Moment of Silence
IT’S A SILENT REVOLUTION, orchestrated by a single person on
a part-time basis, but it is already seeing success in the U.S., in Israel, and
in a dozen more countries. Here is the fascinating, untold story of the Rebbe’s
inspired Moment of Silence initiative. In 1983 the Rebbe called for every
public school to begin its day with a Moment of Silence, in order to instill a
sense of reverence for the Eye that sees and the Ear that hears: “As many
parents have not given their child the proper moral upbringing…schools need
to become more involved in this process.”
And then there is the matter of crime which is a direct result of lack
of morals and not, as some would say, a direct result of poverty. The Congressional
record of June 13, 2000, finds that “violent criminals are overwhelmingly those
who grew up without fathers.” Boys growing up without physical fathers
desperately need at least a spiritual Father, or a terrible lawlessness, a lack
of self-control and lack of conscience, is often result, G-d forbid. Boys
growing up without fathers need a connection with their Father in Heaven and
how, other than through a daily Moment of Silence, will they get it? As Rabbi
Avraham Frank says, “What will guarantee that our children will go in the correct
path? We must raise them with the awareness of a Higher Authority, a Higher
Being to whom they must answer, to ensure that they grow up to be moral
citizens.”
We are working with Rabbi Frank on an international scale.
There are now schools in British Columbia, Mexico, Trinidad, Australia, Nigeria
and Ireland, practicing the daily Moment of Silence. A principal in British
Columbia implemented MOS with the students, and contributed 120 letters towards
his upcoming book. The principal was so enthusiastic that he called the local
radio and television stations to report the success of MOS. This television
presentation was so successful that the neighboring TV station in Vancouver
wants to follow up and explore this further. Unofficially, we were told that over
800 schools have implemented it in South America. In Argentina IELADEINU has
taken some 300 children under its wings in a way that has drawn the attention
of UNICEF and become the subject of a book by UNESCO.
As the director
of the Moment of Silence program
around the world .We currently have over 1100 schools implementing this free
program. The goal of the program is to promote morality and uplift the
educational and psychological well-being of every student. Indeed, the program
is successfully doing just that, as evidenced by the letters the children have
written where they say that it calms them down, increases their focusing, makes
them happy, and increases bonding with siblings and parents.
The dynamics
are simple: Every day before school starts an announcement is made that the
school will be having a minute of silence. The parents are notified to please
discuss with their child what they should think about. About two weeks later,
the children are asked to write memos about what the Moment of Silence means to
them. Then, an assembly is held, where each child who wrote a letter, is
awarded with a certificate and a prize.
I have had the
honor of working alongside Rabbi Yakov Cohen, who has been most instrumental in
spreading this program to places where it would not ordinarily reach. Through
Rabbi Cohen’s influence at the United Nations, I was asked to speak and was a
panel member on the topic of: how we can prevent terrorism around the world, in
front of anti-terrorist groups. I made the acquaintance of Ugogi Ugoji A. Eze, Esq. President & Founder of
the Eng. Aja Eze Foundation, who
introduced me to Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba
Director of the New Era Educational & Charitable Support Foundation, Nigeria
URI West Africa Regional Coordinator,
Project Happiness. I telephoned Mr. Ivorgba, and convinced him to
implement Moment of Silence. He was more than obliging, and has implemented
Moment of Silence in several schools already.
Rabbi Cohen, in light of his prestige, will be continuing his campaign to introduce Moment of Silence to several more African nations in the near future.
