Editing Nitzutz Mashiach - Spark of Mashiach (section)

== Its Source in Chassidic Texts ==
The earliest source discussing the connection between the soul of every Jew and the soul of Melech HaMashiach is in the writings of Rabbi Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl, who brings in his book "Meor Einayim" a saying in the name of the Baal Shem Tov, and these are his words:<blockquote>"As stated by the Baal Shem Tov of blessed memory, each Jew needs to rectify and prepare '''the part of Mashiach's form that belongs to his soul''', as is known that 'Adam' is an acronym for Adam, David, Mashiach... And similarly, Mashiach will be a complete form comprised of all Jewish souls, including the six hundred thousand... Therefore, each Jew must rectify the aspect of Mashiach that belongs to his soul portion..."

— Meor Einayim, Parshat Pinchas</blockquote>A more detailed explanation about the essence of this spark, and the work of revealing it, we find in a later generation, in the name of the Maggid of Kozhnitz:<blockquote>"Every awakening that a person feels in their life, whether in Torah or in prayer, comes from '''the portion of Mashiach that exists in all souls''', and before the coming of Mashiach, all the scattered parts of Mashiach in the world will unite into a complete form, in the aspect of 'My soul yearns, indeed it pines, for the courts of Hashem; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living G-d.'"</blockquote>The Rebbe Rashab also establishes that every soul includes all the levels of the forefathers, Moses, and Mashiach:<blockquote>"Every soul is a soul of Atzilut, and the proof is from the statement of our Sages that any person can say, 'When will my deeds reach the deeds of the forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,' and also the level of Moses, and even higher '''that one can reach the level of Mashiach as well, and this is due to the root of one's soul which contains all these levels...'''" — Sefer HaMaamarim 5643, page 70</blockquote>The Rebbe brought a source and allusion to this concept from the words of our Sages on the verse: "A star shall step forth from Jacob" - which is explained in one place as a prophecy about the King Mashiach, and in another place as referring to every individual Jew. According to the principle that different interpretations of the same verse are related to each other, this proves there is a connection between every Jew and the soul of Mashiach, as both are described as "a star from Jacob," because every Jew has a spark from the soul of Mashiach.

Based on this concept, the Rebbe explained a puzzling section in the prayer service. When opening the ark to remove the Torah scroll on holidays, the congregation says: "Master of the Universe... and may the verse be fulfilled in us: 'And the spirit of Hashem shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might.'" That is, the congregation prays that a verse and prophecy spoken about our righteous Mashiach should be fulfilled in them! This question was raised by Rabbi Chaim Elazar Shapira, author of Minchas Elazar, in his book Chamisha Ma'amaros, and despite the difficulty, he ruled that one should recite the text established by the great sages of Israel. However, the Rebbe explains this based on what is written in the book Me'or Einayim - that every Jew has a portion of Mashiach's soul, and therefore possesses (something akin to) the qualities of Mashiach, which is why one can request that this verse be fulfilled in oneself.