Tomorrow – the 18th of Elul on the Jewish calendar - is a very special day.
It's a day when two luminaries, two spiritual masters who revolutionized the world, were born.
In 1698, [Rabbi] Israel Baal Shem Tov was born on this day; known as the Baal Shem Tov, he became the founder of Chassidism.
Exactly forty-seven years later, in 1745, [Rabbi] Schneur Zalman was born on the same exact day. A 'spiritual grandson' to the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Schneur Zalman - eventually known as 'the Alter Rebbe' - conceptualized the Chabad philosophy and launched the Chabad movement.
What does this all mean to me and you?
Everything.
These giants taught us how to see ourselves and the world.
There's only so much I can express in a deliberately brief e-mail.
Suffice it to say:
Seeing myself through their lens, I am never disconnected from my Creator, I am never disengaged from my Divine life-flow; so I am never without a call to meaningful living.
We are each a result of G-d's consistent desire that we exist. Since it follows that G-d brings us into existence for a purpose, we get a counter-intuitive perspective on life: It's dynamic, empowering, challenging; there’s always with an opportunity to realize our raison d' etre, and thereby touch the Divine.
No such thing as a hum-drum day, or an intrinsically meaningless life.
When we see someone else, even a stranger, we see someone whom G-d has created for a reason, and who - ergo - has a lifetime of goodness to bestow upon the world. A person who is a bundle of Divine potential, who is his/her own 'world of meaning'. A person who deserves respect for his/her Divine potential, and the recognition that helping him/her is more than a single act; it's support for an entire world of goodness.
If beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, I can't imagine a more beautiful way to see the world than through the lens of [Chabad] Chassidism.
So tomorrow's a really special day to celebrate.
A perfect time to think about these gifts to the world.
Happy birthday.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendy