Gimmel Tammuz and Chabad Chayus

Op-ed from the Tuna Beigel inbox By Anonymous:

1. The Day the Fire Dimmed

Gimmel Tammuz is a day that, beyond the passing of the Rebbe himself, symbolizes the death of Chayus within the Chabad community.

The sadness of the day is not only for the Rebbe, but also for what he gave us – the energy and passion that once existed among us, and today are no longer present. Many people are spiritually dry and devoid of passion (despite the astounding external success).

There’s no need to look far:

Today, spirituality is mostly comprised of Minhagim, knowledge accumulation, deep intellectual engagement, dedication to mivtzoim, shlichus, and even a certain emotional energy around a good maamar or sicha.

But all of this is like a momentary flash of excitement in the middle of a long winter’s sleep.

Chabad for hundreds of years was a place of Avodah, of fire, of aspiration – and today, there is nothing new. In every corner there is a sense of dullness, spiritual boredom & repetition.

There is life – but it drags itself along. There is no movement, no deep yearning, no spiritual experience that causes one’s heart to race even slightly. The entire spiritual landscape is already known, mapped out, too familiar.

How this emptiness is perceived varies by generation, and it’s interesting to observe that in how people relate to Gimmel Tammuz and its meaning – through sadness, acceptance, and their outlook on the future.

2. Stuck in the Pause

The generation that experienced the Rebbe, as well as the event of Gimmel Tammuz – mourns primarily the absence of the Rebbe himself & has accepted the spiritual and emotional emptiness that we are in, and looks to the future with anticipation for the Rebbe’s return.

This generation does not want to, and perhaps cannot, advance the spiritual Galus we his chassidim are immersed in. We never truly accepted the new reality. It is stuck in a contradicting state, always just a moment away from the nightmare ending. Trapped in post-trauma and the past, it repeatedly returns to what once was but is no longer.

From its perspective, of course, every internal problem of dryness and lack of vitality is simply a result of the external issue that will inevitably be resolved: The Rebbe

Meanwhile, the younger generation, the one that did not experience the Rebbe firsthand, and only knows of him through their parents:

Did not live through the pain of Gimmel Tammuz, feels less of his absence, and on a day like this, feels sadness primarily about ourselves, about the spiritual emptiness in which we are sunken into, relatively accepts the Rebbe’s absence (without contradicting the longing that still exists), and looks to the future with little expectation and a certain indifference.

That generational perspective on the future is critical:

Will this generation continue to hang its hopes on the coming of the Moshiach to solve our internal issues?

Or will it learn to look at reality with acceptance, and strive to advance it – investing real effort to redeem itself by its own power, without placing the responsibility on Hashem, the Rebbe, or the Satan?

If not a general Geulah, then at least a personal one.

3. Today our society holds a paradoxical view of spiritual leadership

On the one hand, there is awareness that in reality, we are in a certain void – spiritually and in terms of leadership, and on the other hand, the Rebbe is still seen as ideally continuing to lead in every detail, with no distinction between then and now, “Just as then, so too now,” taken to an extreme – a completely messianic perception, detached from reality.

This gap between reality and ideal is the very “unexplainable situation” people keep mentioning, and it is itself the escape from responsibility that has long since passed to us.
We are not allowing the Rebbe to truly empower us to create spiritual renewal and awakening.

From the courage to change certain behaviors that stubbornly cling to the Rebbe’s directives intended for a different time, to originality and boldness in spiritual and educational domains,
to the development and empowerment of updated leadership figures who can shape new and meaningful worlds for a generation that is spiritually thinning out.

Of course the Rebbe continues to be the compass and the spirit, and his ideas will remain the foundation in any situation,
but the Rebbe himself took care, especially in his later years, to delegate authority across all areas of leadership.

In my opinion, this is what he would want to happen.

4. Where Longing Becomes Avoidance:

Even today, although the void is clear and visible, we continue to place the responsibility on the Rebbe’s shoulders, waiting passively for redemption, and when problems arise and we expect a complete solution to fall from the sky,
our motivation and responsibility to fix things vanish.

That’s why the phrase “This isn’t normal, it makes no sense, it’s the final test” has the potential to become a self-fulfilling prophecy, truly freezing everything in place, and continuing this drought of meaning for many years to come.

It is precisely a bold recognition of the idea that “the Rebbe will not return,” and a cessation of the seemingly sacred expectation to “wait for his arrival” (which does not contradict longing), that has the potential to return responsibility to us.

It can create space for originality, renewal, and innovation, and drive our reality – we, the chassidim – toward a higher, more vibrant, more spiritual future, where maybe, just maybe, we will find the Rebbe once again.

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