New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday visited the Ohel in Queens, the resting place of the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—the most influential rabbi in modern history.
The pilgrimage came just days after the close of the Jewish High Holiday season, which opened with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and continued through Sukkot, concluding on Oct. 3 and 4 with the joyous celebration of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. According to Chassidic teaching, the weeks immediately following are when the spiritual reserves gathered during the holidays begin to be carried into the rest of the year.
Hochul was accompanied by Jewish community activists Chanina Sperlin and Devorah Halberstam, as well as Rabbi Motti Seligson, Director of Media at Chabad.org and the Chabad Lubavitch Media Center.
As is customary, the governor gave charity and lit a memorial candle in preparation, leaving a prayer note at the Ohel. She later reflected on the legacy of the Rebbe and the impact he had on the Jewish community in New York State, global Jewry and humankind.
“As Governor of the state with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, I was humbled to once again visit the Chabad Ohel Lubavitch to honor Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson,” she said in a statement. “The Rebbe and his wife Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson miraculously escaped Nazi Europe and arrived in New York in 1941 and spent his life rebuilding the Jewish community…. The legacy of the Rebbe continues to be felt throughout New York State and his profound impact will be felt for generations to come.”
Hochul also visited the nearby resting place of Halberstam’s son Ari, who was murdered by an Islamist in an antisemitic terror attack on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1994.
This was not Hochul’s first visit to the Ohel, which has become a frequent destination for local, state and world leaders seeking guidance and counsel at the holy site.
For the Rebbe, New York was far more than a place of residence. Arriving in the city in 1941 after escaping Nazi-occupied Europe, he lived in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, for 53 years, until his passing in 1994. From his modest office at Chabad World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway, he directed a global network of emissaries that today reaches nearly every corner of the world, counseled men and women from all walks of life seeking his wisdom and guidance, and engineered a global Jewish renaissance.
The Rebbe frequently spoke of New York’s unique role as a crossroads of humanity and a place from which goodness could spread outward. He met with mayors and city dignitaries, encouraged his followers to stay in, and invest in, their neighborhoods at a time when many were leaving, and made a lasting imprint on the city’s civic and spiritual life.
With the 1940 arrival of his father-in-law and predecessor the Sixth Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory, the Rebbe once wrote to New York City Mayor John Lindsay, “the center of our Chabad-Lubavitch movement was … transplanted in this great metropolis, where it has enjoyed every opportunity to carry on its historic destiny…. In all humility may I add that the history of this great city has also been vastly enriched by their presence and contribution to its educational and cultural institutions.”
The Rebbe did not shepherd the Jewish community alone, emphasizing a universal vision for a better world. He spoke of the goodness inherent within all of humankind and the infinite potential of every individual and each good deed. He believed in the fundamental need to nurture this good within man via a moral and ethical education, especially among children, who must be impressed upon from the youngest age that it is within their capacity to change the world for the better.
In recognition of the Rebbe’s work, both in the public eye and behind the scenes, beginning in 1978 every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter has proclaimed Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A., on the Rebbe’s birthday. In 1994 he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his “extraordinary life and work.”
The Rebbe’s Ohel is the most visited Jewish holy site in North America, drawing people from all walks of life in a way similar only to the Western Wall in Israel. It is common for people to visit the Ohel to pray in proximity to a personal or professional milestone—whether a bar or bat mitzvah, wedding, anniversary, beginning a new endeavor or overcoming personal challenges.
Millions of people send their written prayers via email and post to the Ohel, while approximately 1 million make pilgrimages there each year. Located at the Old Montefiore Cemetery, the Ohel is open 24/7 and has long been a place of reflection for private citizens and world leaders alike, Jews and non-Jews, each coming to the holy site to pray, seek inspiration and find solace.
Visiting the resting place of the righteous is a long-held tradition in Judaism. The Talmud recounts how Caleb visited Hebron to pray at the Maarat Hamachpela (“Cave of the Patriarchs”), the resting place of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs. Resting places of Jewish sages in Israel and Europe are considered sacred spaces and have been visited by Jews and non-Jews for centuries.
The Ohel is open to people of faiths and creeds. Click here to learn more about the holy site and how to visit.
Start a Discussion