It makes sense that he should be more present in the supernal realms, given his ascent there, but in what sense is he more present in the physical world? The answer is…that the life of a tzaddik is not corporeal life, as is known, but spiritual life, which is faith, and the fear and love of G-d.
For Gimmel Tammuz, a day to strengthen one’s hiskashrus to the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach, we spoke with the Chabad rosh yeshiva in Tzfas, one of the Rebbe’s shluchim to Eretz Yisroel, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Wilschansky. * Does Chabad welcome questions? How should we be mekarev Jews to Chabad? How do we connect people to the Rebbe nowadays? Why are some Chassidim weak when it comes to inyanei Moshiach? How should we treat answers from the Rebbe by way of the Igros Kodesh? * Part 1
This talk took place about twenty six years ago. The words of the Rebbe at that time were so absolutely unreasonable and beyond the realm of reality. And yet, behold, we see what distant vision he had! We see what is taking place before our very eyes!
The Jew is a conduit to bring G-d’s presence to the world through his or her performance of the Mitzvos. Sinai also revolutionized how we view the role of Jewish leaders. They are not just teachers who guide, inspire and uplift the people; they are the “head souls” who channel Divine energy to the entire Jewish nation in the same manner the brain energizes the entire body.
We believe the Rebbe when it comes to everything, except when it comes to this. We’re having a hard time understanding it. Naturally, this is the biggest thing he ever said, the most revolutionary mivtza he ever came up with…
When a person goes to the Rebbe to ask about a spiritual or material concern, it is not because the Rebbe is an expert in this particular matter, but because the Rebbe is a neshama klalis (general soul), like a head which contains the life force of all the limbs of the body.
Rabbi Yehuda Leib Bistritzky a”h had a special relationship with both the Rebbe Rayatz and the Rebbe and Rebbetzin.
Before Gimmel Tammuz our connection to the Rebbe was through visible and tangible “wires,” through dollars, t’fillos, farbrengens, Lekach and more. Today the connection is not visible. Our children wonder if there is still a way to connect to the Rebbe. It is our job to tell our children that we live in a wireless era.
Two Arab merchants from Akko’s Old City planned to murder their Jewish competitor, who suddenly disappeared without a trace. In response to a letter placed in Igros Kodesh, the Rebbe wrote that he would return home. However, the police reported that they had found a body along the seashore that matched the description of that missing man. This amazing story had a most surprising ending…
A lecture from the Maggid of Yerushalayim, Rabbi Sholom Schwadron (1912-1997) a”h about the statement of Chazal which says, “Yaakov Avinu did not die” and the difficulty people have accepting this literally. * What did the Rambam tell people who had doubts in emuna and what connection is there to what Rav Yochanan said, in his proof to Vespasian? * Word for word from the book, “L’Haggid.” * Presented for Gimmel Tammuz
The bottom line is that people are able to see things they would not otherwise have seen – or guess with confidence about what they were seeing – simply because they thought they could. In other words, this experiment seems to prove that “believing is seeing.” I find this conclusion astounding.
R’ Sholom Dovber (Berel) Shur, shliach to Eretz Yisroel, was a great disseminator of Chassidus in Yerushalayim, in places and among people not yet exposed to the light of Chassidus. * To mark his tragic passing on 3 Tammuz 5753.
June 7, 2013