To see the TREES AND THE FOREST TOO

Lives a most insulated life yet is cosmopolitan and knows everything current

The Rebbe hardly left his place of residence and office for all the years of his Nesius-leadership. Besides going to the Ohel, the gravesite of his father-in-law, the Frierdiker Rebbe, twice a week, standing there for hours, the Rebbe hardly went to any other place in the world or even in the city of New York. The Rebbe never took off even a day for a vacation. Anyone else in this position would be considered a hermit and would be oblivious to what was going on in the world.

Yet the Rebbe was aware of all the most recent trends, political, scientific, medical breakthroughs, military, and even the negative social trends. He was certainly aware and intimately involved in all of the matters concerning the Jewish community.

The Rebbe was even intimately aware of the inside intrigues of the Israeli Cabinet, for example, even though the Rebbe had never even visited Israel.

Values structure, yet emphasizes breaking out of boundaries

When the Rebbe spoke of the need for us to increase our efforts to bring Moshiach he stated that we should fuse the “lights of Tohu in vessels of Tikkun.”

The “world of Tohu” in Kabbalah, is a world of chaos where the G-dly energy is too powerful for the vessels to contain. As a result, there was a shattering of the vessels.

The world of Tikkun is our world where the Divine energy is attenuated to conform to the vessels.

In simple language, Tohu is an unconventional world and Tikkun is a conventional world. Our goal, the Rebbe explained, is to make the powerful and unconventional energy of Tohu fit into the broad and ample vessels of the conventional world of Tikkun.

This paradox is personified by the Rebbe. While he wanted everything to run within structures and he built myriads of organizations and institutions, yet he always “pushed the envelope” to do more and get us to go beyond our potential and transcend those very boundaries he established.

Most community oriented and most individual oriented

 While the Rebbe was very much into promoting healthy communal life and was the equivalent of a “CEO” of hundreds of organizations, dealt with world leaders, yet he had a personal and intimate relationship with thousands of individuals. 

The Rebbe took a personal interest in individuals who could think that they are the only people whom the Rebbe dealt with.

I am aware of several people who have a collection of letters from the Rebbe, enough to fill an entire book. 

I knew a Jew from Holland, a simple Jew who was inspired by the Rebbe to become an observant Jew, who received letters from the Rebbe regularly. These letters uplifted him and made his day.

A Jew had a private audience with the Rebbe after Simchas Torah. The Rebbe asked him how his 10-year-old son’s eyes were? The father was puzzled at this question because he wasn’t aware that his son had any medical problem.

The Rebbe then clarified. “On Rosh Hashanah when I turn around after the sounding of the Shofar (in accordance with the custom that Ba’al Tokei’ah views the entire congregation), I noticed that your son was not wearing glasses. However, three weeks later on Simchas Torah, when I was turning around during the dancing at Hakafos, I noticed that your son was wearing glasses…”

On these two occasions, thousands of Jews were huddled together to form one mass of humanity. Yet, the Rebbe’s laser beam vision noticed and was concerned for a little child.

There are thousands of stories like these of the Rebbe’s total dedication to the needs of individuals.

In an article penned by Dr. Hillel Zeidman, he makes a remarkable observation. When he would have a private audience with the Rebbe, the Rebbe would always find a way to steer the discussion towards a communal need.

Conversely, when he would come to a Farbrengen, at which the Rebbe would be addressing the most urgent communal needs to thousands present, the Rebbe would turn around between talks and ask him about his family and other personal matters.

He realized that the Rebbe viewed the individual through the prism of the group and the group through the prism of the individual. 

Some people cannot see the trees because of the forest and others cannot see the forest because of the trees. The Rebbe challenged that premise and demonstrated that we must do both.■