My Rebbe

by Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz

Those who seek a better world may dream of redemption; in our time, thinkers have put their hopes in politics, economics and science. In the secular realm, the concept of a savior seems to make no sense; history is destined to continue as it has for millennia. Human nature seems locked in its patterns without chance for change. Even religious and prayerful Jews – those who call for the Mashiach’s arrival three times each day – seldom give this possibility much credence. Perhaps we are too caught up in our own material existence. It is this apathy, this skepticism about the possibility of salvation, which was the Rebbe’s greatest challenge.

According to Maimonides, the Mashiach is the one who will bring about a different world structure.

The time of Mashiach is not about miracles; there will be no extraordinary events outside nature to save us from ourselves.