A Genuine Rabbi

Q: What kind of rabbi is a genuine rabbi?

A: A genuine rabbi is one who distances the disciple away from him and directs him toward the goal – the Creator. He does not make a “Rebbe” (a parish leader) of himself, but rather guides and leads without making a holy man of himself.

In Kotzk, a small town in Poland, there lived a well-known group of Kabbalists, headed by the famous Kabbalist, Rabbi Menachem Mendel (the Admor from Kotzk). They realized that their rabbi would have to be something very special, a person who would lead them without thinking highly of himself, precisely because he felt the Creator and left everything for Him.