Time in the Teachings of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi

Seder tefilah
, 23a. Conversely, in T5, 162a, prayer is identified as the mode of 
worship appropriate for the time of 
‘ikveta
, as opposed to Torah study, which was appropriate for the 
time of the Sages. This should, however, be seen in the context of this particular section of 
Tanya
, 
which focuses on the value of prolonged prayer, aiming to empower those Hasidim who wanted to 
spend more time on prayer than did some of their fellow-congregants. 
88
See Rashaz’s 
ma’amar 
“Va-yikhu li terumah,” re-edited by his son and published in 
Ma’amrei 
Admor ha-Emtsa’i
, Shemot i, 305. An extract from this 
ma’amar
,
 
published by Mondshine in 
Masa’ 
Berditchov
, 55, states that the crown of the Messiah’s good name [
keter shem tov de-mashiyah
] will 
be created out of the “yoke of the commandments that are truly in praxis” [
‘ol mitsvot be-fo’al 
mamash
]. 

---

140 
being better able to bring God down to the lowest spheres of reality than any of the 
preceding generations.
89
The generation that precedes the Messianic advent is thus required to purify 
the last remaining denigrated sparks. Surprisingly, however, in a text discussed 
above,
90
Rashaz defines this generation as spanning the period from Ge’onic times to 
the present. Rather than constituting an abrupt rupture in history on the verge of the 
redemption, the last generation endures for almost a millennium – much longer than 
the preceding generations of the Tannaim and the Amoraim. This puts in questions 
Rashaz’s sense of the imminence of the messianic advent. His view that the present 
generation was living through the final stage before the redemption must be 
considered alongside his observation that this stage has already lasted for hundred of 
years. This observation takes away much of the urgency of the matter, although there 
is no denying that messianic redemption is a tangible reality for Rashaz. The 
redemption depends on the collective effort of the community of Israel, he claims, 
recalling the Talmudic story in which the Messiah replies to Rabbi Yehoshua’s 
question about the date of his anticipated advent with the single word “today”, on 
which Elijah comments: “Today, if ye will hear his voice.” [Ps 95:7]
91
In Rashaz’s 
interpretation of this story,
92
the word “today” [
ha-yom
] refers both to the first day 
before the emanation of the worlds associated with 
Keter
,
93
and to the day of the 
redemption, the “day that is completely a day” [
yom she-kulo yom
].
94
The 
redemption would come only if the voice of the Messiah is obeyed, and obedience to 
the Messiah’s voice, according to Rashaz, is a reference to repentance [
teshuvah
]. 
Notably, repentance originates in 
Keter
and was created on the first day, just before 
89
See also Foxbrunner, 
Habad
, 92-3. 
90
See note 83 above. 
91
b
Sanhedrin 98a. 
92
See LT 
Shemini ‘atseret
85d. 
93
Keter
,
 
according to the Habad tradition, stands above the ten 
sefirot
and is their source (see chapter 
1 note 69 above). It also stands for God’s will to create the world on the first day of creation (
Keter
and 
ba-yom ha-rishon 
[on the first day] share the same numerical value of 620). 
94
On the redemption as the everlasting day, see Wolfson,