In honor of Yud Alef Nissan, the day the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was born (April 18, 1902), The Avner Institute, together with the Rebbe Archive, is proud to present two new photos with a recollection written by Mr. Yehuda Avner for the Jerusalem Post, Oct 5, 2004.
A Happy & Healthy Passover!
Menachem
Mr. Yehuda Avner Relats:
"SOME TIME later, on a balmy July day in 1977, Menachem Begin was similarly confronted. A bushy-haired reporter in a baggy suit asked him with Village Voice effrontery, "You are the newly elected prime minister of Israel, so why have you come to see Rabbi Schneerson? Surely, protocol requires he come to you.
"This altercation took place on the steps of the Lubavitch headquarters, where the Rebbe was welcoming Mr. Begin amid a blaze of photo flashes. "Why, indeed?" the prime minister began with easy rapport. "A good question."And then, with an air of deep reverence,
"I have come here because I am en route to Washington to meet President Jimmy Carter for the first time. So it is most natural for me to want to seek the blessings of this great sage of the Jewish people. Rabbi Schneerson is one of the paramount Jewish personalities of our time. His status is unique among our people. So yes, certainly, his blessings will strengthen me as I embark on a mission of acute importance for our future."
"Would the rabbi care to comment on that?" asked the reporter.He said, "Only to reiterate my fullest blessings. And to add, I accept the honor of the prime minister's visit to me not on my own account but in recognition of the Lubavitch movement's dedicated work in spreading the love of God and His Torah among our fellow Jews, wherever they be.
"The two men had been friends for years, and they closeted themselves for a good hour, at the end of which Mr. Begin informed Rabbi Schneerson that I would return to New York from Washington to brief him on the White House talks"
