Editing Menachem Mendel Schneerson (section)

== Legacy ==
===Impact===
Schneerson initiated [[Jewish outreach]] in the post-[[Holocaust]] era. He believed that world Jewry was seeking to learn more about its heritage, and sought to bring Judaism to Jews wherever they were.<ref name="jewishfederations.org"/> British Chief Rabbi [[Jonathan Sacks]] said of Schneerson "that if the Nazis searched out every Jew in hate, the Rebbe wished to search out every Jew in love".<ref>
The Jewish Week, [http://www.thejewishweek.com/free-book-excerpt-rebbe "Free Book Excerpt From "Rebbe""] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903140845/http://www.thejewishweek.com/free-book-excerpt-rebbe |date=September 3, 2014 }}</ref> He oversaw the building of schools, community centers, and youth camps and created a global network of emissaries, known as ''shluchim''.
[[File:KinusChabadJerufi.jpg|thumb|264x264px|Thousands of ''shluchim'' gatherered in front of 770 Eastern Parkway on November 20, 2022]]
Today there are ''shluchim'' in all of the 50 US states, in over 100 countries and 1,000 cities around the world, totaling more than 3,600 institutions including some 300 in Israel.<ref>"Jewish Literacy", Telushkin, William Morrow 2001, p.470</ref><ref>[http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/country/Israel/jewish/Chabad-Lubavitch.htm List of Chabad Centers in Israel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811135709/http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/country/Israel/jewish/Chabad-Lubavitch.htm |date=August 11, 2014 }}, chabad.org</ref> Chabad is very often the only Jewish presence in a given town or city and it has become the face of Jewish Orthodoxy for the Jewish and general world.<ref>Fishkoff, Sue. The Rebbe's Army, page 14</ref>

Schneerson's model of Jewish outreach has been imitated by all Jewish movements including the [[Reform Judaism|Reform]], [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]], [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and Haredi.<ref name="jns.org"/><ref>
Eric Yoffie, [http://urj.org/about/union/leadership/yoffie/biennialsermon03/ The Chabad Challenge] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010220335/http://urj.org/about/union/leadership/yoffie/biennialsermon03/ |date=October 10, 2014 }} . Union for Reform Judaism, 2002.</ref> His published works fill more than 200 volumes and are often used as source text for sermons of both Chabad and non-Chabad rabbis.<ref name="ou.org"/> Beyond the Jewish world, [[Peggy Noonan]] has written that moral issues would be better addressed by leaders such as Schneerson than by politicians,<ref>Peggy Noonan, ''What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era''. Random House, 1990. Page 346.</ref> and since his death, Schneerson has been referred to as the Rebbe for all people.<ref name="observer.com"/>

===Recognition===
Schneerson's work was recognized by every US president from [[Richard Nixon]] to [[Joe Biden]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 20, 2015 |title=Carter Lauds Lubavitcher Rebbe's Work |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/carter-lauds-lubavitcher-rebbes-work |access-date=August 1, 2023 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US |archive-date=August 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801173914/https://www.jta.org/archive/carter-lauds-lubavitcher-rebbes-work |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ford |first=Gerald |date=May 18, 1975 |title=RECEPTION HONORING SENATOR HUGH SCOTT |url=https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0122/1252322.pdf |access-date=August 1, 2023 |website=[[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library]] |archive-date=June 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606015116/https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0122/1252322.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=NEWS IN BRIEF |language=en-US |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1995/09/16/news-in-brief/1c98a515-9839-4c2c-97a8-890607bfcfb3/ |access-date=August 1, 2023 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Proclamation 5956—Education Day, U.S.A., 1989 and 1990 {{!}} The American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-5956-education-day-usa-1989-and-1990 |access-date=August 1, 2023 |website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107231218/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=23514 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Obama Declares Lubavitcher Rebbe's Birthday 'Education and Sharing Day' |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2013-03-23/ty-article/obama-declares-lubavitcher-rebbes-birthday-education-and-sharing-day/0000017f-dc35-d3a5-af7f-febf29780000 |access-date=August 1, 2023 |archive-date=December 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224110251/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2013-03-23/ty-article/obama-declares-lubavitcher-rebbes-birthday-education-and-sharing-day/0000017f-dc35-d3a5-af7f-febf29780000 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Proclamation on Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A., 2020 – The White House |url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-education-sharing-day-u-s-2020/ |access-date=August 1, 2023 |website=trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov |archive-date=August 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801173927/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-education-sharing-day-u-s-2020/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=House |first1=The White |title=A Proclamation on Education And Sharing Day, USA, 2023 |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/03/31/a-proclamation-on-education-and-sharing-day-usa-2023/ |website=The White House |access-date=November 5, 2023 |date=March 31, 2023 |archive-date=September 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230916022431/https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/03/31/a-proclamation-on-education-and-sharing-day-usa-2023/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1978, Schneerson became the first rabbi to have a U.S. national day proclaimed in his honor, when the [[U.S. Congress]] and President Jimmy Carter designated Schneerson's birthdate as "[[Education and Sharing Day|Education Day USA]]". Each year since, the President has called on all Americans to focus on education in honor of Schneerson. In 1982, Ronald Reagan proclaimed Schneerson's birthday as a "National Day of Reflection" and presented the "National Scroll of Honor" that was signed by the President, Vice-President and every member of Congress.<ref name="presidency.ucsb.edu">{{Cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=42362 |title=Ronald Reagan: Proclamation 4921 - National Day of Reflection |publisher=[[American Presidency Project]] |access-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113112044/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=42362 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 4.</ref>

Many officials attended Schneerson's funeral, including New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Benjamin Netanyahu and the entire staff of the Israeli embassy in Washington.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archive.jta.org/article/1994/06/13/2880621/tens-of-thousands-mourn-the-death-of-rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson |title=Tens of Thousands Mourn the Death of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=June 13, 1994 |access-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-date=November 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114021643/http://www.jta.org/1994/06/13/archive/tens-of-thousands-mourn-the-death-of-rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson |url-status=live }}</ref>

President [[Bill Clinton]] penned a condolence letter "to the Chabad-Lubavitch community and to world Jewry" and spoke of Schneerson as "a monumental man who as much as any other individual, was responsible over the last half a century for advancing the instruction of ethics and morality to our young people". Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin cited Schneerson's great scholarship and contribution to the entire Jewish people and proclaimed, "The Rebbe's loss is a loss for all the Jewish people." Foreign Minister Shimon Peres cited words from the prophet [[Malachi]] as applying with particular force to Schneerson: "He brought back many from iniquity. For a priest's lips shall guard knowledge, and teaching should be sought from his mouth. For he is a messenger of the Lord."<ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 514.</ref>

Shortly after his death, Schneerson was posthumously awarded the [[Congressional Gold Medal]], honoring Schneerson for his "outstanding and enduring contributions toward world education, morality, and acts of charity".<ref name="Public Law 103-457"/> President Bill Clinton spoke these words at the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony:

{{blockquote|The late Rebbe's eminence as a moral leader for our country was recognized by every president since Richard Nixon. For over two decades, the Rabbi's movement now has some 2000 institutions; educational, social, medical, all across the globe. We (the United States Government) recognize the profound role that Rabbi Schneerson had in the expansion of those institutions.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Behind the Headlines: Remembering the Rebbe As Washington Bestows Honors |url=https://www.jta.org/1995/07/03/archive/behind-the-headlines-remembering-the-rebbe-as-washington-bestows-honors/ |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=1995-07-03 |access-date=2021-05-12 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109034630/https://www.jta.org/1995/07/03/archive/behind-the-headlines-remembering-the-rebbe-as-washington-bestows-honors |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

In 2009, the National Museum of American Jewish History selected Schneerson as one of eighteen [[American Jews]] to be included in their [[National Museum of American Jewish History|"Only in America" Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nmajh.org/ |title=nmajh.org |publisher=nmajh.org |access-date=January 29, 2012 |archive-date=January 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128054734/http://nmajh.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Schneerson's contribution with respect to comprehension of human emotion is considered by many to be unparalleled; as [[Elie Wiesel]] said of the Rebbe, "When the Rebbe was alone with anyone, it was an opening. He opened doors for his visitor, or his student or Chasid—secret doors that we all have. It wasn’t a break-in. It was just an invitation. And that was really the greatness of the Rebbe. I think the Rebbe had a great talent for that—one of the greatest and the best that Judaism has ever seen."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lubavitch|first=Chabad|title=Chabad Lubavitch Brooklyn New York NY World Headquarters|url=http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2030937/In-Conversation-with-Nobel-Prize-Winner-Elie-Wiesel.html|access-date=June 2, 2020|website=lubavitch.com|date=July 2019|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806213224/http://www2.lubavitch.com/news/article/2030937/In-Conversation-with-Nobel-Prize-Winner-Elie-Wiesel.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Schneerson is often considered to be one of the most, if not the most, influential rabbis of the twentieth century.