Ayekah-Where Are You?-Then and Now
A question has the capacity to jolt us out of our reverie. The first question in the Torah is G-d asking: Ayekah-here are you? This is the question we must always ask ourselves.
AYEKAH-WHERE ARE YOU?-THEN AND
NOW
The Rebbe and the Minister
In 1798, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of the Chabad Chassidic movement, was imprisoned on the charge that his teachings undermined the imperial authority of the Czar. For 53 days he was held in the Peter-Paul Fortress in Petersburg.
Among the Rebbe’s interrogators was a government minister who possessed broad knowledge of the Bible and of Jewish studies. On one occasion, he asked the Rebbe to explain the verse: “G-d called out to the man and said to him: Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) Did G-d not know where Adam was?
Rabbi Schneur Zalman presented the classic explanation offered by Rashi (1040-1105): the question “where are you?” was merely a conversation opener on the part of G-d, who did not wish to unnerve Adam by immediately confronting him with his wrongdoing.
“What Rashi says, I already know,” said the minister. “I wish to hear how the Rebbe understands the verse.”
“Do you believe that the Torah is eternal?” asked the Rebbe; “that its every word applies to every individual, under all conditions, at all times?”
“Yes,” replied the minister.
Rabbi Schneur Zalman was extremely gratified to hear this. The Czar’s minister had affirmed a principle which lies at the basis of the teachings of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760)—the very teachings and ideology for which he was standing trial!
The Ultimate Question
“‘Where are you?’” explained the Rebbe “is G- d’s perpetual call to every person. Where are you in the world? What have you accomplished? You have been allotted a certain number of days, hours and minutes in which to fulfill your mission in life. You have lived so many years and so many days— Rabbi Schneur Zalman spelled out the exact age of the minister—where are you? What have you attained?”
“Ayekah-Where are you?” is thus the ultimate question we must ask ourselves concerning our very purpose of existence? And this question must be asked by every individual about his/her individual goals and objectives, based on each and every individual’s resources and potential allotted to him/her by our Creator.
And each one of us must ask ourselves, what have I done to live up to the expectations G-d has of me in terms of my commitment to the Mitzvot?
The Ultimate Question for Our Generation
But, there is an even more poignant form of this question that must be asked by each and every one of us in our generation.
Each and every generation has its specific role and mission that is unique to that generation. And G-d asks each individual within that generation, “Where are you?” in terms of contributing to the goals and objectives of your specific generation.
However, it is not always clear as to what is the goal of a specific generation. When we don’t have a prophet or great leader to tell us what our specific mission is, it suffices for us to do all that is required of us; by compliance with all of the Torah’s dictates to the best of our ability.
Our generation, however, is fortunate that it does have the knowledge as to what its particular mission is.
All the events that occurring throughout the world are clear “signs” that we are about to enter into a new world; the Era of Redemption. Indeed, Jewish spiritual leaders of the last half-century of all stripes have pointed to these signs as unmistakable harbingers of this new era.
Indeed, The Lubavitcher Rebbe, has informed us that our generation is the one that will bring to fruition the “dream” and vision of all of our past history—the coming of Moshiach.
In truth, the coming of Moshiach, the Rebbe explained is not a dream but reality. Exile is the dream. Exile is not reality because it obscures the G-dly truth. Moshiach will restore the world to sanity and reality.
Thus, our generation’s mission—within the context and framework of Torah and
Mitzvot—is to complete the journey that was begun by our Biblical ancestors.
This we do by preparing ourselves for the onset of a new age, when ultimate goodness, peace and holiness will envelop the world. By opening up our eyes to see the good that already exists in everything, and by ordering our lives to follow this perception, we will realize our generation’s unique potential.
By learning more about the future Redemption, Moshiach, the building of the Third Temple and related topics, we not only acquire the knowledge of what is to come, but, in addition, our minds become saturated with a new look at the world that enables us to change our attitudes and mindsets for the good.
Ayekah-Where are you? What have you and I done to make this final thrust towards the Redemption?
How many more acts of goodness and kindness have I done to bring and be prepared for Moshiach?
How much time have I allotted to learn Torah, specifically about the future Redemption?
What efforts have I made in the direction of opening my eyes to see the new reality that is unfolding before us?
What have I done to accept the reality of Moshiach in the air?
What have I done to tell and inspire others as to our generation’s role in welcoming Moshiach?
And what have I done to prepare myself, my family and the world around me for the coming of Moshiach and the future Redemption?
Rectifying the Past
There is an even greater parallel that exists between the question asked of Adam and the question that we must ask of ourselves in this transitional generation from Golus-exile to Geulah-Redemption:
Adam lost sight of the mission he was given—not to partake of the forbidden fruit— and when he failed to consider the question “Where are you?” he affected the lives of all future generations up to the time of the Redemption, at which time his sin will be completely rectified.
Similarly, our response to the question “where are you?” will usher in the Messianic Age, that—according to the teachings of Kabbalah—will have the reverse effect on all generations back to Adam. All generations of the past will be cleansed of the stigma of Adam’s sin, and all subsequent sins that brought about the phenomenon of death. And we will then experience eternal life, the way Adam was supposed to live before partaking of the forbidden fruit.
And all of this will come about when the question, “Where are you?” will strike a responsive chord in us.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Breishis by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
