This Shabbos, the 3rd day of the Jewish month Tammuz, we mark the Rebbe's 28th yahrtzeit. People often ask me to encapsulate the Rebbe's greatness, and I don't have an easy answer.
How to encapsulate the Rebbe’s myriad outstanding, let alone spiritual and academic depth I cannot even grasp?
Personally, when I think of the Rebbe’s presence, I’m immediately overcome by a palpable sense that the Rebbe deeply respected and valued every person, every living being, and every situation.
To the Rebbe, I truly mattered. And so did you. The fact that we existed, that G-d intentionally created each of us, gave every person de facto importance in the Rebbe’s mind. If G-d considered you important enough to create, there was absolutely no question as to your importance in the cosmos. With this as a point of departure, the Rebbe taught us that we faced a consistent existential challenge: Am I living up to my life's purpose?
G-d was cheering us on to meet our potential, but we needed to recognize the daily journey.
The Rebbe saw importance in every event and every interaction. There was no such thing as happenstance. If I bumped into you on a street in Manhattan, found myself with an extra hour on a layover in Frankfurt, or was faced with a sudden challenge in my life, I and the world needed to be better for it. In the Rebbe’s eyes, every situation beckoned: “engage me; embrace me as an opportunity for learning, moral growth and a better world”.
If life was intrinsically valuable, then every facet was necessarily important.
There were no throwaways in the Rebbe’s world. No irrelevant people. No shallow, meaningless exchanges. No 'flings'. No ‘vegging’ (rest, vacation and sleep were about recharging the batteries so as to more energetically re-engage life).
In our shaky world of impermanence, from disposable technology to empty relationships, the Rebbe was a Rock of Meaning.
Our world, your world and mine, NEEDS his energy. Take an opportunity – try theRebbe.org – to soak in his perspective.
Your life will be richer for it.
P.S.
For more insight into the Rebbe, join our luncheon/farbrengen - dedicated to the Rebbe's legacy - at noon this Shabbos