I will (G-d willing) be in Eastern Europe, on a weeklong pilgrimage through Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan (I'm typing this on my Blackberry as I wait for my flight).
I use the word "pilgrimage" because it's the only single word I can come up with. I actually think a phrase would describe it better: I'm on a "journey of connecting with my spiritual roots, my G-d and myself".
Why the trip?
Lots of people - myself included - go to Israel to visit the Kotel (the Western Wall).
Why are we paying homage to the retaining wall of a building (albeit the Holy Temple) that was destroyed 2000 years ago? Is it purely a function of connecting with our history?
Not for me. When I - and many others - visit the Kotel its because I know that its essence, its spiritual vibrancy, continues to resonate as it did thousands of years ago.
The Babylonians and the Romans were able to destroy a physical building, but they couldn't reach its soul. The body/building went down in flames, but its spiritual power continues to resonate.
So a 'pilgrimage' to the Kotel isn't [just] about our history, it's very much about our present. It's about finding a connectedness and balance, about "plugging in" to find energy and "spiritual current" TODAY, and for the future.
In a similar vein, I frequently visit the Rebbe's grave (known as "the Ohel")in Queens. When I go, it's with several age-old Judaic axioms in mind:
1. The righteous are called "living" even after their passing. Their lives are ones of spiritual connectedness with G-d and their people; that doesn't die.
2. The righteous are engaged and effective in the physical world even after their passing; actually, their presence is to an even greater extent once divested of the body.
So when I go to visit the Rebbe, it isn't to take a nostalgic trip down memory lane. I go to bare my soul, and to feel the empowering embrace that I know is there.
Over the next week, I'll be visiting the gravesites of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (founder of the Chassidic movement), his successor Rabbi DovBer of Mezeritch and the first five Chabad Rebbes (the Rebbe and his predecessor/father-in-law are buried side by side in Queens).
It's about digging deeper into my soul.
Jewish spirituality describes each of our lives as a garden at the base of a mountain, with G-d's blessing and presence represented by the stream of water that flows down the mountain to water the garden.
In that imagery, our righteous ancestors and leaders guide and facilitate the flow.
So, to me, the Rebbe is the mouth of the stream which waters my garden, and - to take the analogy further - I'm taking a week to climb my mountain to connect more deeply with my stream.
I'll be posting updateskeep touch through my blog; please do the same!
Rabbi Mendy
ב"ה