Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History

by Joseph Telushkin

“What is a Rebbe good for?” When Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi was Hillel director at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, he brought a group of students to meet with the Rebbe in Brooklyn. At the conclusion of the Rebbe’s opening remarks, one of the students, intending to be blunt rather than disrespectful, asked him: “What’s a Rebbe good for?” To this day, Reb Zalman remembers his feelings at that moment: “I could have sunk through the floor in embarrassment.” However, the Rebbe didn’t seem offended at all and responded to the query directly: “I can’t speak about myself, but I can tell you about my own Rebbe [his father-in-law]. For me, my Rebbe was the geologist of the soul. You see, there are so many treasures in the earth. There is gold, there is silver, and there are diamonds. But if you don’t know where to dig, you’ll only find dirt and rocks and mud. The Rebbe can tell you where to dig, and what to dig for, but the digging you must do yourself.”23