Menachem Mendel Schneerson — the Lubavitcher Rebbe — at the Lag BaOmer parade in Brooklyn, New York, May 17, 1987. Photo: Mordecai Baron via Wikicommons.

Mendel Kalmenson’s newly published book, On Purpose (Ezra Press), was inspired by the wisdom and teachings of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, otherwise affectionately known throughout the world as the Rebbe.

The opening pages at once grab the reader’s attention, with the Rebbe’s answer to that age-old question, “why am I here?”

His answer is both life-changing and life-confirming; he said your existence is G-d’s way of saying that you matter. The fact that you matter is a perfect segue into another question, “if I matter, why am I here, in other words, what is my purpose in life?” According to the Rebbe, the short answer is, we are here to elevate the Divine sparks hidden within the material world. What that means and how we do that is the focus of this book.

Judaism considers humility a virtue, and according to our sages, the humblest person to have ever existed was Moses. How do we know? The Torah tells us so. “Now, this man Moses was exceedingly humble, more so than any person on earth.” (Bamidbar 12:3). Although it would be a monumental challenge to be as humble as Moses, nevertheless we can aspire to be more modest and unassuming in our own lives, despite what appears to be a contradictory Kabbalist statement that “G-d crafted the cosmos to make your existence possible.”

Kalmenson illuminates three principles the Rebbe embraced — the importance of life, the value of the individual, and their responsibility to the self and the entire world. The Rebbe, ever the optimist, had unabated faith in mankind. So much so, he taught that even evil allows us to find a positive outcome in a circumspect way. He explained that history bears witness to the fact that an individual can do much harm, but similarly a person can do much good. The Rebbe believed that in G-d’s creation, good outweighs evil and that the smallest act of kindness can have a profound positive Butterfly Effect on the world.

So, how do we know what G-d expects from us; what is our mission? Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks summed up the wisdom he received from the Rebbe, “Where what you do meets what needs to be done, that is where G-d wants you to be.” But because life places obstacles and diversions along each person’s path, it is difficult to find the right way to fulfill one’s purpose. But that is no reason to despair, because G-d equips us with the wherewithal to overcome the difficulties we will inevitably meet.

Although the Rebbe had no children, he stressed the importance of family. His view of family is characterized by the aphorism, “Charity begins at home” or more pointedly he said, “If you have the choice between supporting those who are poor in your family or the poor in your city, the poor in your family takes precedence.”

Sometimes the Rebbe surprised those who had the privilege to learn some of his personal views. For example, who  would think the Rebbe considered a birthday the most important day of your life? After all, in traditional Jewish practice, the birthday’s importance pales compared to the day of your death, by the fact we commemorate a person’s yahrzeit, by giving tzedakah, reciting kaddish, special prayers, and lighting a yahrzeit candle. But the Rebbe viewed the importance of those two days differently than one would expect. To find out his reasoning about that matter, as well as gaining insight to a host of other fascinating ideas about his theological beliefs and practices, I strongly recommend reading Kalmenson’s well-written and hard to put down book; you will not be disappointed.

Steve is a freelance writer focusing on topics relating to Israel and Judaism.