At a chassidic gathering on Kislev 20, 5689 (December 3, 1928), the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, offered the following parable on the unique times in which we live:

For the greater part of the journey, the train runs along a solitary track. There are curves and tunnels, steep climbs and dangerous drops, but—excepting the occasional intersection—a single, clearly-defined path. One need only have a basic knowledge of the route, keep to the tracks and observe the rules, and one steadily nears one’s destination.

But as the train approaches the station, there is a proliferation of switching stations, railroad yards, side tracks, obsolete tracks, dead and dying tracks. Here great care must be taken, for the choices are many, the railways misleading, the maps and signposts vague. A most solid looking track might, in fact, be a dead end, while an obscure turn might be the correct path.

We are now in the final leg of our journey through history, fast approaching its ultimate destination—the divinely perfect era of Moshiach. As the train approaches its final station, there is much joy and excitement. But it is also a time of great danger—one wrong turn and the train is grounded, or going nowhere fast. It is a time when great vigilance is required to discern the proper track and bring the journey to its triumphant conclusion.