B''H
Hey everyone, hoping all is well-and that this email reaches you in
peace and happiness.
In the last years of his life, the nearly 90 yr. old Lubavitcher Rebbe
would stand and give out dollars (to be given to charity) to an
endless line of Jews who would pass by him every Sunday. The span of
this line was often times 7-8 hrs. long. One Sunday, a mystified
elderly Jewish woman asked the Rebbe, after receiving a dollar, how it
was humanly possible to stand for so long?
The Rebbe, smiling, answered her, "one doesn't get tired counting diamonds."
This thursday marks the anniversary of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe's
assuming of leadership of the Chabad movement in 1951. It was evident
to all whom he touched that every Jew was truly a precious diamond.
Miracle stories abound (some I've heard 1st hand) of the miracles he
did. The pearls of wisdom and important guidance & teachings are well
documented. The Rebbe emphasized the way of life of a Jew in this
specific generation: A life characterized Joy, humility, and kindness.
But 2 things stand out most from the teachings of the Rebbe, and
everything that he stood for: 1) The love of our fellow Jew, and 2)
the imminent closeness of the redemption of our people from exile.
Both of them, the Rebbe taught, are also connected: Why did G-d
destroy the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem in the 1st place? Our sages say,
b/c of "causeless hatred" of a fellow Jew. To repair this and bring
the 3rd Temple and Redemption of our people to Israel, the Rebbe
demanded "causeless" love.
How can we be expected to do this, when by nature a human being loves
himself more than others? By realizing that every Jew has literally
part of G-d Within him (his soul), that he is a "diamond", this should
arouse love within you. You love G-d right?
Wait, but what if he/she doesn't do Mitzvot or learn Torah?
A man once asked the Rebbe for a blessing for his brother, who "had no
connection to Judaism."
The Rebbe suddenly became serious, and answered: "He's the son of
Avraham, Issac and Ya'akov, Sarah, Rivkah, Rochel and Leah. Tell him
he has a connection." The connection of a Jew's neshamoh (soul) to G-d
isn't open for debate. It's a fact. It's never lost, only sometimes
covered over.
And what if a Jew doesn't feel this connection?
Then he just has to clean off his diamond, to remove the dirt. To
reveal what's already there.
The Rebbe told us (like only a leader of a generation can) that the
final redemption of our people is at hand. Any minute now "Moshiach"
will come and redeem all of us to Israel, bringing everlasting joy and
peace to our people. What is left for us to do in these last moments
of exile? To increase in good acts, "Mitzvot", any prayer or Torah
study learned; this will bring us 1 step closer to this imminent
redemption. With joy and positivity, each of us can personally improve
on 1 thing at a time. 1 Shabbos candle lighting, 1 tefillin wrap, one
kind word to another, one big smile directed to a sad person, this is
what will bring the redemption speedily in our days.
for more on the Rebbe, visit:
http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/default_cdo/jewish/The-Rebbe.htm
Hey everyone, hoping all is well-and that this email reaches you in
peace and happiness.
In the last years of his life, the nearly 90 yr. old Lubavitcher Rebbe
would stand and give out dollars (to be given to charity) to an
endless line of Jews who would pass by him every Sunday. The span of
this line was often times 7-8 hrs. long. One Sunday, a mystified
elderly Jewish woman asked the Rebbe, after receiving a dollar, how it
was humanly possible to stand for so long?
The Rebbe, smiling, answered her, "one doesn't get tired counting diamonds."
This thursday marks the anniversary of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe's
assuming of leadership of the Chabad movement in 1951. It was evident
to all whom he touched that every Jew was truly a precious diamond.
Miracle stories abound (some I've heard 1st hand) of the miracles he
did. The pearls of wisdom and important guidance & teachings are well
documented. The Rebbe emphasized the way of life of a Jew in this
specific generation: A life characterized Joy, humility, and kindness.
But 2 things stand out most from the teachings of the Rebbe, and
everything that he stood for: 1) The love of our fellow Jew, and 2)
the imminent closeness of the redemption of our people from exile.
Both of them, the Rebbe taught, are also connected: Why did G-d
destroy the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem in the 1st place? Our sages say,
b/c of "causeless hatred" of a fellow Jew. To repair this and bring
the 3rd Temple and Redemption of our people to Israel, the Rebbe
demanded "causeless" love.
How can we be expected to do this, when by nature a human being loves
himself more than others? By realizing that every Jew has literally
part of G-d Within him (his soul), that he is a "diamond", this should
arouse love within you. You love G-d right?
Wait, but what if he/she doesn't do Mitzvot or learn Torah?
A man once asked the Rebbe for a blessing for his brother, who "had no
connection to Judaism."
The Rebbe suddenly became serious, and answered: "He's the son of
Avraham, Issac and Ya'akov, Sarah, Rivkah, Rochel and Leah. Tell him
he has a connection." The connection of a Jew's neshamoh (soul) to G-d
isn't open for debate. It's a fact. It's never lost, only sometimes
covered over.
And what if a Jew doesn't feel this connection?
Then he just has to clean off his diamond, to remove the dirt. To
reveal what's already there.
The Rebbe told us (like only a leader of a generation can) that the
final redemption of our people is at hand. Any minute now "Moshiach"
will come and redeem all of us to Israel, bringing everlasting joy and
peace to our people. What is left for us to do in these last moments
of exile? To increase in good acts, "Mitzvot", any prayer or Torah
study learned; this will bring us 1 step closer to this imminent
redemption. With joy and positivity, each of us can personally improve
on 1 thing at a time. 1 Shabbos candle lighting, 1 tefillin wrap, one
kind word to another, one big smile directed to a sad person, this is
what will bring the redemption speedily in our days.
for more on the Rebbe, visit:
http://www.chabad.org/
No comments:
Post a Comment