'Engaging the Essence': The Lubavitcher Rebbe as philosopher - review

A new analysis of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's teachings positions Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson as a profound philosopher, worthy of comparison with established thinkers like Rav Kook and Rav Soloveitchik. The book, "Engaging the Essence: The Torah Philosophy of the Lubavitcher Rebbe," by Yosef Bronstein, delves into the Rebbe's vast output of nearly 70,000 pages of talks and over 12,000 letters.

Bronstein, who heads the Machon Zimrat Ha’aretz Torah-learning institution and teaches Jewish philosophy at Yeshiva University, argues that the Rebbe's extensive organizational efforts, including the global Chabad emissary program, are a direct enactment of his core philosophy. This central tenet, termed "dira batahtonim," expresses God's desire for a dwelling within the material world. This contrasts with the traditional view of the world as a mere hallway to the afterlife; the Rebbe, according to Bronstein, sought to transform the hallway itself into a palace.

What makes the Rebbe's philosophy particularly radical, Bronstein suggests, is its emphasis on finding the deepest divinity not in the soul's spiritual heights, but within the physical body and the material world. This perspective challenges traditional hierarchies and elevates the ordinary. Bronstein contends that this philosophy informed the Rebbe's views on diverse topics, including the role of women, the place of non-Jews in a redeemed world, and his interpretation of modern science as a discipline moving towards spiritual understanding.

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