Jews, since Abraham, saw themselves as servants of a transcendent G-d. But in a New World, servitude and self-discipline didn’t go over so well.
The Rebbe wrote that he had pondered this problem at length: How can we communicate to children today the dedication and responsibility that comes along with being a Jew?
So the Rebbe created Tzivos Hashem—literally, an army. He gave the children a sense of pride, as they rose in rank in this army, and told them that they were on a special mission to defeat evil, model goodness, and make this world a divine home for its Maker, the Commander-in-Chief.
At public gatherings, the children now...