Columbia University Visits the Lubavitcher Rebbe, A Historical Visit

What is a Rebbe? What is the secret to a Rebbe? And why does every Jew have to be connected to a Rebbe? The following is a Yechidus (Privet Audience) that took place with the Rebbe and a group of students from Colombia University; it’s an excerpt from the new Book on the Rebbe “The Rebbe Inspiring a Generation” to see more on the book visit: InspiringAGeneration.com

Q: The Rebbe’s energy is so instrumental in helping us serve Hashem properly. How is it possible that we still have free will?

Rebbe: The Torah says regarding Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses): “I stand between G-d and the Jewish people,” because connecting directly with G-d is a challenge. The Yidden (Jews) pleaded with Hashem to place an intermediary between them and G-d. Each generation has its own Moshe Rabbeinu.

To understand this from a worldly prospective: when a regular person has an appointment to speak with the king, it is such a momentous occasion that in preparation for, even a brief audience, the person wears brand new clothes and will buy new shoes. He will need to know in advance what to speak about and more importantly how to speak to a king. How does such a person prepare himself? He contacts an official or a lawmaker who is intricately familiar with the laws and customs of speaking to a king, and who will advise him on how to get a message across to a king.

The same applies spiritually: Hashem intended for you to get involved in a specific type of business through which you became, baruch Hashem, quite wealthy. Now your avodah is also to give tzedakah. There are times during the year, like Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when it is relatively easy for a Jew to communicate directly with Hashem. However, reaching G-d on your own on a regular basis is a very difficult task. You go to a tzadik (holy man) who knows how to speak to G-d, and this tzadik communicates on your behalf.

Regarding the question of free will, a wealthy and respectable person who wants to build a house still needs to find a contractor who will actually do the work; an architect to make the blueprints etc., will have to find someone specific for each detail of the house. In building a house it is impossible for one person to do everything. It is true that there may be some people who are wealthy and they are also contractors themselves and this person can build a house on his own, but only a select few individuals can do all things involved in building a house. When this wealthy person builds a house, the fact that he relies on various different people, with different professions, doesn’t mean that his image as a wealthy and respectful person is diminished. Rather, he needs money to pay other professionals to do the various tasks, and without money, he indeed would not get anywhere.

The same in spirituality: a yid who is occupied with business and with giving charity still needs a tzadik for help. On his own, a yid does not have sufficient merits; he therefore needs the tzadik to elevate him closer to Hashem.

For example: how do you connect a yid here in Brooklyn who gives money in order to help free a yid in Russia? How a can a yid in Russia give someone a part in a mitzvah? The same thing regarding a yid from here who gives money, enabling a yid in Tel Aviv to put on tefillin–how are those two people connected?

The fact that the yid from here is connected to me and the yid who is in Russia is also connected to me, and I know how to speak to the above, I connect both of these Yidden together.“ I am a physical human being like you it is just that Hashem gave me the strength that I can help out Yidden.”