Sam Klien – “The Rebbe would have preferred if all people attending his Levaya. Instead go to any Bais Medrash and learn for the same 3 hours as a zchus for him and for all he did for klal Yisroel ”
Did he communicate this to you?
Chazal say godol shimusha yoser m’limuda, it is greater to be meshamesh talmidei chachomim then to learn Torah. That is my when a gadol is niftar, the yeshivas and kollel stop their learning and come out to give kovod l’Torah.
See Megillah 3b, Rosh (Moed Katan 3:61), Shulchan Aruch YD 361:1
For someone who learned Torah and Mishna the minimum honor he should receive is a levaya of at least 600,000 people escorting him. The Shach 361:3 explains that 600,000 people are needed to honor a person who learned Torah because just like torah was given with 600,000 men in attendance so too when a person who embodies Torah is taken from the world 600,000 people should be in attendance.