On Shabbat Parashat Devarim, 5731 (1971), the Rebbe delivered the maamar *Eichah Yashvah Badad*.
The maamar contrasts, compares, and ultimately unites the straightforward meaning of the verse with the Chassidic interpretation of the ״Tzemach Tzedek״.
The plain meaning of the verse speaks of Jerusalem, desolate and alone. As Rashi explains, she is "bereft of her inhabitants."
The Chassidic interpretation, however, understands *badad* in a completely different sense: alone with Hashem. It connects this idea with the verse, "Hashem alone shall lead him" (*Hashem badad yanchenu*).
What a remarkable contrast between these two interpretations. One speaks of a person who is utterly alone, isolated, abandoned, with no one in the world. The other speaks of someone who has reached the highest level of closeness to Hashem, where there is nothing but Him: *Hashem badad yanchenu*.
The first is someone who feels forsaken. The second is someone who feels embraced, echoing the verse, "Hashem will gather me in" (*Hashem ya'asfeini*).
Throughout the maamar, the Rebbe explains in depth how it is precisely the moments of *yashvah badad* that lead a person to the state of *Hashem badad yanchenu*. It is precisely when a person continues despite the hardship, when they feel they can barely go on, when the darkness of exile seems to have reached its peak, that they draw upon themselves the revelation of *Hashem badad yanchenu*.
To reinforce this idea, the Rebbe cites the Chassidic explanation of why Moshe Rabbeinu is described as the humblest person who ever lived. Knowing the immense spiritual challenges that would confront our generation, while also knowing that despite everything Jews would continue to study Torah, observe mitzvot, and increase the light of holiness, filled Moshe with humility.
In the words of the maamar:
"As is well known regarding the verse, 'And the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person upon the face of the earth'—this was especially so when Moshe saw the generation of Ikveta deMeshicha, the generation immediately preceding the coming of Mashiach, when there would be countless concealments and obstacles. Yet despite this, they would study Torah, fulfill mitzvot, and increase the light. It was this service that brought Moshe to humility."
Anyone who has already logged a few miles in this world knows that it is often the hardest moments that deepen our faith. Everything is always guided by His loving and precise Divine Providence, but it is דווקא in times of hardship that we come to see most clearly that, when all is said and done, there is no one to rely upon but our Father in Heaven.
To anyone who feels a little, or perhaps very, alone, remember: the journey from *Eichah Yashvah Badad* to *Hashem Badad Yanchenu* is shorter than it seems.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Zalman Wishedski