Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the first of the Hebrew month of Nissan, falls at the end of this week. It marks the 237^th birthday of Rebbe Nachman of Breslev, our beloved Rebbe and spiritual guide whom we call the flowing river and the source of wisdom.

 

This is a bittersweet day. The sweetness is that this is the magnificent date that Hashem chose for the inauguration of the Holy Tabernacle in the desert. It’s also the day that He decided to send Rebbe Nachman’s holy neshama to this lowly spiritual world for our benefit.

 

The bitter part of Rebbe Nachman’s birthday is that it heightens our awareness to what a true leader really is. We sorely need a Rebbe Nachman today. Yet, when we look who is leading our government today, we find personalities that planted trees in the Golan Heights on this past Tu B’Shvat before the recent elections and made a solemn promise that they’d never relinquish a single square centimeter of the Golan, yet today are reportedly making territorial compromises under the table to appease international pressure.

 

Rabbenu Nachman had uncompromising ideals because he had uncompromising emuna. The petty politicians of today with their Botany-500 and Volvo exteriors lack both conviction and backbone because they lack emuna.

 

Funny, when I think of true leaders, men of spirituality are first to come to mind.

 

What is a true leader? A true leader is one who best utilizes and cultivates the personal talents and potential of those that he leads. A true leader believes that seemingly ordinary human beings are capable of extraordinary accomplishments. A true leader has the ability to instill in his followers a passion to fulfill a dream, and that no dream is beyond reach. We’re talking about inner courage. The great leader has the courage to stand up to all adversity and to lead his followers to greatness.

 

When we observe great leaders, we’re inspired to discover the unique and extraordinary qualities that are within each one of us, just as Rebbe Nachman taught us to do in his famous teaching that we nickname “Azamra” (see Likutei Moharan I:282).

 

Mahatma Gandhi was an ordinary man who rose above his “ordinariness” to become a leader who transformed humanity, paving the way for equality and the raising of human consciousness unlike no other leader in the 20th century. He was so simple and plain in every way that the aristocratic Winston Churchill addressed him with utter contempt. Yet, I would venture to say that Gandhi’s memory today still inspires millions as he once did in the flesh before his death some 60 years ago. Gandhi lived modestly, spoke the truth, and fought in his quietly courageous way to free his country of foreign domination. How nice it would be to be able to say that about a single one of our contemporary local politicians.

 

The other great leader that comes to mind was also a man of spirituality and far-reaching vision, Reverend Martin Luther King. He stood up with formidable courage in the face of hostility. He elevated the hopes of millions of his fellow countrymen, white and black, and dared to believe in a world where all people could share the bounties of the earth without prejudice. He opened the doors for possibilities that no one dared to dream of, possibilities that have since become real.

 

Yet, with all due respect to the world’s truly great leaders, Rebbe Nachman has surpassed them all. He teaches us to break away from the Yetzer’s chains of spiritual slavery that bind us to despair. He teaches us that we are not only beloved sons and daughters of The Almighty, but that each of us may speak to The King whenever we like. He leads us on the path of greatness, teaching us that we are capable of serving The Almighty just as the greatest tzaddikim in history did. The sky is the limit and there’s no need for despair ever.

 

If that’s not enough, Rebbe Nachman teaches us that we must bring all of mankind to G-d, not as missionaries or as proselytizers, but simply to improve the human condition, to enhance global peace, and to sanctify Hashem’s Holy Name. It is this, Rebbe Nachman’s holy legacy, that we here at Breslev Israel are honor-bound to follow.

 

Happy Birthday, Rabbenu.

 

 

(We invite you to visit Rabbi Lazer Brody’s award-winning daily web journal, “Lazer Beams”)