Ten years ago, in the summer of 2014, bestselling author Joseph Telushkin came to El Paso for an event at UTEP promoting his newest New York Times bestselling biography: Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, The Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History. Over 400 people attended the lecture and he spent the evening reflecting on how his life had been enriched in the five years he researched the Rebbe’s vast teachings and remarkable life.
Over dinner following the lecture, I shared with him my favorite passage from the book. In the chapter entitled “Leadership After Life” Telushkin noted that after the Rebbe’s passing, Chabad had grown - and continues to grow - exponentially, a phenomenon that defies all predictions. He concluded: The secret of Chabad’s growth since the Rebbe’s death is the secret of its growth during the Rebbe’s life: the Rebbe himself.
He appreciated that I noticed it.
I was eight years old when the Rebbe passed away in the summer of 1994. We traveled as a family to Brooklyn to participate in the enormous funeral. I vividly remember the mood. It was devastating. Later I learned the pundits at the time predicted the demise of the Chabad Lubavitch movement. The movement that emerged from the ashes of the Holocaust and Communist religious persecution and blossomed into an empire of global influence in every aspect of Jewish life will not survive in the absence of its dynamic leader, they said.
The exact opposite occurred. Two days later we returned home and my parents continued their work. In 1986 the Rebbe sent them to El Paso to establish a permanent Chabad presence, to strengthen Jewish awareness and engagement, and to share Judaism’s global message to everyone in town. As a child, I was keenly aware of the all-encompassing influence the Rebbe had in our lives – which only intensified over time.
I’m not unique. Thousands of children my age shared the same experience and thirty years later, the eight-year-olds of 1994 have joined the global Chabad network that has tripled in size since that fateful day and are proudly raising their children under the Rebbe’s influence. During this time Chabad families have moved to places previously unimagined and have transformed spiritual wastelands into thriving Jewish communities. When you ask them why they do it, the answer is the same, even though many were born after 1994: the Rebbe.
But the families living out in the boondocks are just an extreme example of a phenomenon playing out everywhere. Lives are changing and the world is becoming a better place every day because of the Rebbe’s influence.
This influence is not only due to the timelessness of the Rebbe’s lessons and guidance which continues to enlighten millions and enrich their lives. According to Jewish tradition even after the passing of our righteous leaders, their presence continues to be felt in the physical world just as during their lifetimes. And their presence can be accessed and felt through learning their teachings, visiting their holy resting place and joining their mission.
It was never a secret. The growth of Chabad is the inevitable result of the Rebbe’s continued presence in our world, guiding us toward the ultimate redemption through Moshiach.
As we observe the Rebbe’s thirtieth Yartzeit the Third of Tammuz (Thuesday, July 9) I encourage you to learn more about the Rebbe here. Please do an extra mitzvah, give more charity, and encourage others to do the same on this auspicious day. Learn the Rebbe’s teachings and connect to the timeless truths that continue to shape and galvanize our generation to prepare our world for the coming of Moshiach, when peace and tranquility will reign for all.