One Day We Will Sing Forever

We mourn the past with complete faith in Hashem that one day He will restore what we once had. Then our happiness will be complete. With that in mind, a story from the previous Belzer Rebbe, Rav Aharon Rockeach comes to mind:

Nothing quite compares to a Rebbe’s tisch. Hundreds of Chassidim bedecked in fur shtreimels and elegant bekeshas sway to-and-fro, singing, clapping and stamping in unison. The Rebbe sits at the head table. He conducts the music. He speaks Torah. He guides his followers in matters of faith.

That is how it was in Europe prior to the war. And that is how it had been for as long as anyone could remember. But now it was different. It was right after the Holocaust. Like always, people thronged around the Rebbe, like any other Friday night. But the mood was somber. Faces were defeated, hollow, and dead. It was as if their souls had left them but their bodies were still there. Now stood men who had made it back from hell. They had lost everything they once had. Fathers, mothers, wives, siblings, children, communities, possessions. Gone. Now they weren’t dressed in Chassidic gear. They wore caps and jackets. They looked at their Rebbe and he looked back at them. What was there to say?

Then Rav Aharon spoke. He said “Moshe Rabbeinu sang Az Yashir at the splitting of the sea. But the word Yashir is future tense. The implication is that they would sing, but weren’t they singing right now?” The Rebbe answered, “Moshe was alluding to something else. Something greater. Moshe said thus. Now we sing, but there will be a greater song still. At the time of Techiyas Hameisim, they will sing a very great song that will never end.”

“Imagine the nation at the Sea of Suf. Eighty percent of the people had died in the Plague of Darkness. They never made it out. These were the people’s fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children, and relatives. They didn’t have the will to sing. But Moshe instilled in them trust, optimism, and faith. He said, even if you don’t have the will to sing right now, you will sing then! One day Moshiach will arrive and your loved ones will all come back to life. A very great song of happiness awaits.”

Now the men at the tisch began to cry. Tears streamed down their faces. They buried their faces in their hands and they sobbed. They cried for what once was. But they wept also for the future. The message was clear. One day they would be reunited with their loved ones and there will be a very great song. That song would never end.