In G-d We Trust: A Handbook of Values for Americans
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About this ebook
At one point in our lives, many of us have shared a relationship with a parent, teacher, or employer which deeply affected us. That person had high standards; he stood for something and he invited others to stand with him.
He was demanding; he never gave in and accepted mediocracy. But he also never gave up. Together with the high expectations he communicated was imparted the trust that we could meet them. With vision, he expanded our horizons, inspired us to attain these new vistas, and indeed to reach further.
For a Lubavitcher -- indeed for almost anyone who ever met the Rebbe -- these descriptions of leadership are not platitudes, they are part of the day-to-day experience of living with the Rebbe.
The Rebbe never spoke in terms of mere dreams or wishful ideals. Instead, he confronted every situation in all its particulars, and did so honestly, without vanity, without fear of the personal consequences. When he spoke about a mission or an objective, it was not merely because the mission was desirable, but because it was plainly possible. He did not speak of what we could be -- but were not yet. He spoke of what we are, the potential which we actually possess and how we can express it in our lives.
His vision of America which is communicated in the pages that follow focuses on our past -- the roots of our national heritage -- and our present -- the positive and negative forces operating within our culture. And it allows us to look to the horizon, showing how the end of peace and prosperity to be introduced by Mashiach is within our grasp.
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In G-d We Trust - Sichos In English
In G-d We Trust: A Handbook of Values for Americans
based on the works of
the Lubavitcher Rebbe,
Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson
adapted by Eliyahu Touger
Published by
Sichos In English
In G-d We Trust: A Handbook of Values for Americans
Published by Sichos In English at Smashwords
Copyright 1996 Sichos In English
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This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
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788 Eastern Parkway - Brooklyn, N.Y. 11213
5756 • 1996
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ISBN 978-1-4659-1974-8
Chapter 1: Publisher’s Foreword
In the summer of 1995, the U.S. Congress authorized President Clinton to present the Rebbe with the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Only about 100 such awards have been made in American history.
Democrats and Republicans, liberals, conservatives, Northerners and Southerners, blacks, whites and Hispanics, all joined ranks to bestow this recognition on the Rebbe. Speaker of the House Rep. Newt Gingrich declared:
The Rebbe stood... for the kind of decency, the kind of way of life, the kind of spiritual meaning which allows humans to live with each other in peace and seek a better and more just future.... There’s a sense of, Here is a candle that was lit.
But there’s a second part, and that is that Rabbi Schneerson didn’t just believe in these ideals, he lived them.... There was a continuity and an integrity in his commitment.
And then there was a third part — that those he touched themselves live the ideals....
And from the other end of the political spectrum, Rep. John Lewis, the Chief Deputy Democratic whip, stated:
We may no longer see the Rebbe with our eyes, but his spirit lives in our hearts and in our deeds. The Rebbe, like my mentor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., worked every day of his life for what Dr. King used to call the beloved community
— a community at peace with itself, a country and a world in which people are not judged by the color of their skin but by the quality of their character.
The Rebbe judged people by their character, and worked every day to make this world a better place.
Why was the Rebbe given this award? Because he was a visionary who sought the welfare of all mankind. Once a state senator from New York asked for a private meeting (yechidus) with the Rebbe. Over an hour later, he came out excited. I never realized what a great man your Rebbe is,
he told Rabbi Leibel Groner, the Rebbe’s secretary.
The senator explained that he had sought the Rebbe’s counsel concerning his personal affairs. After the Rebbe had advised him with regard to these matters, he asked if he could request a favor from the senator.
‘Here it comes,’ I thought to myself,
he told Rabbi Groner, "‘just like all the others, he’s also looking for the payoff.’
But what did the Rebbe ask me?
"‘There is,’ the Rebbe said, ‘a growing community in Chinatown. These people are quiet, reserved, hard-working and law-abiding, the type of citizens most countries would treasure. But because Americans are so out-going and the Chinese are, by nature, so reserved, they are often overlooked by government programs. As a state senator from New York, I suggest that you concern yourself with their needs.’
I was overwhelmed. The Rebbe has a community of thousands in New York and institutions all over the country that could benefit from government programs. I am in a position to help secure funding for them, but the Rebbe didn’t ask about that. He was concerned with Chinatown. I don’t think he has ever been there, and I’m certain that most people there don’t know who he is, but he cares about them. Now that’s a true leader!
The Rebbe did not merely manifest an unbounded concern for the welfare of all mankind, he provided us with teachings which motivate and enable us to share this mindset and put it into practice. A rabbi working in a university once asked the Rebbe what fundamental message he should communicate to his students. The Rebbe answered: Teach them that they all possess a soul that is a spark of G-d. This knowledge will continually inspire them and influence them to improve their conduct.
And the Rebbe did more than inspire; he was a leader. He was able to give people an ideal that imbued their lives with lasting meaning. He took the truth from Sinai, the centuries-old Biblical tradition, and applied it to every aspect of contemporary life. To him, the Bible was not a book, but a blueprint for life, one which contained G-d’s instructions on how to deal with every issue that day-to-day life presents.
On one hand, the Rebbe was