The Washington Jewish community will mark the 20th anniversary of the passing of the Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, on June 17, with a program at George Washington University’s Betts Marvin Theater.
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin will discuss his new biography Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History with CBS News correspondent Dan Raviv.
Telushkin “has devoted years of research” to the topic, according to Rabbi Levi Shemtov, whose American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) is sponsoring the event with the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington and Washington Jewish Week.
The program will include a musical component, which will “explore the songs which the rebbe had taught over the years” and add “musical excitement to his teachings and legacy,” Shemtov said. Schneerson passed away in 1994 without appointing a successor, a rare thing in the chasidic world.
Yet the movement he led continues. “Not only has the movement and network which the rebbe built and encouraged survived, but it has thrived in many places,” Shemtov said.
There are 4,000 Chabad centers worldwide. In the United States, 49 of the 50 states have Chabad centers as well. An Evening of Inspiration begins at 7 p.m. on June 17. For tickets and information, go to jewishwashington.com.
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