NJ Senator Frank Lautenberg Passes Away, 89

Today, New Jersey Senator Frank Raleigh Lautenberg passed away at the age of 89. Raised in a non-religious home, he came to meet the Lubavitcher Rebbe as the then head of the UJA. Upon reflecting on this meeting he conceded that the Rebbe was indeed correct on matters of assimilation.

Born in 1924 to an impoverished Jewish couple. His parents were hardworking immigrants from Poland and Russia, who had come to the United States with their families as young children. Throughout their son’s childhood they worked long days in a succession of small stores they bought and operated to try and sustain their family.

Although his parents tried to join a synagogue, they were turned away due to lack of money to pay the membership fees. “I was not brought up in a religious home,” said Mr. Lautenberg. “We were proud of our heritage but did not practice any of the rituals and observances. I did not attend Hebrew school either.”

Before beginning his political career, Mr. Lautenberg was CEO of Automatic Data Processing, the first payroll service company in the United States, which later became one of the largest computing service companies in the world.

A JEWISH CONNECTION

Mr. Lautenberg’s first real connection to Judaism began when he was appointed chairman of the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) in 1975. “It changed my life,” he said. “When I got the chance to be involved in the Jewish community, and to see what genuine philanthropy meant to people, it was an energizing experience.”

Shortly after he began working with the organization, Mr. Lautenberg and his associate, Mr. Adler, met with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory. At the time the UJA was the main Jewish organization involved in fundraising significant amounts of money, and Mr. Lautenberg felt he should discuss his new responsibility with the Rebbe.

“I wanted to hear what the Rebbe, whose influence extended across the globe, had to say,” Lautenberg recalled. “I wanted to try and understand what it was that attracted millions of people to him, and I wanted to better understand the responsibilities of a Jewish leader.”

The meeting went on for a full hour, and “right from the beginning I recognized the depth and breadth of the Rebbe’s knowledge,” Lautenberg said.

The Rebbe had a clear message to share with the delegates from the UJA, and he had confidence in them. “I believe that you are certainly not afraid to do something new, or do something that can be perceived by someone as a radical change,” said the Rebbe.

The Rebbe felt that the UJA could function even more effectively than it already was. While he recognized the need for fundraising, the Rebbe also felt that the fundraising should not be the organization’s only central goal.

Mr. Lautenberg and Mr. Adler listened carefully as the Rebbe emphasized the urgent need for assimilation prevention “to prevent the Jewish people from disappearing.” The Rebbe explained that although one cannot compare assimilation to the atrocities of World War II, both lead to the same end: the loss of future Jews.

PREVENTING ASSIMILATION

The Rebbe outlined the steps he felt the UJA should take in this new direction—prevention of assimilation. Just as a person’s priority is to his own children, before his neighbor’s children, explained the Rebbe, the UJA’s priority needs to be working with the Jewish community rather than other communities. “You must do something to save the Jewish people!” the Rebbe emphasized.

The survival of the Jewish nation is good for the entire world, explained the Rebbe, because a Jew is not fully productive when he is outside of his natural environment (the Jewish nation). “If I will place a vegetable, a human being or an animal in a habitat that is not according to his behavior, not according to his needs, he will be, maybe, productive, but he cannot be efficient in the same measure,” the Rebbe said. Jews are actually able to contribute more to society when staying within the Jewish faith.

REFLECTIONS

Lautenberg, who was later elected a United States senator, remembers the encounter well. “The Rebbe gave me his full attention,” he said. “I was deeply impressed with his understanding of the needs of the Jewish nation and how to protect their interests.”

“At that time I did not agree with the Rebbe,” he continued on changing the priority to education. “But many years later, I see that he was correct. The Rebbe saw Jewish education as a priority; he saw very far ahead, what the rest of us could not yet understand.”