Inclusiveness

The Lubavitcher Rebbe was inclusive. He fought against opinions which he felt were harmful. But it wasn’t personal. He worked with people with whom he disagreed on certain issues. They may disagree on certain things, but if they agree on other important matters, and they can work together to help others, then he worked with them.

When it came to “Who is a Jew” for example, he and the Jewish Federation disagreed. Yet when Shoshana Cardin came to the Rebbe, she later said that she can learn a lot from him regarding communal work. Because the Rebbe didn’t mention the disagreement about “Who is a Jew,” and instead focussed on issues on which he and the Federation could agree.

When George Rohr, an important benefactor for Chabad, once told the Rebbe that he started a synagogue in Manhattan that is educating Jews with no background, the Rebbe sternly corrected that every Jew has the background of Abraham Isaac Jacob, and Sarah Rivka Rachel and Leah.

And when the Rebbe encouraged his followers to reach out to Jews and help them put on phylacteries and light candles before Shabbat and other mitzvos, it was in the spirit of including them, because we are one people who share a common heritage.

Now too, as Jews grapple with what their Jewishness, and the country of Israel, means to them, and as both sides are now in talks in an attempt to reach agreement, I think about the Rebbe’s approach. We are one people, one nation. And in that spirit we will show the world that we are one.