Local Chabad centers paid homage to the late Lubavitcher Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson to mark the 30th anniversary of his death as tens of thousands of people from across the world visited his gravesite in Queens, New York.
Schneerson died on June 12, 1994, at the age of 92. This year, his yahrzeit, the anniversary of his death, fell on July 9, which was the third day of the month of Tamuz on the Jewish calendar.
Chabad centers of Northern Virginia held a concert on July 14 in honor of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s yahrzeit. The concert featured Shulem Lemmer, a renowned Chasidic singer and Jewish music star, at Valo Park in Tysons Corner.
“His voice truly touched every person and left a mark,” said Hindy Lerman, program director at Chabad Lubavitch of Northern Virginia, in an email to the Washington Jewish Week. “We sang, we cried, we danced and our spirits were uplifted with stories and songs about the [Rebbe].”
At “An Evening of Song & Inspiration,” Lerman said the crowd of nearly 300 attendees heard from Rabbi Shmuel Kaplan, the director of Chabad Maryland, and Rabbi Leibel Fajnland of Chabad of Reston-Herndon about the Rebbe’s enduring impact on the world.
Rabbi Sholom and Chanie Deitsch spoke about opening Chabad of Northern Virginia in January 1991 under the Rebbe’s leadership. They have since expanded to eight more Chabad locations throughout Northern Virginia from 2001 to 2021, including Alexandria, Loudoun County and Springfield, according to Lerman.
“Each person was inspired to take action and be a leader in their own life through Torah and mitzvot, and were given a book of meaningful quotes from the Lubavitcher Rebbe,” Lerman said of the attendees.
Lerman said throughout the night, attendees described the event as “life-changing” and a “magical evening.” One attendee thanked the organizers for helping them appreciate the Rebbe’s “profound and lasting impacts.”
On July 2, about 300 attendees gathered at the Bender Jewish Community Center in Rockville in honor of the Lubavitcher Rebbe for an event organized by Chabad of Maryland and Chabads of Montgomery County. The event, “An Enduring Legacy: 5 Life-Changing Perspectives of the Rebbe,” featured a multimedia and musical production.
At the event, Rabbi Simon Jacobson, director of The Meaningful Life Center, discussed five topics: the land of Israel, our mission, positivity, unconditional love for every Jewish person and moshiach — the idea that there is ultimately a destination for all of us.
Rabbi Sholom Raichik of Chabad of Upper Montgomery County was among the main organizers of the July 2 event in Rockville.
“We continue what the Rebbe wanted of us,” Raichik said. “Our job is to continue what the Rebbe started: the message of positively impacting every Jewish person; to reach out and help other Jewish people in their Jewish life.”
One way members of Chabad of Upper Montgomery County have embodied the Rebbe’s mission is through volunteer work. In 2020, Raichik and other Chabad of Upper Montgomery County members provided seder foods to people who had trouble getting these items for Passover due to the pandemic.
“We made sure that everyone had what they needed for the seder, to make sure that no one skips because it’s too difficult,” Raichik said. “We went out of our way for that.”
Members of Chabad of Upper Montgomery County have also raised $35,000 in funds for Israel and visited senior homes to ensure that the residents had a Purim celebration.
Raichik said a yahrzeit is significant in Judaism because it is a day in which a person’s accomplishments during their lifetime are “invigorated with new strength.”
“In Jewish belief, a person is born with a mission. We each have a mission in life, a purpose in life, and our purpose comes to its completion the day when a person passes away,” Raichik said. “So that date is significant.”
Under the Rebbe’s leadership, the Chabad-Lubavitch movement became a global phenomenon. Raichik added that the Rebbe’s mission is observed worldwide today — there are more than 5,000 Chabad-Lubavitch centers in more than 100 countries.
“[The number of Chabad-Lubavitch centers] has grown maybe seven-, eight-fold since Rebbe passed away,” Raichik said. “The Rebbe’s message is continuing. The Rebbe’s work is continuing. That speaks to the impact in my mind.”
Rabbi Berel Wolvovsky of Chabad of Silver Spring, who helped organize the July 2 event, said the Rebbe’s impact is evident locally.
“Generally, when we think of somebody who had passed 30 years ago, we think of them in the past tense,” Wolvovsky said. “But today, there are tens of Chabad centers in Maryland and over 10 in Montgomery County that are all a continuation of a testament to the Rebbe’s continued impact on the Jewish world and the world in general.”
