The closer you become to someone’s goodness, the harder it can become to stay okay with how much of that goodness is still hidden.

The closer you become to someone’s goodness, the harder it can become to stay okay with how much of that goodness is still hidden.
That idea helps explain one of the Rebbe’s most unusual missions:
teaching people to demand the Messianic era with chutzpah.
Without understanding Chassidus deeply, that can sound childish or entitled:
“Creator, give us what we want already.”
But the idea is almost the opposite.

Where does awe actually begin?

Awe comes first.
It can begin by noticing patterns of wisdom, order, beauty, and life in the world, and realizing that they must come from One Source.
As you think more deeply about that Source, awe can grow.

You begin to feel how great the Creator is, that you are living before Him, and that your choices matter.
As trust grows, awe can open into love.
Love makes you want to be closer to Him.

Together, awe and love create a desire for deeper intimacy.
And in a world where so much of the Creator’s goodness is still hidden, deeper intimacy can bring sadness because you become more aware of how much more of His goodness could be revealed.
So wanting the Messianic era is not about escaping the physical world.

What are you really asking for when you want Moshiach?

You are not saying:
“I deserve the world I want.”
You are saying:
“I know enough about Your goodness to care deeply that more of You should be seen here.”
The goal is for the physical world itself to become a place where the Creator is openly expressed.
Different people remain different.
Different nations remain different.

Different personalities remain different.
But difference no longer has to create division.
Chassidus gives us ways to think about Atzmus [the Essence of the Creator], Who is ultimately beyond every description.

Can people stay different and still be deeply united?

At one level of Atzmus, opposite qualities [like awe and love] can be described as being united like inseparable friends.
They do not need to stop being different in order to become deeply united.
That helps us think about the Messianic goal [world peace].

Human beings do not need to disappear into one shared awareness.
Nations do not need to lose what makes them different.
The goal is a world where people can stay different and still be deeply united.

When creation reaches that kind of unity, it begins to allude to a level of the Creator’s Essence, where difference does not have to cancel unity, and it begins to express something of what He wants from creation, what Chassidus can speak about as giving Him pleasure [it does not cause a change in Him].
But Chassidus also explains something even deeper.
When we are talking about the deepest level of Atzmus, even our highest words and ideas are laughable as descriptions.

They can help us think, but they do not come close to describing what Atzmus is.
Realizing that can create wonder.
The Source of all wisdom, goodness, unity, and life is beyond anything the mind can fully understand.

Why does the Rebbe’s chutzpah come from relationship?

This also helps explain why the Rebbe’s chutzpah comes from relationship.
Awe makes you feel the greatness of the One you are relating to.
Love makes you want to be closer to Him.

Together, awe and love make you want deeper intimacy.
Practically, intimacy means beginning to experience life as a conversation with Him.
You think about what He is showing you through Torah, through the patterns you notice in the world, and through what happens in your own life.

You speak to Him, ask, listen, respond, and try to let your choices become part of that relationship.
Before the Messianic era, that intimacy can include sadness because you become more aware of how much more of the Creator’s goodness could be revealed.
But sadness does not have to stay part of intimacy forever.

Does intimacy with the Creator always include sadness?

At that later stage of the relationship, intimacy does not have to contain sadness in order to keep becoming deeper.
In the Messianic era, intimacy can keep becoming deeper through more and more joy.
There does not have to be painful hiddenness for the relationship to grow.

More of the Creator can be expressed.
That can create more awe.
More awe can deepen love.

More love can deepen intimacy.
And deeper intimacy can bring even more joy.
Life can keep becoming a deeper conversation with Him, with more wonder, more love, and more joy.

Is demanding the Messianic era just impatience?

So demanding the Messianic era is not just impatience.
It is the human personality becoming able to feel the Creator’s goodness so deeply that His hiddenness brings sadness — and becoming responsible enough to help reveal more of Him.
That last part matters.

Demanding Moshiach [the Messiah] does not replace responsibility.
It increases it.
The Rebbe taught that every person has a role in preparing the world for the Messianic era [world peace].

One of the deepest ways we do that is by building a real relationship with the Creator and helping other people build one too.
One simple mission he gave was:
“If you know Alef, teach Alef.”
You do not have to know everything before helping someone else learn.
If you understand one Torah idea, ask someone if they want to hear it and share what you know.

The Rebbe also taught that we should share with others the closeness to the Creator that we experience.
Noticing the Creator is not only something we keep inside.
When you notice something that gives you more awe, trust, love, or awareness of His closeness, sharing it can help another person notice Him too.

So if you want a world that shows more of the Creator, the question is not only:
“When will Moshiach come?”
It is also:
“How much of His goodness can I express through my own personality today?”
“How can I help one other person know Him a little better?”
That is part of turning the demand for Moshiach into responsibility.
The goal is not:
“There was never really an individual me.”
It is closer to:
“My personality has a purpose, but I do not exist on my own.
My Source is beyond anything I can fully understand or reveal.

I can feel awe, grow in love, want deeper unity with Him, and experience that desire as part of the intimacy.
And instead of erasing who I am, the relationship can help me express more of His goodness through the person I actually am.”
That is where Chabad Chassidus, psychology, intimacy, and the Messianic mission meet.
Related guides:
How does deep emotional healing happen?
If honesty threatens a relationship: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DqRULS3Lo/
Transforming guilt and worry about the past into love
Emotionally healthy beliefs of the world of souls
#NextSelf #kabbalah #Torah #Messiah

Questions people ask

What does it mean to demand Moshiach with chutzpah?

It means caring deeply about the Creator’s goodness and wanting more of it seen in this world. It is not entitlement. It grows out of emotional skills: noticing patterns of wisdom and beauty in the world until awe grows, then letting trust open that awe into love. Together, awe and love make you want deeper intimacy with Him.

Why does getting closer to the Creator sometimes bring sadness?

Because closeness makes hiddenness easier to notice. The closer you come to someone’s goodness, the harder it gets to stay okay with how much is still hidden. Feeling that sadness safely is an emotional skill. It comes from awareness of how much more of His goodness could be revealed, and it does not have to stay forever.

Does wanting the Messianic era mean escaping this world?

No. The goal is for the physical world itself to become a place where the Creator is openly expressed. People, nations, and personalities stay different, but difference no longer has to create division. Nobody has to disappear into one shared awareness. Instead, the relationship can help you express more of His goodness through the person you actually are.

How can one person help bring the Messianic era closer?

By practicing the emotional skill of responsibility: building a real relationship with the Creator and helping other people build one too. The Rebbe taught that every person has a role. His mission was, “If you know Alef, teach Alef.” Share one Torah idea you understand, and share the closeness you notice so others can notice Him too.

“Awe and love can make you stop being okay with a world where so much goodness is hidden.”