There currently is a huge and growing demand for energy, but the most commonly used fuels, coal, oil and gas, produce unwanted, polluting by-products. Great efforts are being put forth now to develop alternate, clean energy sources, such as solar or wind power.

The problem with clean energy is that while polluting power generators can be built anywhere, clean energy can only be generated in specific places – the wind blows strongest on the high plains, and the sun’s energy is most powerful in the desert. A great deal of the energy produced is lost before it can be transported to the population centers where it is most needed.

It is possible to make cables out of superconducting substances that can transport electricity with a minimum loss of energy. The problem is that these superconductors function best at extremely low temperatures. For example, liquid nitrogen is a powerful superconductor which requires temperatures of 196 degrees below zero Celsius – which makes it impractical to use.

Efforts today are directed towards finding superconductors that operate at ambient temperatures, which will allow clean energy to be distributed from their source to distant locations with minimal loss of power. This will eliminate our dependence on polluting natural fuels, as well as on the terrorist regimes that produce them.

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In spiritual terms, there likewise is a strong demand for knowledge that is pure and non-polluting, which provides insight into the meaning of life in readily applicable terms. The “conduits” of this knowledge must be able to distribute it appropriately, without loss of power or energy, and without diluting their message while transmitting it.

The knowledge already exists, and the energy is also there in abundance. The problem is only how to draw it down, how to express it in terms that are relevant to each individual, in a way that will sound fresh and appealing. This role has been given to the Rebbe’s emissaries (Shluchim) throughout the globe, who have succeeded in their mission to an astounding degree. Each Shliach travels to his or her location, inspired with the warmth and light of the Rebbe’s teachings. In some mysterious and wondrous way, they manage to adapt to local conditions and transmit their message with all due “local color” – with no loss of energy or intensity.

We see the results every day, in any location of the globe – live and vibrant communities where they simply did not exist before, an unprecedented religious awakening. Their success is slowly transforming the world into a place filled with pure and positive energy. All this is in preparation for our ultimate goal – to make the world ready for the greatest Divine revelation of all time, with the immediate coming of Moshiach.

Prof. Yirmiyahu Branover is chairman of the Center of Magnetohydrodynamic Studies and Training at Ben-Gurion University.