In Unique Gimmel Tammuz Letter, President Trump Recalls Rebbe’s Expanding Legacy

chabad.org

Emphasizing the “strength and inspiration” he draws from his legacy, President Donald Trump honored the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, on the eve of the third day of the Jewish month of Tammuz, the 31st anniversary of the Rebbe’s passing.

The anniversary, known as a yahrtzeit, coincides this year with Sunday, June 29.

In his letter, Trump highlighted the role the Rebbe played in launching the “renaissance of Jewish faith in the dark days following the Holocaust”, and noted that “his teachings were a core inspiration for criminal justice reform, as seen in the First Step Act of 2017.”

“As time has worn on, his many blessings have only increased,” wrote the president.

This weekend more than 50,000 people from all walks of life are expected to visit the Rebbe’s resting place in Queens, known as the Ohel, a place of reflection for private citizens and world leaders alike, Jews and non-Jews, each of whole comes to the holy site to pray, seek inspiration and find solace.

President Trump made a personal prayer visit to the Ohel on Oct. 7, 2024, the first anniversary of the horrific Palestinian terrorist attack in Israel.

“When I visited the Ohel … I drew strength and inspiration from the Rebbe’s legacy,” he wrote. “When Edan Alexander returned to his loving parents, after an unimaginable ordeal in the hands of Hamas terrorists, the entire country felt the power of the Ohel and the Rebbe’s legacy. As is frequently cited in the Talmud, the Rebbe lived by the principle that when you save one life, you save an entire world.”

Hundreds of family members of hostages held in Gaza have made pilgrimages to the Ohel since the attacks, and Alexander’s family accompanied the president to the Ohel. Edan was freed from captivity on May 12.

The Rebbe’s Ohel is the most visited Jewish holy site in North America, drawing people from all walks of life in a way similar only to the Western Wall in Israel. It is common for people to visit the Ohel to pray in proximity to a personal or professional milestone—whether a bar or bat mitzvah, wedding, anniversary, starting a new business or overcoming personal challenges. At the time of his visit, the president had survived two assassination attempts in nearly as many months.

In his letter, addressed to the Rebbe’s thousands of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries and the millions of people around the world whom he continues to inspire, Trump noted that he draws strength from the Rebbe’s legacy as he navigates an increasingly complicated world.

“Through great strength, unflinching resolve, and much prayer, I am committed to returning our entire world—not least in the Middle East, as we witnessed over the past week— and to stamping out anti-Semitic hate wherever it rears its head. In doing this, we will restore to its tradition of greatness and usher in a new Golden Age for the entire world. This, I believe, is the Rebbe’s legacy.”