The 15th anniversary of the passing of the Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, is today. Tens of thousands showed up at his grave in Queens and the New York Daily News has a report, as does the NY1 cable television channel. NY1’s video report features a cute little girl who, struggling to explain the significance of the day, finally manages to spit out, "He’s special to us and he died and we come here to pray to him." (A Chabad representative stressed that the visitors are not praying to the Rebbe, and provided this link to an explanation of the practice.)
Apparently, she’s not the only one confused. An Iowa judge has allowed accused kosher meat man Sholom Rubashkin to leave the state in order to attend the "Jewish holiday" at the rebbe’s gravestite in Queens. The Des Moines Register reported that Rubashkin is going to drive through the night to New York, spend the day in the city, and then return to Iowa that evening.
