The Rebbe

It's 3:30 in the morning, Sept. 21, 2011. I'm tired. My alarm is clear and loud. This time I actually heard it. The other three or four times I simply awakened in anticipation. My friends, the Kaplans, Terri, David and Andy were picking me up at 4:30 so it was a quick shower followed by some Cheerios and coffee. We were off to the airport to go to New York. The purpose of the day was to pray at the grave of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

Chabad Hasidism’ is an arm of the Orthodox Jewish spiritual belief system that endorses spiritual advancement through the spread and incorporation of the mysticism of Judaism as the principal facet of the Jewish faith. Chabad Lubavitch is a movement with such Hasidic roots and Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson was the person responsible for spearheading the Chabad Lubavitch movement and enabling it to become so popularly widespread among the global orthodox Jewish community. Although words can barely do justice to such an accomplished soul, here is a bird’s eye view of the greatest Chabad leader’s rich life and teachings.

Chabad was founded in the late 18th century by Shneur Zalman of Liadi. The Lubavitch branch takes its name from Lyubavichi, the Russian town where the group was based until the early 20th century. Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn the sixth leader fled war-torn Europe for New York in 1940,^[3] where he established a synagogue. His son-in-law, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, turned the movement into a powerful force within Judaism.

Our small group and members of several other Chabad from Atlanta and Florida found each other at LaGuardia airport in New York. Each of the men brought our Tallis and Tefillin, put them on and prayed the morning service at the airport. And that was just the start.

We boarded our private chartered bus and were off to pray at the grave of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson. From the street all we could see was an old house with several entrances. I was concerned about how far I would have to walk and how many stairs I would have to negotiate. Little did I know that there were many more stairs and several hundred feet of a walking path to the grave. There was no room for or availability of a wheelchair. Somehow, I made it, and if I only had known the wonderful reward at the end of the path I might have moved even faster. Befor starting out to the grave, I had the opportunity to write a personal letter to the Rebbe. The purpose was to put together my most sincere greetings and requeste to the Rebbe, to read the letter at the grave, to pray and to then tear up the letter and toss the pieces on to the grave. The grave was in a square concrete crypt. The whole experience was very moving and easily worth the what I had there. All I had for personal support was my cane . Couple the cane with the support of Rabbi Silverman and my other companionsle to make it back to the bus.

We continued on to the Chabad headquarters where we had the opportunity to chat with others and pray in rooms used by the Rebbe. The history of the movement is fascinating as was the sincerety of those spreading it to us. In the afternoon we had some free time. Several went touring and/or shopping. With the help of the Rabbi I found a chair in a small kosher restaurant and had a much needed rest.

Soon we boarded our bus and returned to the airport. I continued my rest. This day would not have been possible were it not for the caring aid of the Kaplans, the Rabbi and the wheelchair attendants at both airports. To simply say this day was special would be cheating the deep spiritual experience of the day. I look forward to another trip.