Alaska to celebrate Education and Sharing Day

Schools across the Valley and across the nation will celebrate Education and Sharing Day on March 29.

Since 1978, this day has been recognized in the United States to commemorate the teachings of ancient Jewish principles on how to live a better, more successful life. It is also celebrated in honor of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the greatest Jewish leader of recent times and his teachings on how to expand the mind, body and spirit outside of the classroom.

“The idea of Education and Sharing Day is that education is much more than facts and figures, much more than academic success,” Rabbi Mendy Greenberg of the Mat-Su Jewish Center Chabad said. “The most important part of education is the idea of morality and ethics, of having a moral compass. Sometimes these things could be overlooked by parents, by educators, by society, and instead we put the main focus on facts and figures, the main focus on reading, writing, math, science, which are all good things. But it’s important and extremely crucial to have a proper moral foundation.”

Alaska State Governor Mike Dunleavy, the Alaska State Legislator, Mayors Edna DeVries of the Mat-Su Borough, Glenda Ledford of Wasilla and Jim Cooper of Palmer and the Mat-Su School District School Board have all proclaimed March 29th as the celebration of Education and Sharing Day and acknowledged the importance of its meaning.

Rabbi Mendy Greenberg and his father Rabbi Yosef Greenberg, from the Alaska Jewish Campus in Anchorage and the regional director of the Chabad Movement in Alaska, visited Juneau on March 11th to engage with the Alaska state house and senate. Rabbi Mendy Greenberg opened the senate meeting and Rabbi Yosef Greenberg opened the house meeting with prayers and invocation, all in connection with honoring Education and Sharing Day this year.

For several years, schools across the Valley have practiced these principles by starting the day with a full minute of silence. Students have those 60 seconds to consider their values, their faith, their integrity and their meaning and purpose in life.

“The first thing in their day when they come to school, before they do anything, before they study anything, they have 60 seconds of thinking about values, about accountability, about integrity, about faith, about purpose of life, about meaning,” Rabbi Mendy Greenberg said. “It’s a very very powerful moment and sends a very powerful message to our students, to our children and to the youth, that that comes before everything."

Parents are encouraged to start a conversation with their children on how they can make the most of this time to not only improve their day, but those around them as well. This meaningful conversation between parent and child fosters personal growth that oftentimes doesn’t happen in today’s world of infinite distractions and noise.

“When students begin their day this way, it seems like they make better choices,” Rabbi Mendy Greenberg said. “When [they] begin the day, 60 seconds, [they’re] thinking about that, ‘I was created for a purpose, that there’s values that are unchanging, there are things worth being selfless for, and all of a sudden, I think differently, I make different choices.’”

Learning to be selfless is a large part of Education and Sharing Day. Rabbi Mendy Greenberg spoke about how practicing “Acts of Routine Kindness” as manifested through the daily act of giving and providing for others and builds upon a foundation of kindness and respect.

“When we educate our children to give on a daily basis, even a penny to the charity box, it’s not about how much money is accumulated,” Rabbi Mendy Greenberg said. “When you finish the box, empty it out, give it to the charity of your choice and continue to give the charity, the message that we’re giving to our children and really to everybody, to every one of us, when we are careful to do an act of kindness every single day, an act of selflessness every single day, even if it’s for a second, even if it’s just a coin, it’s like exercise. A few minutes of exercise every day goes a long way.”

To celebrate Education and Sharing Day, the Mat-Su Jewish Center Chabad will be hosting a lecture and fireside chat with author Rabbi Simon Jacobsen on April 27th at 5 p.m. at the Palmer Train Depot. The event, Building a Better America and a Better World, will feature Rabbi Jacobsen who will host the fireside chat alongside MyHouse CEO Michelle Overstreet.

Rabbi Jacobsen’s book, Toward a Meaningful Life, investigates the teachings of the Rebbe and his work to help others better their lives. It is a book meant to expand the mind and allow people to grow in ways they never knew possible.

The event includes a free dinner for those that attend and youth activities will be hosted simultaneously for children that attend with their parents. The event will be hosted in conjunction with MyHouse, The Children’s Place, Thrive Mat-Su, Make a Scene Media, Big Cabbage Radio, the Friends of the Palmer Public Library and the Friends of the Wasilla Public Library.