Today on the 12 and tomorrow the 13 of Tammuz the Chabad world celebrates the release of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Shneersohn (1880-1950) ,the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe and Father in law of the Rebbe Menachem Mendel Shneersohn, from imprisonment from Stalin’s henchman. In 1927 he was arrested, beaten, sentenced to death and exiled for disseminating the teachings of the Torah in the Soviet Union. His mesirat nefesh (self sacrifice) for the survival of our Jewish traditions in a time that was prohibited showed his unshakable faith and devotion to the spiritual needs of a fellow Jew. He dispatched teachers and Rabbis to the farthest corners of the Soviet Empire, establishing a vast underground network of schools, mikvahs and Synagogues. In 1940 he arrived to NY from Warsaw, escaping the clutches of WWII. In America he dedicated himself to the survival of Jewery in America even though he was very sick and bounded to a wheel chair. After his death in 1950his son in law took over the mandate of the Chabad Movement expanding it to every corner of the world.
One of the stories from his diary while in prison tells of one of the interrogators pointing a revolver at the Rebbe and smirked:” this toy has a way of making people cooperate.”
Calmly the Rebbe answered:” The toy is persuasive to one who has many gods and only one world; I have One G-d and two worlds”.
If you want to learn more about this great man go to Chabad.org. May his memory be for blessing and inspiration.
Live a little higher
