A Student Asks: ‘Why Do We Speak So Much About the Rebbe?’

Rabbi and Rebbetzin Yisrael and Aviva Deren – Chabad of Connecticut Regional Directors, were recent weekend scholars in residence at a Serenity Shabbaton at the Chabad Center at the University of Florida at Gainesville, FL.

The Derens have served as the Rebbe’s Shluchim for over forty years. During the Shabbaton, they inspired the students and community. They spoke, taught classes, Farbrenged and led workshops, sharing stories and guidance on topics such as: observing Yiddishkeit, connecting to the Rebbe, dating and love, overcoming life’s challenges, connecting to your inner self, spirituality and more. Everyone relished their genuine, charismatic personalities and insightful, thought-provoking messages.

During a Q&A a student asked Mrs. Deren: Why do we speak about the Rebbe so much? Following the Shabbaton, Rebbetzin Deren sent the following letter in response to the question. With her permission, we are sharing this.

A Student Asks: WHY DO WE SPEAK SO MUCH ABOUT THE REBBE?

Rebbetzin Vivi Deren Responds:

Dear Students,

Just wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed spending Shabbat with you. Your community is unusually beautiful, and clearly there are so many of you who actively work to make it so. It was obvious that a lot of really hard work went into planning and pulling off a Shabbaton so jam-packed with warm Jewish experiences, fun games, friendship and more, and the results showed how worthwhile it was to invest so much time and effort. Kol hakavod!

We hope we were able to contribute meaningfully. One of our favorite parts was the Q&A towards the end of Shabbat. Your questions were thought provoking, and we would have loved to have more time to discuss, and go back and forth on the issues. One of the questions was about the Rebbe, and why we speak of him so much. Watching your Rabbis and Rebbetzins gave us a glimpse of an answer, and I’d like to share it with you.

We’ve worked in Jewish education for many years, from young children to seniors, from introducing the basics, to teaching advanced scholars, and we’ve picked up a thing or two about Jewish education. One really important piece for us is to try and understand how people form their sense of who G-d is, and how they form an emotional relationship (or not) with G-d. A key factor is to look at the relationship someone has with the person/people who they associate with Gd. If the relationship with that person is warm and loving, some of those feelings spread out to include Gd as well. Sometimes it’s a grandparent, or a parent or a teacher – someone whose love for the person is full of acceptance, compassion and just showing up. And if that person has a warm relationship with Gd, that love just spreads out and envelopes those in their orbit.

Watching the Gainesville Shluchim, Rabbi Berl and Chanie Goldman and Rabbi Aron and Pessy Notik, over the course of Shabbat, it was clear how much they care about all of their Gators. Not just as a group, but each one individually. Not just to share “Jewish stuff”, but to be concerned about whatever is important to each of you in your own personal life. It is so real, and so heartwarming to see.

Because watching them we know where they got that love. They are not mushrooms that sprang up after the rain, without roots or cultivation. And as talented as they are, they could never dream of undertaking on their own, the massive responsibility that running a Chabad House on campus is. They can do what they do because they know what it means to live in the orbit of the boundless love of the Rebbe, the same love that Moses had for that thirsty little sheep looking for water, who ultimately led us to Sinai.

It’s the mark of true Jewish leaders – on the global scale, starting with Moses and through the generations, and on the micro scale, the leader that each one of us can be. Having that love shown to us is what makes it possible for us to give it to others. Having that love shown to us is how we know how much Gd loves us, and how much love is poured into our lives. It’s not always obvious. And many people have had disappointing relationships, which hurt all the more when the person who let them down was associated in their mind with Gd.

But Jewish Gators are lucky. No matter how much or how little any one might have experienced of a warm, loving connection with a person who is reflecting Gd’s love, in your Rabbis and Rebbetzins here at UF Gainesville, you’ve got the real deal.

Make the most of it!

With warmest, best wishes for success in all aspects of your lives, as you continue building your beautiful community here, and as you go forward in your lives beyond college, to build your own “mini-communities” of your own homes and families,

Vivi Deren