By Rabbi Yisroel Shmotkin – Milwaukee, Wisconsin

We’re witnessing something extraordinary: a deep, genuine hiskashrus to the Rebbe, especially among younger chassidim who never saw him with their own eyes. In some ways, their bond is even stronger than that of those who did – those who stood at farbrengens, went into yechidus, and experienced the Rebbe’s presence directly.

This connection shows itself in many ways: steady, serious learning of the Rebbe’s Torah; caring about his inyanim, directives, and mivtzoim; identifying with his vision; and dedicating oneself to his shlichus – even in far-off places and difficult circumstances.

One of the expressions of this love is the way people relate to the Rebbe’s picture. His image hangs in homes, Chabad Houses, and institutions everywhere.

But today, when we have access to so many photos – spanning every year, every event, every moment -and when technology has made them available to anyone in an instant, we must be careful to preserve the preciousness and the sense of holiness that a picture of the Rebbe deserves.

In the Shabbos Parshas Vayeitzei farbrengen of 5748 (1987), the Rebbe explained Rashi’s comment on the possuk “And Yaakov left Be’er Sheva and went to Charan.” Rashi says: “This tells us that the departure of a tzaddik from a place makes an impression: As long as the tzaddik is in the city, he is its hod, its ziv, and its hadar; when he leaves, its hod is gone, its ziv is gone, its hadar is gone.”

The Rebbe explains: Hadar means honor; ziv means light; and hod means a light that awakens awe. 

We must remember that the ziv – the hiskashrus, the learning, the watching of videos and looking at pictures, etc. – must be done with hod – with reverence and awe of holiness. Then we can also have hadar, honor.

There are those who express their hiskashrus by using the Rebbe’s picture as their personal profile photo. The Rebbe’s picture appears on posters and advertising, fundraising materials and campaigns; it is printed on pushkas and signs, shul conduct sheets and bentchers. The picture becomes a “graphic element” automatically added to every ad and invitation.

The intention is pure and sincere. Still, we need to pause for a moment, step back from the constant flow and everyday use of the many images now so easily available, and ask ourselves:

What is a picture of the Rebbe? How should it be treated? Is this the right way to use it? Is this what the Rebbe would want?

Is it really appropriate for someone’s personal profile photo to be a picture of the Rebbe – especially when it appears on a device that, in practice, isn’t kept away from places that are far from holy? Doing so is an affront to kedushah.

Is it possible to publish the Rebbe’s picture on invitations, flyers, or bentchers that end up scattered on tables where there may be crumbs of food and drink stains? Personally, I would not even place a Sefer Tanya on top of a picture of the Rebbe.

The same applies to book covers. Why use the Rebbe’s picture on the cover of a sefer? It is simply not respectful. Whether it’s a sefer of the Rebbe’s Torah – anyone familiar with the Torah world knows it is not customary to print a picture on a serious Torah or scholarly sefer – or whether it’s a biographical book about a chossid, where the Rebbe’s picture is used for the cover of a book about someone else.

Even more painful is when the front cover has a full “profile” picture of the chossid, while on the back cover, in a corner, there is a picture of the Rebbe giving him a dollar…

It’s important to stop and recognize that: A picture of the Rebbe is holy. You do not use holiness for every purpose, and certainly not for personal needs.

The Frierdiker Rebbe relates (Hatomim, vol. 8, p. 11) that when a portrait of the holy face of the Alter Rebbe came into the hands of the Tzemach Tzedek, he would lock himself in his room every single weekday, close all the doors so that even his servants could not enter, place the picture on the table, put on Shabbos clothes and hat, gird himself with a gartel, and look at it for a long time.

I will never forget when the Rebbe’s picture arrived in Eretz Yisroel in 5716 (1956). We were all deeply moved and gazed at it with full concentration. A few white hairs were visible in the Rebbe’s beard. This detail touched everyone’s heart. People looked at the picture and related to it with awe and holiness.

The way we treated that picture mattered. It was holy, special, precious.

Looking at the Rebbe’s picture is one of the ways of hiskashrus, as the Rebbe pointed out and encouraged in several letters and sichos regarding the picture of his father-in-law, the Frierdiker Rebbe. 

Reflecting on the Rebbe’s picture creates a bond with him. It gives chayus to fulfill our mission, to walk in the ways of Torah and mitzvos, and to push aside all obstacles and hindrances.

A picture of the Rebbe is something holy and alive. Using it must be done with the highest degree of preciousness and respect.

In a reply to a woman who wrote to the Rebbe about struggles and failures, the Rebbe wrote:

“Let her look at the picture of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, at a time when she feels her good will weakening, and remember that he too, being a true shepherd of Israel, is looking at her at that very moment. This will help her with the above-mentioned.”

When “the good will” is weakening and there is a pull toward a fall, one should look at the Rebbe’s picture and remember that not only are we looking at the Rebbe’s picture. At that very time, the Rebbe is looking as well. The thought that he is looking helps a person overcome their struggles and challenges.

There are many well-known and publicized stories of fires, chas veshalom, where an entire room was burned, yet the Rebbe’s picture remained intact. During the terrible terror attack at the Chabad House in Mumbai, the terrorists roamed throughout the building, raging and destroying whatever they could. The Rebbe’s picture remained on the wall, untouched.

This means the Rebbe was there with them, looking at them, sharing their pain – “In all their distress, He is distressed.” The murderers’ hands couldn’t touch the picture.

Just recently, an Iranian missile struck an apartment in Nes Tziyonah. The house was damaged, the windows shattered, but the Rebbe’s picture on the wall – printed on glass – remained in place, whole.

There is a known story (and I recently heard it directly from the person involved) about a Yid who wrote to the Rebbe about a personal problem. The Rebbe did not answer. He wrote again, and again. When he still did not receive an answer about the painful matter, he grew very upset and, Rachmana litzlan, struck the Rebbe’s picture that hung in his home.

Later, when he came by the Rebbe for kos shel brocha, the Rebbe poured him wine, then asked him about that personal matter he had written about. After the man began to move away, the Rebbe called him back and said: “Your blow still hurts me…”

This all shows that the picture is something holy, precious, and meaningful to every chossid. It is a central tool of hiskashrus – but only when we treat it in the right way.

In Parshas Emor, when the Torah forbids eating terumah in a state of tumah, it says: “They shall keep My holy things… and they shall not desecrate My holy Name.” At first glance, what is the connection? How does eating terumah in tumah desecrate Hashem’s holy Name?

The answer is simple: Using something holy in a way that does not belong to you, a lack of sensitivity and reverence for the holiness of terumah, that is a chillul Hashem. Eating terumah in tumah is worse than eating chazzer, because it shows a lack of sensitivity to holiness. It is a desecration of kedushah.

The Rebbe himself once said that he is afraid to touch the Baal Shem Tov’s siddur.

“The idea itself is out of the question”

In addition to basic logic and a chossid’s own sensitivity – which, when one pauses for a moment and looks past the habits that have become so common, immediately recognizes that the Rebbe’s picture must be treated with awe, used for reflection and hiskashrus, and not dropped into every ad or design -the Rebbe himself also addressed this matter clearly.

In Igros Kodesh (vol. 18, p. 226) the Rebbe writes, regarding a proposal to print a postage stamp with the Alter Rebbe’s picture:

“Concerning what you wrote about a stamp with the picture etc., in my opinion, the idea itself is out of the question, because stamps get passed around, in the end they are handled in all kinds of ways, and in addition, there is the necessary act of stamping on the stamp and on the picture.”

In a letter from Rabbi Chadakov to R. Yitzchok Gansburg a”h in Eretz Yisroel, dated Tuesday, 3 Adar I 5727 (1967), he writes:

“It is not proper to put pictures of gedolei Yisroel on a toy and the like.”

Someone incorporated a picture of the Frierdiker Rebbe into a certificate of honor, on the same page as pictures of two women who had assisted the institution. The Rebbe responded in an extremely sharp and frightening way:

“If he wants to give a certificate of distinction to Mrs. Plonis and Mrs. Plonis, is it truly in his authority to give this certificate specifically by printing their pictures together with the picture of my father-in-law, the Rebbe?”

And the Rebbe adds an alarming expression:

“I have already seen many disturbing things, but I must admit that this is among the ‘first in rank’ of them.”

Practically, the Rebbe instructs him:

“Surely he will at once remove this page from existence. Since I cannot bear the responsibility for a practice where, for the sake of ‘publicity,’ they don’t withhold even when it comes to such things.”

And the Rebbe continues:

“He should remove my name from all stationery, booklets, etc.”

The Rebbe goes on:

“If he will listen to my advice, he will accept upon himself a fast on one of the coming days, travel to the holy Ohel and ask for mechilah, selichah and kapparah for this, and establish a daily study in the maamarim of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, until the coming Rosh Hashanah (obviously without a neder).”

“If anyone else participated with him in this act, all of the above applies to him as well.”

Means or end?

The question that must guide us is simple: For what purpose is the Rebbe’s picture being used?

Is the picture itself the goal – solely to honor the Rebbe – or is it being used as a tool to advance some other purpose, whether personal or communal?

A picture of the Rebbe hanging on a wall at home is an end. It awakens awe, emotion, and hiskashrus. A pushka, however, has a different goal. When a picture of the Rebbe is printed on it, the picture becomes, chas veshalom, “an addition,” a means. That is a real desecration of holiness. It is forbidden to exploit the Rebbe’s holy picture for any other usage. The Rebbe’s picture is meant only for the Rebbe’s honor.

Incidentally, even in the home, using the Rebbe’s picture must be with awe and respect. I remember when my son returned from a chassidishe summer camp in his childhood. He came home with a whole pile of Rebbe pictures which had been given out to the children as prizes (this practice is, to me, very questionable). When I walked into his room, I saw that the wall was full of pictures. I told him to take them all down and leave only one picture. The picture is holy and precious, not a colorful collection of cheap items (and indeed, this left a deep impression on him about the respect due to the Rebbe’s picture).

Even using the holy picture in an ad for something connected with the Rebbe – for example, a flyer about an organized trip to the Ohel, a learning campaign, or a chassidishe farbrengen – is not appropriate. Why is the Rebbe’s picture there? Does adding the picture really bring more participants or more travelers? And even if it did, can we desecrate holiness and use the picture as a tool for another goal, even a holy one?

Graphic designers are usually focused on creative expression and making things look good, not on the Rebbe’s honor. For them, the endless supply of Rebbe photos is a perfect graphic addition for posters, signs, and ads.

Everything we’ve said applies even when the picture is used in a respectful way. All the more so regarding edited images, cut-outs, graphic manipulations, and backgrounds used in all kinds of publicity. Putting the Rebbe’s picture inside a logo, as a faded background with text over it – this is literally a desecration of holiness!

Some go even further, chasing the coveted “pirsum rishon.” For the sake of their own honor and excitement, they publish various pictures of the Rebbe whose appearance was not intended for respect and holiness: for example, photos of the Rebbe learning privately in his room, taken secretly, where he is without a hat, not in the manner in which he appeared in public; or pictures from the painful period when the Rebbe’s health was not strong, and other such things.

Is this what the Rebbe wants? Is the publication of such photos meant to increase honor, reverence and deep hiskashrus?

It is known that when Rabbi Krinsky, the Rebbe’s secretary, asked which photo should be used for public announcements, the Rebbe instructed that it should be a picture where he is smiling.

I heard of a Boyaner chossid whose Rebbe instructed him that under the chuppah, when he pictures his Rebbe’s face in his mind, he should picture him in the nicest way he ever remembers seeing him.

All of this does not only apply to pictures.

Unfortunately, in recent years, it has become common to “use” and “exploit” the Rebbe’s name for all kinds of purposes.

Ads shout about “the Rebbe’s magbis” with a designed picture of the Rebbe used to raise funds. Slogans like: “The Rebbe promises: five hundred times your donation.” People promise, in the Rebbe’s name, financial success to every donor.

(By the way, I have a simple suggestion that would spare the organizers all the trouble of a campaign: If they truly believe that “the Rebbe promised” that whoever gives will merit to have his money multiplied 500 times, let them donate $2,000, and they’ll quickly receive a million dollars for their cause…)

We are dealing with fundraising for holy and lofty goals, for important, pure mosdos. The organizers are devoted chassidim. Yet through lack of attention – usually on the part of graphic designers and campaign consultants – something very serious happens. No cause, however noble, justifies “using” the Rebbe and his holy name as a means for more successful fundraising.

At the end of a letter from Rabbi Chadakov to Rabbi Azriel Zelig Slonim a”h, director of Chabad mosdos in Yerushalayim, he writes:

“P.S. To our great surprise, a donation form from ‘Shikkun Chabad Yerushalayim’ came into our hands, with a picture of the Rebbe shlit”a on it. We have never yet seen such a practice in any Chabad institution, and it is astonishing that this was done without asking, etc. Especially since someone who sees this can easily think that the Rebbe shlit”a is the one ‘requesting’ the donation, etc., and that is enough said.”

We can see how far this can go from the following directive:

In 5744 (1984), a notice appeared in Kfar Chabad magazine announcing that people could dedicate a printing of Tanya in various locations for the price of $770. The editor, Rabbi Aharon Dov Halperin, received a phone call from the head of the secretariat, Rabbi Chadakov, who said that the Rebbe asked under whose authority the ad was placed in the magazine and on what basis.

Before he could answer, he heard the Rebbe’s voice asking Rabbi Chadakov to ask:

“What will those who ‘are seeking an excuse’ say when they see that the number ‘770’ is being used to make money?”

The Rebbe added that he would delay his trip to the Ohel and wait until Reb Aharon Dov would find out who had placed the notice, call that person, and ask on what basis he did it, and check if it was still possible to hold back distribution of the magazine, at least in New York.

Reb Aharon Dov hurried to do what was needed, succeeded in stopping the magazine’s distribution in New York, and called back to report to Rabbi Chadakov. Again, he heard the Rebbe’s voice on the line, thanking him and saying that it gave the Rebbe nachas ruach that he acted so quickly.

We see from this how problematic it is to use the number 770 – and how much more so the Rebbe’s name, picture, and holy words – as tools for another purpose, even to raise money for a holy cause, a campaign of the Rebbe.

In 5738 (1978), the “Levi Yitzchok Library” run by Tzach in New York wanted to raise funds for its upkeep. They drafted an appeal letter to donors. When the letter was brought to the Rebbe for editing, he circled the words “Levi Yitzchok Library” and wrote:

“One must not turn this [=the Levi Yitzchok Library bearing my father’s name] into a project for which to beg for money. And this is self-understood.”

Holy handwriting

The same applies to using facsimiles of the Rebbe’s handwriting on invitations, and certainly when the cover of a wedding teshurah prints the family name, or the names of the chassan and kallah, in a font made from the Rebbe’s handwritten script, or similar uses (publicizing a bracha, or a shidduch announcement, with a copy of a bracha in the Rebbe’s handwriting printed next to it).

The Rebbe’s handwriting is holy. It is an end, not a means. It cannot be turned into a design element or a “cute touch” under any circumstances.

Similarly, in every matter connected to the Rebbe, where people use things freely and thoughtlessly, without considering the honor and preciousness due.

To sum up:

A. The Rebbe’s picture is a living entity – holy, more precious than anything. It is meant to honor the Rebbe and to help a person contemplate and connect. It is not something “cheap” to be used freely and stuck into every ad, sign, booklet, and bentcher.

B. Beyond what common sense itself dictates, the Rebbe explicitly ruled that a holy image must not be used for other purposes.

C. The test that should guide us in any given case is this: Is the Rebbe’s picture itself the goal, and is its appearance solely for his honor? Or, chas veshalom, is it being used as a means to another end – a pushka, a logo, an ad?

D. The same is true for the Rebbe’s name, his handwriting, and even the number “770.” They may serve only as an end in themselves, not as a tool for success in some other goal, such as fundraising (even for the Rebbe’s own mosdos).

E. Beyond the fact that the picture is meant for its own sake and not for other aims, and must be treated with awe rather than used wholesale as raw material in a designer’s hands, there is an added lack of respect when the picture is put on pushkas, bentchers, profile photos and the like that get tossed and passed around in all kinds of places.

It is obvious that the Rebbe is dear to every single chossid. All of us want to preserve a sense of holiness and preciousness, that nothing associated with the Rebbe – and certainly not his picture – should ever become “not precious enough.”

The only goal here is to awaken attention to an issue that, in the rush of routine and due to how widespread these habits have become, we sometimes simply do not think about deeply enough.

May it be Hashem’s will that we soon merit the true and complete Geulah, and the fulfillment of the possuk “Your Teacher will no longer be hidden, and your eyes shall behold your Teacher,” with the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days.

Translated from Kfar Chabad Magazine with permission