Do we truly matter? Would the world be any different if any one of us had not been born? But we were born. Think of it: G‑d performed the amazing miracle of birth just so each one of us would be here right now.
The Rebbe would often point out: The very fact that you are here, in this place, at this time and with these opportunities available to you, means that there is something to be done — something that only you can do, something of utmost importance to G‑d. Think of it. And then do it.
Where does Chabad come into the picture?
Chabad is an idea. An idea that is valid no matter where you are and who you think you are. It wasn’t invented yesterday, and it’s not going away tomorrow. It is the idea that every person has to use his own mind to awaken his heart and connect with his G‑dly soul. A Chabad House is a place that facilitates that. For anybody who wants to make that connection.
So why is Chabad so “out there”? Why do we make such a big deal of traveling to the furthest reaches of the world, as long as another Jew might be found there? Aren’t there enough Jews to take care of in Brooklyn and Jerusalem?
Because this is the mandate given us by the Rebbe. There’s a Jew somewhere in the world who imagines he’s “out there.” He doesn’t find in himself—if he ever stops to look for it—any connection left with his people. Maybe he’s far away on the globe, maybe further in ways of life, ways of thinking.
We come to him and tell him, “Really, you are on the inside. Really, you never left. The fact that you find yourself so ‘out there’— that's G‑d's plan for you. You were guided to this place, this mindset, so that even here you would find the Torah and even here you will delight in its living water.”
The Rebbe
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh leader in the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, is considered to have been the most phenomenal Jewish personality of modern times. To hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of symphatizers and admirers around the world, he was -and still is- "the Rebbe", undoubtedly, the one individual more than any other singularly responsible for stirring the conscience and spiritual awakening of world Jewry.
To learn more about the Rebbe's life and teachings, visit www.TheRebbe.org.
Rabbi Mendel & Yochi Scheiman
Inspired by the Rebbe's vision, we moved to Carbondale in August 2013 to establish Chabad of SIU. Our goals are
- to provide a warm home away from home for Jewish students attending Southern Illinois University
- to be a friendly source of Jewish knowledge and inspiration for the many Jewish people scattered throughout the region
- to counsel and assist Jewish inmates in 13 correctional facilities in Southern Illinois
Together with our children, we continuously strive to show the beauty of living a fully Jewish life. We invite you to join the many who've been in touch with us, to see how we can join to bring more and more light to this beautiful corner of the world.