A resolution was passed in the state Assembly on Tuesday, April 1 to honor the 123rd birthday of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt”l, with 123 days of learning.
This year, the Rebbe’s birthday falls on April 9, 2025, which corresponds to the 11th of Nissan, during the holiday of Passover.
For many years this event was highlighted with remarks from Rabbi Shmuel Butman, z”l from the Assembly rostrum in Albany. However, Rabbi Butman passed away last July at the age of 81, due to a heart attack. This year, his son, Rabbi Velvl Butman, 57, took the reins and delivered remarks directed towards the life and legacy of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
“Bless them with good health, wisdom, compassion, good cheer, and good fellowship. May they and their staff constantly realize that in laboring for the enactment of just laws they are doing Your will,” said Rabbi Butman, the executive director of the Chabad Lubavitch of Westchester County.
“Almighty G-d, we dedicate today’s prayer in honor of the Rebbe’s birthday. We pray that we should all be inspired by the Rebbe’s teachings, especially regarding educating the youth,” he continued. “You, almighty G-d, have created every human being, regardless of race, color, and creed. You have endowed each person with a Divine spark and Divine blessings. Grant us, please, O G-d, the wisdom, leadership, and vision to rise higher, to ensure that every child is loved unconditionally and that every child is given an education of morality, faith, respect, and love for all of humanity.
“As we have printed on the American dollar bill: In G-d We Trust! To always remember: There is always an eye that sees and an ear that hears.”
Assemblyman David Weprin, whose family have known the Butman family for many decades, sponsored the resolution calling “for 123 days of education in honor of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who served for more than 45 years of dedicated leadership as the Rebbe of the Lubavitcher movement and the Jewish community at large.” He noted that the Rebbe established more than 1,500 Lubavitch centers, “helping people of all walks of life throughout the world, from Australia to Africa from Holland to Argentina and from Moscow to Jerusalem.”
“Rabbi Schneerson’s educational activities throughout the globe have enriched and strengthened the religious, educational, cultural, moral, and ethical fibers of all citizens of the world. He was a remarkable and holy man who inspired millions of Jews and non-Jews alike to greater dedication, loyalty, and commitment in all matters between man and G-d and between man and man. Rabbi Schneerson called on all citizens of the world to make a personal commitment to increase all activities of goodness and kindness.”
After the brief remarks to the Assembly, a reception was held where lawmakers spoke passionately about the Rebbe and noshed on kosher food. Both Jewish and non-Jewish lawmakers spoke of the Rebbe’s powerful teachings.
“Be that as it may, I hope the Rebbe is looking down at the state legislature and smiling and is pleased by what we have been able to do…and hopefully we will continue to do so,” said freshman Assemblyman Kalman Yeger (D – Flatbush, Brooklyn).
Another freshman lawmaker, Assemblyman Aron Wieder (D – Spring Valley, Rockland County), commented, “I am personally grateful for the opportunity I had to meet the Rebbe as a very young child. I will never forget the warmth of his presence, the kindness in his eyes and the depths of his gaze, which seemed to reach into my very young soul.
“As a young child I was fortunate enough to be given a nickel by the Rebbe. He instructed me to give it to charity,” Wieder recalled. “In that fleeting moment he educated me in a way that has stayed with me ever since. With that very gesture, the Rebbe showed me the greatness of charity, not just as an act of giving but as a way to elevate both the giver and the receiver. It was in those few seconds with that humble nickel that I learned the power of kindness and the profound impact we can have on the world through our actions.
“The Rebbe’s teachings were never just theoretical, they were practical. Deeply human lessons that continue to guide me today,” he said.
A non-Jewish legislator who represents a part of Borough Park, also spoke about the Rebbe. “The Grand Rebbe’s teachings are already etched forever and we are celebrating his birthday as it is right now,” said Assemblyman Lester Chang (D – Sunset Park, Brooklyn). “That tells us that his teachings are deep-rooted and will forever be in our hearts and minds. We will continue to celebrate his life and his teachings.”
The shliach whom the Rebbe personally chose to set up a Chabad House in Albany more than 50 years ago conveyed heart-warming sentiments, even while working through a speech deficiency due to suffering a stroke several years ago. “The Rebbe wrote a lot. The Rebbe spoke a lot. He would tell everybody to look at the big picture,” said Rabbi Israel Rubin, director of the Capital Chabad. “Family is a keystone. We are celebrating the various tastes of leavened bread and unleavened bread because we’re eating both from all over to sustain us.”
The Chabad of the Capital District currently has 12 chapters throughout the Capital District, mostly of which are run by Rabbi Rubin’s children and their wives.
Shmurah matzahs were handed out at the reception, and there was enough for both Jewish and non-Jewish lawmakers to take home. Some non-Jewish lawmakers tasted shmurah matzah for the first time.
