President Reagan and members of Congress today signed a “National Scroll of Honor” to mark the 81st birthday of the Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson. Schneerson’s birthday on the Hebrew calendar is tomorrow, the 11th of Nisan.
The scroll, which was a “tribute to the vision and spiritual world leadership provided by the Lubavitcher rebbe, ” was signed at three separate ceremonies today, culminating in one at the White House Oval Office where Reagan affixed his signature.
A separate ceremony was held this morning in the Senate, sponsored by Sen. Rudy Boschwitz (R. Minn.), and the afternoon in the House, sponsored by Rep, Sander Levin (D. Mich.). At both ceremonies, Congressmen and Senators signed the scroll. Rabbi Avraham Shemtov, of the American Friends of the Lubavitch, said he expected that all members of the House and Senate would sign the scroll.
The ceremony, which was held for the eighth consecutive year, also marked “Education Day U.S.A.” and “The National Day of Reflection, ” both of which have been proclaimed by the President and Congress on the rebbe’s birthday.
The scroll noted that “The Lubavitcher movement, through its scores of educational centers in this country and abroad, dedicates itself to preserve, protect and foster the universal values that all free men hold dear.”
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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.