Jewish communities around the world are marking the 110th anniversary of the birth of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, by holding study sessions of sections of classic rabbinical teachings and examinations of works of Chasidic philosophy, new resolutions in personal good deeds and communal projects, intensified Passover outreach and, in Jerusalem, organizing the Bar Mitzvahs of 110 orphans.
Colel Chabad, a Chabad-Lubavitch organization founded in the 18th century by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, is coordinating the mass Bar Mitzvah ceremony today at the Western Wall plaza. As in past annual celebrations, which have always drawn their inspiration from the Rebbe’s teachings, the all-day extravaganza includes the participation of both of Israel’s chief rabbis, several Cabinet officials, mayors and other dignitaries. From the Western Wall, the gathering is heading to the National Convention Center for a luncheon celebration.
Many of the boys lost their fathers in terror attacks.
“The advantage of them being together is because they don’t want to go to synagogue [for their Bar Mitzvah] because they don’t have their father, and a father is a major figure in the synagogue,” Rabbi Sholom Duchman told The Jerusalem Post. “But doing it with other kids in the same situation gives them the push they want to do it.”
All over the globe, yeshiva students added to their daily examinations of Jewish law and Chasidic thought, studying scores and, in some cases, hundreds of Talmud folios by heart, and analyzing letters penned by the Rebbe to learn how to think responsibly about one’s place inside the Jewish people as well as the world as a whole.
One project identified 110 key letters from the more than 30 volumes of the Rebbe’s correspondence. Chosen not only for their depth, but also for their ability to be grasped by students of all backgrounds, the letters deal with everything from how a yeshiva student should approach his Divine service to the validity of faith in the face of the Holocaust.
Copies of the collection were distributed to institutions of higher learning last month.
During a conference call leading up to the release, Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar related that when he was a counselor, he searched for books to help in his new role as a guide and mentor. He met with an expert in the fields of education and Jewish thought for advice.
“You know, I’m not a Lubavitcher,” the expert told him. “But if you want a book to help you counsel people, there’s nothing better than the letters of the Rebbe.”
In many metropolitan locations, mobile synagogues known as Mitzvah Tanks will traverse the streets to draw attention to the fast-approaching holiday of Passover – it begins Friday evening – by handing out special handmade matzah and invite people to Seders.
Thousands of visitors are also expected throughout the day at the Rebbe’s resting place in Cambria Heights, N.Y. A visitors’ center is open 24 hours a day, providing guests with prayer books, head coverings, non-leather shoes and snacks, as many refrain from food all day in preparation for their visit.
Given the milestone anniversary of 110, many Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries and rank-and-file Chasidim are particularly animated. Many recall how, in 1988, during his annual visit to the Rebbe during the intermediate days of Passover, Philadelphia Chief Rabbi Ephraim Yolles, who regularly sought out the Rebbe for guidance and blessings and to discuss deep concepts in Jewish scholarship, was greeted warmly by his host. The Rebbe noted that the day, the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan, was the birth date of his father, noted Talmudist and Kabbalist Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneersohn, chief rabbi of Yekatrinoslav, Ukraine, who died young after Soviet punishment for strengthening Jewish life in contravention of Communist decrees.
The Rebbe announced to his guest: “Today, my father became 110 years old!”
Ancient Jewish teachings reveal that a person’s years progress even after his passing, marking the soul’s ascent level upon level. Each anniversary, therefore, is seen as an auspicious time for those connected to the person’s soul to focus on introspection and personal growth, and beseech the Almighty for blessings. These teachings reveal that this is particularly true in regard to righteous people whose physical life was devoted to others here on earth.
Some locales have combined celebrations of the auspicious day with marking the recent completion of the 30th near-annual cycle of the daily study of Maimonides’ groundbreaking Mishneh Torah.
Back in 1984, the Rebbe publicly called on Jewish men, women and children to devote a portion of each day to studying Maimonides’ landmark work, which codifies the corpus of Jewish law in the space of 14 volumes. He outlines three study cycles: A three-chapter-a-day cycle that would complete the Mishneh Torah in just less than a year; a one-chapter-a-day cycle that would take less than three years to complete; and for children and those whose backgrounds preclude rigorous in-depth study, a daily examination of the pertinent topics in Sefer Hamitzvot, a companion work of Maimonides’ that lists all of the 613 commandments in the Torah.
In S. Paulo, Rabbi Daniel Eskinazi of the regional Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters in Brazil emceed the local celebratory event, identifying the daily study of Maimonides as one of many campaigns initiated by the Rebbe that has transformed modern Jewish life around the world.
Rabbi Abraham Shemtov, chairman of the international umbrella organization Agudas Chasidei Chabad, delivered the evening’s keynote address, which focused on three areas where the Rebbe strove to achieve unity. In a speech that hinged on several stories from Shemtov’s extensive experience as a Chabad-Lubavitch student, rabbi and emissary, he explained that the Rebbe sought to unite the entire Jewish people, passionately advocated for the unity of the Land of Israel, and expounded on the unity of all of the Torah’s teachings.
The anniversary of the Rebbe’s birth on the 11th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan begins this year on Monday night. For more information, click here.
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