| 1 | 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 186 |
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| 2 | 2 | | WHEREAS, For more than four decades, every U.S. president |
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| 3 | 3 | | has declared the annual observance of Education and Sharing Day |
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| 4 | 4 | | in honor of the birthday of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson and |
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| 5 | 5 | | his contributions to education; and |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, One of the most celebrated figures in 20th century |
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| 7 | 7 | | Judaism, Rabbi Schneerson was born in Ukraine in 1902; he |
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| 8 | 8 | | demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for religious scholarship at |
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| 9 | 9 | | a young age, mastering the entire Talmud and many of its |
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| 10 | 10 | | commentaries by the age of 17; in the 1920s, he became part of the |
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| 11 | 11 | | inner circle of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the leader of the |
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| 12 | 12 | | Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Judaism, and he married the Rebbe's |
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| 13 | 13 | | daughter, Chaya Mushka; forced to flee Berlin and later Paris |
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| 14 | 14 | | because of Nazi anti-Semitism, the couple settled in New York |
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| 15 | 15 | | City in 1941; and |
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| 16 | 16 | | WHEREAS, In 1951, Rabbi Schneerson officially succeeded |
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| 17 | 17 | | his father-in-law as the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and over the next 44 |
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| 18 | 18 | | years, he built the movement into a worldwide community of |
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| 19 | 19 | | 200,000 members; a strong advocate for children and education, he |
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| 20 | 20 | | believed that schools should stress both academic achievement |
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| 21 | 21 | | and character building, and he established several thousand |
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| 22 | 22 | | Orthodox Jewish schools and educational centers around the globe |
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| 23 | 23 | | before his passing in 1994; and |
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| 24 | 24 | | WHEREAS, In recognition of Rabbi Schneerson's advocacy, |
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| 25 | 25 | | President Jimmy Carter proclaimed the first Education and |
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| 26 | 26 | | Sharing Day in 1978, and the tradition has continued each year |
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| 27 | 27 | | since; the rabbi's birthday is celebrated on 11 Nissan of the |
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| 28 | 28 | | Jewish liturgical calendar, or four days before Passover, and in |
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| 29 | 29 | | 2021 it falls on March 24; his accolades further include a |
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| 30 | 30 | | Congressional Gold Medal, which he received posthumously in |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1995; and |
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| 32 | 32 | | WHEREAS, In the midst of a global pandemic that has disrupted |
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| 33 | 33 | | traditional models of education across the nation, Education and |
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| 34 | 34 | | Sharing Day represents an important opportunity for Texans to |
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| 35 | 35 | | reflect not just on how to foster academic achievement in young |
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| 36 | 36 | | people but also on the core values that should be imparted to |
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| 37 | 37 | | children and adults alike; now, therefore, be it |
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| 38 | 38 | | RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 87th Texas Legislature |
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| 39 | 39 | | hereby recognize March 24, 2021, as Education and Sharing Day. |
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| 40 | 40 | | Menéndez, Blanco |
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| 41 | 41 | | ________________________________ |
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| 42 | 42 | | President of the Senate |
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| 43 | 43 | | I hereby certify that the |
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| 44 | 44 | | above Resolution was adopted by |
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| 45 | 45 | | the Senate on March 24, 2021. |
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| 46 | 46 | | ________________________________ |
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| 47 | 47 | | Secretary of the Senate |
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| 48 | 48 | | ________________________________ |
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| 49 | 49 | | Member, Texas Senate |
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| 50 | 50 | | ________________________________ |
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| 51 | 51 | | Member, Texas Senate |
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