Op-Ed: Tell the World That There’s a Rebbe!
Rabbi Gershon Avtzon: We find ourselves in the days between two significant dates on the Chassidishe calendar — 28 Sivan, the 85th anniversary of the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach and Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka’s miraculous arrival to America, and Gimmel Tammuz. These are not simply dates on a calendar. They bookend a single, essential truth that we must carry with us into the world: Yesh Rebbe B’Yisroel — the Rebbe is here now and is actively leading us to the Geulah! • Read More
By Rabbi Gershon Avtzon
We find ourselves in the days between two significant dates on the Chassidishe calendar — 28 Sivan, the 85th anniversary of the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach and Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka’s miraculous arrival to America, and Gimmel Tammuz. These are not simply dates on a calendar. They bookend a single, essential truth that we must carry with us into the world: Yesh Rebbe B’Yisroel — the Rebbe is here now and is actively leading us to the Geulah!
The Power of a Sincere Word
We all know the famous letter of the Rebbe (Igros Kodesh, Volume 3, page 53, #445), in which the Rebbe writes to Reb Shlomo Chaim Kesselman — then living in France — about the importance of connecting people to the Rebbe. In the middle of this lengthy letter, the Rebbe shares the following story:
“There was a young man who was forced to flee from his location. This person is not one who has a connection with the Divine service of meditative prayer. He is not devoted to the abstract contemplation of Chassidus (a ‘maskil’), nor to applying these teachings in his efforts for self-refinement (an ‘oved’). He does not even have a beard. He never studied in Tomchei Temimim or in any other yeshivah. This person journeyed to a very distant place, one far removed both physically and in its connection to Jewish life.
After a short time passed, men and women from that place began to develop a relationship with my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe shlita. For example, a businesswoman who was offered an opportunity to rent a store and a dwelling in one part of the city or another asked the Rebbe shlita to decide what she should do. She has never seen him. She knows that my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe shlita, has never been to her city, nor even to her country. She is not part of Anash, the Chassidic brotherhood, nor are her roots there. But she heard the young man speak sincerely, with words coming from the heart, that there is a Rebbe among the Jewish people — that he is not bound by the limitations of nature, and that a person who wants to follow a secure path, whether in business or in running his household, should not make a move without asking the Rebbe.
She saw that the young man’s words reflected his inner feelings, because words of truth can be recognized, and she asked that her question be written to the Rebbe.”
The lesson is clear: one of the greatest tools we have to demonstrate that we have a Rebbe today is by encouraging people to write to the Rebbe and witness the answers they personally receive. I would like to share a story I experienced recently.
“Put It on the Rebbe’s Account”
A few weeks ago, the administrator of the Yeshiva came to me with a list of parents who still had outstanding financial commitments to the Yeshiva. Two names were marked differently. He explained that these two families had recently lost their jobs and were simply not in a position to pay. I know these parents — they are honest and sincere people. They have large families, following the Rebbe’s clear directives, and they do their very best.
After thinking it over, I told the administrator: since these parents genuinely tried to keep their commitments but simply cannot, we must “put it on the Rebbe’s account.” I was convinced that the Rebbe would find a way to show us he would take care of these two students.
Less than an hour later, I received a phone call from a businessman I know. He and his business partner — who is not yet observant — were going through a particular difficulty, and he asked if I could write a letter to the Rebbe on their behalf. I wrote the letter and opened a volume of the Rebbe’s Igros Kodesh (Volume 5, page 225), where I found a letter written to a couple both experiencing health challenges. The Rebbe explained that they needed to make a special widening of their vessels in order to receive blessings, and then offered this practical application:
“My opinion is that both of you should take upon yourselves to support the learning of a student in the institutions that bear the Rebbe’s name.”
I read this letter to the businessman and asked him to sit with his partner and explain what it means to receive an answer from the Rebbe through Igros Kodesh. The partner fully accepted the answer — and they each paid the tuition for one of the two students.
I was stunned and nearly moved to tears. Just an hour earlier I had told my administrator that the Rebbe would take care of these two students’ tuition — and within the hour, it was paid in full. I went to my computer and sent a simple email to each of the parents: “The Rebbe loves you and took care of your tuition bill in full.”
Lchaim, Chassidim! That the Rebbe is alive is beyond question. The only question we need to answer is whether we are alive.
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Please feel free to share your thoughts by sending me a personal email: [email protected]
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