Photo Credit: Screenshot from C-SPAN video
President Donald J. Trump on Saturday night issued a letter to the late Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Ohel-gravesite in honor of the Rebbe’s yahrzeit, Sunday, Gimmel Tammuz (Tamuz 3rd), describing him as “one of the most dynamic and influential faith leaders in modern history.” In the letter, Trump also noted that he drew personal strength from the Rebbe’s legacy during his visit to the Ohel in Queens, New York, last year.
This is the full text of Trump’s letter:
Dear Rabbis of Chabad-Lubavitch,
Melania and I are honored to send our greetings on the occasion of the yahrtzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, to the Chabad shluchim (emissaries) and the millions inspired by him across our country and around the world.
As I affirmed in my Proclamation on Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A., the Rebbe was one of the most dynamic and influential faith leaders in modern history, helping launch a renaissance of Jewish faith in the dark days following the Holocaust. Among his many achievements, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his tremendous impact on our country.
As time has worn on, his many blessings have only increased. His teachings were a core inspiration for criminal justice reform, as seen in the First Step Act, and Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis and rebbetzins run a whole host of institutions––whether religious, educational, or social––that have a tremendous impact on American spiritual life.
When I visited the Ohel on the anniversary of the terrible attacks of October 7, I drew strength and inspiration from the Rebbe’s legacy. When Edan Alexander was returned to his loving parents earlier this year, after an unimaginable ordeal in the hands of Hamas, the entire country felt the power of the Ohel and the Rebbe’s enduring example. As is frequently cited in the Talmud, the Rebbe lived by the principle that when you save one life, you save an entire world.
Through great strength, unflinching resolve, and much prayer, I am committed to restoring peace throughout the world––not least in the Middle East, as we witnessed over the past week––and to stamping out antisemitic hate wherever it rears its head. In doing this, we will restore our country to its tradition of greatness and usher in a new Golden Age for the entire world. This, I believe, is the Rebbe’s legacy.
Signed,
Donald J. Trump
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