י״ד תמוז ה׳תשפ״ה | July 10, 2025
Picture of the Day
A new billboard on NY Route 17, between exits 107–108 on the way to the Catskills, shares the Rebbe’s message about Moshiach in a clear and welcoming way. The sign was inspired by the Rebbe’s words to the CNN reporter.
A new billboard on NY Route 17, between exits 107–108 on the way to the Catskills, shares the Rebbe’s message about Moshiach in a clear and welcoming way. The sign was inspired by the Rebbe’s words to the CNN reporter.
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Included in the 13 principles of faith is if moshiach tarries await him! This has been true since the destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh. We say 3 times a day ki lishuoscha kivinu kol hayom. The Rebbe explained numerous times that golus is unnatural and untenable situation of בנים שגלו משולחן אביהם.
That being said, the content and message of this sign is ridiculous and embarrassing. No one, including the people who put it up, what it means. The Rebbe said this over thirty years ago and moshiach hasn’t come.
There are several choices: A) The Rebbe had ruach hakodesh that moshiach was supposed to have come in the short period after he said it and for whatever reason we weren’t zoche for it to happen. So what’s the point of putting up the sign now? It’s not what the Rebbe meant when he said it. B) The Rebbe when he said it didn’t mean that moshiach would be here by 5785 and we don’t know what the Rebbe’s words the moshiach is ready to come mean, because we were wrong in the way we understood them then and who tells you that you’re not wrong now. So again what’s the point of promoting something you don’t know the meaning of? If you don’t know, what do you want the readers to understand? C) Min Hashomayim they tricked the Rebbe that moshiach was imminent, and we must continue waiting like the Yidden have waited for almost two thousand years! So again what’s the point of the sign? D) What does a person who doesn’t know much about the greatness of the Rebbe naturally think when he sees an unfulfilled prediction. I will leave it to your imagination.
Chassidim of the Rebbe believe in the Rebbe and that all his words will be fulfilled entirely and we will understand how that is once it happens, but meanwhile, until we understand, these words are meaningless to us and how much more so to the rest of the world.
The fact that we don’t understand such a central part of the Rebbe’s worldview should bother a Chosid to no end. It’s not something to put up on billboards and celebrate!
Sir, you have written a lengthy and detailed explanation as to why putting up signs like these is a bad idea. however, as chassidim, we know that the rebbe means what he says, and means it when he approves something, and that we don’t ask questions, rather we get working to fulfill the drective to the tee. There are numerous instances of the rebbe encouraging such signs to go up, whether in the New York times, or in cities in eretz yisroel etc. etc.
So, in conclusion, nice try, but we’re not going to fall for it.
Lets focus more on bringing moshiach, then confusing the jewish people.
the Rebbe spoke (i have purim 5747 in mind, but iirc the Rebbe spoke about this more than once) about a similar issue regarding the kol kores the Frierdiker Rebbe published in the early 5700s during the holocaust about the fact that theyre chevlei moshiach, and even gave real kitzin for 5703 and 5704. (besides all the kitzin given throughout the ages)
but here we are many decades later, and they werent fulfilled, and we dont understand. and the Rebbe concludes this saying that therefore the cry of ad mosai is even stronger, and then said that bringing moshiach is now the responsibility of every yid, and every mitzvah can tip the scale, like the famous Rambam. The sicha is very famous, ayein shom.
whats relevant to our conversation is that the Rebbe didn’t ch”v shy away from something that toras emes said and hide it cuz we dont understand, the Rebbe quoted it with a tokef, לאלתר לתשובה לאלתר לגאולה is a fact, and we have to figure out how to make it happen and how to make sense of it.
(similarly, the Arizal and the Mitteler Rebbe both said that there will be no more shmados, and the holocaust etc happened afterwards… doesnt make it not true ch”v, we just dont understand everything, but that statement still stands true today and we can quote it and work based off of it)
in conclusion, the Rebbe stated in very clear terms that moshiach is ready to come, that we’re the first generation of geula, and these things are emes laamito. ay, what happened until now? a kasha. תיק”ו. until then we have our work cut out for us, and no time for futile theological discussions.
and as the famous even habochen from hayom yom goes, which method will bring to more avoda, hiding a statement from the Rebbe ch”v, or acting in accordance to it?
Chas vsholom to call the billboards message “ridiculous and embarrassing”.
The billboards message is in fact very clear:
1. ‘Moshiach is ready’ to come. – This absolutely true 100%. And I’m sure that as a religious Jew you believe that Moshiach can come at any second.
2. ‘Are you’ ready for Moshiach? ‘Do one more mitzvah to bring him now’. This is a call on Yidden to do Mitzvos. and based on the Psak of the Rambam that one good deed can tip the scale for the entire world and bring geulah.
These עיקרים באמונה are timeless, and were also repeated by the Rebbe THOUSANDS of times throughout the years.
It is truly ridiculous, and I am embarrassed to have to respond to such a comment on a Lubavitcher website.
When the Previous Rebbe said לאלתר לגאולה not once throughout the 42years after did the say “he must have been been tricked” or some such thing, on the contrary he quoted it many times, because a chossid knows that although we may not understand the Rebbe’s words, whatever he says will absolutely happen, a tzaddiks sense of time can be different than ours, as I know of many story to prove this, but what do you imagine the Rebbe would say? The Rebbe is more alive and his prophesies are more alive, something that even the world leaders are aware of! MOSHIACH NOW!
Thanks for responding and for the respectful tone. The comment was to see if anyone can answer the question. You say the Rebbe approved signs. I’ll say more. The Rebbe repeatedly said moshiach is coming imminently and we’re still in golus. All I asked was what is the meaning of the Rebbe’s statement today? Let’s agree that the Rebbe approved the signs then in Nun Alef. If the Rebbe said to be mefarsem something, it means that you are supposed to give over a piece of information to someone else or many people. Perforce, the point that you’re trying to convey must be intelligible to your audience. If you yourself don’t understand what the Rebbe meant, how can you give it over to others? Just like if you’re in the US you don’t place a billboard in French, if you’re saying Moshiach is coming imminently for thirty plus years, the word imminent has lost all it’s meaning. In other words your sign is not saying anything. For sure the navi saysאם יתמהמה חכה לו, and we must work on developing a tzepia for moshiach etc, but what is the value of putting up signs in French that not writer nor the reader understand. Why the Rebbe encouraged it in Nun Alef and Nun Beis שערי תירוצים לא ננעלו. Maybe one of the approaches mentioned in the previous comment. Or my personal preference is to say I don’t know. I’d like to believe that the Rebbe really meant and believed what he said that moshiach is coming imminently kipshuto and sought to spread it in all ways including on signs. I don’t think (for whatever it’s worth) he planned that we would be in golus thirty years later and know why we’re still in golus. All I’m asking is how am I supposed to take the sign seriously when I don’t know what it means. You said the same thing thirty years ago so what do you mean? I’m not asking lekanter. This issue causes a major “kosis” ingantzen getreiselt for me, aside from the golus bichlal and my golus pnimi in avodas Hashem that the Rebbe spoke about on Chof Ches Nissan. I’m going to learn Chassidus now with someone outside of Chabad to hasten moshiach and try and at least take a step out of my golus pnimi. The ikar koch today and the difficult avoda is to really see golus as unnatural and truly pine for the geulah, when we will see the Rebbe and all our questions will fall away. For that, one needs to care about ruchnius bichlal, and care about the kavonah elyonah which requires less tukfah degufah etc.