Nafshi III - Rabbi YY Jacobson: The Rebbe & President Zalman Shazar - Warm the Cold, Light the Dark

It was a powerful moment. The third president of Israel, his name was Schneer Zman Shazar. He was actually named for the Alterba because his family came from of the Balatanya. So his name was Schneer Zman Zman Shazar and he came to visit the Labavereba. It was the winter of 1973 and it was one of those New York January or February nights where you really really froze to your bones. you know those New York winters that can really kill you. And he wasn't used to this. He was coming from the Middle East. So as he meets the labbe he tells him in a beautiful eloquent poetic Yiddish as the Kelten deer the defrost of New York cut through your bones. And he's like I don't know how you people live here and how you tolerate this. And without skipping a heart's beat, the Rebel looked at the president of Israel and he says, "That's exactly and precisely. You just nailed the reason why the soul was sent into this world to bring warmth into the coldness and light into the darkness." This really captures one of the most essential teachings of Yiddish kite and especially the teachings of the Balsh and the Balhagula, the Alterb that we celebrate on Utas. Our journey into our bodies, our journey into our animal consciousness, our journeys through life. Everybody with their ups and downs and roller coasters and changes and transformations and vicissitudes is not just a punishment or just a difficult anxiousfilled journey. It's a mission. It's a purpose. I could look at the darkness inside of me. I could look at the anxiety inside my psyche. I can look at the torment, at the pain, at the anguish inside of me or outside of me and I could just say, "Oh my god, why me? How am I going to deal with this? What am I supposed to do?" But the other perspective is darkness is not your destination. Darkness is your opportunity. It's your mission. It's cold outside. Of course, it's cold outside. That's why you were sent right here, right now. Because it's so cold and because you have so much warmth in you, that is why you exactly were the right person, the most exceptional human being chosen for this task. Every single one of us is a different manifestation of Hashem. Every one of us is like the ray of the sun. You manifest and you embody the light of Hashem that is uniquely yours. And when I radiate it and you radiate it in your life, you illuminate the darkness and you warm up the cold.