The sicha that was said on Parshas Vayakhel, 5752 was never properly edited, due to the event of the following Monday,  27 Adar.  (On 27 Adar the Rebbe had a stroke while visiting the Ohel of his father-in-law, the Previous Rebbe).  Nevertheless, the brief overview (“rashei dvorim“) that was written up and presented to the Rebbe after Shabbos was (uncharacteristically) marked up by the Rebbe.  Thus, it passed before the Rebbe, and what needed correction was corrected.

In this overview of the sicha, it says:

…we see in recent years how there has been a “vayakhel” (gathering) in the simple meaning of the word — the ingathering of the exiles (“kibbutz goliyos”) of bnei Yisroel from the entire world, who are going up to Eretz Hakodesh.  This aliyah is incomparable to those that once were in the previous generations.  [To point out that Rabboseinu Nessienu were not in the Holy Land, not even for a visit, and even the trip taken by the Friedicker Rebbe was because he was unable to visit the resting places of his predecessors in Rostov, Lubavitch, and the like].

For all the prior years of the Rebbe’s leadership, the Rebbe was adamant in saying that Jews going to Israel is not the ingathering of the exiles (“kibbutz goliyos”), because the ingathering of the exiles must be done by Moshiach.  But here the Rebbe in fact calls it “kibbutz Goliyos”!?

We can say that what has changed is that now the aliyah — the Jews who were leaving the former Soviet Union, in particular — was coming about through Moshiach himself, and thus it does fulfill the requirement of Kibbutz Goliyos!

It should be noted that this expression, “Kibbutz Goliyos”, is of monumental significance.  One of the requirements of Moshiach to be identified as “certainly Moshiach” is that he gathers in the exiles.  As the Rambam says: “if he builds the Mikdash in its place and ingathers the exiles we know with certainty that he is Moshiach.”

In addition to this, the Rebbe explains in the Kuntreis Rabbeinu sh’b’Bavel that the Rambam rules that Moshiach “builds the Mikdash in its place”, a phrasing which allows itself to be read as “in his place”, referring to the small mikdash (מקדש מעט) in the time of golus, before the Geulah.  How “literally” to understand the Rebbe’s explanation there is strengthened by our sicha about Kibbutz Goliyos, because the Rebbe explains elsewhere (the Chassidic discourse “Gadol Yehiyeh Kavod Habayis Hazeh…”):

the Redemption, (the ingathering of the exiles,) will take place after building the Beis HaMikdash…this dimension comes about through the Third Beis HaMikdash…For the Third Beis HaMikdash, includes all the influences and qualities that will later be revealed.

Meaning that the Ingathering of the Exiles is fueled by the 3rd Beis Hamikdash, and if the Rebbe can say that it has begun then there must be a Mikdash built that is bringing it about.   Thus, we realize that 770 Eastern Parkway is not only the place where the Mikdash will be revealed in the future, but in fact it is presently — now — the Beis Hamidash in his place (the place of Moshiach before the Geuloh, in accordance with the halachic ruling of the Rambam)!  Because if the 3rd Beis Hamikdash was not present, there could not be Kibbutz Goliyos (as explained in the maamar quoted above).