Can anyone here point out a godol beYisroel over the last generations who pushed his greatness to the forefront as much as the Lubavicher rebbe did?
I’m not referring to shitos, certainly the Satmar Rebbe did that by ignoring all other gedolei Yisroel’s opinions about Zionism and the State of Israel. I’m talking about the way, as far as I can tell, only the Lubavicher rebbe called himself a novi, only he considered himself Mashiach and only he considered himself (non-existent) Nosi Hador.
The rebbes that I have come in contact with – and over many years they have been more than a few – all exuded humiiity and shiflus. Yes, they knew they were leaders of (in some cases) thousands of chassidim, and they knew that they had to lead with a strong hand at times, but none of them ever gave me a feeling, whether in my personal contact with them or when I learnt their divrei Torah, that they personally were special and greater than other leaders.