More than anything, “be grateful to your parents who selflessly supported you your entire life. Be proud of the men and women you have become, for you will change the world for the better,” Felder stated.
“This moment is ours. But it’s not our only one. Just one of many. And I cannot wait to watch us seize them all.”
He concluded his address with a hearty rendition of Chabad of GW’s signature “mazel tov and l’chaim” (“Good luck!” and “To life!”), and to roaring applause and laughter attempted to get a class picture by turning around on the platform and taking several “selfie” photos with his phone.
Felder plans to pursue his passion for education and community-building in New York this fall as a member of the Teach for America program, which encourages high-achieving students to serve as educators for two years in low-income neighborhoods throughout the United States and in some cases abroad.
“Gabe Felder is a natural leader and a real pride for the Jewish people,” said Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), the sponsoring organization of Chabad at GW. “To hear him so proudly identify his Jewishness, sharing such inspiring words of the Rebbe on the National Mall, no less, is really uplifting and encouraging, and is a tribute to himself, to his family, and to all his teachers and mentors.”
Originally published at Chabad.org.
