Understanding the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Yosef Bronstein, Engaging the Essence: The Torah Philosophy of the Lubavitcher Rebbe (Maggid, 2024), 686 pages.

Writers on the Lubavitcher rebbe could focus on his thought expressed in his published sichot or on his institutional activity such as sending out shluchim to far-flung communities. Authors on the rebbe also divide between loyal Chabadniks and more critically inclined academics. In Engaging the Essence, Yosef Bronstein manages to combine the best of all worlds. He begins with the rebbe’s philosophy but shows how it influences his practical policies. Bronstein has read both academics and chasidim and he writes from a sympathetic but not overly reverential perspective.

Menachem Mendel Schneerson, son-in-law of the previous rebbe began his term as rebbe with a talk, titled bati legani, at a fabregen in 1951 and this talk already sets out some of his central concepts. The rebbe believed that our world is saturated with divinity and that a more accurate viewpoint would see God everywhere. One achieves this level through a process of bitul or self-effacement. Most importantly, the job of the Jewish people is to create a dirah ba’tahtonim, an abode below for the Divine presence.

What impact do these three foundational ideas have? The idea of an abode for God below entails valuing the physical; thus, the rebbe did not denigrate mundane activity. In fact, he explained the significance of dancing as bringing even our lowly feet into divine service. Like Rav Soloveitchik in Halakhic Man, the rebbe focused more on this world than on the world to come. This is significant since Alan Nadler has shown that this was not the approach of the Vilna Gaon and several others.

Seeing God everywhere leads to an intensive theory of providence in which every falling leaf reflects an act of God. It also mandates the breaking down of distinctions such as a strong dichotomy between body and soul. The rebbe’s unifying outlook affects our interpersonal relationships and our conception of joy. Some rabbinic authorities said that “Love your neighbor as yourself” cannot be taken literally since people will naturally love themselves more than others. For the rebbe, breaking down the distinction between myself and others makes a literal interpretation possible. One manifestation of this love is encouraging others to fulfill the divine command, hence Chabadniks offering tefillin to Jewish passersby. A Talmudic passage limits positive joy to the happiness of performing mizvot, an idea that might severely curtail our endorsement of joy. The rebbe countered that “knowing God in all your ways” (Proverbs 3:6) means that every moment and activity can be transformed into a mizva and therefore, happiness should be ubiquitous.

We could say that the rebbe had an integrating impulse that prefers unities to divisions. This impacted profoundly on his Torah study and his talks weave together bible, talmud, kabbala, Jewish philosophy, halakha, and hasidut. The rebbe viewed R. Joseph Rosen (“the Rogochover”) as a model who brought Maimonides’ philosophic Guide to the Perplexed into play when discussing his legal writings. Interestingly, Bronstein notes that, excepting other Hasidic figures, the Rogochover is the modern rabbinic voice most frequently cited by the rebbe. The Rogochover’s writing is notoriously terse and difficult so he does not often appear in rabbinic discourse. This unifying principle applies even within the Talmudic corpus. R. Schneerson combined two topics that seem quite distinct: the law of the abutter (legal priority granted to a person for purchasing an adjacent property that is for sale) and the principle of “Woe to the wicked, woe unto his neighbor.” According to the rebbe, both involved analyzing the significance of proximity.

While readers may skip to the final section eager to read about the rebbe and messianism, I found the chapter on “Between Universalism and Particularism: Non–Jews in the Dira BaTahtonim” to be the most novel and exciting chapter. As is well known, the first Lubavitcher rebbe, R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi, portrays gentiles very negatively in his Tanya. He wrote that the souls of non-Jews emanate from impure kelipot (husks) incapable of good. Bronstein shows how the rebbe developed a much more positive orientation to the gentile world. He emphasized Chabad sources depicting gentiles in an affirmative light. Furthermore, the rebbe consistently expanded the religious potential of non-Jews. The seven Noahide laws are categories that incorporate many mizvot. For example, a law prohibiting idolatry includes the command to pray. Obligations stemming from human reason such as honoring your parents apply to gentiles. There is a broad mandate insisting that God “created the world to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18) entailing that non-Jews should also do those things which advance civilization. Maimonides’ discussion of the tribe of Levi indicates that even gentiles can reach the holiest levels. We can now understand why the rebbe started an unusual campaign encouraging non-Jews to accept the Noahide Laws. Which other rabbis in history attempted to directly influence gentile religious behavior?

The chapter on women adds an interesting insight. Bronstein notes that even though kabbala often associates women with self-effacement, Chabad prizes such bitul and this kabbalistic framework does not then lead to a denigration of women. When Chabad couples go off to various college campuses and third world countries, the wife often takes an active and public role in their educational activities. The rebbe also wrote in favor of women studying Talmud.

I have one reservation regarding this outstanding work; Bronstein could be more explicitly critical. He tends to contrast the rebbe’s position with that of others and let the reader decide. Unfortunately, the rebbe often does not allow for real debate. Even though Maimonides seems to restrict providence to select individuals, the rebbe suggests that Maimonides accepts the “every falling leaf” position on providence. He also denied that the Gaonim thought our sages employ the mistaken science of their era even though these rabbinic luminaries said so very explicitly.  Bronstein could have written that these positions are not truly reasonable interpretations.

So too, regarding the self-importance of Chabad. According to the rebbe, the release from prison of both R. Shneur Zalman and R. Yosef Yitzchak, the rebbe’s father-in-law, are events of cosmic significance. The first rebbe’s release from imprisonment is the “Rosh Hashana of hasidut”. Publishing the Tanya resembles the revelation at Sinai. We should include the current attitude to the rebbe in this category as well. Chabad lore has the rebbe performing frequent miracles, showing extensive knowledge and giving great advice in all types of fields, and, of course, the rebbe as a messianic figure. A Chabad website has the rebbe helping a depressed Viktor Fraenkel and enabling the writing of Man’s Search for Meaning. I think one can safely term this overdone.

This one criticism aside, Bronstein has done a remarkable amount of research and has produced an excellent volume. Those who wish to understand one of the most important Jewish figures of the twentieth century must read it.