Episode Details

I recently opened a box of my middle school journals, and found the question that has followed me for nearly twenty years: could I honestly call myself a chossid of a Rebbe I had never met?

In honor of Gimmel Tammuz, the anniversary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's passing, I explore some of the questions that have gnawed at me for as long as I can remember: Should my relationship to the Rebbe be defined by longing? Am I fundamentally missing out on a nostalgic, golden age of Chabad if I never met him? What distinct message did the Rebbe have for a generation with a strong emphasis on the self? Is our determination to feel deeply "aligned" with our life choices a flaw, or a gift? Was the Rebbe passing on the baton, and if yes, to who?

Drawing on a community survey and a close reading of V'atah Tetzaveh, this episode explores the generational shift the Rebbe himself outlined, what a relationship shaped by ignition, not loss, might look like, and how the Rebbe encouraged each person to step into their mission, to embrace the specificity of their identities and be the unique, unrepeatable messengers of Hashem the world is waiting for.

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Finding my middle school journals

01:33 "Do we have the right to call ourselves a Chossid?"

04:00 Should I yearn for the physical presence of a Rebbe I never met?

06:00 Growing up on shlichus in Houston, TX

08:30 The enormous grief of Gimmel Tammuz

10:30 The community survey about the Rebbe

12:00 The message from the Rebbe that changed people's lives

13:15 Would you call yourself a chossid?

14:30 The final piece of the Torah the Rebbe distributed

15:30 Generation of self-sacrifice vs. religious freedom

17:55 Exploring V'atah Tetzaveh

19:30 What is higher than self-sacrifice?

21:36 Why connect to a Tzadik?

24:00 This generation's power

27:00 The specificity of who you are is your mission

30:00 Every person can be a Rebbe

33:00 When the Rebbe passed on the baton

35:58 Am I a follower of the Lubavitcher Rebbe?

37:48 The vision of Moshiach

38:50 Outro