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Celebrities praise rebbe’s teachings on 25th anniversary of his death
(JTA) Supermodel Naomi Campbell, in a tribute to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, wrote on social media: “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 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. 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.”
MARCY OSTER
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 control her notorious temper.
Singer and dancer Paula Abdul, who is Jewish, also honoured the rebbe in a tweet to mark his 25th yahrzeit (commemoration of his death), 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 rebbe ahead of the 25th anniversary of his passing. The pilgrimage to the burial site in Queens, New York, known as the Ohel, 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 he passed away in 1994 – a movement he helped revive following its post-Holocaust re-establishment in New York. Throughout the year, about 400 000 people visit the Cambria Heights site, many of them not Hasidim or even Jewish, to pay their respects, and reflect on his teachings.