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"The Rebbe has continuously maintained that modern, secular man has an enduring need for moral values and religious philosophy by which to live.
He often speaks of the obligation of all humankind to adhere, and live by, the ``Seven Noahide Commandment''--the universal code of Biblical morality and ethics, given go all at Sinai. This, the Rebbe insists, is of the utmost necessity to bring sanity and stability to a perplexed world."
FULL ARTICLE
[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 74 (Tuesday, June 14, 1994)] [Senate] [Page S] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov] [Congressional Record: June 14, 1994] From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] IN MEMORY OF RABBI MENACHEM MENDEL SCHNEERSON Mr. MOYNIHAN. Madam President, Jews throughout the world are in mourning today for Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the charismatic Lubavitcher rebbe who was buried next to his venerable predecessor and father-in-law, Rabbi Joseph Schneerson, yesterday afternoon in New York City. Much has been said and written about the rebbe's remarkable contributions, particularly by the tens of thousands of us who were privileged to meet with him during his more than 40 years of leadership of the Lubavitch Chassidic movement. Each of us has our own memories of this special man. One of my lasting memories is of my last visit with the rebbe, in the spring of 1990, when I brought him a gift from the Jewish community of Morocco. We spoke at the time about the small Jewish community of Morocco, and about the connection between this body and the Lubavitch movement, a bond that has its roots in the relationship between the Rabbi's predecessor and one of this century's towering Senatorial figures, the late William Borah of Idaho. Some Members of the Senate may not be familiar with the role that Senator Borah played in securing the release of Rabbi Joseph Schneerson from a Soviet prison and the emigration of his entire immediate family, including the current rebbe, from Stalin's Russia. The intervention of Senator William Borah of Idaho on behalf of this beleaguered Chassidic family stands as a noble example of courageous moral leadership. All of us in public life would do well to ponder Senator Borah's oft-repeated explanation as to his ``motive'' in leading an international campaign to save an apparently obscure religious leader in a faraway land: ``I like to do things that get me votes in the next election in Idaho but every so often I do something that assures me of votes in that final election will we will all have to stand for someday.'' I thought of Senator Borah in January 1990 when I visited Morocco in my capacity as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia. When I met with the Jewish leaders of Morocco and toured several of their synagogues and civic centers I discovered two pictures in every building--His Majesty King Hassan II and the Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. This should not surprise anyone who is familiar with the rebbe's historic role in supporting Jewish education and Jewish continuity throughout the world. The Members of the Senate are familiar with Lubavitcher activities in their own States but Lubavitch is also deeply involved in over 100 nations around the globe--including many where it is the only official Jewish presence and the only source of Jewish educational and religious training. And, some day, hopefully soon, the full story will be told of Lubavitch's heroic role in keeping Judaism alive in lands of cruel tyranny where teaching the Bible is a crime and uttering a public prayer is rewarded with a prison sentence. For over 40 years these remarkable activities--the publicized and the clandestine; the Chanukah lamp lighting on television and the underground matzah baking under the noses of Communist secret police, the young women giving out Sabbath candles on Fifth Avenue, and the Yeshiva schools in Arab lands--have been directed and inspired by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. At the end of my meeting with the Moroccan Jewish leadership they gave me one of their most precious possessions, a rare Hebrew prayerbook, one of the first ever printed in their country. They had one request: to give this heirloom to the Lubavitcher rebbe as a token of their appreciation for ``caring about us when almost everyone else had forgotten.'' When I visited the rebbe and gave him the prayerbook he kissed it gently and told me that ``they are very kind, but how can I not care about them.'' For 44 eventful years he cared. He taught and inspired several generations of Jews on all continents while helping to write a major chapter in contemporary Jewish history. New Yorkers of all faiths are proud that the rebbe lived among us for all these years. He will be missed. I ask that I may place in the Record a brief biography of Rabbi Schneerson and a description of his career prepared by the Lubavitch Youth Organization. I am sure that the entire Senate joins me in marking the passing of this exceptional spiritual leader who lived his life with an eye on that ``final election'' which Senator Borah alluded to. The Rebbe The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, world leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch Movement, has been described as one of the most respected Jewish personalities of our time. To his hundreds of thousands of Chassidim and numerous followers and admirers around the world, he is ``the Rebbe,'' today's most dominant figure in Judaism and largely responsible for stirring the conscience and spiritual awakening of world Jewry. From his office at Lubavitch World Headquarters in New York, the Rebbe generates a constant flow of optimism, strength and instruction that unites and inspires world Jewry. Indeed, many of the Rebbe's innovations are so deeply ingrained in Jewish life today that they often are no longer identified as Lubavitch in origin. early years Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson is seventh in the dynastic lineage of Lubavitcher leaders. The Chabad-Lubavitch Movement was founded in the 18th century by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812), author of the basic work of Chabad philosophy--Tanya, and the Schulchan Aruch--the Code of Jewish Law. The Rebbe was born in 1902, on the 11th day of Nissan, in Nikolaev, Russia. He is the son of the renowned Kabbalist and Talmudic scholar, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, and Rebbetzin Chana, an aristocratic woman from a prestigious Rabbinic family. He is also the great-grandson of the third Lubavitcher Rebbe, and his namesake, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch. At the age of five he moved with his parents to the Ukrainian city of Yekatrinislav, now Dnepropetrovsk, where his father was appointed Chief Rabbi. From early childhood the Rebbe displayed a prodigious mental acuity and soon had to leave the cheder because he was so far ahead of his classmates. His father engaged private tutors for him, and after that, taught him himself. By the time he reached his Bar Mitzvah, the Rebbe was considered an illuy, a Torah prodigy. He spent the rest of his teen years immersed in the study of Torah. The Rebbe met the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Usaf Yitzchak Schneersohn, in 1923, in Rostov, Russia. In 1929 Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, married the second daughter of Rabbi Usaf Yitzchak Schneersohn, the late Rebbetzin Chaya Moussia, in Warsaw. He later studied in the University of Berlin and then at the Sorbonne in Paris. It was there that his formidable knowledge of mathematics and the sciences began to blossom. arrival in u.s.a. In 1941 he emigrated to the United States. His father-in- law, who arrived in the United States a year earlier, appointed him to head his newly founded organizations: Merkos L'inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of the Lubavitch movement; Machne Israel, the movement's social service organization; and Kehot Publication Society, the Lubavitch publishing department. Shortly thereafter the future Rebbe began writing his scholarly notations to various Chassidic and Kabbalistic treaties, as well as a wide range of response on Torah subjects. With publication of these works his genius was soon recognized by Jewish scholars the world over. leadership After the passing of Rabbi Usaf Yitzchak Schneersohn, on the 10th Shevat, in 1950, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, ascended to the leadership of the flourishing movement. Labavitch institutions and activities soon took on new dimensions. The outreaching philosophy of Chabad-Labavitch, based on the biblical: ``and you shall spread forth to the West and East and to the North and to the South'' (Genesis 28:14) was immediately translated into action as Chabad- Lubavitch Centers were opened in dozens of cities across the United States. Motivated by a profound love for the Jewish people, the Rebbe launched an unprecedented program to reach every Jew. His shluchim--the Lubavitch emissaries--were charged with establishing Chabad-Lubavitch centers in every corner of the world. These dedicated men and women reflect the commitment of Lubavitch to the entire Jewish people. With open minds and open hearts, they respond to the needs of their respective communities through religious, educational and social-service programs. It is no wonder that, for many communities, Chabad- Lubavitch has become the central address for Yiddishkeit. one thousand points of light During the Rebbe's four decades of inspired leadership Lubavitch has become the world's largest Jewish outreach organization, maintaining centers in almost every Jewish community on the globe. Today, some one thousand Chabad-Lubavitch institutions span dozens of countries on six continents, and those countries and communities that have no Chabad-Lubavitch institution in place are visited and cared for by the closest existing facility. These educational and social-service institutions serve a variety of functions for the entire spectrum of Jews, regardless of background or affiliation. Indeed the programs geared to humanitarian endeavors reach out beyond the Jewish community to all mankind. In the United States alone, more than 180 centers serve every state in the Union. In Israel, the ``Chabadniks'' are particularly endeared to all. Their programs reach all segments of the community, and enjoy the respect of the population, regardless of affiliation. From the soldier stationed at the isolated army post to the farmer on the kubbutz--all have come to admire the personal attention given to him by Rebbe through his emissaries. Kfar Chabad, near Tel Aviv, is one of several Lubavitch cities in Israel, and serves as the Lubavitch headquarters there. Its unique educational institutions and outreach facilities have become a lifeline of spirituality for tens of thousands of Israeli citizens. It was in Russia that Chabad-Lubavitch was born more than 200 years ago, and since nurtured there by its Rebbes in each generation. The heroic efforts of Chabad-Lubavitch in maintaining Judaism there under the most difficult conditions before and especially after the Bolshevik revolution are legion, and have yet to be told. Those knowledgeable as to the maintenance of Judaism in the Soviet Union during the past century know that Lubavitch and its Rebbes played a major role in keeping the fires of Judaism aglow under the most oppressive and excruciating circumstances conceivable. Now that perestroika has arrived, the work continues publicly. The Rebbe has established more than twenty institutions for Jewish learning. Dozens of emissaries have taken up residence there, and as soon as developments will allow, Jewish institutions under the aegis of Lubavitch will begin to mushroom throughout the U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe. In other countries, Lubavitch institutions have been established in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, England, France, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, Paraguay, Peru, Scotland, Soviet Union, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Uruguay, Venezuela and West Germany. These institutions monitor the pulse of Jewish life in their respective communities, and contribute to their spiritual vitality and stability. Directors report regularly to Lubavitch World Headquarters in New York, so that the Rebbe is constantly aware of what is happening in Jewish communal life around the world. Under the Rebbe's guidance, the Lubavitch publishing house, Kehot Publication Society, has become the largest Jewish publishing house in the world. It publishes and distributes millions of books, pamphlets, cassettes and educational materials in Hebrew, Yiddish, English, Russian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, Farsi, Dutch, and German. The central library and archive center of Agudas Chassidei Chabad-Lubavitch, at Lubavitch World Headquarters, is one of the world's most precious repositories of Jewish books and literature, containing a collection of rare books and manuscripts. reversing the tide The Rebbe has often been heard saying that ``we dare not rest until every Jewish child receives a Jewish education.'' The Jewish day-school system, of which Lubavitch was the pioneering force, has displaced across a wide spectrum the once-prevalent ideology that Jewish education was a kind of dutiful appendage to the real business of acquiring a secular education. Jewish day schools have since been accepted and fashionable. This, as well as some of the outreach programs of Chabad-Lubavitch have served as a guide for others to emulate. The Rebbe has continually emphasized the need to reach out to alienated youth and young adults to bring them back to their Jewish roots. He has seen to the establishing of special educational facilities for them. From full-time yeshivas for Jewish men and women with little or no background in Torah study to literally tens of thousands of classes at Chabad-Lubavitch centers and synagogues around the world--the Rebbe has been, and continues to be, the vital life-force behind an outreach process that has affected the entire spectrum of Jewish life. His widespread Mitzvah and festival campaigns, have ignited in the masses a flame of devotion and commitment to Judaism, and has created a virtual spiritual revolution among those previously alienated from Judaism. The Lubavitch Mitzvah-Mobiles, of the ``Jewish Tanks to combat assimilation,'' as the Rebbe refers to them, have become a familiar sight on the streets and by-ways of urban and suburban communities around the world. Offering ``Mitzvahs on the spot for people on the go,'' these ``tanks'' encourage their visitors to participate in a Mitzvah, and prompt them to come closer to their precious Jewish heritage. From Melbourne to London, Casablanca to Los Angeles, through the many Lubavitch schools, youth centers, institutions, agencies and activities established and maintained through the Rebbe's efforts, countless Jews have found their way home. CONCERN FOR ALL There is a story told about the Rebbe's early life that seems to be almost symbolic of much that was to follow. When he was nine years old, the young Menachem Mendei, dived into the Black Sea to save the life of another boy who had fallen from the deck of a moored ship. That sense of other lives in danger, seems to dominate his conscience. Jews ``drowning,'' and no one hearing their cries for help; Jewish children deprived of Jewish education; Jews on campus, in isolated communities, under repressive regimes--all in need of help. The Rebbe continually strives, ceaselessly and untiringly, to reach out to all Jews. He moves and motivates all those whom he reaches to take part in this task to reach out to others, to help them, to educate them and bring them together. REVOLUTIONARY THINKER The Rebbe is a systematic and conceptual thinker on the highest level. His unique analytical style of thought has resulted in a monumental contribution to Jewish scholarship. His brilliant approach to the understanding of the classic Biblical commentary of Rashi, for example, has revolutionized Bible study. More than 125 volumes of his talks, writings, correspondence and response have been published to date. For all this scholarship, he consistently exhorts that intellectual understanding must bring to action and good deeds. LETTERS AND CORRESPONDENCE The Grot Caddish series, a chronological collection of the Rebbe's correspondence and response, is now in the midst of publication. Volume 16 has just been published, and brings the total of letters published to more than 6,000, written up to the winter of 1958. The series contains only his correspondence in Hebrew and Yiddish; his prolific correspondence in English is now being prepared for publication. The writings in the Grot Caddish series shed some light on the Rebbe's genius and the success of Lubavitch under his leadership. His correspondents include Rabbinic scholars and statesmen, homemakers and educators, chief rabbis and Bar/Bat Mitzvah youngsters, scientists and laborers, communal leaders and laymen, men and women from all walks of life. The breathtaking sweep of topics covered in these letters encompasses every sphere of interest, and every field of human endeavor. They range from mysticism, Talmud and Classidic philosophy, to science and world events, from guidance in personal matters to advice in education and social and communal affairs. It is a veritable treasure chest of profound Rabbinic, Talmudic, Kabbalistic and Chassidic teachings, exuding encouragement, inspiration and direction, reflecting the Rebbe's remarkable insight into human nature. It is perhaps the case that his fame as a leader and innovator of widespread mitzvah campaigns and communal projects is a result of his originality as a thinker, and his ability to unite the conceptual with the pragmatic. Essentially, with the Rebbe these two facets are one--the comprehensiveness of his thought and action are part of the same drive: the unity of Torah, the unity of the Jewish people, the unity of mankind in fulfilling the ultimate purpose of creation. FARBRENGEN A ``Farbrengen,'' Chassidic gathering at which the Rebbe speaks publicly, is an unforgettable experience. The Rebbe speaks extemporaneously, usually for hours, without referring to any notes, on a wide range of subject matter, from profound Talmudic and Chassidic teachings, to matters affecting the quality of Jewish life, to events of vital national and international concern. The Rebbe teaches, guides and elevates. During the brief intermissions in the Rebbe's talks the thousands in attendance join in Chassidic signing, and raise their cups in greetings of ``L'Chayim'' to the Rebbe. Amidst the thousands of Chassidim in attendance at a Farbrengen at Lubavitch World Headquarters in New York, one can find people from literally all walks of life, young and old, communal leaders and plain folk, rich and poor. When the Rebbe speaks on weekdays his talk is transmitted live via satellite to Chabad-Lubavitch centers and to cable TV stations across North America and parts of South America, and often to Israel, Europe, Africa and Australia, bringing the Rebbe's message into millions of Jewish and non-Jewish homes. A special telephone hookup system also relays the Rebbe's talk live to Lubavitch Centers around the world. A simultaneous English translation of his talk in Yiddish is provided for the television audience. Those personally attending the Farbrengen can use wireless receivers providing simultaneous translations in English, Hebrew, Spanish, French and other languages as well. The Rebbe's Farbrengen has been described as a ``unique blend of intellectual profundity and joyous celebration; an uplifting experience that enlightens and motivates.'' PILLAR OF LIGHT Those who consult or visit the Rebbe for the first time-- usually do so because of his reputation as a man of encompassing vision. They tend to emerge somewhat unnerved, taken by surprise. They might expect, the conventional type of leader, imposing his presence by the force of his personality. What they find is difficult to define. The Rebbe, despite the enormous complexity of his involvements and concerns, is totally and humbly engaged with the person he is speaking to. It is as if nothing else exists. Every Sunday morning, huge crowds of men, women and children gather at Lubavitch World Headquarters and patiently wait their turn to meet the Rebbe face-to-face, whereupon they receive his blessing. The Rebbe gives each individual a crisp, new dollar bill to be given to a charity of their choice. This custom attracts people from all walks of life who sometimes travel thousands of miles just for this momentary, yet profoundly special, unforgettable encounter. UNIVERSAL MESSAGE Responding to the demands of the time, the Rebbe has reached out beyond the Jewish community with a universal message to all peoples of the world. The Rebbe has consistently called for greater awareness of the crucial importance of education of all mankind, stressing that the goal of education is not only to provide a child with information, but more essentially to develop a child's character, together with his intellectual ability, with emphasis or moral, spiritual and ethical values. Only as a result of such education will individuals recognize the need to abide by fundamental human rights and societal obligations. The Rebbe has continuously maintained that modern, secular man has an enduring need for moral values and religious philosophy by which to live. He often speaks of the obligation of all humankind to adhere, and live by, the ``Seven Noahide Commandment''--the universal code of Biblical morality and ethics, given go all at Sinai. This, the Rebbe insists, is of the utmost necessity to bring sanity and stability to a perplexed world. ____________________
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