LIHU‘E — Mayor Derek Kawakami received a box of hand-made matzo from Israel Monday, not because it is Education Day but because Passover starts Friday.
Matzo is an unleavened bread eaten by Jews during the holiday of Passover in commemoration of their exodus from Egypt, and just happened to be in one of the student rabbi’s cars, the presentation being done following the announcement of April 12 being celebrated as Education Day.
“Today, April 12, is the 120th anniversary of the birth of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, of righteous memory,” said Rabbi Michoel Goldman. “His birth date has been commemorated as Education &Sharing Day, and presidents, governors and mayors have been celebrating this for at least 40 years.”
Known worldwide as The Rebbe, he was an advocate for children, and spoke about the need for each child to be given an education that would offer them opportunities to succeed. He spoke about the need for education to focus on academic achievements and character building.
Kawakami’s late mother was an educator, and wife Monica is an educator, so the mayor knows the value of quality education.
“We strive for the betterment of all our citizens through an increased focus on education and sharing,” Kawakami said in the Education Day Hawai‘i proclamation.
“Through providing the possibility of an excellent education for all — especially keiki — with which to gain knowledge through rigorous study, we can create hope for a brighter, kinder and more united and prosperous future in the lives of so many.”
The Rebbe, a global advocate for the advancement of education, stressed the importance of moral and ethical education as “the bedrock of humanity and the hallmark of a healthy society,” and strongly urged that education be reinforced by the inculcation of strong moral values, including the values known as the Seven Noahide Laws.
In recognition of the Rebbe’s outstanding and lasting contributions toward improvements in world education, morality and acts of charity, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, and the U.S. Congress has established his birthdate as a national day to raise awareness of and strengthen the education of the nation’s children.
The goal of Education &Sharing Day, in the Rebbe’s words, is to “Put greater emphasis on the promotion of fundamental human rights and obligations of justice and morality, which are the basis of any human society, if it is to be truly human and not turn into a jungle.”
“We presently battle a global pandemic that has disrupted traditional models of education across our nation, while concurrently motivating a focus on the stronger core values we wish to impact to children and adults beyond academic achievement,” Kawakami said in the proclamation.
“We can nurture the unity of diverse peoples through encouraging increased acts of goodness and kindness, imbued with awareness that even a single positive act of an individual can make a major impact in this world.”
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
