27 Tishrei: Another Way

ANOTHER WAY Rav said, “All deadlines for the Redemption have passed, and the matter now depends only on repentance and good deeds.” But Samuel maintained, “It is sufficient for a mourner to keep his period of mourning [and so the suffering of exile itself will bring the Redemption].” (Talmud, Sanhedrin 97b) Often, the most challenging situations reveal our greatest strengths. To put it another way, when we are shaken to the core, we re-center on our essence. There are two important lessons we can learn from this: 1) Whenever we are faced with tough times, we must realize that this is an opportunity to realign one’s life, to turn adversity into our advantage. 2) The ultimate pain of exile stems from the very feeling of not being true to ourselves, to our mission and purpose in life. By cultivating this sensitivity, we liberate ourselves from exile through positive means. Maamarei Admur HaEmtza'i, Devarim, vol. 1, pg. 96-97 L'havin Inyan Chevlei Moshiach–Maamarei Admur HaEmtza'i–Kuntreisim, pg. 223