Celebrities praise rebbe’s teachings on 25th anniversary of his death
Published July 7, 2019
(JTA) — Celebrities praised the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe on the 25th anniversary of his death.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell in a tribute to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, on social media, wrote: “An inspirational leader, scholar, and teacher, the Rebbe taught that we are all inherently good and we each have the potential to change the world for the better, one good deed at a time. I have personally learned so much from his wisdom and teachings, and while I never met him, I’ve visited his resting place in Queens to gain blessing and inspiration. With so much discord and division across our society, the Rebbe’s words are more relevant than ever, and we so desperately need to take them to heart and learn from his example to always see the good in others, even those with whom we may disagree.”
Campbell added that she would “rededicate” herself to the rebbe’s mission of “creating more light and goodness.”
In 2010 Campbell announced that she had embraced the Kabbalah movement and that it had helped her turn her life around and to control her notorious temper.
Singer and dancer Paula Abdul, who is Jewish, also honored the rebbe in a tweet to mark his 25th yartzheit, promoting his Shabbat candle campaign, which calls on all Jewish women and girls to light Shabbat candles less than an hour before the start of the Jewish Sabbath.
“His teachings to better our world through unconditional love are more urgent now than ever! Join me in his Shabbat Candle campaign, spreading light before sundown this evening,” she tweeted late on Friday afternoon.
An estimated 50,000 people visited the resting place of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, ahead of the 25th anniversary of his passing. The pilgrimage to the burial site in Queens, New York, known as the Ohel has took place last week ahead of the anniversary Saturday, the 3rd of Tamuz on the Hebrew calendar. Schneerson headed the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement from 1950 until his passing in 1994 — a movement he had helped revive following its post-Holocaust re-establishment in New York.
