Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly declared March 24 as Education and Sharing Day in honor of the 119th anniversary of the birth of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, who dedicated his life to the cause of education.
Education and Sharing Day U.S.A. was established in 1978 when Jimmy Carter was president by a joint congressional resolution and has been proclaimed annually by the president every year since. It calls for increased focus on education and recognizes the efforts of the Rebbe for education and sharing for all people, Jews and non-Jews alike.
During his lifetime, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the only rabbi to receive a Congressional Gold Medal, emphasized that education should not be limited to the acquisition of wisdom and pursuit of a career. Education, the Rebbe taught, must build character and ethics. Based on this the Rebbe established a network of several thousand schools and educational centers — known as Chabad Houses — in America and across the globe, including five in Kansas.
The Rebbe took special interest in promoting the importance of education in the state of Kansas by sending his representatives to Kansas and Missouri in 1970.
“Thanks to his inclusive vision and unconditional love for humanity, leadership and dedication, countless lives have been touched and inspired, especially through the establishment of the various Chabad centers in this region,” said Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel, co-director of Chabad at KU.
Rabbi Sholom and Blumah Wineberg came from Brooklyn, New York, 50 years ago to establish the local Chabad House Center, first on the Missouri side of the state line and now in Overland Park. The Winebergs’ oldest son, Rabbi Mendy Wineberg, has served as the program director for the local Chabad House for more than 25 years. He noted that Education and Sharing Day provides Americans the opportunity to pause and recognize our responsibility to ensure that our young people have the foundation necessary to lead lives rich in purpose and fulfillment.
“We each have the responsibility to prepare our youth to be the leaders of tomorrow by inspiring them of their moral and ethical obligation to serve a cause greater than self and by the anchor of virtues, including courage and compassion,” Rabbi Wineberg said.
Rabbi Tiechtel, who also moved here from Brooklyn and has been based in Lawrence, Kansas, for the past 15 years, noted that the Rebbe often said a child’s character education should take priority over his academic education.
“All educational efforts are basically meaningless unless built on the solid foundation of good character,” the Rebbe was known for saying.
Rabbi Tiechtel added that a day dedicated to education and sharing is a good way to combat the hate and negativity that have become all too common in our country recently.
“As we reflect upon the global pandemic we are in, which has disrupted traditional models of education across our nation, it is prime time for us to reaffirm our commitment to an educational process that is not limited to the acquisition of knowledge and preparation for a career, but rather focused on the building of character, with emphasis on the moral and ethical values that are the bedrock of society from the dawn of civilization,” he said.
