Lubavitcher rebbes brought a little joy to Capitol Hill yesterday afternoon in the stately caucus room of the Canon House Office Building. Some 100 Lubavitcher rabbis and laymen from 30 states gathered there to celebrate the passage of a joint Congressional resolution proclaiming today as “Education Day, U.S.A.”
The resolution, which had 220 cosigners, states that “Congress recognizes a need for the nation to set aside on the calendar a day devoted to the importance of education to the lives of its citizens and to the general well-being of the nation.”
The resolution also refers to the Lubavitch movement which proposed the establishment of Education Day and honors the 76th birthday today of the head of the Lubavitch movement, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. By a coincidence, the number of the resolution, 770, is also the number of the movement’s headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Vice President Walter Mondale, who spoke at the reception given by the Lubavitch movement, was first greeted by a rabbinical representative from each state. “It is fitting that Education Day be proclaimed on the birthday of Lubavitcher Rabbi Schneerson who is a great Talmudic scholar and has added to the education of Jewish people throughout the world,” Mondale said.
“Education is the course of an enlightened country, but still, education disconnected from compassion and humanity is no guarantee of liberty or justice,” the Vice President stressed. “We have seen too many times in world history where people who have been privileged with splendid education but have used that education for the most hideous acts.” Mondale noted that the NBC-TV miniseries “Holocaust,” which the nation is currently watching depicts how people misused education. “What makes education important in the finest sense is that step between the appreciation and commitment for learning and compassion for understanding.”
Other participants included Rep. Benjamin Rosenthal (D.NY), who sponsored the resolution; Sen. Jacob K. Javits (R.NY); President Carter’s Chief Counsel, Robert Lipshutz; and Rep. Clarence Long (D.Md.). Songs in Yiddish and Russian were sung by Jan Peerce and Theodore Bikel. It was noted that “song is an integral part of the Jewish tradition of study,” particularly among Hasidim. Rabbi Abraham Shemtov, spokesman for the Lubavitch group, said that efforts are being made to make “Education Day, U.S.A.” an annual event.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
