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Today is Gimmel Tammuz—the Rebbe’s 29th Yahrzeit. It’s been almost three decades since we’ve been able to physically see our leader and hear his holy words. 

I traveled to his resting place in Queens, together with tens of thousands of Jews from all over the globe, to ask for his blessing on this powerful and auspicious day. 

The Rebbe’s teachings continue to be studied and spread, 29 years after his passing. The fire and passion he ignited within us burns strong; his presence is felt today more than ever. We haven’t given up on the task he assigned us. In fact, there are now Chabad emissaries spreading Torah and Yiddishkeit in every corner and crevice of the globe. 

My proudest accomplishment is being the Rebbe’s emissary in Manhattan. 

The Rebbe is my mentor and guide. Everything I do in my life is shaped by him—every sermon I give, every couple I counsel, every class I teach, every dollar I raise, every person I inspire … it’s all a direct result of the Rebbe’s teachings, guidance and inspiration.

I start each day with his teachings, and before every major decision I pray at the Ohel for success. 

The Rebbe inspired me to have as many children as possible, so I am blessed with 8 beautiful kids. We live in Manhattan because of the Rebbe. 

Every morning I wake up passionate and excited to do the Rebbe’s work, to help and inspire as many people as possible, to educate Jewish children and support our wounded IDF brothers and sisters. 

The Rebbe taught us that when it comes to our spiritual work, it’s never enough. There’s no “end.” There’s always more to accomplish, more people to reach, more Torah to spread. 

I could study the Rebbe’s teachings my entire life and not even scratch the surface. But if I could sum up some of his most meaningful and inspiration ideas, here’s what I would say: 

The Rebbe taught us to believe in the world. We know how easy it is to become despondent. So many problems, so much darkness. People are more divided than ever, and up-to-the-minute access to news means we know every bad thing going on in every corner of the globe. It’s overwhelming and easy to become depressed. But the Rebbe taught us to look beyond the darkness and find the light. The Rebbe taught us the power of positive thinking, and to view the world as G-d’s garden. To find the hidden sparks of light and ignite them. 

The Rebbe taught us to believe in people. The Rebbe championed the view that deep at our core we are all good, and if we haven’t found the good in someone, it simply means we haven’t dug deep enough. The Rebbe taught us not to give up on people—not our difficult children, our challenging students, or the rude stranger on the street. Everyone has a neshama—a spark of G-dliness—and it’s our responsibility to help them uncover it. 

And most importantly, the Rebbe taught us to believe in ourselves and to never give up, no matter what life throws at us. The Rebbe believed so strongly in the power and reach of every individual, and he pushed us to recognize just how much we could accomplish—more than we ever thought possible.

Above all, the Rebbe wanted us to bring Moshiach, and we have not ceased working towards that for even one moment. May it happen imminently. 

Rabbi Uriel Vigler

This week I found myself dealing with multiple doctors for multiple kids. At this point in life, having raised children in the city for so many years, I know how to navigate the system. I’m quite familiar with all the emergency room protocols and I know exactly which ones to avoid.

First up, was my son. Late Saturday night, just as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard my wife answer the phone. It was our teenage son, who was away for a weekend Shabbaton. They had been riding golf carts, and his was being driven a bit too fast. The driver made a sharp turn and my son fell out and sustained some cuts and bruises. Luckily, there was a hatzalah member nearby, who was able to take care of him until he came home.

The next day I took him to the emergency room where an x-ray revealed that he had broken his tibia—quite a serious injury that will necessitate him being in a cast for 6 weeks. That means 6 weeks of no basketball, no swimming, no volleyball, no hiking and no running—not a great position for a teenage boy heading into summer.

The second incident involved my 5-year-old son who came down with a rash that spread across his body quite rapidly. I knew he needed to be examined by a doctor, and it turned out he had most likely come into contact with poison ivy somewhere. Thank G-d, nothing that a little TLC at home won’t take care of.

Then my 9-year-old daughter came home complaining of pain in her fingers, and it turns out that she had sprained her fingers playing ball with her friends in school. Nothing serious, just uncomfortable.

But all this in one week? What’s going on? Nothing, and I mean nothing, in our lives is random. Everything is Divinely orchestrated by our loving Father.

When incidents like these happen to us, it is G-d’s way of communicating. He cannot Whatsapp me, He cannot Facebook message me, He cannot pick up the phone to call me, so He talks to me in this way. First He tried to get my attention via the incident with the golf cart, but alas, I guess I did not get the message. Then He tried again with the rash, but still no response from me. So now incident number three with my daughters fingers … OK, G-d, I’m listening now, you got my attention!

Exactly what He is trying to say is hard for me to know, but I do know that in these types of situations the Rebbe would tell us to check our mezuzahs and tefillin. It’s not enough to have them; they can deteriorate over time and need to be checked regularly to make sure they are still kosher. The Rebbe also always told us to give some charity. So that’s where I’ll be starting.

How about you? Are you listening when G-d speaks to you? Maybe He wanted me to write this article to inspire you to do a mitzvah, too.