Wednesday, April 13, 2022
For Late Leader’s 120th Birthday, Chabad Jews Stage Worldwide Celebration
A massive rally and concert drew 15,000 people to the streets of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, on Sunday night. On Monday, a different late-night party spilled into the streets of Queens.
And, on Tuesday, 120 "Mitzvah Tanks" fanned out across New York City to distribute matzah for Passover and give passersby a chance to complete Jewish rituals, while back in Crown Heights, children were feted for their success in memorizing millions of lines of Jewish texts.
The local festivities were among the largest and splashiest of a global 120th birthday bash for Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Chabad-Lubavitch Orthodox movement's last leader, who died in 1994, and the figure whose life and mythology continue to animate the movement's followers today.
Among those celebrating Schneerson — known as the Rebbe to his followers — were the thousands of Chabad adherents spreading his message as emissaries around the world; Jews who participate in Chabad activities but are not affiliated with the movement; politicians and public officials, and even non-Jewish celebrities who have been inspired by his example.
"Today is the 120th birthday of the Rebbe Schneerson, the preeminent spiritual leader from whose teachings and lessons I've gained inspiration over the years. ❤️🎂🙏🏾," the model Naomi Campbell, a longtime Schneerson fan who is not Jewish, posted on Instagram, along with a portrait of a smiling Schneerson and a picture of herself praying at his grave.
"In tribute to his tremendous legacy, I will spend a moment of silence today thinking about the infinite potential that God has blessed us each with to better the lives of others and create a more meaningful world," Campbell added. "What's your tribute?"
Chabad treats Schneerson's birthday — the 11th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, which this year fell on Tuesday — 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, as his predecessors have done since 1978, issued a proclamation this year honoring the birthday as "Education and Sharing Day."
"The rebbe's devotion to educating people worldwide and his profound respect for diversity, inclusiveness and equal justice have set a strong example for generations of Americans and people across the globe," Biden said in the proclamation, which was accompanied by state and local versions across the country.
This year the international Chabad community pulled out extra stops for Schneerson's birthday because of the special significance of 120 in Jewish tradition. Moses was 120 when the Bible records his death, and that age is considered the ideal duration of a good life. "To 120 years" is a traditional accompaniment of birthday greetings for many Jews, especially in Orthodox communities.
To mark the occasion, Chabad has hosted weeks of events on at least five continents, from parties in Buenos Aires and Los Angeles to a conference in Washington, D.C., that drew lawmakers from across the political spectrum. It also launched a host of new education programs and vowed to open more than 1,200 new institutions — synagogues, schools, camps, ritual baths and more — over the next year in Schneerson's honor.
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