US honors late ‘Lubavitcher Rebbe’ in annual event to inspire new leaders

In 1994, just months after his death, Rabbi Schneerson was awarded with the Congressional Gold Medal for his “outstanding and enduring contributions toward world education, morality and acts of charity.”

By Joseph Wolkin, World Israel News

On what would have been Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s 119th birthday, America is honoring the life and legacy of the late ‘Lubavitcher Rebbe.’

Education and Sharing Day, celebrated annually on the 11^th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan, the Rebbe’s birthday, recognizes and pays tribute to the great spiritual leader’s efforts for a better education for all American citizens. The date falls each year between March 21 and April 21 on the Gregorian calendar, and this year it coincided with Wednesday, March 24.

“Today, we mark the legacy of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, a guiding light of the international Chabad-Lubavitch movement and a testament to the power and resilience of the human spirit,” the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.

“A witness to some of the 20th century’s darkest events and greatest tragedies, he devoted his life to bringing healing by advancing justice, compassion, inclusivity, and fellowship worldwide.  A tireless advocate for students of all ages, he sought to foster exchange, understanding, and unity among all people,” the statement read.

All 50 states honored the Rebbe’s birthday with their own proclamations.

In 1994, just months after his death, Rabbi Schneerson was awarded with the Congressional Gold Medal for his “outstanding and enduring contributions toward world education, morality and acts of charity.”

President Jimmy Carter was the first to honor Education and Sharing Day in 1978.

“Thankfully, this initiative has transcended partisanship for decades, and allowed leaders from across the political spectrum to help further the Rebbe’s passionate vision and hope for the betterment of society,” Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) Washington, D.C., said.

The Rebbe was born on April 18, 1902, in Nikolayev, a town in the southern Ukraine.

In the 44 years of the Rebbe’s leadership, which began in 1950, Chabad-Lubavitch grew from a small movement nearly devastated by the Holocaust to a worldwide community of 200,000 members.

In 1992, at the age of 90, the Rebbe suffered a stroke. He passed away two years later, on June 12, 1994.