Our Taste of Moshiach

“Where were you when you heard the news?” A typical Wednesday night at work, 5:00pm. I was getting more exhausted by the minute, while my co-worker could barely sit in her seat. Clicking away going back and forth from google docs to spreadsheets, the notifications on both of our phones were flying. “Oh my goodness, Risa! Rubashkin is free!” What? No, this has to be fake news. I check my phone. “Rubashkin is free!” was sent on almost every group chat possible.

Just then another video goes around – dancing in 770. Working in the offices right above where the dancing was happening, my friend and I decided to go down. Forty men overcome with joy are dancing, laughing, crying, and singing “Didan Notzach” (we will be victorious). Before our eyes, forty turns into one hundred, one hundred turns into two hundred, and soon, the room would be packed.

All I could think was — moshiach has to be coming.

Every sense in my body felt it. You could taste, feel, hear, see, even smell redemption in the air. The feeling of euphoria overflowed inside of me, sparking my soul and bubbling in my blood. The beat of the men’s tune became livelier by the second, and at that moment I saw happiness break every boundary. All I could feel was true freedom.

A goal Jews all over the world have worked to reach — together — had finally been met. The amount of mitzvahs done, tehillim read, and resolutions taken on in honor of Rubashkin has accumulated into millions over the past 8 years. I saw it all right in front of me.

Men of all ages, backgrounds, and beliefs came together for one purpose. A fellow Jew’s victory. Because this one Jew’s victory, became all of ours. My eyes glued to the dancing — I felt victorious. No, I didn’t know him. Nor did a majority of the people I was surrounded by. But it just simply didn’t matter. The unity felt between every Jew was palpable, and the energy could not be stopped.

A night that will never be forgotten.

A miracle we witnessed before our eyes.

A feeling that is embedded in us forever.

Our purpose in this world is to bring the ultimate redemption. To finally be released from our jail. And G-d anchored the feeling of redemption into an actual experience for us that every person can relate to. So we got our reminder. We got a small dose of what our freedom is going to be like.

And now that we got our taste, what are you going to do differently to get us there?