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The ninth of Kislev is both the birthday and the yahrzeit of the Mitteler Rebbe, thus, fulfilling our Sages' statement, "The Holy One, blessed be He, sits and completes the years of the righteous to the very day." We see this exemplified by Moshe who also died on the same day that he was born.

A year includes in it a full cycle of changes and developments. The concept of "completing the years of the righteous" implies that each of their years is complete, including within it all the possibilities for change.

Though the above statement applies to all the righteous, in most cases, we do not see it expressed in an openly revealed fashion. In a spiritual sense, they surely completed to the day the service which G-d destined for them and thus, in a spiritual sense, their "years are complete." There are, however, only a select few cases where this can be seen in an open and revealed manner. Such an occasion is thus unique for it demonstrates the manner in which a spiritual truth is actualized in this material world.

Each Jew can derive a lesson from this that his "years must be complete." This is possible since each Jew contains a spark of Moshe, our teacher, which influences his behavior.[173] It is not enough that he be "complete" in a spiritual sense, but rather, this completion must be reflected in material things as well.

May we also see a completion in our service in exile. The Hebrew for exile is äîàé. When a Jew through his service draws down the influence of G-d, symbolized by an Ç which stands for the Hebrew words meaning "L-rd of the world," äîàé becomes transformed into äîàÇé, meaning "redemption."

Surely, the potential for this is granted on the present day, the yahrzeit of a Tzaddik, the day on which "all the service which he carried throughout his entire life is revealed and brings about salvation in the depths of the earth." (Added power is granted inasmuch as the day is his birthday, the day on which "the spiritual source of his soul shines powerfully.")

May this day bring about salvation from the exile for all his students, indeed, for the entire Jewish people who are connected to him since "a Nassi includes everyone." This is particularly relevant since his yahrzeit is followed by the day of his liberation, a day which is a day of redemption for the entire Jewish people.

"Nassi" means "uplifted." May we be lifted up, beyond the limitations of exile and merit the coming of Moshiach, immediately, in this very moment.

   

Notes:

173. (Back to text) On the verse, "All that the L-rd, your G-d, asks from you is to fear G-d," our Sages ask: Is fear such a small thing? and explain that for Moshe, after seeing the great revelation of G-dliness to which he was exposed, fear was not a difficult level to reach.

     In Tanya, the Alter Rebbe notes that G-d's request was not addressed to Moshe alone, but to the totality of the Jewish people and, in this context, our Sages' explanation is difficult. He explains, however, that because each Jew has a spark of Moshe within his soul, every individual can approach Moshe's level.