The Lubavitcher Rebbe: 30 Years Since His Passing

Photo Credit: courtesy, Sivan Rahav Meir

“Why do I love the Lubavitcher Rebbe?” This is the title of a short piece published by Rabbi Nir Manusi. This week marked the 30th anniversary of the passing of the Rebbe. Rabbi Manusi provides the following five answers to the question.

1. His resuscitation of the Jewish people after the Holocaust. In America, where he arrived from Europe in 1941, mitzvah observance had become moribund, increasingly disconnected from the modern world. The Rebbe reversed this trend by demanding more Torah, more Jewish brotherhood, more Jewish education. Just as Hitler had wanted to reach every Jew in order to kill him, the Rebbe wanted to bring every Jew, no matter how distant from his faith, back to life.
2. He conducted his life with non-stop, yet stressless, activity. Throughout his life, he did not take a single day of vacation. He established Jewish institutions all over the globe and sent off guidance and directives in thousands of letters, but always with a calm and smiling demeanor, without any sign of fatigue. Although he worked non-stop, his tranquil spirit permeated every moment. If only we could conduct our lives in a similar manner.
3. He made every Jew a shaliach (emissary). He initiated the movement of worldwide Chabad emissaries but made it clear that they were not alone in their mission since every Jew was an emissary too. If you only knew one Hebrew letter, the letter aleph, you were obligated to teach it to someone who did not know even that. Everyone had something to give and the world was simply waiting for them to give it.
4. He made it clear that women were emissaries too. He saw the rise in women’s status as a cosmic development with highly spiritual repercussions. Women needed to study and to teach. The woman was not just the wife of a shaliach but a shaliach in her own right. Yet the true status of woman, he reminded us, was associated with her holy indispensable role in building the Jewish family, bearing children and serving as the mainstay of the Jewish home.
5. He urged everyone to put their ego aside. In our generation, everyone seeks fulfillment of their personal potential. But only by putting our ego aside and focusing our attention on unlocking the potential of others can we find true fulfillment for ourselves. If we persist in this endeavor, the entire world will be blessed on account of our efforts.

A Request From Anat Meir

“Shalom Sivan, my name is Anat Meir. My husband, Captain David Meir, fell in battle at Kibbutz Be’eri on Simchat Torah. If someone had told me prior to October 7th that I would lose my other half, I would have said that I would never get out of bed again and that I would be done with G-d.

“But then it happened. I lost what was most precious to me and yet today I somehow manage to get out of bed in the morning. And somehow my faith only gets stronger and my perspective on life has changed too.

“I never imagined that my name would be seen on an announcement publicizing a mass gathering of women to pray for unity and redemption, or that I would be speaking about the Mashiach. And I have a feeling that there are many who would identity with me, including those who have not suffered a personal loss. None of us are the same today as we were before.

“Initially, I thought maybe I was crazy, trying to hold on to whatever I could since I had lost my entire life. But then I understood differently since I knew that my faith was profound and real. I raised my head, read and studied, and could not believe that everything that happened and will happen is written, that when prophecies of destruction come true, it is a sign that prophecies of redemption are sure to come.

“I understand nothing except that something is happening here that is much bigger than us, something impossible to understand and yet full of hope for the future. It has been promised that, in the end, beautiful and perfect days will come, full of light more brilliant than anything we could ever imagine.

“Let’s not sugarcoat reality. The road to a glorious future is hard and all of us know this. There were great tzaddikim who did not want to live in our generation since they knew this would be a difficult time in every respect. And so, we, a generation of elevated souls, are privileged to be alive today during this momentous time.

“No, we do not have any idea how and when this will happen since we have no inkling of G-d’s plans, but in the air we can smell that something uniquely extraordinary is taking place. And so, I, who never would have imagined nine months ago that I would write something like this, am asking you to join us in prayer.

“All women are invited to come or to pray wherever you are. All of us want peace, tranquility, security, and clarity, and I have no doubt that our prayers have an extremely powerful impact. It is said that in the merit of righteous women Israel was redeemed from Egypt. And it is also said that in the merit of righteous women, we will be redeemed once again.”

Translation by Yehoshua Siskin.