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

By Joseph Telushkin. 

HarperCollins.

Joseph Telushkin waits until the end of his lengthy new study to address the role of messianism in Lubavitch Chassidism. There, he signals a certain discomfort, or, at least a heightened sense of discretion in approaching this subject: “As will become apparent in the course of this chapter, I have a definite view on the subject of whether the Rebbe was the Messiah and it is not an affirmative one, but I will try to present fairly the views of those with whom I disagree.” 

This is characteristic of Telushkin’s overall goal, which is to present a loving, detailed portrait of the Rebbe and his movement that is not precisely an insider’s account, but which relies upon the most intimate form of respect and dedication.

Telushkin’s adult relationship with Chabad is not made clear in Rebbe. Yet he points to a longstanding bond between his family and the chassidic movement nurtured by Rabbi Schneerson. This includes his father’s longstanding duties as the rebbe’s tax accountant (Telushkin recalls encountering, as a child, the Rebbe’s tax return in his father’s desk drawer); and, more uniquely, a single yechidus, or personal meeting with the Rebbe, which took place in 1968.

“I was only nineteen at the time,” Telushkin writes, “tagging along with my grandfather, Rabbi Nissen Telushkin, a major rabbinical scholar and a man who had a very warm relationship with the Rebbe.” The meeting, as was common for the Rebbe, was conducted in Yiddish, and Telushkin required a whispered “summary of what the Rebbe was saying” in order to keep up with the discussion.

This position of access, alongside a certain distance, reflects Telushkin’s relationship with his subject. He is the author of many books on an array of Jewish themes, including Jewish humour, the Bible, and immigration to America. Rebbe stands apart as a personal statement in a substantial oeuvre offering readers avenues of thought and self-reflection. 

But there are aspects of Telushkin’s approach to the life of the Rebbe that stand out, and which some readers may find surprising. One is the decision to forego any general discussion of the history of chassidism in eastern Europe and elsewhere. Lubavitch, the ancestral Russian town of Chabad Chassidism, is mentioned only in passing and does not appear in Telushkin’s index. 

The European sojourn of Menachem Mendel Schneerson – which straddled his Ukrainian birthplace, marriage years in Warsaw, a period of influential university study in Berlin and Paris – merit only slight comment. These gaps are addressed in the book’s final chapter, entitled “Major Events in the Life of the Rebbe,” which is offered as an appendix. There we learn a few details about the Rebbe’s formative years, which included the completion of a degree in mechanical and electrical engineering, allowing him, upon arrival in the United States, to apply his skills in ship design at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. 

By approaching the Rebbe in this way, Telushkin removes him from his European and youthful context – one could even say from historical context – providing instead a comprehensive portrait of the period following 1951 when the Rebbe initiated the rise of Chabad’s influence in postwar America and abroad.

Telushkin’s portrait of Chabad under the Rebbe is a full-throated song of praise. He celebrates its programs to introduce tfillin via mobile “Mitzvah tanks,” to encourage girls above three years old to light Chanukah candles, to promote the public lighting of Chanukah menorahs, to kosher non-kosher kitchens, to exemplify charitable giving via the Rebbe’s custom of distributing dollar bills meant for charity at his Brooklyn-based gatherings. 

Telushkin highlights the Rebbe’s influence on and respect for political leaders in Israel and the United States. He favourably compares the Rebbe’s relationship with other Jewish denominations to the more rigid, even bitter views expressed by the Satmar Rebbe and other Orthodox figures.

At his book’s conclusion, Telushkin makes explicit what his argument, in oblique ways, often suggests: Chabad under the Rebbe can be seen as a best-case scenario for the maintenance of a vital contemporary Jewish identity. Rebbe ends with a lengthy anecdote, almost a joke with a punchline. An unaffiliated, economically stressed caller contacts “a variety of synagogues, Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, and Orthodox,” hoping for access to High Holiday services and low-cost education programs. Along with goodwill and patience, the “one bit of advice” offered “by all twelve institutions: ‘Call Chabad.’”

This final flourish is provocative, even grand in its message, not unlike the subtitle of Telushkin’s book, with its assertion that Rabbi Schneerson was “the most influential rabbi in modern history.” But much of what Telushkin has to convey is on a more modest scale, by way of anecdotes involving the Rebbe’s influence over his followers’ day-to-day lives. These range from meetings with Israeli cabinet ministers to advice offered to children, which was revisited years later when these children reappeared before the Rebbe as adults. 

The affection with which Telushkin reports these stories, and the number and variety of such encounters drawn from Rabbi Schneerson’s reign as Rebbe, convey the character of the community he nurtured in Crown Heights, as well as the quality of personal involvement that was crucial to its success. 

Norman Ravvin is a writer and teacher in Montreal.