6810 —חשיבות השהייה בקהילה בימים האחרונים של פסח: אחרון של פסח וסעודת משיח

B"H, 12 Nissan, 5719
Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In reply to your letter of 5 Nissan, in which you write about the thought that had occurred to you to travel from …^[1] for the last days of Pesach.

The surprising thing about it is obvious. For this is the first Pesach in your holy community^[2], "the head of the festivals"^[3], "the Season of our Freedom", and a going out "from one extreme to the other"^[4]; and this is the opportune time when the members of the community must look forward to a special influence and a special awakening. And if this is so on the first days, all the more so on the last days, and for two reasons: because they come after the preparation of the first days and of the intermediate days of Pesach^[5]; and further, because the Seventh Day of Pesach is the Splitting of the Sea^[6], and Acharon shel Pesach is the theme of the final redemption and the coming of Moshiach, as explained at length in the holy talks of our Rebbeim^[7], and as explained also in the haftorah of the day^[8].

May it be G‑d's will that, out of joy and gladness of heart over the great success granted to you and your wife, the Rebbetzin, may she live, in spreading the wellsprings^[9] in your community … and that from it they spread also into its surroundings, you make use of each and every day, and especially the days of Yom Tov, and above all Acharon shel Pesach, for the aim mentioned above, in the direction of "u'faratzta" – "this is Moshiach"^[10] – and especially at the feast of King Moshiach^[11].

With blessing for a kosher and happy Pesach, and for good news^[12] in general and in particular.

Publisher's notes

Printed in Likkutei Sichos, vol. 22, p. 290.

Notes

1. The thought that had occurred to you to travel from… (הקס"ד לנסוע מ...): הקס"ד = הקא סלקא דעתך, "what had occurred to your mind". The recipient wrote (on Monday, 5 Nissan) that he had thought of leaving his community's town for the last days of Pesach. The name of the place is omitted in print.

2. Your holy community (ק"ק): ק"ק = קהלה קדושה, "holy community". This was the first Pesach of the recipient, the community's rav (see below: "and your wife, the Rebbetzin"), in his new community.

3. "The head of the festivals" (ראש לרגלים): "On the first of Nissan is the New Year… for the festivals" (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1), and the Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 4a): רגלים באחד בניסן הוא? בחמשה עשר בניסן הוא! אמר רב חסדא: רגל שבו – ראש השנה לרגלים, "Are the festivals on the first of Nissan? They are on the fifteenth of Nissan! Rav Chisda said: The festival in it [Nissan] is the beginning of the year for the festivals." Pesach is the first of the three festivals.

4. "The Season of our Freedom"… "from one extreme to the other" (זמן חירותנו ויציאה מן הקצה אל הקצה): "The Season of our Freedom" is the wording of the Pesach festival prayers: "this day of the Festival of Matzos, the Season of our Freedom". "A going out from one extreme to the other": as the Rebbe explained in those very days in his general letter for Pesach (letter 6805, 11 Nissan 5719), one of the lessons of Pesach is that a Jew can, "in a short time, in a moment, transform himself from one extreme to the other".

5. All the more so… the intermediate days of Pesach (עאכו"כ... חוהמ"פ): עאכו"כ = על אחת כמה וכמה, "all the more so"; חוהמ"פ = חול המועד פסח, "the intermediate days of Pesach".

6. The Splitting of the Sea (קרי"ס): קרי"ס = קריעת ים סוף, "the Splitting of the Sea". As Rashi explains in the Gemara (Megillah 31a) on the Torah reading of the last festival day of Pesach, "Vayehi Beshalach": לפי שביום ז' של פסח אמרו שירה על הים, "because on the seventh day of Pesach they sang the Song at the Sea."

7. The holy talks of our Rebbeim (שיחות הק' של רבותינו נשיאינו): As cited in Hayom Yom, 22 Nissan: "Acharon shel Pesach is Moshiach's feast, because on Acharon shel Pesach the revelation of the light of Moshiach shines."

8. The haftorah of the day (הפטרת היום): The Gemara (Megillah 31a), on the readings of the last festival day of Pesach outside the Land of Israel: ולמחר – כל הבכור, ומפטירין – עוד היום, "And the next day – 'Kol HaBechor', and the haftorah is 'Od HaYom'." The haftorah opens with Yeshayahu 10:32, "This very day he will stand at Nov", and continues with the prophecy of King Moshiach, Yeshayahu 11:1: "And a shoot shall come forth from the stem of Yishai, and a twig shall sprout from his roots."

9. Spreading the wellsprings (להפיץ המעינות): After Mishlei 5:16, "Let your wellsprings spread outward", and the promise of King Moshiach to the Baal Shem Tov, in the Rebbe's words in a maamar (Maamarim Melukatim, vol. 3, "Pasach Rabbi Shimon"): דלכשיפוצו מעינותיך חוצה אתי מר דא מלכא משיחא, "when your wellsprings spread outward, the Master will come – this is King Moshiach." The dots in mid-sentence mark a part of the letter omitted by the publishers.

10. "U'faratzta" – "this is Moshiach" (ופרצת - זה משיח): "U'faratzta", "and you shall spread out", is the wording of Bereishis 28:14: "and you shall spread out to the west, to the east, to the north and to the south." "This is Moshiach": after Michah 2:13, "The breaker (הפורץ) has gone up before them"; and Rashi on Bereishis Rabbah 85:14, on "What a breach you have made for yourself" (Peretz): זה רבה על הפריצים – ממך יעמוד משיח, שנאמר בו עלה הפורץ לפניהם, "This one is greater than all breakers – from you will arise Moshiach, of whom it is said: The breaker has gone up before them." Spreading "in the direction of u'faratzta" prepares the coming of Moshiach, who is called "the breaker".

11. The feast of King Moshiach (סעודתא דמלכא משיחא): Aramaic, "the feast of King Moshiach". In Hayom Yom, 22 Nissan: "The meal of Acharon shel Pesach was called by the Baal Shem Tov 'Moshiach's feast'"; and it relates there that the Rebbe Rashab ate the meal of Acharon shel Pesach together with the students of Tomchei Temimim, "and instructed that each student be given four cups, and said then: This is the feast of Moshiach."

12. Good news (בשו"ט): בשו"ט = בשורות טובות, "good news".

Summary

A rav who thought of leaving his new community for the last days of Pesach is told that this is surprising: it is his first Pesach there, the season of freedom and transformation, when the community looks to him for inspiration. The last days matter even more – they build on the first days, the Seventh Day is the Splitting of the Sea, and Acharon shel Pesach is about Moshiach – and he should use every day, above all Moshiach's feast, to spread the wellsprings.