By Eli Rubin, chabad.org
The following teachings are excerpted and freely translated from the inaugural address of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, delivered on the 10th of Shevat, 1951. Mentions of “the Rebbe” refer to the Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the sixth Rebbe of Chabad, who had passed away exactly one year before the inaugural address of his successor.
1. If You Want to Love G d, You Need to Love People
Love of G d, love of the Torah, and Love of the Jewish people are bound up with one another, so much so that they are all one. Only when you love your fellow as yourself are you able to love G d, who transcends the world and is the master of all things. For this reason the Rebbe relinquished his own physical and even spiritual interests out of love for the Jewish people. If you have love of G d but not love of the Torah and love of people, you are actually lacking in love of G d. On the other hand, if you love people you will ultimately come to love the Torah and love G d as well.
2. When a Rebbe Ascends, We Must All Ascend With Him
The Rebbe’s ascent beyond the physical might lead you to think that it has become ever more difficult to connect to him. Know that the contrary is true: Your connection must only increase more and more. Just as the Rebbe constantly ascends to new heights, so we must gather additional strength in order that we may accompany him.
3. Your Purpose Is Far More Profound Than You Think
The Zohar teaches that there is depth within depth, there is the revealed and the hidden, and within the hidden is concealed yet deeper purpose. The Rebbe gifted people with various kinds of missions. Some of us were instructed to engage in a trade or in commerce, but the inner intention was to advance Torah study and mitzvah observance. Others of us were instructed to become spiritual educators, disseminators of Judaism, or simply to teach children the Aleph-Bet. We must all realize that these are all but external garments for a more profound vision. The deeper vision is to spread the wellsprings of Chassidism, and thereby to attain ultimate redemption.
4. The People and the Leader Are One
All who had and have a connection with the Rebbe will continue to have a connection to the Rebbe in the future. You must know that all the instructions received from the Rebbe have an inner intent, and that inner intent is to reveal the inner core of the Torah, that the wellsprings shall be spread to the outside ... and then “Moses and the Jewish people shall sing.” The “and” in this verse (Exodus, 15:1) signifies ultimate connection. The verse uses the singular form of the verb “to sing” (yashir) rather than the plural (yashiru), indicating that the people and their leader become a single entity.
