Maimonides explains that it’s a time when everyone’s main occupation is to know G-d, to live with felt awareness of Him inside ordinary life.
The Rebbe explained how a human being actually gets there. He taught that the work begins with joy. Not forced happiness, but joy that grows out of awe through trust. Awe doesn’t begin with fear.
It begins with reflection:
The Creator knows the entire story of humanity from outside time, and still, your choices inside this moment matter to Him.
That realization opens awe. Awe isn’t panic or fear-driven religion.
It’s a blend of very human feelings:
A little sadness — because you feel how far you are from the closeness you want.
A little fear — because you realize the relationship is real and your choices matter.
A little wonder — because you’re amazed that the Infinite Creator is actually good and wants a relationship with you.
That awe deepens when you give words to what’s really inside you, your shame, your sadness, your confusion, and bring those feelings into the relationship instead of hiding them.
When you speak honestly, you return to relationship. When you share your requests instead of numbing them, awe becomes felt, and joy follows naturally.
Joy follows awe because awe tells the body it is safe, valuable, and not alone. Joy doesn’t stay inside. It leads to acts of love, carried with and through boundaries, not people-pleasing, not chaos.
And that’s how G-dliness spreads in the world:
Through people who act with love, boundaries, and responsibility.
That’s also how I understand the idea that the messianic era comes through tzedakah (charity):
When people give, reflect on their giving (accounting), and see that their actions matter, awe through trust grows, and love is expressed with boundaries.
“The Lubavitcher Rebbe shared a plan to help bring every person into the messianic era, no matter your age, background, or religion.”
