We stand at the beginning of an important week in Tamuz, when the 30th day of remembrance of the great and legendary Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, is set to fall. We at Israel’s Next Generation are engaging in the field closest to his heart – the young people of Israel, our future generation.
The Rebbe expressed his hope for them on many occasions, citing their youthful energy.
Through them, he intended to bring about the world-embracing revolution that he, indeed, went on to carry out.
Loving the orders and loving the rebellion!
In the early ‘50s, Ma’ariv journalist Geula Cohen, who had been a member of the pre-state underground and who later became an MK and deputy minister, met with the Rebbe and published his words in the newspaper.
During their meeting, the Rebbe spoke about the youth waiting for someone to talk to them. “The youth is waiting to be spoken to and no one is speaking.
The speech that the youth is waiting for is a command! And it should be given to them in the same voice and tone in which all the great commands of the people of Israel were given. I believe in the power of the young of the people of Israel. There needs to be someone to rally them.
“How many thousands of hours are lost every day for these young people? An hour of youth is an hour in which you can create wonders, is it not?”
Young people can bring positive change
Young people, by nature, are fond of rebellion. And it was the Rebbe who said, “Excellent, we will harness this feature in positive directions. Let them rebel against stubbornness, weakness of mind, despair, and lack of faith.
A revolution is only possible with young people at the helm.
The Rebbe challenged those who claim that attempting to change the thinking of the youth is contending with a human being who lacks the ability to choose, therefore making it useless.
The Rebbe maintained the exact opposite. It is the adults who are usually already set in their ways. Fixed on a lifestyle they have been practicing for decades, they will not easily change their ways and will also tell themselves that the previous decades of their lives were less significant, even considering them a mistake.
Young people, in contrast, come with a youthful, healthy, and open mind. They are but at the start of their way in life, filled with the vigor and the ability to grasp the most meaningful road to promoting the ideals they will be raised upon at this age.
Therefore, it is necessary to invest precisely in this age group, believe in them, and understand that they are, in fact, the future of our people in every way that matters.
Not only in the simple sense of “the next generation begins with young people” but also in the sense that they can bring new vitality, allowing the growth of entirely new things.
What we are witnessing this year, a year of war in the Land of Israel and the world as a whole, is that fighting belongs to young people!
The war in the Land of Israel belongs to young soldiers.
The most horrendous thing that happened on October 7 happened at the Nova festival, predominantly attended by young people.
Even in the United States, universities are the battlefields where the main wars are taking place, and young people are on both sides of the fence.
We must take their energy and channel them in the direction of values, of Jewish pride, all the while striving for world peace and justice.
We need to strengthen them and be an am segula – a treasured people.
Unfortunately, the recent months have shown us that our enemies are ready to teach us by force what we, the people of Israel, do learn on our own. But with God’s help, everything will turn out for the better.
We should continue investing in young people, with all our might, all over the world, particularly in the Land of Israel.
The writer, a rabbi, is a founder and director of Chabad on Campus Israel, and of C-teen Israel, the main programs of Israel’s Next Generation.