Rebbe Menachem Mendl from Vitebsk founded a Hasidic commune in Tiberias (north of present-day Israel). His disciples, who moved to Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel), hoped that Mashiach (Messiah) would soon come and free the Jewish people from galut (exile).
A few months after the community was founded, a prankster climbed Mount Olive and loudly blew a shofar (ram's horn), thereby signaling the coming of the Messiah. The rumor of this spread in the blink of an eye among the Jews, who were eagerly awaiting great events. People left work and household chores. No one thought about anything other than the appearance of the Messiah.
When the news of the Messiah reached Tiberias, the Hasidim of Rebbe Menachem Mendel came running to him with the news.
- Rebbe! The shofar sounded on Mount Olive! Mashiach has come!
The Hasidim expected their teacher to jump for joy. However, to their amazement, Rabbi Menachem Mendl slowly rose from his desk and headed towards the window. He opened the wooden shutters, leaned out of the window and took a deep breath of air through his nose, as if sniffing the aroma of a pie baking next door. He then closed the shutters and turned to his students.
“My friends,” the rebbe addressed them, “I would really like you to be right, but I’m afraid that Moshiach is not with us yet, because I haven’t smelled anything new in the air.”
Commentary by Rami Shapiro “What does the moment of the coming of the Messiah smell like?” It smells like something new. What does something new smell like? Nothing. If something is truly new, it cannot be compared with anything else. The new is unique, unprecedented and therefore indescribable. Rebbe Menachem Mendl sniffed and felt the familiar smells of life: the long-familiar smells of ego and seething emotions.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru