Reflections

The Rebbe believed to his core in the value of the individual. He never lost sight of each tree in the forest.

I have been reading up on the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson and he was obviously a great man. But what made him a Rebbe and not a regular rabbi?

I envision Jethro encountering a long, unkempt, and slow-moving line winding its way through cactus and brush to the open flaps of Moses’ tent where he offered counsel and blessing...

There is a Yiddish word which has no precise English translation. The word is fargin. It translates loosely as “rejoicing in another’s joy.” For whatever reason, people generally find it easier to commiserate with others when they suffer loss, than to rejoice with them in their good fortune...

One might have imagined that the Rebbe's standards for, and expectations from, his own followers might have declined, since his outreach extended to people entirely unaffiliated with Judaism.

The Rebbe saw every Jew as family, as having the same background, that of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs, and, therefore, as having the same potential for a full Jewish life.

We all seek quick success. We pursue individuals whom we deem "successful." Likewise, we run from our failures and are embarrassed to admit them.

Over fifty years ago, my parents were sent by the Rebbe to serve as his emissaries here, in Toronto, Canada. My mother had a hard time adjusting to her new role in the community. She spoke candidly with the Rebbe about the hurdles of adjusting to her new life.The Rebbe would listen, full of compassion...

When we, G-d forbid, hear that something horrible befell another individual, do we feel their pain? Or do we simply move on with life?

It was merely the expectation that I would see the Rebbe again. Or, to be more precise, that he would see me . . .

How does one measure greatness? In the case of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the answer is easily obtained. I know of no one who has left the Rebbe, even after a moment of yehidut (one-on-one meeting), without being deeply affected, if not changed, by their encounter...

Of course, you could always paint pictures on the walls. Perhaps even illuminate them from behind. Or use mirrors, even a battery of television screens. But only a tzaddik can be your window

The suicidal boy informed the Rebbe of his plans. The Rebbe listened, and tears began to course down his cheeks...

A lifeless staff blossoms, and a young boy astounds his listeners with a profound mystical response -- both presumably a result of being touched by holiness. What do we do when we are denied such an opportunity?

Was the Rebbe a rabbi? Well yes, but no. Forget it, I'm not going to be able to explain what the Rebbe was, what the Rebbe is. Years already since his passing, and I don't see any perspective...

Despite the activist manifestations of the Lubavitch Movement, it should be remembered that Lubavitch is primarily an intellectual movement.

In the Rebbe's writings and talks one will find mention here and there of the past -- the Rebbe's own past, the past of his people and of humanity. But the focus is on the future

This is what I long for. Someone I can look up to to teach me by example what a leader should be. So that I can be a better leader of myself, of my family, my community...

Just about everything imaginable was happening--except for what everyone had predicted would happen

In potential, every event occurs some six billion times, experienced uniquely by every person who becomes aware of the happening. In a sense, we don't share a world; we each have our own.

For 92 years, virtually every talk he gave, every letter he wrote and every directive he issued, the theme, the sign-off and the goal was: the coming of Moshiach and the attainment of the Redemption.

We live on shifting sands... The past 100 years, even more so the past fifty, and most of all the past ten, have created a burning need for people who can provide points of convergence...

What if someone said to you, "I love you, but I don't like your children"? You'd probably say: "You don't know anything about who and what I am, and you don't know what love is, either!"

There were never any followers of the Rebbe -- followers couldn't keep up. The Rebbe had only leaders, those who rebelled with him

What do you do if you have a vision, and are determined to see that vision implemented in the life of every man, woman and child on the face of the earth?

Two thousand years after all the sages of Israel, both the pessimists and the optimists, agreed that man was a failed experiment, the Rebbe re-opened the question...

The Rebbe is the antidote to cynicism. Even the calloused cynic, the one who triple-checks affidavits, can't help but trust the Rebbe...

In many people's estimation, Rabbi Sacks among them, the Rebbe was healing the world as a whole, and the Jewish People in particular...

A great leader has died and the Jewish world has become a smaller place. History will chart the achievements of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

Fallacious arguments flew away like frightened bats as we toned the walls of our hearts to prepare for an all-out war -- fairly fought, wind against wind

The Rebbe simply delivered a chassidic discourse and henceforth formally assumed the leadership of the movement. In this historic discourse, the Rebbe laid down the mission statement for his followers...

The memories begin to flood back to me
As I am surrounded by his ways
The visits that we paid to him
As we traveled through our many stays