Rabbi Jonathan Sacks recalls an early meeting with the Rebbe, when he, Sacks, said in passing, “I found myself in a situation . . .” The Rebbe stopped him and told Sacks that the expression “I found myself in a situation” was both inaccurate and an evasion of responsibility; one should say, rather, “I placed myself in a situation.” And the Rebbe continued, “If you can place yourself in one situation, then you can place yourself in another situation.”
