* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
The third of Tammuz arrives this evening, marking 32 years since the passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The following interaction beautifully illustrates the worldview of the leader of the Chabad movement:
George Rohr, a philanthropist who built more than 150 Chabad Houses on college campuses, once came to the Rebbe and said he had organized a minyan for those “who had no Jewish background.”
The Rebbe firmly replied: “Go back and tell them that they have a Jewish background. There is no such thing as a Jew without a background. Every Jew has a magnificent heritage — Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, Sarah, Rivka, Rachel, and Leah.”
This encounter captures the Rebbe’s message to each and every one of us: There is no Jew who is truly “far away” or “disconnected.” We simply need to become aware of our roots and not be distracted by the “background noise” around us, even as we help others reconnect with their roots as well.
Each of us possesses a remarkable Jewish heritage, with patriarchs and matriarchs whose pride in us soars when we live by the values they entrusted to us.
