Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, died 29 years ago today, on the third day of Tammuz. Chabad expects some 50,000 visitors to arrive throughout the week at the Ohel, the Queens, N.Y. burial site of the Rebbe and his father-in-law, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the sixth Rebbe.
Chabad’s official Twitter handle called the late Rebbe “the most influential rabbi in modern history,” adding, “His life, wisdom and teachings continue to inspire and impact countless people around the world.”
Rabbi Yisroel Bernath, a chaplain at Concordia University in Montreal, posted a photo of himself, at age seven, meeting the Rebbe.
“Though time has passed, the Rebbe’s presence remains palpable, his teachings continue to guide us and his insights resonate deeply,” Bernath wrote. “The Rebbe taught us that Judaism is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Each mitzvah,” good deed, “is a universe unto itself.”
Dovid Bashevkin, a rabbi, director of education at NCSY—the youth movement of the Orthodox Union—and a Yeshiva University professor, also shared a teaching of the Rebbe’s.
“If you know aleph, teach aleph,” he tweeted. “The Rebbe, whose yahrzeit is tonight, didn’t have followers—he created leaders, empowering each of us to become teachers and sharing our Divine spark with the world.”
