Researchers and experts stand in amazement at the phenomenon that has been unfolding before our eyes for the past twenty years.
Contrary to all predictions, Chabad Hasidism is growing and strengthening. The Rebbe's enterprises are developing to enormous proportions. The mission system has multiplied fivefold. A young generation has emerged, which is devoted and loyal to the Rebbe and his path to a degree that sometimes arouses envy among the older generation, the one who was privileged to see the Rebbe and meet him.
How does this happen?
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Researchers have difficulty explaining the phenomenon, because they examine things with earthly and material tools, and in their world of concepts there is a great puzzle here – how such a huge Hasidism could survive and develop in the absence of the Rebbe.
But Chabad followers have no question from the start – the Rebbe has not left, he is here and now, within the heart and soul of each and every one.
The leadership continues
The life of a righteous man in general, and of a rabbi in particular, is not a physical life. The passing of a righteous man does not mean leaving, but rather an ascension, when he takes with him all those associated with him.
The Zohar states that the influence of a righteous person after his departure is 'Yatir Mebhiyohi' - more than his life. For before he was limited by the limitations of the body, time, and place, whereas now these limitations no longer exist.
The Bible says that Samson judged Israel twenty years after his death.
How is this possible? The Sages explain: "The Philistines feared him twenty years after his death, just as they feared him twenty years during his life." In other words, there are situations in which the President of Israel continues to lead the flock of his shepherd even after his departure.
As the years pass, there is a growing recognition that the Rebbe is a miraculous, rare and unique phenomenon, unique not only in our generation, but also among many generations. In many ways, he shaped the image of Judaism in our generation. His path, which was initially the preserve of a few, over the years became the preserve of the entire Jewish people.
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in his teachings and teachings, which have an extraordinary combination of depth and clarity, genius and simplicity. The Rebbe's teachings are like shedding a beam of light on a dark night, and suddenly the path is clear.
Every matter in Torah and in life in general receives renewed freshness in his Torah and begins to live and shine.
Hundreds of thousands of Jews visit his shrine every year, seeking to arouse compassion for them, pouring out their hearts, and leaving encouraged and strengthened, just as Jews in the past would leave his room with a river flowing over their faces. Everyone who was there testifies that they felt like they were simply with the Rebbe.
He is alive.
The Gemara states a rule: If you want to know whether the righteous one is alive, look at his seed – "What he sows in life, he also lives.".
If you see that the "seed" of the righteous one is following his path, learning his Torah, continuing his works - this is proof that "he too is alive.".
Therefore, it is clear that the Rebbe is with us and within us, continuing to lead all of Israel, interceding for us and showering us with his blessings. There is no doubt that very soon we will all witness the fulfillment of his great prophecy – "Behold, the Messiah is coming.".
