Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, the Lubavitcher Rebbe
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn of Lubavitch was born on the 11th day of Nissan 5662 (1902) to his father Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneersohn, a fifth-generation scion of the Tzemach Tzedek, the third Lubavitcher Rebbe. His mother was Rebbetzin Chanah, the daughter of Rabbi Meir Shlomo Yanovsky. At the age of seven, the family moved to Yekaterinoslav (now called Dnieper), where his father was appointed as the chief rabbi of the relatively large Jewish community. In Yekaterinoslav, he was privately tutored by Rabbi Shneur Zalman Vilenkin. Alongside his diligence and depth in both the revealed and the mystical aspects of Torah, the Rebbe also excelled in mathematics, geometry, and the sciences. In 1923, he met his future father-in-law and mentor, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Rebbe Rayatz, and on the 14th of Kislev 1928, he married the Rebbe' Rayatz’s daughter, Rebbetzin Chayah Mushkah in Warsaw.
After his marriage, the Rebbe moved to Berlin, where he continued his nearly impossible schedule of Torah studies, while auditing courses in mathematics, physics, and philosophy at a local university and received rabbinical ordination from the author of the Sridei Eish, Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg. In 1933, he moved to Paris and studied naval engineering at École Polytechnique. In 1941, the Rebbe and Rebbetzin fled burning Europe. The Rebbe joined his father-in-law in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn and began to lead the Chabad institutions.
On the 10th of Shevat 1950, the Rebbe Rayatz, passed away, and a year later, on the 10th of Shevat 1951, Rabbi Menachem Mendel was crowned as the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe. On the 22nd of Shevat 1988, Rebbetzin Chayah Mushkah passed away, and the Rebbe referred to her passing as the end of an era and the preparation for a new era leading to the coming of Mashiach. On the 27th of 1 Adar, 1992, while praying at his father-in-law’s grave, the Rebbe suffered a stroke and ceased speaking. This condition continued until Saturday night, the eve of the 3rd of Tammuz 1994, the day when “the sun stopped in Giv’on and the moon in the Valley of Ayalon.”
Some forty years ago, a young woman who grew up in California was aroused to return to her faith. Although she was Jewish, her parents were not connected to Judaism at all. Her father respected the step she took, but it struck her mother's soul to the core (even though she didn’t really know what a soul was...) that her daughter would choose a different path. Her mother vehemently opposed her daughter’s new-found faith and made her life bitter. When the young woman reached the age of eighteen and was legally independent, she was determined to find a place where she could live as a religious Jew. Eventually, an incident occurred where her mother lashed out at her terribly, and in anger, the daughter retorted: “You’re not my mother!” and left home.
From there, the young woman went to New York and enrolled in a school for the newly observant. After several years, she reached marriageable age, but no match worked out. Someone advised her to go to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneershon, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, consult with him, and ask for his blessing.
The yechidut (private audience) with the Rebbe was scheduled for late on Saturday night, at four in the morning. The young woman came to the Chabad Headquarters for the entire Shabbat. It was the first time she was at 770, and she witnessed the happenings there and the respect and nullification of the chasidim towards the Rebbe. When the time for her yechidut arrived, the young woman handed in her note, and the Rebbe read it. The Rebbe turned to her and said: “Were you here on Shabbat? Did you see the royal honor they give me?” It was very strange for the Rebbe to speak like this. “Yes,” she answered. (Apparently, she had been very impressed, and the Rebbe sensed this). The Rebbe began to elaborate on the great honor given to him, and after he did so, he turned to her and said: “Know this: I would give all of this up entirely for just half an hour with my mother of blessed memory.”
With that, the yechidut was over, and the young woman understood the message. Immediately on Sunday morning, she caught a flight to California and returned home after several years away. She asked her mother for forgiveness, her mother asked for forgiveness from her, and shortly after, in Divine providence, she found a very good match, got married, and established a chasidic home.
The Rebbe, as is well known, was very meticulous about honoring his mother. When he visited his mother, he made sure to take leave as he walked backwards, never turning his back to her. He tried to conceal this, finding various “excuses” to justify his way of walking by adjusting the tablecloth, moving a chair, placing something on the table, all the while moving towards the door. Once someone saw this, and when he realized what motivated the Rebbe’s unusual conduct, he mentioned it in awe to the Rebbe’s mother. The Rebbetzin responded with a smile: “What are you amazed by? Since his Bar Mitzvah, I have not once seen his back!”
What inner movement does facing forward express, especially while moving away and walking backward?
The Alter Rebbe answers this very question in a discourse that begins with the verse: “I will walk (ְךֵּלַהְתֶא) before God in the land of the living.” Contrary to the simpler form for “I will walk” (ְךֵלֵא), pronounced Eilech, the form Et’haleich (ְךֵּלַהְתֶא), says the Alter Rebbe, suggests “running and returning,” approaching and distancing. Every person has times of expanded consciousness, in which he draws closer and ascends in the service of God. But everyone also has times when they fall, distance themselves, and are in a state of contracted consciousness.
King David says that in every state of Et’haleich, whether approaching or distancing, a person remains “before God.” Obviously, when approaching, his face is turned towards God. But even when he falls, he continues to think incessantly about the place from which he has grown distant. The same is true regarding parents. Every person, even the most respectful and loving, leaves his parents’ home and goes his own way. Yet, as the Rebbe conveyed to the young woman in the story, this distance does not have to cause the severing of ties. It is both possible, and necessary, says the Rebbe, to distance and approach simultaneously, keeping the heart and face always connected to the place from where we came.
WITH THE CROWN WITH WHICH HIS mOTHER CROWNED HIm
Certainly, the Rebbe was meticulous in honoring both his parents. However, if, by Divine providence, this story is specifically about his mother, there must surely be significance to it. It is related that before his marriage to Rebbetzin Chayah Mushkah, Rebbetzin Channah hinted that the match was on the condition that the Rebbe would be his father-in-law’s successor when the time came. To this, the Rebbe Rayatz replied: “Chasidim have intellect, and they will know to choose the one who is suitable.” Rebbetzin Channah took this as an agreement to her request, and the match was made. Therefore, to a great extent, it was Rebbetzin Channah who ensured the Rebbe was crowned with the leader of Lubavitch (as she surely recognized his virtue and connection to leadership).
From this, we can learn that it is specifically a mother who cares for her child’s “crown.” She is even more sensitive than his father to his great potential and ensures that he can fully realize his life’s mission. This is also evident from a specific verse in Song of Songs: “With the crown with which his mother crowned him on his wedding day” (as occurred at the Rebbe’s wedding). From the moment that he was aware, the Rebbe acknowledged her for this, always making sure to maintain a face-to-face relationship with his mother and receive inspiration from her in fulfilling his royal role. In light of this explanation, the Rebbe’s statement at the beginning of the story is even more meaningful: All the status, the crown, and the honor, they all mean nothing to me compared to my intrinsic connection with my mother, which outweighs it all.
