The messianic era isn't about escaping the world.

The Messianic era is not about leaving ordinary life behind.

What is the Messianic era really about?

Maimonides describes it as a time when humanity’s main occupation will be knowing the Creator, not only collecting ideas about Him, but living with a deeper awareness of Him inside everyday life.

What is the Rebbe's plan that begins with joy?

The Rebbe explained how a human being actually moves toward that kind of Messianic consciousness.
He shared a practical plan that begins with joy.

Not forced happiness,
but joy that grows out of awe through trust.
Awe begins with reflection.

[Maimonides explains that there has to be one first Cause of existence, or nothing else could continue to exist. From there, it is reasonable to believe that the One Cause has intelligence and free choice rather than being blind like a rock. Both ways of understanding the Cause of existence contain mysteries. The question is which belief better fits the reality we actually observe.]

You think deeply about the Creator.

The Cause of existence is beyond time. He knows the entire story of humanity, while your choices inside this moment still matter.
You notice wisdom, beauty, life, and goodness, and think about the One behind them.

What kind of awe is healthy?

That kind of reflection begins to awaken awe.

Awe is not panic or religion built around fear.

It includes humility because your understanding of the Infinite Creator will always be limited, some fear because the relationship is real and your choices matter, and wonder because the Infinite Creator chose to make your actions meaningful and lets you participate in revealing goodness.

As these ideas become felt knowing [daas], awe is no longer only something you understand with your mind.

You begin to experience your life as happening before the Creator.

What happens next depends on trust.

Why does trust decide what awe becomes?

If your nervous system mainly experiences the Creator through fear, awe can become mixed with anxiety, shame, control, or emotional numbness.

When you trust that the Creator is good, awe can open into love.

Love includes appreciation for His goodness and a desire for greater closeness. The intimacy can also include sadness because more of that goodness could be revealed in your life and in the world.

That sadness can be apart of intimacy.

You feel the absence more deeply because the relationship matters to you.

You can then bring more of your inner world into the relationship by speaking honestly about your fear, shame, sadness, confusion, gratitude, and requests instead of hiding them.

What happens when you speak honestly to the Creator?

An honest conversation with the Creator can deepen both awe and love because you are practicing the belief that He is listening and that your inner world matters.

And when awe develops through trust into love, joy can grow from it.

This is not forced happiness.
It is the joy of knowing that your life has meaning, that your choices matter, and that you can take part in revealing more goodness.

How does joy turn into love and responsibility?

That joy does not remain only as a feeling. It moves outward into acts of love expressed through boundaries and responsibility.
Not people-pleasing, not losing yourself, and not giving without thinking.

Love becomes something you can express while still being responsible for yourself and for the other person.

This is one way G-dliness becomes more revealed in the physical world.

People notice the Creator more deeply, feel more awe, love, sadness, and joy, and allow those feelings to influence how they speak, repair, give, create, and relate to others.

How does tzedakah bring the Messianic era closer?

This also helps explain the connection between the Messianic era and tzedakah [giving].

When you give, then reflect on the goodness your choice created, you strengthen the felt awareness that your actions matter before the Creator.

That deepens awe.
Through trust, that awe opens into love and joy, and the love becomes real through responsible action.

Tzedakah [charity] is one way a person helps make the physical world reflect more of the Creator’s goodness.

Questions people ask

What is the Messianic era according to Maimonides?

Maimonides describes it as a time when humanity's main occupation will be knowing the Creator. It is not about leaving ordinary life behind, it is about a deeper awareness of Him inside everyday life. That makes awareness the first emotional skill here: noticing wisdom, beauty, life, and goodness, and thinking about the One behind them.

Why does awe sometimes feel like anxiety?

Because what awe becomes depends on trust. If your nervous system mainly experiences the Creator through fear, awe can become mixed with anxiety, shame, control, or emotional numbness. When you trust that the Creator is good, that same awe can open into love. Trust is the emotional skill that decides which way awe goes.

How does joy grow out of awe?

This joy is not forced happiness. Awe that develops through trust opens into love, and joy grows from there: the joy of knowing that your life has meaning, that your choices matter, and that you can take part in revealing more goodness. The emotional skills underneath it are trust, honesty, and responsibility.

What does tzedakah have to do with the Messianic era?

When you give, and then reflect on the goodness your choice created, you strengthen the felt awareness that your actions matter before the Creator. That deepens awe, and through trust the awe opens into love and joy. Tzedakah is one way a person helps the physical world reflect more of the Creator's goodness.

“The Lubavitcher Rebbe shared a plan to help bring every person into the messianic era, no matter your age, background, or religion.”