Editing Dor Hashvei - The Seventh Generation

The Seventh Generation is a term referring to the current generation. The name derives from our being the seventh generation since the establishment of Chabad Chassidism by the Alter Rebbe, after which seven Chabad leaders have served, up until today when [[the Rebbe]] serves as the seventh Rebbe.

The Rebbe announced and prophesied about this generation that it would be the last generation of exile and the first generation of redemption.

==== In the Midrash ====
Regarding the verse "I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride" - which describes the giving of the Torah, when the Holy One came and was revealed in this physical world called "my garden" - the Midrash states that the reason the world is called "my garden" - God's garden, is because from the beginning of creation God was revealed in His world.

Through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, the Divine Presence ascended to the first heaven, and through six additional sins the Divine Presence ascended from heaven to heaven until reaching the seventh heaven of the seven heavens above. Afterwards came seven righteous ones - beginning with Abraham, followed by Isaac, Jacob, Levi, Kehat and Amram - who brought down the Divine Presence, with each one bringing it down through another heaven; until Moses - the seventh - brought the Divine Presence down below through the establishment of the Tabernacle.

==== In Recent Generations ====
In the final discourse of the Previous Rebbe, which was given on what would later be revealed as the day of his passing - "Basi L'Gani" 5710 - the words of the above Midrash are explained.

In the following year, 5711, at a gathering marking the day of passing, the Rebbe delivered his first Chassidic discourse - thereby accepting the leadership of Chabad. This discourse of the Rebbe was also on the verse "Basi L'Gani", and in it the Rebbe clearly outlined the fundamental principles of our generation under his leadership and guidance. The Rebbe paralleled the seven generations of Chabad leaders to the seven righteous ones counted in the Midrash who drew down the Divine Presence, from heaven to heaven. The Rebbe emphasized the special quality that exists specifically with the seventh, who receives all the powers from those before him - "all sevenths are beloved." And just as Moses, the seventh, was the one who accomplished the main drawing down by bringing the Divine Presence below - so too our generation, the seventh generation of Chabad Chassidism, is the one that completes all the service of the Jewish people in exile, draws down the Divine Presence below, and brings the redemption:<blockquote>"This is what is demanded from each and every one of us of the seventh generation, for all sevenths are beloved. Although our being in the seventh generation is not by our choice and not through our service, and in several matters perhaps not according to our will, nevertheless, all sevenths are beloved, as we find ourselves in the footsteps of Mashiach, at the conclusion of these footsteps, and the service is to complete drawing down the Divine Presence, and not just the Divine Presence but the essential Divine Presence, specifically in the lowest realms."</blockquote>

== The Seventh Generation ==
This fundamental discourse opened the way for the Rebbe's comprehensive work to spread Judaism and Chassidism throughout the world through emissaries and mitzvah campaigns - work whose purpose is to complete our generation's task and bring redemption. Countless times during his years of leadership the Rebbe expressed that this generation is the last generation of exile and first of redemption, and in it the required work in exile will be completed.

The term "The Seventh Generation" did not recur often in the Rebbe's teachings, appearing only on rare occasions. One of them was in a talk from Shabbat Parshat Vayigash 5747.

The Rebbe compared our generation to the sefirah of Malchut - the final sefirah in the count of sefirot, which receives all the lights from the sefirot before it and draws them down below to the lower worlds (while the Previous Rebbe's generation corresponds to the preceding sefirah, Yesod).