Next Monday night and Tuesday marks 19 years since the passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. 

I use the word "passing" because I cannot find another. However in the case of a Tzaddik who has no sense of ego or self, and whose entire life is one of devotion and love for G-d and his fellow human beings, the absence of a physical body does not entail a true passing on from this world. On the contrary, the Holy Zohar teaches us that when a Tzaddik passes on, he is to be found in this world MORE than when he was alive. No longer under the constraints of a physical body, yet still deeply caring for his people whose concerns he always put before his own, the Rebbe is now able to give us unlimited strength and vitality.

The Rebbe's manifesto was to reach out to all Jews, and indeed to non-Jews, to bring them closer to G-d and His Torah. Nevertheless, while empowering us while he was alive, and infinitely more so since his passing, he always emphasised that he could not do the job for us. "I can show you the match, but you must light the candle," he once said to Israeli Ambassador Yehuda Avner.

Gimmel Tammuz is a day to rededicate ourselves to the Rebbe's life mission of making this world a "Dwelling Place for G-d". This, the Rebbe taught us, is achieved through realizing the infinite potential for good that exists within us, within others and within the world. It is a challenge to which we must all rise. Shortly before his passing the Rebbe said, "I have done everything that I could, now you must do everything you can, to bring Moshiach down to the world".

On that holy day:

May G-d grant us the strength to rise above the pettiness that fills so much of our lives. May our days be filled with thoughts, words and actions of true and everlasting significance. May we be blessed with the clarity of vision to see that anything of true value that we receive from life is in direct proportion to what we give.

To help us on our mission, and to gain some appreciation of who the Rebbe is, what he achieved and what he wants us to achieve, please click http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/default_cdo/jewish/The-Rebbe.htm

Rabbi Benzion Milecki OAM
Shabbat Korach 5773 Rosh Chodesh Tammuz