Simon Jacobson - the proof is in the pudding
Responding to the post Was the Lubavitcher Rebbe a closet Kotzker? Simon Jacobson writes:
Hi Tzemach,
For the record I would like to clarify some of the informal comments I made to you which you posted based on your recollection. My statement that "the Rebbe was skeptical of people and did not trust them" was not at all meant the way it was posted. The Rebbe, who I should add was personal witness to the violent abuses of individual power in Soviet Russia, did not trust any individual or group of individuals with authoritative power to run Chabad. But he absolutely trusted ALL people, empowering each person to go out and teach and inspire everyone they encounter.
In other words, the Rebbe very strongly trusted people --- not to dictate or control other people, but to propagate Torah and Yiddishkeit.
Indeed, this is the legacy of Torah in general. Moses was not a CEO and did not create a "Torah" corporation with a board of directors and financial controls. Moses, a true man of G-d, left the Torah and students. Joshua succeeded Moses as Torah leader in his time, and so the chain carried on in one unbroken flow till today. Leadership was about scholarship, mitzvot and world change, not about finance and real estate. The authority of (authentic) Rabbis and Torah leaders was about all legal and spiritual matters, but not about "running" a business in the modern sense of the word. Torah was taught freely.
I would say that the Rebbe believed that grass roots empowerment was the best way to create checks and balances of individual abuses of power. Each Chabad shliach was given the mandate to establish his own board of trustees, to raise funds and build with no limits. Obviously there needs to be coordination and respect of boundaries --- and recourse to resolve conflicts before a bet din -- but not any individual (or group) has exclusive control.
America's foundation very much parallels this approach. No trust in any one monarch (or group of monarchs), yet "all men were created equal."
The brilliance in this is that quality control was maintained due to the profound spiritual compass instilled in each Chassid by the Rebbe, while allowing for the motivation and drive that can only come with decentralization -- each organization driven to succeed independently. If people were mere employees of some centralized authority they wouldn't have the motivation to raise funds and build; they would do whatever is necessary to earn their salary and then "go home" at the end of the day, without the dedication that comes when you feel that its "your own baby."
And the proof is in the pudding: The huge success and continued growth of Chabad institutions (with no one quitting after Gimmel Tammuz) testifies to the ingenuity of the Rebbe's approach.
For an elaborate discussion on this issue, please see:
On the Nature of Leadership & the Art of Delegation: Shlichus: The Rebbe's Brilliant New Approach.
Leadership with Love: Leadership & Delegation 2.
Thank you,
Simon Jacobson
Hi Tzemach,
For the record I would like to clarify some of the informal comments I made to you which you posted based on your recollection. My statement that "the Rebbe was skeptical of people and did not trust them" was not at all meant the way it was posted. The Rebbe, who I should add was personal witness to the violent abuses of individual power in Soviet Russia, did not trust any individual or group of individuals with authoritative power to run Chabad. But he absolutely trusted ALL people, empowering each person to go out and teach and inspire everyone they encounter.
In other words, the Rebbe very strongly trusted people --- not to dictate or control other people, but to propagate Torah and Yiddishkeit.
Indeed, this is the legacy of Torah in general. Moses was not a CEO and did not create a "Torah" corporation with a board of directors and financial controls. Moses, a true man of G-d, left the Torah and students. Joshua succeeded Moses as Torah leader in his time, and so the chain carried on in one unbroken flow till today. Leadership was about scholarship, mitzvot and world change, not about finance and real estate. The authority of (authentic) Rabbis and Torah leaders was about all legal and spiritual matters, but not about "running" a business in the modern sense of the word. Torah was taught freely.
I would say that the Rebbe believed that grass roots empowerment was the best way to create checks and balances of individual abuses of power. Each Chabad shliach was given the mandate to establish his own board of trustees, to raise funds and build with no limits. Obviously there needs to be coordination and respect of boundaries --- and recourse to resolve conflicts before a bet din -- but not any individual (or group) has exclusive control.
America's foundation very much parallels this approach. No trust in any one monarch (or group of monarchs), yet "all men were created equal."
The brilliance in this is that quality control was maintained due to the profound spiritual compass instilled in each Chassid by the Rebbe, while allowing for the motivation and drive that can only come with decentralization -- each organization driven to succeed independently. If people were mere employees of some centralized authority they wouldn't have the motivation to raise funds and build; they would do whatever is necessary to earn their salary and then "go home" at the end of the day, without the dedication that comes when you feel that its "your own baby."
And the proof is in the pudding: The huge success and continued growth of Chabad institutions (with no one quitting after Gimmel Tammuz) testifies to the ingenuity of the Rebbe's approach.
For an elaborate discussion on this issue, please see:
On the Nature of Leadership & the Art of Delegation: Shlichus: The Rebbe's Brilliant New Approach.
Leadership with Love: Leadership & Delegation 2.
Thank you,
Simon Jacobson
posted by Tzemach Atlas at 7:44 PM
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