This Shabbat will mark 82 years since the Rebbe miraculously arrived in America with his wife Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka from the European Inferno in the summer of 1941. Immediately upon his arrival, the Rebbe was appointed to lead Chabad’s outreach activities and publishing house and, within a decade, unleashed a spiritual revolution across the globe. This coincided with the Previous Rebbe’s declaration that “Immediate Teshuvah (repentance) will bring immediate redemption.” Based on Maimonides’ teaching “The Torah has already promised that, ultimately, Israel will repent towards the end of exile and will be immediately redeemed,” he declared we entered an era when this will surely happen. During Passover of 1988 the Rebbe reflected on the fact that such urgency was unprecedented in Jewish history. “I myself did not think of it this way until I came to this country,” the Rebbe said. Clearly, this was a watershed moment in our history. Aside from rejuvenating Jewish observance in a land rife with assimilation and spiritual apathy, the persistent presence of Chabad institutions around the world today is a direct result of what the Rebbe started doing once he arrived in America, all permeated with the urgency of the imminent arrival of Moshiach. On numerous occasions, he emphasized how this great country is the best place from which such a renaissance could originate. Here is one example. In 1991, President George Bush wrote the Rebbe a letter of congratulations in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of his arrival on American shores. Following is an excerpt of the Rebbe’s response: Your good wishes, Mr. President, as well as those of the First Lady, are heartily appreciated. I can best reciprocate by invoking G‑d's promise to our Patriarch Abraham, "I will bless them that bless thee." I welcome especially your remarks, my dear President, as a tribute to the Lubavitch Movement which I am privileged to head. That it has grown and flourished in this country is a testimony to the conducive climate and responsive human nature that combine to ensure that all positive efforts are abundantly fruitful. By Divine Providence your kind letter was dated on the morrow of the anniversary of the Nation's birthday. It is well to remember that the founders of this Nation considered Independence Day as "a day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to G‑d Al-mighty." By Divine Providence also my arrival in the United States in 1941 coincided with the declaration by Congress that year, making July 4th a legal public holiday. As we celebrate this special milestone, let us be mindful of the historic freedoms we have in our modern times and utilize them to fill the world with goodness and kindness, with the urgency that Moshiach’s arrival depends on one single good thought, deed or action of any individual.
ב"ה