אות - קצז

The Rebbe said that even the average individual should feel the loss of a tzaddik like Rabbi Levi Yitzchak.

“Everyone now feels that there is something lacking in the world. There is a depressed mood everywhere. One person might feel it in his business, which no longer runs as smoothly as before. Another might feel it in his bones, which somehow seem displaced.” The Rebbe then gave several other examples.

“If your eyes are truly open, you will see that the world has become dark – for a great light has been extinguished in the world.

“We find many things that change in the world when a tzaddik passes on. The Talmud tells us that when Rabbi Yosi passed away, the spouts of the city poured forth blood ( Moed Katan 25b) . In many other instances, the world was changed by the death of tzaddikim.”

Many had reported that flames had been seen rising from Rabbi Levi Yitzchak’s bier (cf. Ketubot 17a, 77b) . The Rebbe said, “The rumor does not seem probable, for the generation is not worthy. But the tzaddik himself was certainly worthy of a pillar of fire at the time of his death.

A true leader has died. He was a leader of the Jewish people.

“Even when a non-Jewish leader or prince dies, it causes changes in the stars. How much more is this true of a leader of l the Jews.”