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Review: The Oracle is Oxymoronic

by Yochanan Gordon

The Oracle is a beautiful coffee-table-sized book published by Redux Pictures, 380 pages filled with pictures taken throughout the early 1990s by New York Times photojournalist Marc Asnin in concert with a series of 40+ interviews conducted by the talented Chasidic writer and researcher Dovid Zaklikowski featuring life-defining encounters of Joe Lieberman, Newt Gingrich, Yehuda Krinsky, Devorah Halberstam, the late Vice Chairman of Merkos L’inyanei Chinuch, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, and many more.

The book’s name was taken from an article that appeared for the first time by Michael Specter in The New York Times Magazine together with Asnin’s photography as well as a reflection from the author and photojournalist on the Rebbe and the endurance of the Chabad organization over thirty years out from their first seeing the light of day. From the moment that Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson ascended to the helm of Lubavitcher Rebbe in the year 1951, he was laser focused on creating a dwelling place for G-d’s glory in the lowest realms, an initiative which he spearheaded and rolled out from his office on Eastern Parkway with the help and self-sacrifice of countless men, women, and children who would sit in his private company or pass by him in the narrow corridor where he’d distribute dollars, blessings, and a mandate to spread G-dliness throughout the far flung corners of the world.

To be sure, despite the fact that Specter and Asnin were sent by dint of their expertise on a job to do a story that was largely outside of the area that they normally reported on, while they may have initially entered the iconic 770 as journalists sent to report, from the moment they entered the Rebbe’s line of vision they too represented pivotal players in the Rebbe’s arsenal to vanquish darkness and fill the world with the light of G-d. In Asnin’s own words: “It was a moment that changed me, when I stepped through the doors at 770 Eastern Parkway. Some people say that life is predestined—that’s above my pay grade—but with this assignment to photograph the Rebbe, I was led toward what I had been looking for my entire life.”

There is something contradictory or oxymoronic about this book. Asnin captured iconic photos of the Rebbe that are featured throughout this impressive volume. Many of the people interviewed throughout this book would be put through situations that they never thought they would have the wherewithal to endure or to accomplish things that they never would have imagined that they’d achieve. The Rebbe, however, believed in them more than they believed in themselves. Through the power of the Talmudic dictum of shlichus wherein the messenger assumes the persona of the sender, the Rebbe would spend decades conferring his spirit upon those he’d come in contact with, acting vicariously through them. On the one hand the pictures within this book suggest that the Rebbe was a personality who would fit within the lens of the camera while the interview section of the book, both of which are artfully paginated, describes the ubiquitousness of this one figure who but for a few solitary times would never leave the confines of his office at 770 yet was capable of creating revolution, which continues to break new ground thirty years since his physical demise.

The Oracle is a depiction of a transition in time between leaders and followers to one in which every person lives with the consciousness that they are critical components in fulfilling the objective of creation. I don’t know if it was Asnin, but I am reminded of a video clip of a farbrengen where the Rebbe was scanning the expansive crowd gathered in 770, toasting l’chaim to each one as he was known to do. At one moment the Rebbe turned around looking up at the photographer on set, motioning to him with the shot glass in his hand to also grab a shot and wish l’chaim. The Rebbe’s secret to success was that he lived in a realm of consciousness wherein every person and situation was a rendezvous with G-d and he literally treated it as such.

This book was titled The Oracle, describing the Rebbe as a prescient, visionary religious leader which he certainly was. But what I think it is suggesting or perhaps anticipating is the future era described by the prophets as a time when your sons and daughters will be prophets. As Moshe Rabbeinu answered Yehoshua after he complained about Eldad and Meidad prophesizing about Moshe’s impending passing, “What would I give for all the Jewish nation to be prophets?”

This book is a must have. But it’s not meant to be tucked away in a bookshelf in one’s study, rather it is meant to sit upon a coffee table in one’s family room calling attention, in Rebbe-esque fashion to passersby to remember that they are here first and foremost to make this world into a dwelling place for G-d and that there was a Rebbe in the world that believed in your ability to get it done.

In honor of Chanukah, The Oracle is available at a discount at https://www.hasidicarchives.com/orpoofremesc.html

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30 Comments

  • Shlomie

    Wonderful article however, you finish off how there was a rebbe.

    There is a Rebbe,we may not see him physically but he is here.

    – Tanya Igros Kodesh 27
    – Tannis 5b
    גדולים צדיקים במיתתם יותר מבחייהם.

    Yes we need to act on the being part of our lives, chassidus, nigle, farbrengins, mivtzoi, everything else that comes with it.
    But the Rebbe!? Ch”v to think that he left us to row our boat alone!?!

    • physically here?

      Do you believe that the Rebbe is alive? Do you expect that others should believe that?

  • Please don't buy this

    Please do not buy this book there are some disgusting articles about the Rebbe and there is no reason why we should be supporting him
    It’s absolutely abhorrent and people should learn that just because someone writes a book about the Rebbe they can write whatever they want even if it is disgusting and extremely chitzpadik and we will just follow blindly

    • re: don't buy

      those who never purchased or read the book are blind. dig your head into the ground, while you look at every shmutz around you, but a book about the Rebbe you bashmutz. you are a self hating Lubavitcher. shame on you. let our ahavah to everything about the Rebbe triumph. love you Marc, you are the best, disregard the haters, they do not represent Chabad

  • A monumental document

    A tome, this book has so much in it, it took me weeks to read and digest… There is nothing like this book on the Rebbe, and those who marched to his orders!

    • yes, yes!

      If just for the essay from Alan Dershowitz who flipped from a hater to a lover, or Newt Gingrich’s essay, this book is worth the price
      but then you have the essay by Reb Moshe Kotlarsky, and you just dont stop crying . the love Devorah Halberstam received is mind boggling
      no clue why this was never done before. keep up the good work!

  • Brought me back to 770

    This book brought me back to 770 as it was in תשנב… The writers (and surely the interviewer) did a truly fantastic job on tapping into those deep feelings that we had in those days.

    I recommend this book to anyone who wants to reconnect to those days.

  • intimate moments

    The Oracle is both captivating and visually striking. Marc Asnin’s photographs of the Rebbe are exceptionally beautiful, capturing intimate moments between him and chassid that speak volumes. One of the book’s strengths is its inclusivity, featuring essays of chasidim, Anti-chasidim, Jews, non-Jews, public officials, and private citizens—that reflects the Rebbe’s profound impact on the world.

    • more?

      the photos are just crazy, who would have believed that they even exist. does anyone know if they would be made available for purchase?

  • You were warned

    This book by Dovid Z. is the epitome of the expression- toivel vesheretz beyadoi. For years I failed to understand how can one go to the mikvah while holding in his hand an impure animal. Well, “The Oracle” gives us a good example of how this works. You put out a book ostensibly in order to spread the Rebbe’s greatness, but you make sure to include an essay by A. Nadler that denigrates the Rebbe.

    • Nadler is most respectful thank you

      Rabbi Dalfin believed people like you, but he had the guts to retract his hate and hurtful message. He understood how childish people like you are. Watch his interviews do a search for Rebbe Nadler and watch the interviews with him

  • wow! wow!

    After weeks of reading essay after essay, Yochonon could have not captured it more… This is a book about why people ever followed what the Rebbe wanted… and even of some who never did… but the Rebbe never gave up on anyone… never dropped the ball after so many people never following through with what he wanted… THIS IS WHAT MADE THE REBBE SO GREAT!! Ashrei doreinu!

  • Loved it

    For anyone who read this book-but not just read, but experienced-has entered the world of delight, of enjoyment, of Rebbevelt, like no other…. NO HOME SHOULD BE WITHOUT IT….

  • Essay and essay

    We read them at the Shabbos table… I never found the words to explain the Rebbe to my family, what I felt in the walls of 770, and then Oracle landed. Thank you! Thank you!

  • WARNING!!

    I got the book and could not put it down!! Be warned, this book is a journey. The Oracle is a wild ride. The pictures are beyond words, you can look at them for hours. The essays are each a masterpiece! Do not open the book before you go to bed, you will not be able to sleep

  • DO NOT GET THIS BOOK

    If you do not want to know the Rebbe, do not get this book. If you do not want to experience 770 in the Nuns, do not get this book. If you do not love amazing photos of the Rebbe, do not get this book.
    If you love the Rebbe, want to see the most amazing photos ever taken of the Rebbe, want to understand those last years before תשנד. GET THIS BOOK!!

  • Oracle of Crown Heights

    I still have that magazine… I see now that Specter writes an essay in the book, can’t wait to read it. I met Marc Asnin many times, what a nice guy, who loves the Rebbe. He is not a chassid, but neither was Specter and that New York TImes Magazine was in every Chabad home at the time… Ordered the book

  • STOP! STOP!

    The essay by zaklikofsky at the end of the book is reason enough to get it. just go straight there and read it in its entirety. jem after jem, there is nothing likes those jems there.

  • proudly displayed

    I got it right when it came out, it is proudly displayed at my home and Chabad House. peopled loved it so much, that I got a case and gave it out to my baalei batim. I wish that it would be cheaper so I can give it out to more people

  • saddened

    I listened to all the trolls… I got rid of them. then I sit at another shliachs house and loved the book. what a mistake! do not listen to the haters, I did and regretted it.

  • Raizy

    I gave out this stunning book as gifts to my kids teachers because i and my family love the book. It’s the kind of book you keep looking at and reading. So much depth, understanding and love for the Rebbe! The pictures also tell the same story of what the Rebbe stands for.. ahavas yisroel.. all walks of life, different views just brings you closer and understand better who the Rebbe trully is!

  • Veteran Shliach

    There is a reason not a single Lubavitch distributor, or any store in Crown Heights is selling this book.

    There is a reason Shluchim are avoiding it like the plague, and why it has not made the impact that authors like Telushkin have.

    In this book, Zaklikovky, who constant seeks to be edgey, goes to far, publishing hate against the Rebbe and Lubavitch.

    Avoid this book at all costs. It is poison

    • Book is available

      I purchased the book last week at a Crown Heights store… But, I realized afterwards that it was cheaper online.

      From this message it is as clear that you did not read Telushkins book, nor The Oracle.

      As a long time shliach, The Oracle is a much more true picture-pin unintended-than Telushkin. I just wish The Oracle would be cheaper

  • Edgy Shliach

    This book is on the great ledge of booms about the Rebbe. Telushkin’s book full of lies, and misrepresentations of who the Rebbe was, and is, should be banned from every Chabad home. It is a disgrace that Chabad paid for such a book to be written.

    This book is a true testament to who the Rebbe was and is. It is magical, entering another land. Kudos to all those involved

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