from correspondence of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
Adar 26, 5710 (1950)
Greetings and blessings, In one of his letters, my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, writes: “Chassidic philosophy brought about a situation in which one is not alone.” If that applied when “the tzaddik (righteous person) was living on this earth... in a physical place,” (Zohar) certainly it applies to a much greater degree at present when “he is found” – even in this world of deed – “more than in his lifetime.” How much more so does this apply with regard to a tzaddik who is also a Rebbe who is “an intermediary who binds” between G-d (Havayah) and the Jewish people!
The name used for G-d, Havayah, is not related to the limitations of nature, Heaven forbid. The intermediary possesses dimensions of both the entities between which he mediates. With regard to his chassidim and those bound to him at present, as previously – for a connection with a Rebbe is one of yechida which is above the concept of time – the motif of bonding is even stronger now. For the chassidim tell their souls and their bodies that we have no other alternative at all. And then there will be no interruption in that bond, Heaven forbid. On the contrary, “the spirit will draw down the spirit.” This will be manifest in spiritual matters and in material matters, in all forms of good. For just as Above, so too below, i.e., with regard to a Rebbe: the nature (i.e., a tendency above nature) of the good is to do good.
10 Nissan, 5710 (1950)
I received your letter of 9 Nissan. In brief, an answer to what you wrote there, can, in my opinion, be found in my preface to the pamphlet published after the passing of the [Previous] Rebbe and in this letter. In reply to the question you raise: that now we cannot ask my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, when there is doubt how to conduct oneself: If you will stand firm in your connection with him, without paying attention to the lures of the yetzer hara (evil inclination), and send the question to the gravesite of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, the Rebbe will find a way to answer you.
12 Nissan, 5710 (1950)
Greetings and blessings, ...My revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, dedicated his life for the benefit of the Jewish people as a whole and for every Jew as an individual in particular, and most particularly, to those who bound themselves to him. He certainly conveys his influence to them at present as well. Nevertheless, the influence he conveys is at present – to a certain degree - different from what it was previously. For at present, his soul is free from all the limitations and constraints of the body and can ascend to one peak after another. (This is the meaning of the term histalkus.) Hence the influence that he grants – both the material and the spiritual influence – is also on a higher and more elevated plane.
As a natural consequence, this demands that a recipient adapt himself to that higher influence by elevating himself. Throughout his life, my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, taught us how to proceed forward, not only on the level of thought, but also in actual fact. Even now, his lips are moving even in this world through his numerous teachings, discourses, talks, and letters. Through fulfilling his desire and will in actual practice, we generate the mediums through which to receive the elevated influence that he wishes to convey to us. and in your holy work...