Understanding the Rebbe’s Enduring Influence 30 Years Later

Understanding the Rebbe’s Enduring Influence 30 Years Later

A Q&A with Rabbi Dr. Yosef Bronstein about his kaleidoscopic new book Engaging the Essence: The Torah Philosophy of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

By: Menachem Posner

As the world prepares to mark 30 years since the passing of the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—new books, essays, podcasts and events attempt to convey what it was that set the Rebbe apart and what made his leadership as resonant today as it was during his lifetime.

One such book is Engaging the Essence: The Torah Philosophy of the Lubavitcher Rebbe by Rabbi Dr. Yosef Bronstein, which draws upon thousands of primary and secondary sources in a daring attempt to trace the broad arcs of the Rebbe’s approach to Torah and find the unifying themes that run throughout it all.

In this conversation, Rabbi Bronstein shares his journey to the Rebbe’s Torah, and how it affected him and the many students with whom he has shared it with.

Q: Can you please share a little about your background and initial connection to Chabad?

A: I actually grew up steeped in the world of Yeshiva University’s RIETS (Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary), where my father served for decades as administrator of the rabbinic track, which I myself went through and benefitted from. It is the Yeshiva University Beis Medrash that primarily shaped me over the years.

Our home, as well, had a strong environment of Torah learning. Yet, I had almost no direct knowledge of the Rebbe and Chabad, beyond seeing Chabad Chassidim offering people the chance to do mitzvahs, and certainly was not aware of the Rebbe as a major teacher of Torah.

While studying in Israel I became enamored with the teachings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, the “founding father” of Religious Zionist thought. His writing was originally quite hard for me, who had little background in Kabbalah or Jewish philosophy. As I learned more, I discovered that Rav Kook himself identified Tanya, the foundational book of Chabad Chassidism as one major source of inspiration for his own writings.

When I returned to the U.S. and enrolled in YU, I continued learning Gemara in the mornings and evenings, but chose Jewish philosophy as my college major. While these courses primarily focused on medieval Jewish philosophy, on my own I began to study Tanya. Since YU has a world-class library, it was only natural that I would take advantage of the books and commentaries there on Tanya. And on the next shelf over, I discovered the Rebbe.

I was fascinated intellectually.

I was soon reading whatever I could get my hands on, both the primary and secondary sources, including the writings of the late Rav Yoel Kahn, Rav Feitel Levin, Professor Elliot Wolfson and others. At first, I studied the sichos, which translates roughly as “talks,” and then progressed to maamarim—formal Chassidic essays that require a good deal of background to be properly understood.

The more I learned, the more I discovered that there were underlying themes that ran throughout the Rebbe’s approach to nearly everything—from how he analyzed an obscure text to how he advised people in their life decisions.

The Rebbe saw the interconnectedness and essential unity in everything and how it was all an extension of G‑d’s oneness. What I found especially intriguing was how he developed this idea from a large array of traditional texts, which became alive with both new conceptual layers and real-life relevance.

Q: What are some teachings of the Rebbe that resonate with you personally?

A: The Rebbe had a unique approach to G‑d’s unity and the bittul of the world. Bittul is a complex concept that can’t easily be translated. But often it is understood as something like the “nullification” or “non-existence” of the world. Yet, the direction in which the Rebbe took it is just fascinating, ending up in a place that has a path to engage with the world and reveal the G‑dliness that underlies everything. I loved seeing both how the Rebbe developed the approach from the sources and also how he made it so eminently practical.

This can also be seen within each of us. We have a divine soul within us, and we can manifest that soul through bittul, meaning by making ourselves transparent to a greater entity and living as part of that greater reality.

I later saw this in the Chassidim I interacted with. These are people who are so full of personality. Yet, they are moser nefesh—have self-sacrifice—for the sake of others, be it fellow Jews, humanity, and ultimately, for G‑d.

Q: Once you discovered this treasure, how did you go about sharing it?

A: By that time, I was teaching at YU’s Isaac Breuer College of Hebraic Studies (IBC) and proposed a class on the Rebbe’s scholarly approach.

Preparing a class forced me to take the knowledge that I had and was still actively learning, and try to organize it as well as I could. While the Rebbe’s Torah is mostly organized around the parshah and the calendar year, I wanted the course to begin with the key concepts and then progress from there to specific applications—both in the world of Torah and in practical life. So teaching this course afforded me with the overwhelming opportunity to try to present the Rebbe’s thought in a structured fashion that would be accessible to people with little or no background in Chassidism.

In these classes, I was not promoting the Rebbe’s approach. Rather, my goal as an instructor of Jewish philosophy at YU was to do my best to provide an accurate and unbiased treatment of the subject, serving as an access point between the Torah and the students. If these ideas would resonate with them would be up to the students themselves.

Yet, it was amazing to see how engaged the students were and the impression that the Rebbe’s teachings made on them. This encouraged me to try to continue teaching the Rebbe’s Torah.

Q: Was the book the natural next step?

A: This book was born from both idealism and pragmatism. I really felt that the Rebbe’s Torah should be made more accessible to the wider public and that G‑d had put me in a situation where I might be able to contribute something towards this goal. Also, in 2017, my wife and I moved our family to Israel, and I was looking for new projects on these new shores.

I realized from the start that this book project was a formidable task and that I would want to be in conversation with Chabad Torah scholars who were very immersed and knowledgeable in the Rebbe’s Torah in particular and Chabad teachings more generally. I was blessed to receive comments and suggestions from such amazing scholars as Rabbi Dovid Olidort, Rabbi Dr. Eli Rubin, Rabbi Levi Y. Shmotkin and Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin, who has since become my dear friend and chavrusa. The book is my own, and I retained the authority and responsibility over the final text. But the book definitely benefited both in terms of accuracy and structure from the comments of these Chabad Torah scholars.

In addition, I read whatever secondary literature I was able to find. This included writings of leading Chassidim such as Rav Yoel Kahn, who I mentioned before, in addition to books and articles emerging from the academic world. I feel indebted to these works as well.

Q: What will readers of the book discover?

1. First, I need to emphasize that the book is not comprehensive, as the Rebbe’s output was so broad that it would be impossible to treat it all in a single book.

The book is based on my course in the sense that it attempts to present the Rebbe’s Torah as a holistic and systematic philosophy. As multifaceted as the Rebbe’s teachings are, there are several key principles that underlie it all.

After introducing the Rebbe and the basics of classical Chabad thought, the book begins with chapters that focus on several of the key philosophical and theological underpinnings of the Rebbe’s thought. These include the nature of the material world, the essential definition of a human being and the essence of Torah. From these broad topics, the book continues into chapters that delve into the Rebbe’s recipe for living a G‑dly life, such as living with a sense of Divine providence, trust in G‑d, joy and love of fellow Jew. Then, there are chapters that relate to topics with a more contemporary twist such as the role of women, non-Jews, Zionism and the role of science from a religious perspective.

In all of these examples, one can see the Rebbe’s core theme of how the entire world is part of a cosmic march toward becoming a dirah betachtonim, a “dwelling place” for G‑d. Seeing the consistency, where the ideas come from and how they applied, very often brings us to takeaways that are more spiritually resonant and meaningful.

My hope is that, in addition to learning about the Rebbe’s philosophy and scholarship, readers will be inspired by some of the Rebbe’s key messages. Simply put, this means to be more sensitive to a neighbor, more attentive to the next mitzvah opportunity and dedicating more thought to how one can help elevate the world around them.

Q: By now would you consider yourself a Chassid?

A: I cannot say that I align myself with the Rebbe’s way in every area of life. However, it is hard to immerse yourself in the Rebbe’s teachings and not change. If being a Chassid means learning the Rebbe’s Torah and applying his teachings in my personal life, then yes, this is certainly something that I try to do.

Q: After years of work, the book is finally being released now. What meaning does the timing have for you?

A: I live in the Holy Land, where the current war is all-encompassing. There is a lot of darkness in the world right now, and we need every little bit of light that we can muster. It is my prayer that this book can become a source of light and inspire people to increase in goodness, to have confidence in G‑d and in the Jewish people, and to continue to deeply yearn for the true and complete Redemption. (Chabad.org)

Rabbi Menachem Posner serves as managing editor at Chabad.org, the world’s largest Jewish informational website. He has been writing, researching, and editing for Chabad.org since 2006, when he received his rabbinic degree from Central Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch. He lives in Chicago, Ill., with his family.