We’re in Middle of ‘Friday Chaos’

By Alex Gorokhov

Chabad of Kensington in Brooklyn, NY, hosted a community wide farbrengen to honor Yud Shevat, the day the Rebbe accepted the leadership of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

Speaking for the crowd was Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, an author and a writer at Chabad.org, in a presentation titled “The Last day of Time.”

He quoted from the Zohar that “in the sixth century of the sixth millennium, the gates of supernal wisdom will be opened, as will the springs of earthly wisdom, preparing the world to be elevated in the seventh millennium.”

He explained that the times of the world correspond to the days of the week and that the world is currently in the sixth century (“elef hashishi”), which can be translated to Friday afternoon.

“The year we live in, 5774, is erev Shabbos after chatzos, right before Elef Hashvi’i which will be the time of Moshiach, a time that will be higher than time, so we are now living in the last day of time,” he said.

The current turmoil in the world is similar to the typical chaos that can be found in Jewish homes on Friday afternoons, shortly before Shabbos, Freeman said.

The host, Shliach Rabbi Moshe C. Levin, said he was proud to see the full hall of people glued to the talk for over an hour. “People were very inspired,” he said.

Helping bring the evening to inspiring heights was Avraham Israel, a tenor and former opera singer who is today a chassidic man. He sang heartfelt Chabad niggunim with the crowd.