“When a tzaddik departs he is to be found in all the worlds more than during his lifetime.”1

In Tanya,2 the Alter Rebbe explains that this does not refer only to the spiritual realms. That is obvious. The intent rather is that even in this material world, a tzaddik’s presence is more powerfully felt after his passing than during his lifetime. For during his lifetime, his physical body, however refined it might be, restricts the extent to which his disciples can be nourished by the contact of their souls with his. After his passing, those restrictions no longer exist.

This means that the stories related above are not merely past history. Instead, they reflect an ongoing initiative that is as powerful as during the Rebbe’s lifetime, and indeed more powerful.

After the death of the Previous Rebbe, the Rebbe Rayatz, the Rebbe told the chassidim to continue directing their requests for blessings to the Previous Rebbe. “He will find a way,” the Rebbe explained, “to communicate his response.”

What the Rebbe told us about the Previous Rebbe certainly holds true with regard to himself.3 As the stories to follow indicate, he finds a way to respond.

Anyone who spoke to the Rebbe had the feeling that, at the time the Rebbe was speaking to him, the Rebbe’s concentration was focused solely on him. No matter how petty that person’s concerns were, the Rebbe invested himself in them, showing that person the utmost care and attention. Today that motif continues.

But that is only part of the story. Perhaps most significant is the fact that the Rebbe’s work Jewish outreach, and performing this in the most complete way, so that it will lead to the coming of Mashiach is still going on, and indeed, has continued to grow. It is hard to believe, but the number of new shluchim, young couples going to outlying places to put the Rebbe’s mission into practice, has grown year by year in greater numbers. New Lubavitch centers are continually springing up and the existing centers are widening their scope of activity. His influence is being felt more than during his lifetime.