The best part of any endeavor is the moment one can smile and say “mission accomplished.”
Several months after the redemption from Egypt our ancestors were given the mission to "make a Sanctuary for Me (G-d) so that I may dwell within them." Every detail of the awesome structure, its beautiful furniture and tapestries, down to its staff’s uniforms were dictated to Moshe with precision. They were in a desolate wilderness, but upon receiving the divine instructions the Jews spared no efforts to procure the various - even exotic - materials needed and painstakingly prepared the Tabernacle G-d requested of them. Finally the structure was complete and ready for show time. This week's parsha opens on the eighth day after Moshe had inaugurated the Tabernacle for seven days, offering the daily sacrifices and incense as prescribed. But nothing happened. The divine presence did not permeate the structure and the people were devastated. "We worked so hard to build the Tabernacle," they cried to Moshe. "Are we truly not worthy of being G-d's hosts?" For them, the engineering and artistic achievement of constructing such a beautiful masterpiece in the desert was worthless unless the ultimate goal was accomplished - to merit G-d's revelation in their midst. This Shabbat will be the 28th day of Nissan. Thirty years ago on this day, following evening services at Lubavitch World Headquarters, the Rebbe spoke to the assembled crowd for a brief 10 minutes. After describing the spiritual auspiciousness of the day and how the next week would only increase this energy the Rebbe concluded with immense frustration that the fact that Messianic era had not yet arrived has no logical explanation. The fact that everyone was satisfied with and proud of Chabad's tremendous achievements over the last 40 years of the Rebbe's leadership was even more painful. "How is it possible people are so complacent that Moshiach can possibly not arrive tonight?!" the Rebbe exclaimed. What the Rebbe said next is too painful to transcribe so I will paraphrase. Judaism sets forth a clear description of what the Messianic age will look like: An era of world peace, when all bickering and competition between people will cease. There will be no hunger, illness or strife in every corner of the globe and the setting will be right for all of the Torah's 613 commandments to be observed in their entirety. This dramatic transformation will be divinely engineered with the arrival of Moshiach, but it is specifically the Mitzvot that every individual does in the current era that will set the platform for this divine transformation to happen. While everything that has been achieved until now might be remarkable, the mission has not been accomplished until Moshiach arrives and ushers in the Messianic era. “I have done all that I can do to make this happen,” the Rebbe concluded. “It’s now up to you all to do all that you can to make Moshiach actually come.” We have our work set out for us and the marker for success is not negotiable. Every day needs to bring more Mitzvot and we need to work at it with the urgency of someone who's behind schedule on the project of their life. Until we merit to strike the final blow to this prolonged exile and usher in the era of redemption for all.