When my father-in-law, the [Previous] Rebbe, departed from Russia he said (as he did on a number of occasions) that it was against his will. As he crossed the border he said: although there is a physical barrier separating myself and the Chassidim who remained behind, one need not be intimidated by it. My bond with them will continue as before.
And indeed it was so, not only in a spiritual sense, but even on a more practical level. There are many well-known incidents related by various people that display the Rebbe’s direct involvement from here in activities on the other side of the Iron Curtain, although it would have seemed that in order to orchestrate such thing one would have had to have been “on-scene” at the time.
In other words: even while his soul remained confined to the limitations of a physical body, he was of the ability to determine that the physical barrier should not be of any relevance at all. He was able to maintain the bond with his followers who were acquainted with him prior to his crossing of the border, and in a manner that not only allowed him to connect with them, but that they would be able to reach him as well.
Just as this applies to his having to leave one country to another against his will, so to it is applicable to his status after his passing which is also against his will. If one looks with physical, corporal eyes, he may think that there is – G-d forbid – an interruption in the Rebbe’s connection to us. But the truth is, as the Gemara says, “Just as until now he has tended to us, now as well he continues to do so.”
The answer can be found in the Gemara: “Yaakov Avinu didn’t die”. The Gemara questions this: “But was it for nothing that they eulogized him and embalmed him?” The Gemara answers: “Just as his children are alive, so to he is alive.” Even after this question the Gemara does not recant and explain it in a different way, rather the Gemara remains true to its original statement that, “Yaakov Avinu didn’t die.” Despite the fact that “they eulogized him and embalmed him,” and despite that these activities were really performed, as they are recounted in the Torah; nevertheless, as long as “his children are alive,” then “he also is alive.”