It is the world’s richest school.
It is not Harvard, Yale, or the University of Chicago.
It has no ivy-covered campus, no football team and no fraternities. It has no endowment
fund, no real estate holdings and no stock portfolio.
The world’s richest school is a Jewish educational
institute in Brooklyn called Oholei Menachem. And it is rich only in alumni. Because the
graduates of Oholei Menachem are a unique breed of young Jewish men. They eschew the
material rewards of law, medicine and Wall Street in exchange for a life dedicated
entirely to bringing living Judaism wherever and whenever it is needed.
You’ll find Oholei Menachem’s 650 graduates in
nearly every state from Maine to Hawaii, and in over 33 countries from Tunisia to Tibet,
and from Hong Kong to Honduras. They build schools, serve in hospitals and visit prisons.
They build outposts of Jewish life on remote college campuses, rescue Jewish youth from
cults and drugs and bring the joy of Jewish celebration wherever they go.
Oholei Menachem is no ordinary institute. It is the
central training institute for the emissaries of Chabad-Lubavitch. Children begin their
training in pre-school and continue their studies into early adulthood and marriage. Only
then do they embark on a lifetime career as pioneer Rabbis, teachers, and counselors
– a career that often takes them to remote and remote and hostile parts of the world.
The core curriculum at Oholei Menachem is, of course,
the Torah itself. Since the day G-d gave it to the Jewish people at Sinai, the Torah has
proven to be the only valid blueprint for Jewish viability. Over the millennia there have
been scores of attempts at "enlightenment" from Hellenism of Maccabean times to
assimilation and critical inquiry in the last century.
In our generation the lure of science and secular
philosophy have been replaced by a decline into the decadence of a pop culture which is
arguably the nadir of "western civilization." The misguided but noble quest for
secular knowledge has been largely replaced by the vapid lure of television and its
commitment to the lowest common denominator. As a result, today’s "idols"
set examples to our youth that make no pretense of a basis in rational existence.
For those who have kept to the ways of the Torah,
today’s combined Jewish problems of cultism, drug abuse and the lowest birthrate of
any ethnic group in the world come as no surprise. Nor is it any surprise that these
problems have left the Torah community largely unaffected.
However, too many Torah-true Jews have written off their
alienated brothers and sisters, seeking refuge in the insularity of their communities.
Chabad-Lubavitch, on the other hand, has chosen to go out into the world with a positive
message of hope.
The love of one’s fellow Jew should be absolute
– regardless of an individual’s level of observance. And this is the core lesson
taught to the students of Oholei Menachem. Like the great sage Hillel said to the cynic
who asked to learn the entire Torah while standing on one foot; "Love thy neighbor
like thyself; all the rest is commentary."
Under the leadership of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the
students of Oholei Menachem are taught to love, respect, and cherish each Jew regardless
how they live. And the alumni have no fear of reaching out to the remotest places, or
reaching down to the lowest depths to help a Jew fulfill himself as a member of his
People.
Over the years, Oholei Menachem has been directly
responsible for the spiritual revival and physical rescue of tens of thousands of Jews.
Hundreds of thousands more have had their lives touched and enriched through contact with
these young representatives. Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries have found their way to all
levels, from the topmost echelons of society, to prisonsand rehabilitation centers. They
have brought joy to soldiers on Israel’s frontiers, and hope to isolated pockets of
Jewry in Moslem and Communist countries. They have built thriving centers of Jewish life
on American college campuses and rescued hundreds of young lives addicted to the scourge
of drugs. They have brought the joy of Shabbos and Passover to millions of Jews all over
America and the world.
These days Oholei Menachem is accepting a new, and Thank
G-d ever increasing challenge: The enrollment of scores of émigré students from the
Soviet Union. These special boys come without the necessary finances to pay even minimal
tuition. Moreover, they come with a lack of knowledge that is only matched by their hunger
for Jewish learning. They require individualized attention, special classes and
after-hours tutoring in order to catch up with their peers. Oholei Menachem accepts these
students unconditionally. We view them not as an obligation but as an opportunity for the
entire Jewish community.
Surely you too have witnessed the achievements of Oholei
Menachem graduates. Surely you have seen the lighting of a public Chanukah menorah, or
known a business acquaintance whose son or daughter was rescued from drug abuse or a cult,
or read an article in The New York Times reporting that the only Jewish group doing
anything to bring knowledge and celebration to the displaced Soviet refugees in Ladispoli,
Italy are the young emissaries of Chabad-Lubavitch.
Oholei Menachem is indeed a spiritually rich school,
that provides a rich education to boys and young men who enrich the Jewish people.
Think about it. Think about what you know and have
witnessed. Think about the thousands of books that are printed in dozens of languages.
Think of the lonely emissary couple in Costa Rica. Think of the dozens of stalwarts
traveling through the Soviet Union, living out suitcases and eating out of kosher tins.
Think of the Jewish pride that is unlocked each Chanukah when the lighting of a huge
public menorah is broadcast on network television.
The children are waiting – not just the children of
Oholei Menachem, but the entire Children of Israel. Oholei Menachem will continue its
great mission.