What is the Rebbe's Job?



Q- What is the Rebbe's job?

A- To feed us faith in G-d. (This was the Rebbe's answer to the question in the maamor ד"ה ואתה תצוה)

Q- Why do I need to be fed faith in G-d?  I already believe in G-d!?  Is it not possible to serve G-d on my own without a Rebbe or a Moses?
A- Our natural belief in G-d is subject to cognitive dissonance and mindless roteness.

Here's what I mean:

One example from the Talmud, that many thieves pray to G-d that their theft be successful.  But hold on, if they believe in G-d, why are they stealing?  Because of cognitive dissonance.  It's possible for a person to maintain two contradictory beliefs simultaneously: (1) belief in G-d (2) stealing is ok.

On the flip side, it's possible for a completely religious and pious person to not believe in G-d.  Unfortunately, many religious communities have people who live completely religious lives but aren't sure if G-d exists, and if He does, they definitely don't have a meaningful relationship with Him.

Why would a person inconvenience themself to lead a religious life, pray so much, study Torah if they don't really believe?  It could be habit, or rote, or fear of rejection from their community or many other things.

The bottom line is that a Jew naturally believes in G-d, but it's possible for that belief to be dormant, immature, and superficial.

The job of a Rebbe is to feed us faith in G-d so that G-d becomes a real part of our lives, and that we develop a real relationship with Him.

How does he do this?

Number one is by teaching Torah.  Studying Chassidus is the single most effective way for a person to mature their faith, and the Rebbe taught volumes and volumes of Chassidus.

But there's the way the Rebbe says it.

Every week after Shabbos, we watch a video of the Rebbe.  A year or two ago, the Rebbe was talking about how a person's livelihood comes from G-d, something pretty baseline in Judaism.  Here's how he said it, though, "In today's day, a person's sustenance comes directly from G-d, exactly as it did for the Jews in the desert who were eating manna from heaven.  The only difference between then and now is that then it came in a as an open miracle, and today it comes through the veil of nature (you need a job).

I don't know if that inspired you, but watching and hearing how obvious and real this truth was to the Rebbe "fed" me faith in G-d.  I had learned this concept before and read it in books, but seeing and hearing him say it, even in a video, had a deep impact on me. 

Yes, we're all born with faith, but we can help our faith mature. 

We can develop our relationship with G-d beyond a childish give-and-take-game, where we do what G-d wants as long as He gives us what we want or even worse, a completely mindless and heartless relationship (think about marriage).

I hope this encourages you to challenge whatever the status quo of your faith in G-d is, learn Chassidus, and connect to the Rebbe, learn from his vast teachings, and allow him to help you develop your relationship with G-d to new heights.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can the Rebbe Work Miracles?

Image
  People say that the Rebbe can work miracles.  Is that true?  What did the Rebbe himself say about this? In the fall of 1959, a group of college students with the “Hillel” campus organization came for a group meeting with the Rebbe.  At a certain point, the floor was opened up for questions, and one student asked this very question: “Rebbe, people say that you can work miracles.  Is this true?” The Rebbe responded by asked the students what the word miracle means.  And he continue to explain:  The world has “nature” and “miracles”.  Nature is the way things happen naturally.  The world has “rules” and some of them are not so kind.  The strong survive and the weak perish.  Nature dictates that there are winners and losers, “live-ers” and “die-ers”. But a basic tenet of Judaism is that this physical world is the last of a series of many spiritual worlds.  And it’s like a puppet with strings attached from on top.  “Playing with the strings” in the higher worlds has real-life effects in t
Read more

The Rebbe is Alive

Image
  Gimmel Tammuz, which is the day the Rebbe passed away is a day of reflection and connection. I received a couple messages from people who were curious why I would fly across the country for less than 24 hours.  And then wait in line for hours to spend 30 seconds at a grave before being ushered out to let more people in. The Rebbe is alive.   So alive that even death can’t affect him. The Rebbe is not like other leaders who have passed away and left a “legacy”.  My Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Wagner was like that.  He was a special person, who gave a lot to the world, and left a tremendous legacy. Many effective leaders have done the same. The Rebbe is different. He is currently leading and guiding Chabad globally, and each individual Chossid specifically.   Who qualifies as a chossid? Anyone who accepts him as their “Rebbe”. The Rebbe is the “head” of the Jewish people, and we are the “feet” (or other body parts).   The head feels & controls the rest of the body.  In order for the body t
Read more

Should We Move To Texas?

Image
  I took a trip to Washington D.C. to visit my step-uncle and aunt and comfort them for the  loss of their daughters . Torah teaches that visiting mourners, especially in their home, is comforting to the mourners  and to the deceased. Indeed, the process of death is painful not only to the family of the deceased, but to the deceased themselves. The ability to do productive work, help people and do mitzvahs is only possible while alive in this physical world, and this is why death is painful (unlike what most people think, that death is the end of pain). We mourn  with  the dead over the lost opportunities to give light to the world. On the way back, I stopped in Dallas, TX for a day. It made $$ sense and gave me the opportunity to visit a couple good friends and supporters who have moved there. Here are some observations and reflections from the visit: Texas was very different than I expected. I wasn’t expecting the toll roads and traffic. Instead of Ford and Chevy pickup trucks, I was
Read more