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Why the Big Picture of the Rebbe in your Home?
Discuss (15)Question:
Many thanks to you and your wife for Friday night dinner. We had a great time. I just had one question. I noticed you have a huge picture of your Rebbe, Rabbi Schneersohn, on the wall. I don't mean to be rude, but is this type of reverence for a human being appropriate?
Answer:
I do revere the Rebbe, but not because he was superhuman. On the contrary.
Here was a man that received up to one thousand letters a day and answered them all; advised concerned parents of unwell children and singles searching for life-partners with the same love and attention as he advised presidents and prime-ministers on world affairs; had the vision to set up a web of institutions around the globe in order to rebuild Judaism after the war; promoted values and morals for the non-Jewish world; was as comfortable in the sciences as he was in Torah wisdom, and found G-d in both; healed the sick with his blessings, and answered people's questions before they even asked them; took the responsibility of the world on his shoulders, but had time for every individual.
These are just a sample of his qualities. But above all this, why I revere him was because he was human. For a superhuman to achieve all the above is no big deal. They don't have to work hard to become heroes. But for a human being of flesh and blood it is nothing short of amazing.
That's why I have a picture of the Rebbe on my wall. It always reminds me of what a human can achieve, and that I can always do more to better the world.
I only saw the Rebbe once. But it is due to his influence that I am today an active and proud Jew. His teachings inspired me to become a rabbi - otherwise, who knows? I may have been a B-grade trapeze artist or struggling plumber's assistant. The very fact that I am writing these words and you are reading them is thanks to the Rebbe's vision.
From the Rebbe's teachings I have learned what G-d is. From his life I have learnt what humans can be.
By Aron Moss
Rabbi Aron Moss teaches Kabbalah, Talmud and practical Judaism in Sydney, Australia, and is a frequent contributor to Chabad.org.
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Chicago land
However, his picture, especially those where he smiles and looks straight at the camera with those piercing eyes that seem to say, "Have you done tshuvah? What are you waiting for?" means a lot to me. I tore the cover off a magazine and stuck it in a frame and sometimes it catches my eye. I don't pray to it. It's not avodah zorah. It's just a reminder, like a sign saying, "Be the best you can be!" Or, perhaps, "You can do it!"
Posted By Mark Goodman, Omaha, Nebraska
My feelings exactly. Sometimes it's encouraging. Other times it feels more like a reproach. Either way, it's a man who has done something worthwhile who is challenging me to do something worthwhile, whether it be plumbing or whatever.
It is totally different from a shrine. And yes, I do have family photos on the wall in the same room. He, too, is "family".
Chicago
I agree though there's a fine line we must be careful about when it comes to wishing to honor our fellows. It's the difference between a portrait and a shrine. And like pornography vs "art" we know it when we see it. For myself, I don't have pictures of representations of even family hanging up in my home. Just a personal thing, have no Torah to support it though the commandments not to make representations of anything on earth, in the sea, or in the heavens would seem applicable and I know the Amish don't use pictures of make representations of such things for this very reason. So maybe we outta take a lesson from those farm-folk and be more cautious about such things.
My concern is about elevating any Man, hwoever exceptional to divine status and drawing worship away from where it belongs... ;)
Springfield, MO/USA
slc, ut
I eventually developed those simple encounters I had with the Rebbe as a child, that they became a life altering experience. The Rebbe changed my life. Therefore I have a photo of the Rebbe on my wall; it encourages me to continue to aspire to do more and more every day in strengthening my connection to Hashem.
I study the great works of the Rambam, but I never met him personally.
New York, NY
taylors, s.c
Pittsburgh, PA / USA
However, his picture, especially those where he smiles and looks straight at the camera with those piercing eyes that seem to say, "Have you done tshuvah? What are you waiting for?" means a lot to me. I tore the cover off a magazine and stuck it in a frame and sometimes it catches my eye. I don't pray to it. It's not avodah zorah. It's just a reminder, like a sign saying, "Be the best you can be!" Or, perhaps, "You can do it!"
Omaha, Nebraska
PS: Dear reader, sorry for my bad english, its not my native language, i hope you understand.
caracas, venezuela
chabadcostarica.com