Living Torah Archives

Many observers remain stumped by the unparalleled success that Chabad continues to see in its efforts in Jewish outreach. How is it, they wonder, that the movement can maintain such a rigid adherence to Jewish law and observance, while still welcoming Jews of every stripe, no matter their background or level of observance? In this fascinating talk, the Rebbe reconciles the apparent paradox and lays out his approach to Jewish outreach, for every time and every place.

Rabbi Yaakov Reitzes has served as rabbi of Yesod Hama’ala and the Upper Galilee in Israel for close to forty years. In 1976 he was part of a delegation of students sent by the Rebbe to Israel, where he remained and married. After receiving an offer to move as the Chabad emissary to Yesod Hama’ala, a tiny settlement at the time, he and his wife asked the Rebbe if it was worth their time and effort. By now, they know it was and continues to be.

The Mishnah instructs us to “Be a student of Aaron,” love peace, pursue peace; love G-d’s creations...” Notably, the passage concludes, “and bring them close to Torah.”

In a culture of “live and let live” you might convince yourself that another person’s religious commitments are none of your business. But ask yourself what you’d do if you truly cared about your fellow’s welfare. And why should someone’s spiritual needs be any less important than their physical needs.

All too often, it’s those with the most to contribute that are complacent when it comes to securing a future for the Jewish people. Here, the Rebbe expounds on a passage from Maimonides’ book of Jewish law to show that when it comes to the battle for Jewish continuity, nobody gets a pass.

In recent decades, we have experienced a level of liberty that our grandparents could have only dreamed about. Of course, this level of freedom brings about its own challenges as we try to dedicate ourselves towards the service of our Creator.

Scenes of the Rebbe distributing dollars to emissaries of Chabad from all around the world.

Shortly after getting married, Gittel Eidelman moved with her husband to Morocco as emissaries of the Rebbe. Having grown up in England, Morocco wasn’t exactly a natural place for her to end up living. It was an interesting place for them to have ended up, but with the Rebbe’s guidance, they succeeded in having a real impact on the community there. (1959)

The Talmud states that when two people lift a load together, they have significantly more than twice the strength of one. This is most certainly the case when the efforts of many are combined. When we all work together, our true abilities are much greater than we can ever imagine.

Rabbi Yossi Gordon is a teacher in Yeshiva College in Melbourne Australia, and the director of Chabad of Tasmania. After hearing from the Rebbe about the greatness of serving Jews in remote places, he volunteered to assist in the Rebbe’s efforts to bring Judaism as far as Tasmania. A paper the Rebbe gave him before leaving keeps him inspired until this day.

Rabbi Tzvi Grunblatt is the regional director of Chabad-Lubavitch in Argentina. In this account from 1976, he recalls his first shot at promoting the teachings of Judaism and Chassidism. After complaining to the Rebbe about what he felt was his lack of success, the Rebbe rejected this notion. The Rebbe’s answer, beyond inspiring him, is sure to remind of our own privileges and responsibilities.

Rabbi Yaakov Lieder recalls making the decision to become an emissary of the Rebbe in Sydney Australia. In what he thought was a noble sense of dedication to the Rebbe’s vision, he asked the Rebbe to send him wherever he saw fit. The Rebbe’s answer – or the lack of it – contained a powerful lesson. (1970's)

Abraham broke his natural tendencies to follow G-d. We can (and must!) do the same.

Youth have an important advantage over their older peers. While older people spend much time deliberating over the merits and demerits of ideas, it is the young people that are driven to concrete action.

Three days after leaving Egypt to receive the Torah, the Jewish people found themselves trapped between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army, which was fast approaching.

Rabbi Yehoshua Gordon relates that when he and his family were facing a difficult challenge in their work as Chabad emissaries, his wife wrote to the Rebbe for advice and blessing. To this day, the words of the Rebbe’s response hang framed in Rabbi Gordon’s office.

When a chassid asked the Rebbe Rashab, “What is a chassid?” the Rebbe Rashab answered him, “A chassid is a lamplighter.” He has an obligation to ignite the spark in his fellow Jew’s G-dly soul.

In our daily lives we come into contact with a variety of people, whether family, friends, coworkers or employees, and our interaction with them is often limited by the way we perceive them.

The Torah relates that when the Jewish people were preparing to enter the land of Israel, Moses sent spies to scout out the city of Ya’azer and its environs, which the Jews would have to cross in order to enter the Holy Land.

Rabbi Shabsi Alpern and his wife were among the first to answer the Rebbe’s call to leave Crown Heights for lifelong Shlichus in far-off lands. But when they stopped at 770 on their way to the airport, the Rebbe didn’t show up to say good-bye... (1961)

uring the 1980s, renowned podiatrist Dr. Elliot Udell would treat the Rebbe and Rebbetzin at their home on President Street. One time, he shared with the Rebbe an experience he had of a Chabad Shliach’s outreach efforts, which he expected would displease the Rebbe...(late 1980s)

Rabbi Yosef Wineberg worked for the central Lubavitcher Yeshiva, and traveled on numerous missions for the Previous Rebbe and the Rebbe over his 60 years of service. In 1955, the Rebbe asked him to visit Madagascar in search of fellow Jews.

In the summer of 1968, Rabbi Moshe Feller was invited to be a visiting scholar at Bnai Brith’s Youth Leadership camp in Pennsylvania. When some of the teenagers asked him to Farbreng with them in honor of Yud Beis Tammuz, he reluctantly agreed, giving up his chance to enjoy the Rebbe’s Farbrengen in New York. Or so he thought...

Someone once asked my father-in-law, the Rebbe: “Jewish Law describes certain types of Jews that one should shun. Why, then, do you treat all Jews equaly with love?”

Rabbi Avraham Korf is head Shliach of the State of Florida. He recalls some of the Rebbe’s instructions to him as a young rabbinic student in Crown Heights during the 1950s waiting to go on Shlichus.

Rabbi Nachman Sudak is Head Shliach of the United Kingdom. He recalls his days as a young rabbinic student at 770, when the Rebbe began to call upon young couples to pick up their lives and move across the globe to reach out to fellow Jews. (Late 1950s)

Torah teaches that the whole world was created for the sake of the Jewish People’s service of G-d. President Kennedy’s recent establishment of the US Peace Corps serves as a reminder of a similar call that has been made here…

“Man is a tree of the field.” The Sages of the Talmud apply this verse to the Jew. Torah is the core of a Jew’s being, and Torah must effect his actions so that he bears good fruits — good deeds. But when we say that a Jew must be “fruitful,” first and foremost he must reproduce his own essence.

My father-in-law, the Rebbe endeavored to disseminate Torah and Mitzvos to even the most remote corners of the earth. But if one could benefit more Jews closer to home, why invest so much effort to reach one single Jew or one Jewish family?

In discussing the mechanism of legal agency, Jewish law sees the "principal" working through the "emissary" in three possible ways: 1) The emissary's final achievement is attributed to the principal 2) The emissary's every action is attributed to the principal 3) The emissary completely embodies the principal.

A few days before Yom Kippur in 1964, a sudden request came to 770 from a Jew who worked on a US Air force base in Greenland, to send a Shliach there to conduct the Yom Kippur services. Rabbi Shmuel Lew was called to duty.

“Shliach” and “Moshiach” share the same Hebrew letters and numerical value. The supporters are Shluchim as well. We will soon greet Moshiach with all the Shluchim, their families, and their students.