US President Joe Biden once again signed a presidential order last Friday, declaring the second day of April as the "National Day of Education and Sharing" in the USA.
This day will be held in honor of the leader of the Chabad movement the Lubavitcher Rebbe's birthday, as Sunday marked 121 years to his birth in Nikolaev in today's Ukraine.
Honoring the Rebbe's outreach and teaching
In his statement, President Biden wrote: "On Education and Sharing Day, we honor the memory of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who devoted his life to outreach and teaching - building bridges, challenging us to grow, and championing tolerance and learning.
"From Brooklyn, he turned pain into purpose and built a global movement devoted to education, fellowship, and healing. My administration has stood firm in defending the core values that the Rebbe championed and that we all share as Americans — the idea that everyone is created equal and must be treated with dignity and respect throughout their lives," he added.
"I call on all government officials, educators, volunteers and all residents of the United States to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies and activities," Biden concluded.
"We honor the memory of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who devoted his life to outreach and teaching - building bridges, challenging us to grow, and championing tolerance and learning."
US President Joe Biden
Declaring the birthday of the Lubavitcher Rebbe as National Education Day is a practice done by US Presidents since the administration of President Carter.
The date of the day changes every day in the USA since it is oriented according to the Hebrew date of the birthday which is the 11th of the Hebrew month Nisan.
"The fact that for 45 years in a row, US presidents have considered it appropriate to honor the Rebbe's birthday as 'National Education Day' teaches about the scope of the Rebbe's influence in the entire world," explained Rabbi David Nachshon, chairman of Chabad movement in Israel. "This is a day that illustrates the greatness of the Rebbe, the King and Messiah, for whose coming with complete redemption we hope every day. It is no wonder that so many see him, a man that the presidents of the United States see as a model for leadership, as the one who will redeem the people of Israel very soon."
Rabbi Nachshon added: "At the same time of celebrations in thousands of Chabad houses around the world, on this day, it is customary for many to give the rabbi a spiritual 'gift', and to fulfill a mitzvah or a good deed as he requested, thereby symbolizing the redemption of Israel."
Chabad treats Schneerson’s birthday as a holiday every year, using it as a springboard for outreach and for a political movement to bring a moment of silent reflection to American schools. President Joe Biden issued a proclamation honoring the birthday in 2022 as well.
Born in Ukraine in 1902, Schneerson lived there for much of his early life, then in Berlin and then in France after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 before escaping to the United States in 1941. After his father-in-law, the sixth Chabad rebbe, died in 1950, he became the sect’s leader and, over time, one of the most influential figures in contemporary Judaism.
Philissa Cramer/JTA contributed to this story.