Photo: Loneman Photography

Op-Ed: Be Part of the Solution, Not Part of the Problem

by Rabbi Chaim Bruk – Originally printed in the Bozeman Daily Chronical

It’s no secret; our world is fractured. The great citizens of our country, our state, and our beloved Bozeman are quarreling often, and it’s apparently getting harder to bridge the divides. Many Americans feel like we should call it quits, and this union should have an amicable breakup, while others believe we should fight on to keep this 200 plus year “relationship” alive.

My wife Chavie and I moved to Bozeman in 2007, but I was raised in Brooklyn, New York, praying each week at the Synagogue of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson of blessed memory. In many ways, the Rebbe was an enigma. He was a man with a brilliant mind who graduated from the University of Berlin, but also had a heart overwhelmed with love and sensitivity for every human being. He studied and taught Judaism with scholarly depth appreciated by professors and renowned scientists yet made those same ideas accessible to the ordinary souls that traverse the earth seeking meaning. He was born in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, a Caucasian enclave, but after escaping the Nazis, he settled with his wife Chaya Mushka in Crown Heights, a racially diverse neighborhood where he revolutionized spirituality until he was in his 90’s.

Above all, the Rebbe’s worldview, embedded deeply at his core, was to see the goodness in each person, no matter their externalities and flawed choices.

Thus, it’s no shock that he was open to all. He could talk to Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm about introducing a food stamp program for hungry families and correspond with President Ronald Reagan about a Moment in Silence in America’s Public Schools. He could meet with left-leaning Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin to discuss military strategy in the Golan Heights and advocate for a world of kindness with right-leaning Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom. He could chat with Mayor David Dinkins about the importance of minority’s supporting each other in their time of struggle and discuss birthday party plans with a little eight-year-old girl who is visiting him from Caracas. He didn’t suffer from “elitism,” letting his remarkable role to get to his head; he was born to serve, and never forgot that it’s about the people, the flock, not himself.

As a true leader, the Rebbe had no power, yet he merited unlimited influence, because he lived up to that which he told Author Herman Wouk “The American Jewish community is wonderful. While you cannot tell them to do anything, you can teach them to do everything.” He wanted to effect change in our world, and he knew that it can never be accomplished if we are pitting one human against another. Serving in Montana for fifteen years has helped me realize how blessed I am to be his student and to see the world through his non-judgmental lens. From the adoption of our five children to the shepherding of a diverse flock across the Big Sky Country, I do my very best to emulate him, by seeking to be a force of unity in our community, sharing biblical values without ever hurting people or, God forbid, spewing divisive hyperbole.

With each passing day we are “gifted” more excuses to “label” each other and to assign each other to “groups”. It’s wrong and unhealthy, and it’s got to stop. I don’t know if this cherished union of “States” will remain “United”, but I do know that the Rebbe encouraged each of us to be a light. So, ask yourself the following question: Are my words, thoughts and actions today making our world more united? Am I being kind on social media? Am I part of the solution or adding to the problem? An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, but love is reciprocal, and if you don’t believe me, try it.

Today at our Bozeman Synagogue we are marking twenty-eight years since the Rebbe’s passing, but his message is still so vital, and his ambassadors around the world, including at the four Chabad Lubavitch Centers in Montana, are sharing the eternal message that people are good, the world is a garden created by God, and if we work hard enough, we will bring about the Messiah today.

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