Rabbi Levi Cunin shares how a man who lived over 300 years ago had an impact on Malibu.
This weekend marks 18 years since the physical passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch global spiritual movement.
What does this have to do with Malibu? Everything.
Allow me to explain. A little over 300 years ago, a man who would become known as the Baal Shem Tov ("master of a good name") began to reveal a spiritual path of living. Based on ancient and mystical Jewish teachings, his words would go on to inspire generations including every race, color and creed.
The purpose of the Baal Shem Tov's teachings, as he saw it, was to inspire us to recognize, from the depths of our soul, each person's unique qualities, and to live life with deep awareness and meaning... in constant joy.
What made his teachings unique was that he did not judge. Often when one is on a spiritual path, we find "spiritual arrogance,” that is, when a person believes that he or she is part of an elite who have "discovered" the truth, and all others are inferiors.
In contrast, Baal Shem Tov revealed an opposite approach of being "non judgmental."
When the Baal Shem Tov passed away, the torch of leadership eventually passed by his son to his most devoted student, the Rebbe Dov Ber of Mezritch. From that time until today, even in times when conditions were impossible, from the fires of the pogroms, to the ovens at Auschwitz, the flickering flame of the Baal Shemtovs teachings, continued to shine, sort of like the famous Energizer battery commercial. The Baal Shem Tov's legacy was to inspire people to reach higher, and live a life filled with the light of love and meaning.
In 1951 that torch that never went out was handed to the Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, also known simply as the Rebbe, a devout and learned scholar who himself had experienced the Holocaust.
Born on 1902, Rabbi Schneerson lived a life in what is described in our teachings as "htzna leches" (unpretentious and low-key). Only at the constant urging of the followers of these teachings, did he reluctantly accept the role of Rebbe.
During the next 43 years, he would go on to inspire people of all faiths to challenge themselves, each in his or her own way, to become kinder and do more good deeds.
As President Kennedy did with Peace Corps, so the Rebbe did with the establishments of world wide houses of light. Just as President Kennedy's vision was for "regular" people to help the impoverished in other parts of the world, so the Rebbe's vision was for a kind of "spiritual corps" to dedicate each person's life in service to others. The Rebbe's "spiritual corps” inspired "regular" people to become leaders.
After the Rebbe's passing in 1994, the skeptics predicted an abrupt sudden stop to the "300 year old torch." But instead these houses -- centers of spirituality -- continued to blossom.
After that somber Saturday evening in June, 1994 I recall the sense of pain for all of us who were blessed to know this great man. Sitting with my dad, who was sent to Los Angeles by the Rebbe in 1965, we swelled up in tears as we comforted each other. Oddly, it was the same day OJ Simpson was fleeing from the police. It was then that my dad told me a message from the Rebbe from many years earlier: "If you ever find yourself in a moment of despair and hopelessness, don' allow yourself to get stuck! Instead, take all of that powerful energy and open up another house of light, another Chabad house! It was at that moment that we put our "thinking caps" aside. We simply got into the car to find a new location, and so Chabad of Malibu was established.
In Judaism, 18 is a significant number. And I share this story with you, because it was like a dream 18 years ago when we established Chabad here in Malibu. But it seems like it was just yesterday, when I heard the words straight from the master's mouth; one more action of goodness and kindness has the capacity to change the world, forever.