What's going on?!
Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Sacks o.b.m. would often say.
"Most people look at someone and see what they saw.
Great people look at others and see who they are.
The greatest of the great look at people and see who they can become".
The same is true, one can say, about how we observe the world.
Our interpretation of life's experiences is exactly that.
It's our version of it.
But as we all know, not everything is noticeable at first glance.
Even as far as what's happening right before eyes.
Including darkness and crises!
Borrowing Rabbis Sacks' frame of reference we might say:
Many people look at crises and scream doom and gloom.
Great people look at crises, and see a way to repair it.
The greatest of the great look at crises, and see something totally different.
They see a deeply MEGA awesome good waiting to be born.
They see what's hidden beneath the veil, and work tirelessly, to uncover this secret-awesome good.
To be clear, it's not about creating some form of new good to compensate for the damage of the crisis.
Rather, knowing that the world is intrinsically G-d's divine garden, and understanding that only good comes from Him, these 'greatest of the great' simply seek to reveal the inherent goodness that harbors beneath the surface.
Now here comes the really intriguing part of this.
Surprisingly, the key to seeing the world the way these 'greatest of the great' see it, has now been made accessible to anyone who seeks it.
Much as everything has become more accessible!
Communication, information, entertainment, you name it, it's at your fingertips.
For the greatest secrets of life, the trend is no different!
It's constantly becoming more accessible and more contemporary!
Emanating brilliantly from their writings and teachings throughout the ages, and by example of higher living, these "greatest of the great" manifest a whole new reality which all of us can now appreciate and internalize.
Through constant reflection, these masterfully transmitted ideas can advance from being just new ideas, to becoming our new reality!
That this world is utterly saturated with His presence, being categorically infinitely loving, good and holy, is a hallmark of their greater vision and higher living.
"There's no place devoid of Him" says the Zohar, written by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, 2nd-century tannaitic sage living in ancient Judea.
In a rock.
In a tree.
In a leaf.
Certainly in a covid which is impacting the entire globe!
The greatest of the great about whom Rabbi Sacks was referring to in his remark, was the Lubavitcher Rebbe of blessed memory.
The Rebbe lived and breathed this greatest of the great world outlook.
He lived in G-d's infinitely loving and beautiful world, and encouraged all to take part in revealing it..... by living it's purpose!
And not because he was oblivious.
Not at all.
He lived through the horrors of pogroms and World War I.
He experienced a typhus epidemic, a refugee crisis, the persecution and forced exile of his father, whom he never saw again, the Bolshevik Revolution, the rise of Communism and World War II.
His brother, grandmother, and numerous other relatives were brutally murdered at the hands of the Nazis, and wasn't blessed with children of his own.
Yet, he lived in a world that he would unabashedly refer to as G-d's precious and sweet garden, where nothing bad can happen, and where serving His purpose is ultimately one's greatest fulfillment and joy.
He insistently encouraged, inspired and taught the world that we too can and must be permeated by this reality, beseeching us to accept this royal colossal gift!
He made all of these teachings readily accessible and simplified, perhaps unparalleled in history, with such wisdom and authenticity, and tremendous sensitivity, love and devotion to all mankind.
Just as we now live with unprecedented physical abundance, the likes that our planet could've never imagined, even just eighty short years ago.
Likewise, there has never been access to the greatest spiritual teachings and awareness, as we have available to us today.
We can now indulge in these teachings and start living them.
Of course, by living them we can promulgate them more effectively, until it becomes our fully manifested reality.
First we'll give birth to the "greatest of the great" within ourselves, and ultimately we'll be able to unmask the true reality of our world entire.
Now more than ever, darkness must counterintuitively shed a much greater light.
Please join me on this exciting journey, as I eagerly explore and try to elucidate the wonders of these eye-opening ideas that the greatest of the great have gifted us with, throughout the generations.
In hope of creating a "greatest of the great" reality, for myself, my family, and our entire community.
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Coming up Next: The First Big Idea