hence the very act of concealment is itself directed by G-d and is part of the process of Revelation.
In the course of this discussion, I have quoted extensively from the works of the Maharal. So let me now conclude with one final insight.
In his Netzach Yisrael [26], the Maharal addresses those whose faith has been so shaken by the terrible sufferings of Exile that they cannot now believe in Redemption.
In one of his most beautiful and moving passages, the Maharal paints a picture of the suffering which our people have endured. So much has passed upon us, he writes, that if all the skies were parchment, all the oceans were ink and all the trees were quills, they would still not suffice to describe the enormity of the tragedy. He then explains that our long history has been fraught with the most impossible and fantastic occurrences, calamities which have been so terrible in both scope and depth, that had they been merely written in books, people would have denied that such things were possible. We know that they are true only because we ourselves have experienced them.
And yet, concludes the Maharal, the very nature of our suffering points to our ultimate salvation. Just as our suffering, as impossible as it is to believe, did in fact occur, so too will our Redemption, as impossible as it sounds, come to pass. Because for the Jewish people, G-d's chosen people, there is no natural order. Everything which happens to them, the bad as the good, occurs in a manner unimagined in the natural order of things. Or in the words of the Midrash [27] (which according to the Maharal uses "double" to express the infinite) "they have sinned doubly, they have suffered doubly, they will be comforted doubly."
That we have sinned doubly requires no elaboration - divisions have occurred which by virtue of the education granted us should have been unimaginable. That we have suffered doubly - the Rebbe's two strokes occurring on exactly the same date, the 27th of Adar - is something which even sceptics cannot dismiss. Yet these very events, far from causing us to lose hope, point to the double, even infinite comfort, nechama, which the ultimate Comforter, Moshiach, will bestow upon us.
At this time, more than any other, it is for women to lead the way. Quoting from the writings of the Holy Ari [28], the Rebbe has told us that our generation is a reincarnation of the generation of the Exodus. Whereas the men of that generation were constantly involved in power struggles and rebellion (Datan, Aviram, Korach, the spies, to name a few) the women remained constantly loyal. Rather than grabbing for power, they were prepared to be followers of Jewry's greatest prophet, Moses.
Today, too, we are not in need of leaders. We have had within our midst a leader of such great stature who, as even one as sceptical as Chaim Bermant was forced to concede in a recent article, was one of the greatest Jewish leaders of any generation; whose activities were of such broad scope that, according to Bermant, the second half of the twentieth century will become known as the Schneerson Era.
What we need now are receivers. What we need now are followers. Those prepared to put their own agendas aside and with devotion and self- sacrifice dedicate their lives to the Rebbe's mission. Just as in Moses' time it was the women who led the way with their loyalty and devotion to their leader, so too today.
In the merit of our righteous women may we soon merit the fulfilment of Jeremiah's prophecy, "For the Lord has created something new on earth; a woman will court a man", with the imminent revelation of our righteous Messiah, the ultimate Comforter, speedily in our days.
1 3:11
2 Proverbs 12:4
3 Maamar L'chol Tichleh
4 Raya Mehemna Shemot 158a
5 Bsorat HaGeula Ch. 47
6 Tiferet Yisrael 28; See also Chidushei Agadot Bava Batra 58 and Netzach Yisrael 1.
7 Exodus 19:3
8 Drush al HaTorah
9 Brahcot 17a
10 Kohelet Rabba 1:34
11 End B'chukotai
12 Arachin 19b
13 Eiruvin 22a
14 Eiruvin 22a
15 Avoda Zara 3a
16 B'sorat HaGeula 38
17 B'sorat HaGeula 44
18 Orach Chaim Ch. 426; para. 2
19 Resisei Layla 8
20 Yalkut Shimoni 41
21 Vayishlach 168a
22 B'sorat HaGeula 20
23 Resisei Layla 25
24 End Makkot
25 Netzach Yisrael 26
26 Chapter 49
27 Midrash Eicha 1:57
28 Shaar HaGilgulim Hakdama 20
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