The Rebbe is Alive

 


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 to be healthy, each body part needs to “take orders” from the head.  The disease Rabbi Hurwitz has, G-d forbid, ALS, is where the body stops taking orders from the head.  It’s terrible.


So that’s a Rebbe.  At best, a regular person feels himself, his family and a couple friends.


The Rebbe feels every Jew (and gentile) the same way, and even stronger than I feel myself.


A Rebbe feels what every Jew needs to be the best they can be, what business deals they should be engaging in, and knows how to push the right buttons to get get us where we need to be.


At first, it may be difficult to wrap your head around the concept of a leader who is “passed away”, but once you’re in, you get it and the questions fall away.


The Rebbe didn’t just leave a legacy of profound teachings & inspiration.  He gave (1) marching orders (2) for our generation specifically, (3) pre-empted every issue that may come up, and (4) made himself available to be approached now, just like he did before, and even more so.  


You can still go visit the Rebbe, as I just did, and ask for his help to navigate life.  You can write letters to him.  


And the Rebbe finds a way to answer.    Some people open his books of letters (almost 100 volumes just of letters) and look for his answer.  Some people watch his videos looking for an answer.  


The Rebbe said he would find a way to respond.


So I just let him find a way.  And he does.


There are “absolute truths” and there are “my truths”.  The more “my truth” matches the “absolute truth” the healthier I am.


The Rebbe is alive.  This is an absolute truth.  


So why do I have to go to a cemetery to visit him?  Because my truth of what life is, is distorted.


The Rebbe is the Rebbe of the whole world.  This is an absolute truth.


And I invite you to accept him as your Rebbe, aligning your truth with the absolute truth.


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