Ten brilliant scholars stood outside the study of Rabbi Schneur Zalman, the 1st Chabad Rebbe. They were waiting for the Rebbe to review with them a mystical discourse.
When the door opened, they all entered except for Rabbi Isaac. He was much younger than the others and thought it appropriate that he remain outside the door.
The Rebbe asked, “Who remains outside?” Someone responded, “A young man.”
The Rebbe said, “A young man can become an older man.” With that invitation, Rabbi Isaac rejoined the group.
In retelling this incident later on, Rabbi Isaac related that the Rebbe’s comment threw him off balance. His mind and heart were flooded with the remark. For several minutes, he could think of nothing else.
But why? Surely he wasn’t overwhelmed by the notion that younger people grow into older ones.
In the Rebbe’s words, Rabbi Isaac heard a profound psycho-spiritual boost. "Don’t be limited by your present capacity. You have an older, wiser man inside of you. Unlock him. Live the future now."
Rabbi Isaac’s deep self-awareness, and his profound confidence in the Rebbe’s words, triggered an internal transformation. His previously-hidden potential began to actualize in newly-broadened vision and depth. He was overwhelmed and it took him a few moments to adjust. But he walked into the Rebbe’s room newly able to see past today’s limitations and live tomorrow’s potential.
Many decades ago, my father (Rabbi Moshe Herson, the Rebbe’s chief representative in the State of NJ, and Dean of the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown) stood in a private audience with the Rebbe (the 7th Rebbe in the Chabad dynasty). Still in his thirties, my father was Dean of a fledgling College in Newark, and tasked with growing both the College and the [virtually non-existent] presence of Chabad throughout the State.
The Rebbe blessed him and said, “You should become the success today that others are tomorrow.”
Why didn’t the Rebbe tell him, “You should become today who YOU can become tomorrow?”
Perhaps the Rebbe was giving my father a similar jolt of confidence as Rabbi Isaac received. Perhaps the Rebbe was gifting my father with an awareness of his own potential by giving him a frame reference as to who he could be. The Rebbe may have been saying: “Identify someone who you feel is successful, experienced, accomplished. And remember, that is who YOU could be. Today. You don’t need to postpone maximizing your potential until you’re older. Be that person now.”
Look around. See what’s possible. Visualize a greater tomorrow.
Live it today.