Rebbe's life story with
great empathy, starting
with the ways in which
the upheavals of history
catapulted him from a
hoped-for career in sci-
ence in Europe to a new
life in America within the
Chabad movement, and
extending to the personal
anguish felt by the Rebbe and his wife at
their childlessness.
He summarizes with precision the
Rebbe's spiritual — and life — mission.
"It was the Rebbe's absolutely unsparing
commitment to bring redemption to the
world through actions," Steinsaltz writes.
"For the Rebbe, bringing the Mashiach was
not a mystical or kabbalistic maneuver; it
was supremely practical ... bringing the
Mashiach would depend entirely on whole-
hearted Torah study and observance of
mitzvoth. Toward this end, he organized the
mitzvah campaigns so that his Chasidim
could bring his message to Jews everywhere"
At the same time, Steinsaltz continues,
the Rebbe viewed the tragedies of 20th-cen-
tury history as "presaging a major event"
So: Did the Lubavitch community view
the Rebbe as the Messiah? Did the Rebbe
himself?

Rabbi Telushkin believes this is a "non-
issue" because the question misunderstands
the traditional Chasidic concept of there
existing, in every generation, a potential
candidate for Messiah. "It is this sense of
`Messiah' that many of the Lubavitchers
intended" when they spoke of the Rebbe
as the Messiah, Telushkin writes — as a
potential Messiah, not the actual one.
Steinsaltz sees it this way: "The accep-
tance of the Rebbe as the Mashiach of
his time was almost universal among the
Lubavitchers of the late 20th century ...
it was simply an article of faith. ... While
he never said so outright, I think that the
Rebbe considered it possible that he might
be tapped to become the Mashiach — and
that he could bring the Redemption. ...
However, he never made the claim outright
and tried to quash all speculation"
Now, two decades after the Rebbe's death,
there still remain those who continue to
believe that the Rebbe will be resurrected
and revealed as the Messiah.
In the sense that the Rebbe's influence
and example remain so vivid, then "yes,
it can be said that the Rebbe is still here"
Steinsaltz concludes.
Certainly the fullness of the Rebbe's per-
sonality is present in these well-drawn por-
traits by Rabbis Telushkin and Steinsaltz. ❑

Scholarships Granted
B'nai B'rith hands out
four awards.

L

ess than one year ago, a group of
B'nai B'rith leaders from Great
Lakes Region looked at develop-
ing a signature program that would fill
a need in the local Metro Detroit com-
munity. The New B'nai B'rith College
Scholarship Program was conceived,
with its mission to provide a local
resource for students in the community
looking for financial assistance with the
high cost of college tuition.
The group, together with a devoted
committee of volunteers, began the task
of raising the much needed funds to
make the dream a reality. After review-
ing many online applications, four out-
standing recipients were recognized for
its inaugural year.
The 2014 awards were presented to
four talented recipients: Alex Sitner,
Danielle Keith, Mara Cranis, and Marisa
Meyerson, by two of the committee
members, Rick Sherline and Rachel
Taubman, at the 32nd Annual Golf
Classic Event at Tam 0-Shanter Country
Club in West Bloomfield. The scholarship

Committee member Rick Sherline,

scholarship winners Alex Sitner,

Danielle Keith, Mara Cranis, Marisa

Meyerson and committee member

Rachel Taubman

funds will be sent directly to the colleges
the students are accepted to this fall.
The other members of the committee
include David Lubin, Sid Roth Steve Zorn,
Arline Bittker, Steven Kaplan, Ilene Lubin,
Eric Adelman, Lila Zorn, Robert Stoler
and Regional President Stuart Novick.
The committee is currently seeking
endowments to sustain this fund for the
future, welcomes anyone interested in
serving on the committee and asks that
calendars are marked for Oct. 25 when
the next concert at the Berman Theater at
the JCC will be held to benefit the College
Scholarship Program.

❑

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June 19 • 2014

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