500 Pay Tribute to the Lubavitch Rebbe on the occasion of His 20th Yartseit
L'chaim Chabad Lubavitch marked the 20th Yartseit of the Lubavitch Rebbe with an evening of music and inspiration
featuring Chazan Yossi Muller and Keynote speaker Ambassador Yehuda Avner.
The evening was hosted by 
the Heaton Park Shul and was chaired by Rabbi Daniel Walker.
Rabbi Walker welcomed everybody and gave a brief introduction on the significance of the event and introduced the first 2 traditional Chabad Nigunnim (melodies) which were sung by Chazan Muller and his children's Choir.
Personal reflections and memories were given by Rabbi Avrohom Jaffe, rabbi at Kahal Chasidim Lubavitch.
Dayan Berger from the Manchester Beis Din spoke of the Rebbe’s unique contribution in Torah and to world Jewry which is unparalleled in modern history.
A special video presentation featuring Professor Alan Dershowitz, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, Rabbi Steinzalts and New York Times Correspondent Ari Goldman . All spoke of their unique relationship with the Rebbe and what it meant to them personally. “The Rebbe stood out from any other world leader I have ever met” Ari G.
Rabbi Benji Simmons of Stenecourt recited Tehillim for our brethren in Israel followed by a rendition of Acheinu by Chazan Marx from the Heaton Park Shul.
Keynote speaker Ambassador Yehuda Avner was introduced by his nephew David Berkley QC who gave a brief overview of Ambassador Avner’s great achievements and the ambassador’s personal connection with the Rebbe.
Former Israeli diplomat and Keynote speaker Yehuda Avner told guests "When we met in 1979, the ayatollahs had seized power in Tehran as part of the Iranian Revolution.
"When I asked the Rebbe to analyse the consequences of what the radical Islamists would do, he said they would spread a venomous doctrine across the world.
"This was in 1979, before anyone had heard about Islamic jihadism.
"At the time, the Americans were trying to placate the ayatollahs and they were supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan."
Manchester-born Mr Avner, who moved to then-Palestine in 1947, also told guests that the Rebbe implored Israel to be hesitant before making any agreements about its borders with its Arab neighbors.
Mr Avner, who served as speechwriter and secretary to Israeli prime ministers Levi Eshkol and Golda Meir, and as adviser to prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin and Shimon Peres, also spoke on being a go-between the Rebbe and the prime ministers - especially Menachem Begin.
He said: "Begin would call the Rebbe, often in the middle of the night.
"In June, 1977, Begin was on his way to Washington for talks with (then-president) Jimmy Carter and he wanted to pay his respects to the Rebbe.
"So he dropped into the Lubavitch headquarters in Brooklyn."
Paying tribute to the Rebbe, Mr Avner said he "dwelled on a mystical plane, one to which I could never aspire to".
He added: "The Rebbe was legendary and immortal. His leadership sparked a torch of Jewish revival across all continents.
"His presence was so strong that it is sustained to this day through the work of thousands of chassidim, shlichim and disciples who dedicate their lives to the building of yiddishkeit, often in the most remote corners of the earth."
Rabbi Yisroel Cohen director of L'chaim Chabad Lubavitch thanked the events speakers, and those who helped organise the event which include Rabbi Levi Director of JLI, Rabbi Shneur from Chabad in the City Centre, Rabbi Peretz Chein from Chabad of Cheadle, Rabbi Eli Simon from Chabad at Manchester Universities.
Closing remarks was given by Rabbi Dovid Lewis of South Manchester Shul, who urged the crowd to take the Rebbes message to heart "Start today to make the world a better place by adding a good deed."