Thursday, March 20, 2008

Especially the fast of Esther....

Especially the fast of Esther....

Date:
3/20/2008 8:41:18 AM Eastern Standard Time


From:
jewishwomenunited@msn.com

To:
Rabbi Ariel Sokolovsky




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Sent from the Internet





B”H



Note: For a stunning sicha of the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach at the time of the completion of the Sefer Torah for Moshiach, please open the attachment.




And specifically in these days,--the days of Moshiach that we are in now, and we only have to open the eyes and then we see that the true and complete Redemption is here in actuality.”


- The Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach, 20 Kislev 5752




“All of these fasts in the future will be nullified to Yemos HaMoshiach…especially the Fast of Esther.


- The Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach, Sefer Hisvadius, Vol. 2, p. 1027



“Especially the Fast of Esther”


Dear Friends:



Purim Sameach!




For thousands of years we have been observing the Jewish holiday of Purim with the utmost joy. The miracle of Purim was a true Geula. The great leader of the generation, Mordechai haYehudi,--Mordechai the Jew, who would not bend the knee or bow down to anyone other than Hashem, ignited this same level in everyone of the generation. Men, women and children displayed a supernatural strength in the face of annihilation and were able to vanquish their enemies.



What is the difference between Purim now, and Purim in the past? Always, we remember the self sacrifice of Queen Esther and how she fasted for three days before risking her life to appear before the King in order to save her people. We commemorated her courage by fasting the day before Purim.



However, the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach tells us a most astounding and wondrous thing in the time of the Geula, Yemos HaMoshiach, in which we are now. The Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach says that according to Rambam, all fasts in Yemos HaMoshiach will be nullified (as per the first stage of Yemos HaMoshiach[1]), and will turn over into days of “sasson v’simcha” (in the second, supernatural phase[2]). In Sefer Hisvadius 5743, Vol 2, P. 1027,




“And specifically in these days,--the days of Moshiach that we are in now…”





the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach emphasizes that nullifying the fasts is particularly important when it comes to the fast of Esther:



And so too the purpose and completion of all fasts it to turn them over to holidays and days of joy and gladness (as the Rambam said in the end of the Laws of Fasts) that “All of these fasts in the future will be nullified to Yemos HaMoshiach. And not just that, but they are in the future to be holidays and days of joy etc. This is emphasized especially in the “Fast of Esther” for it is through her hand that it was affected the aspect of “vena hapach hu,” that it was turned over.



And again in Toras Menachem 1991, p. 288, the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach, in discussing the nullification of fasts in Yemos HaMoshiach, places special emphasis on nullifying the fast of Esther, as we see below:



And it shall be His will that there should be no more need of fasting and thereby there will be no need in redeeming the fast because the undesirable elements that cause the fast will be nullified. As in the Psak Din of the Rambam, all of the fasts are in the future to be nullified to Yemos HaMoshiach, including and especially the fast of Esther (on erev Purim) that is connected to Purim and to Pesach, for the fast at the time of Esther the first time was on Pesach for both (Purim and Pesach) are tied with the Redemption. As our sages say, “From Redemption to Redemption.”




This Is the Time



After the Redemption of Purim, we were still slaves to Achashveros. And our suffering at the hands of the nations continued for thousands of years. All through this time the Jewish nation has remained whole, sticking to the Torah and its commandments, to fix and transform the world and bring the Redemption. Now, in our time, the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach says the work of exile has been completed. Therefore we will never again go through this kind of suffering.[3] We will never again experience another Inquisition, another pogrom, another Holocaust. Now the Jews are free to keep the Torah and its commandments. Shouldn’t we acknowledge this time with joy and gratitude? The Shulchan Aruch does.





“And specifically in these days,--the days of Moshiach that we are in now…”




The Shulchan Aruch recognizes that there will be a time when certain prohibitions of the time of exile will be removed. This time the Shulchan Aruch refers to as “AZ…” (THEN…as per Psalm 126, “Then our mouths will be filled with laughter…in other words, the time of the Redemption).


The Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach says that AZ is NOW. The following is the way the prohibition against joy in the exile appears in the Shulchan Aruch:



Laws of Remembrance of the Destruction of the Holy Temple



We are permitted to gladden the bride and the groom with our mouths and instruments, however we should not rejoice too much. And it is forbidden to a person to fill his mouth with laughter in this world (Exile) even in the joy of a mitzvah. As it is said, “Then (AZ – only at the time of the Geula) our mouths will be filled with laughter.”



Here is the way the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach tells us that this is the time:



And this that it is forbidden to fill our mouths with laughter in this world (Exile), what are these words saying when we are talking about a moment before the revelation of our righteous Moshiach? But in our subject matter, since the leader of our generation was the Moshiach of our generation and he has been revealed with all the might, not only have we been granted permission but even more so, there is an obligation to conduct ourselves in a manner of filling our mouths with laughter and our tongues with joy.



The Shulchan Aruch Says the Fasts Will End



The Shulchan Aruch makes it clear that the laws of the fasts are not meant forever but only for the time of the exile. As it says in the Shulchan Aruch at the end of the laws of fasts:




In the future (the Redemption), Hashem will turn them over into days of joy and gladness.



However, the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach tells us that the Shulchan Aruch does not deal with the laws of Yemos HaMoshiach and that for this, we have to go to the Rambam.







“And specifically in these days,--the days of Moshiach that we are in now…”




Rambam’s Psak Din L’Halacha for Yemos HaMoshiach




In the era of the Redemption, the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach tells us that it is the Psak Din of the Rambam that goes into effect. This Psak Din declares that immediately upon the advent of Yemos HaMoshiach, the fasts are nullified.




This is in the halachic category of Dinim Mi L’Chatchila, as the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach explains:[4]



And moreover since “…all the words of the Torah we are commanded to do forever” (Rambam, Hilchos Yesodos HaTorah 289) – therefore it was necessary to say that


these fasts, their law is from the beginning (from their inception) (Dinam Milichatchila) that in the future they are to be nullified to Yemos HaMoshiach.




Two Stages



Two stages in the Redemption are implied by the way the Rambam words the halacha about nullifying the fasts:



All of these fasts in the future are to be nullified to Yemos HaMoshiach and not just that, but in the future they will be holidays and days of joy and gladness.[5]



First the fasts are nullified, then they turn over to days of joy and gladness.



The Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach, based on the Rambam, goes into more detail about the two stages of the Redemption.[6] In the first stage there is no difference between exile and Redemption except that there is no more subjugation to the nations. It is a time when the world continues to be ruled by the natural order of things. The only change is that governments no longer persecute the Jewish people and punish them for keeping Torah and mitzvoth.





“And specifically in these days,--the days of Moshiach that we are in now…”



The second era embraces the supernatural wonders such as revival of the dead and the Third Beis Hamikdosh coming down from the sky.



It is in the first stage (the onset of the Redemption) that the fasts are nullified, and only in the second stage do they turn over into an amazing joy.



After nullifying the fasts, the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach tells us that then they turn over to days of sasson v’simcha.[7] By listening to the Rebbe and nullifying the fasts, we bring the days of sasson v’simcha closer.





This brings us to a very important point that the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach has said many different times and many different ways.



We Are Partners in the Redemption.



In the shocking sicha of 28 Nissan 5751, the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach gave over the work of revealing the Redemption to us. Two months later, on the 28th of Sivan, the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach made it perfectly clear what he wanted from us:



A Jew with his body and soul simply becomes a partner to Hashem in a manner of unification in all of Hashem’s aspects, including and especially in bringing the true and complete redemption. In order for Hashem to accomplish this in its entirety He needs (so to speak) the participation of every single Jew, specifically as a soul within a body. It is through our deeds and work that the redemption comes, and it is needed, so to speak, that







a Jew should agree and want and even more so, that he should desire and proclaim,--not just that the time of the redemption has arrived, but that the redemption is actually here.



Our partnership is to say that the Redemption is here in actuality (b’pashtus).








“And specifically in these days,--the days of Moshiach that we are in now…”



Feasting Instead of Fasting



Just as Queen Esther had bittul to Mordechai, and through following his instructions ended up saving the Jewish people, so we can emulate her. We don’t have to risk our lives. By feasting and not fasting, we show that we


really believe the words of the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach that we are in the Redemption. And this will accelerate the revelation of the wonders and miracles of the second stage of the Redemption, and what we all want…




“No longer shall thy Teacher hide Himself…but thine eyes shall see thy teacher.” (Tanya). And as the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach says, this is the main prophecy of the Redemption (Vayera 5752), and this is Hashem revealing himself to us in utmost completion.



“And immediately in our time Moshiach will come and he will redeem his first son the Jews from the Yidden and AZ we shall sing before him a new song, ‘Hinei Elokenu Zeh” (Igores Kodesh, Volume 15, p. 321).



A freilichen Purim!



- Jewish Women United for the Redemption




P.S. Since the whole world will be filled with the knowledge of G-d in the Redemption, the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach has asked that we publicize the Seven Noahide Laws to the nations. Enclosed is a 7 Laws brochure. Please give it to someone.















[1] Likutei Sichos, Vol. 15



[2]




[3] Parshas Vayigash 5752; also Parshas Tetzaveh 5752



[4] Likutei Sichos Vol. 20, p 353, End of Footnote 17



[5] Rambam Laws of Fasts, Chapter 5, Halacha 15





[6] Likutei Sichos, Vol. 15, pg. 417 (1976)



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