WATCH: The Rebbe responds to Ronald Reagan's message

Every aspect of a Jew's life has a basis in Torah, and the same is true of expressing gratitude and blessing. One of the first commandments, when the Jews entered the Holy Land, was to bring the first of one's fruits to God. When bringing the offering, one states: "I declare today to the Lord, God..." Rav Saadya Gaon explains that "I declare" is an expression of gratitude. Likewise, a person is obligated to express gratitude to his fellow man. To all those who offered their birthday wishes and blessings, and to those who will yet send their blessings, may each and every one of you be blessed. And even more so, a thank you to our Government. We "Pray for the welfare of the State" in which, by Divine Providence, we reside; for its government, and for the individual elected to lead it. He represents the entire United States. How much more so, then -- if one is required to express thanks to everyone, surely one must reciprocate the blessings extended by the President. And especially, considering his medical condition at this time... When one looks at the attempt that was recently made on his life -- although it is incomprehensible, it did, nevertheless, take place, and by the mercies of Heaven the injury is being treated, and his recovery will be not only speedy, but also complete. Despite the fact that he has not yet fully recovered, he sent his good wishes, even committing them to writing and with his signature. How much more, then, is it most appropriate to reciprocate my gratitude and blessing. He is a person "Upon whom the public relies." "The hearts of kings and princes are in the hands of God" -- through him, God's will is fulfilled for the good of the public, including also the Jewish citizens living in this country amongst all the other nationalities who live here. Therefore, he fully deserves, as stated in the Torah of Truth, the Torah of Life, a special, immense blessing. In truth, his good wishes were intended for the entire movement that was brought here by my father-in-law, the Rebbe, known as "Lubavitch," or "Chabad." Practically speaking, however, they were expressed to an individual who represents the movement. As such, it is incumbent upon me to publicly express my wishes -- not merely because it is incumbent, but they are my sincere wishes -- of a speedy and complete recovery. At the same time, to urge him to utilize the possibilities, the capabilities and the powers which are granted to a person who is selected by the public, especially in a country made up of many nationalities who, together, elect him through a majority. And then, the minority, as well, accepts him as their President and representative, authorizing him to administer on their behalf all of their country's affairs, both foreign and domestic. May he utilize these capabilities to their fullest, for the public and private good. In Torah, "the majority rules," but still, every individual's inherent value is preserved. And since Torah demands that a true leader advocate both for the community's interest and for the individual's interest -- and Torah does not demand the impossible -- it is certain, therefore -- even self-understood -- that these two goals can be attained without contradiction between public and individual interests, such that the two complement each other. This brings perfection both to the individual and the community, and ultimately to the entire world. This knowledge, that God placed this responsibility upon him to serve and assist, proves that it is surely within his power to do so. He need only actualize his potential. But in order to actualize it, he must have no future distractions from health problems. In addition to his speedy and complete recovery, and to his respite from all other distractions -- he merits to bring about the will of the Creator and its Director, Who conducts the world in every particular detail -- Who is called "King of kings," Almighty God -- and to fulfill His will fully, with joy and happiness... When he resolves firmly to do so, God assists him to achieve this even more completely than could have been envisioned. This brings me to the second part of the thanks I wish to express to the President: First and foremost, may he have a full recovery of his body. Then, also, may he use the resources and the powers of the Presidency to spread goodness in all respects, in an open and revealed way, for the benefit of both the community and the individual -- all based upon the recognition that his role and authority are endowed by God Almighty, and He grants the strength to succeed. To succeed such that everyone who he leads will recognize that his leadership is permeated with a faith in the One God, the God of Truth, Who conducts every detail in this world, and certainly "the hearts of kings and princes," and most certainly this country, which plays a leading role in the entire world's affairs. When his actions are based upon, and permeated with, simple faith, a complete faith in the Creator and Director of the world, and he proclaims openly: "In God We Trust" -- not an ordinary faith, but a <i>trust</i> in God -- meaning that God directs everything and man is merely the agent who carries out His direction below -- this faith will surely fortify his spiritual health, and, as a consequence, his physical health as well. This will also bring blessing to all his decisions and all his affairs, especially those affecting the entire country, making them doubly good. On the third day of Creation, Tuesday, God declared twice: "It is good," "Good for Heaven and good for mankind." As discussed many times, there are those who mistakenly think that these are two separate ideals. Rather, just as every moment of the first Tuesday of Creation -- literally, every single individual moment -- was permeated with the "good of Heaven and the good of mankind," so too, a person's every action for the good of his fellow man must be permeated by a faith in what is "good for Heaven." And when one acts for the sake of Heaven, he elicits blessing not only for himself, but also for all mankind. The Baal Shem Tov teaches that everything a person experiences holds a lesson to be derived from it. All the more with a major event that has shaken the entire country -- it surely holds an important lesson; not just an theoretical, philosophical lesson, but a <i>practical</i> lesson, for "Action is the essential thing." When one reflects upon this shocking deed, the assassination attempt, one must begin with: How could such a thing occur in the first place? It seems to be entirely senseless, to shoot the President... And it was an American citizen, as well. This trauma, if it brings about no tangible lesson or action, is useless. Our reflection must bring about some kind of change, or some type of added action. Our reflection must begin with: How it could happen in the first place that a person should commit such an action that is so incomprehensible, at odds with all reason and sensibility? In the past it has been argued that the root of all crime is poverty, which embitters the person, which, in turn, leads to feelings of revenge... First of all, this contradicts the Talmud's teaching to the contrary: "Be vigilant with the children of the poor, for from them Torah scholarship will spring forth" -- precisely <i>because</i> they are poor. This carries over into the world in general: When the children of the poor receive a proper education, the fact that they are financially disadvantaged, on a lower level of the economic ladder relative to their peers, motivates them to strive and exert themselves even more, to do even better in matters of kindness and compassion, outshining those who are not financially challenged, from a middle class or an affluent background. in the obligation to treat the children of the poor with extra care, because: "Torah comes forth from them," more than from the children of the rich. And the same principle applies to all nations of the world: When a person grows up in poverty, it is human nature that he exerts more of his energies -- enlisting others to help him -- not to descend into immorality. On the contrary, he strives to stand above it and reach true heights endeavoring to prove that, notwithstanding the challenges of poverty, he overcame them, achieving greater, higher, and farther-reaching accomplishments than those of the wealthy. In fact, we see: The one who attempted the assassination did not grow up in poverty -- to the contrary, he was raised amidst affluence. "His father never scolded him," and apparently he was denied nothing. So lest it be argued that poverty is the root of crime, this incident makes it clear that the root-cause of negative behavior cannot be traced to poverty, but somewhere else. Where can we find the cause? The present case points us toward education. First of all, "his father never scolded him." Secondly, he was not instilled with faith: A simple faith in the existence of the Creator and Master of the universe, Who watches every individual, which negates the notion that life is a free-for-all in which one need only be 'smart' enough -- I won't say 'wise,' because in truth, it's foolishness to utilize one's opportunities in order to inflict harm upon someone else -- and in the process, inflict greater harm upon oneself than the other, for the other person is harmed <i>physically</i>, while the perpetrator harms himself both physically and spiritually -- both in this world and the World to Come. When education is established only as an accumulation of knowledge, when as long as knowledge of certain subjects is obtained, one is considered "educated," then if the child excels in his studies, or even if perhaps he didn't excel, he can also add to his array of knowledge the skill of handling arms. Perhaps he even masters the subject. But his accumulation of knowledge is not connected to a purpose -- the ideal purpose being, to bring true good to himself and to his surroundings; rather the goal is to prove that "I am the only one that matters," and therefore, "Why should I consider another person, never mind <i>obey</i> someone else?" And he is raised according to the philosophy of liberalism, that one must not interfere in a child's life, he must be allowed to act as he wishes. As to the verse, "Man is born a wild donkey" -- the argument goes: "If God created him that way, it's no business of his father and mother to guide him." They allow him to 'pasture' and behave as he sees fit. True, by law one is required to send their child to school, but the school is permeated with the notion that its role is to transmit secular knowledge. Not to form or to create the child's inner-self -- that he be a kind person; that he know that although he is accumulating knowledge in school, his most important knowledge is how to do good around himself, and that this is the truest good for himself, as well. But this doesn't even enter the curriculum. And whatever <i>is</i> included is taught as fear of punishment: "If you are fool enough to be caught, you will be punished." And this only compounds the attitude which he was already taught, that he must fend for himself, and he can do as he chooses, so certainly he can outsmart the system, Indeed, how can he truly demonstrate his greatness? By causing pain or damage, proving that he has no consideration of those around him. The fact that above him is "An Eye that sees and an Ear that hears," he's never heard it spoken in a sincere manner. If it was ever mentioned, it was superficial lip-service. And certainly once he set foot in school, it was made clear to him that the school should not get involved in his character and his conduct; he's an independent person and the school merely offers the opportunity to accumulate knowledge which he can later use to whatever end he sees fit. And if he might hear God's Name mentioned, it is with the explanation that there must be a separation<i></i> between "education" and "faith" -- not that both are necessary, taught at separate times, but rather they are "separated," Heaven forefend, such that no funding is given toward learning about belief in God, no time is allocated for prayer to the Creator and Director of the Universe. And this is all supported by the claim that this is a principle which is fundamental to the spirit of this country -- when everybody knows the exact opposite to be the truth: This country came into existence as a result of people who came here because they were disallowed from believing in the Creator and Director of the Universe as they saw fit; they were forced to flee from their homeland and they found refuge here and established this country, a place where they could believe in, and serve, the Creator and Director of the Universe, and for each group to worship God as they wish. But now this has been twisted and contrived -- and the education system established -- such that education is not only <i>separate</i> from religion, but with the emphasis that religion is not allowed -- God forbid -- to be mentioned to children in school, because it violates the very foundations of the country. For hours on end, all the child hears about is the greatness of man, and his own greatness. Certainly God's <i>greatness</i> is never mentioned -- but even His <i>existence</i> is never mentioned. This leads to the aforementioned event, and the behavior discussed earlier. To our great sorrow, they're exploring all kinds of means to prevent such attacks in the future. But what are they focusing on? How to prevent the <i>outcomes</i>, the symptoms. We're not focusing on the underlying philosophy, the approach, which led to this outcome. A person who is ill can be healed in one of two ways: One way is to wait until he's in grave danger, and then begin to seek a remedy, or he can be sent to a hospital, where he will be confined due to his unstable condition, for he is unhinged. Then there is the correct approach: To ensure from the start that "All the illnesses that I visited upon Egypt will not befall you." The disease of crime is a reality, but the recognition of this illness must cause us to change our approach to education to prevent the disease in the first place -- and especially before it infects the children of the <i>wealthy</i>. For the children of poor homes to be able to commit a crime, they must overcome many obstacles until they can obtain the money and develop the audacity to go through with it. With the children of affluent homes, however, many of their parents have abdicated their responsibility to raise children who believe in God -- because the parents themselves don't have as much faith as they should... They still feel that they must do something for their child, so they give him his every wish; and he is constantly told, with a pat on the back: "You're a good boy! You're healthy, you're smart..." And we see the results in the news... He has no shortage of money, so he buys weapons. His warped education brought this... 'Warped' because it's based on the belief that one's own strength and power bring prosperity. The child is taught to focus on bolstering his or her own bodily strength through exercise; they're taught how to manipulate everything around them to serve their own desires. And his desires have remained as they were are birth -- in the words of the verse, "A person is born a wild donkey" -- his desires were never trained. Any discussion of ethics is, at best, based upon the fear of punishment, and is conducted so as to undermine -- either directly or indirectly -- the realization that "An Eye sees and an Ear hears" all his actions. But had this been properly instilled, then just as when the security man is standing right next to him watching him pull out his gun, he would have been deterred from committing a crime... But what if he is standing <i>behind</i> the security man? To think about God in Heaven, Who has "An Eye that sees and an Ear that hears" -- no one ever taught him to think about God... So he utilizes the wealth, and the freedom granted by this country, -- not to serve God and be peaceful, not to serve the Creator, Whom all intelligent people agree exists, for it was never mentioned. Any mention in this regard was lip service, which immediately turned to discussions of the physical, and then of materialism. To summarize: The recent incident must, first of all, serve as a wake-up call to action: True, it must be voted upon, but if it needs to be reviewed by committees, then be sent for a vote, then sent for a nationwide referendum... -- No one knows what kind of tragedies might occur, God forbid, in between. This is not introducing a "new" resolution; it is based upon the Bible whose values are accepted by all nations, and certainly in this country. When the education of our nation's youth is predicated upon: "I am the Lord your God" -- that there exists a Creator Who gives you strength, and Who gives you life in all places and at all times -- then, when he is taught on this foundation: "Do not steal; do not murder..." since he has already internalized his faith in God, he will certainly not steal nor kill. And then we will do away with the need to heal this "illness" -- we won't arrive at this situation of unhealthy children and students -- certainly not this life-threatening illness, which threatens the lives of others, and endangers the life of the perpetrator, as well. This is the other point, which is also emphasized by the President in his greetings: he holds in especially high esteem the earnest and devoted efforts for education, with the knowledge that the primary point of education is to teach the individual to be an upright person, not to "live wild," but to be a civilized person who takes into consideration society around him. And in order to help raise an upstanding generation, a civilized generation, who will not inflict harm upon themselves or others, then comes the <i>second</i> ingredient: give the child a knowledge of the world around him enabling him to harness the world as a civilized person does, until he maximizes his own potential as an individual based on his personality, his character traits, his nationality, his family, and so on. Indeed, this has been the foundational issue that has been emphasized in recent years: the critical need for proper education. And in recent years, the Presidents have signed proclamations declaring a specific day of the year as "Education Day, USA" -- a day dedicated to practical reflection on the topic of true education, an education that will produce an upright person. Even if <i>at first</i> the child doesn't see it as "his own" straight path, it is only because he is at the early stages of his education. There will then be no need to resort to instilling fear of human law, because he will be educated from his earliest youth -- from the very beginning, at home, and this will continue at school, whichever school it may be. But <i>every</i> school should start the day with a prayer, one that is uniform for all students. Not to introduce practices that lead to conflict and rifts between people, but a simple, brief mention of the existence of "One God," Who is "An Eye that sees and an Ear that hears." This means that God sees everything that is happening in this school, everything that happens with this boy or girl in their lives, and He provides the bread that they eat each and every day. A child's starts his day thanking God: "I offer thanks to You, living and eternal King, for You have mercifully restored my soul within me; Your faithfulness is great!" -- that is the version which Jews recite, Jewish children in particular, in their homes, as soon as they awaken and start their day. Every school should adopt a similar brief prayer. Today circumstances have changed -- the principal education of boys and girls is not in their home, by their father and mother, as in times past. Rather, as we see in the case of the would-be assassin, today one cannot rely on the parents; the responsibility of a child's education rests entirely upon the school. But the school's first and foremost responsibility is to transform each student from the wildness of youth, and develop him into an upstanding human being -- by focusing on character development and making it foremost in the child's mind, only <i>afterwards</i> explaining to him that to help him become a more productive human being he needs to study the various other subjects taught at school as well. A specific day is designated to reflect upon this, and with the emphasis that this does not mean undertaking a <i>new</i> resolution -- the "resolution" was already made when the Bible, the Torah, was given and the people accepted it fully. God declares: "I am God, your Lord." And He commands: "Honor your father and mother." And He commands: "Do not steal." "Do not murder." And further: "Do not covet anything that belongs to your fellow man." One must respect another person's property, no matter how small it is; how much more so must one respect another person's health; how much more so his life. Then it will never occur to him in the first place that he should be seeking weapons, even for self-protection, because he's living with the awareness and assurance of the "Eye that sees and Ear that hears." And it goes without saying that it will never occur to him to use a weapon to commit a crime. This is the key: when every child, and all children, in this country, and all countries, begin their school day with the heartfelt and sincere reminder from their teacher -- who is himself a true role model in this regard -- and its relevance is explained not just in word, but also in deed: That there is a God, Who sees and hears all a person's actions -- then peace and tranquility will exist in this country, peace between man and man, peace between city and city, and peace throughout the land, spreading to all the other countries where its influence reaches; a true peace, because it is established upon "He Who grants peace," God, "Whose Name is Peace." It will be a lasting, pervasive peace. And this will bring the entire world -- beginning with this country -- to be worthy of Moshiach and the Messianic Age, when, "I will elevate all the nations... to serve God as one." May it be speedily in our days, with the true and complete Redemption, through our righteous Moshiach. L'chaim.