Today is the 32nd yahrtzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Personally, today’s an important day. It’s a day that I remind myself that my responsibility is to follow the Rebbe’s lead.
The Rebbe is the Moses of our generation. The original Moses wanted to be the high priest. He wanted to go into the Holy of Holies and live a life of ecstasy and oneness with Hashem. Despite his high stature, his job was not to live a life sheltered in holiness, but to be a leader who lived in the physical world and transform it. His job was to get his hands dirty and deal with all people; the spiritually elevated and the deeply challenging alike.
Moses didn’t resent it, he embraced it. He understood that Hashem gives each of us a personalized, G-d-given mission. His was uniquely his, for his soul to fulfill its purpose in this world.
When Korach challenged Moses demanding the High Priesthood, Moses responded: I also want to be the high priest and yet Hashem has other plans for me. I recognize that I have to do MY mission and not someone else’s, and you should do YOUR mission. Moses also cautioned Korach that it’s dangerous to do someone else’s mission. Ignoring the warning, Korach suffered a fatal blow.
We need to see ourselves as Hashem does; An awesome soul in a body full of potential! We should recognize how amazing we are and how much good we can accomplish in the world. Often, instead of embracing our own uniqueness and the talents Hashem has given us, we look at others and think less of ourselves. We become jealous and want what someone else has, or to accomplish what someone else did.
Moses and the Rebbe saw every individual as a part of Hashem. We need to also see ourselves, and everyone around us, as our soul; untouchable and untainted. Anything negative is really an external shell. Reach out to someone and reach inward to yourself. Recognize each one’s greatness, not from a place of ego but by seeing their soul.
Have a great Shabbos and I look forward to seeing many of you at Shabbat 100. We are blessed to have over 100 locals come together to join in the biggest Shabbat dinner in Harford County!
Rabbi Kushi Schusterman
Eric Aycock wrote...