Gillian Smith, the executive director of Safety and Youth Development, working with the board of Ed, with the Mayor’s Office, met with Avraham Frank, International Director of the Moment of Silence, Shira Frank LCSW, and Principal Solomon Long (retired principal of PS 91 in Crown Heights), to discuss how the Moment of Silence can help the NYC community-at-large, earlier this month.
After viewing the website momentofsilence.info, and reading the testimonial letters of students, Ms. Smith was very interested in starting a Moment of Silence pilot program, in various NYC public schools. She has since sent this recommendation to the Mayor, as well as being sent out to school principals, throughout NYC.
Rabbi Avraham Frank has also been working with the Assemblyman Brian Cunningham (District 43) and David Weprin (District 24), who recently agreed to write legislation to mandate the Moment of Silence in the NYC classrooms.
In relation to previous Moment of Silence state mandated legislation, Arkansas was the first state to mandate MOS, as was advocated by the Rebbe. Florida was the second, which was accomplished through the combined efforts of several Shluchim, led by Rabbi Shneur Zalman Oirechman. Recently, Arizona has become the third state, with the efforts led by Rabbi Zalman Levertov, Rabbi Pinchas Allouche, and Adam Kwasman. Kentucky has passed through the first stage of the process, with the efforts of Rabbi Avrohom Litvin. In Ohio, Rabbi Aryeh Kaltman is working on bi-partisan efforts to pass the bill (13 other states passed MOS bills prior to 1984).
Rabbi Frank is ready to help anyone with promoting MOS at the state level or in local schools. He has developed a highly successful strategy for working together with principals, school administrations, and parents.
Please visit momentofsilence.info, to learn more about this important initiative of the Rebbe.
Avraham Frank can be contacted at 718-419-4817, or [email protected].
She’s in the second picture…on the right
This is amazing news
In so much חושך 🙏
Now more then ever much needed!
This listing of states where it’s mandates is entirely inaccurate. These are perhaps the most recent states to mandate MOS but definitely not the only ones.
And there are many more states in which it’s permitted, lf not mandated.
This Rabbi has working for years and maybe decades on this project. So happy to see he has found partners that appreciate this very important project.
Perhaps you didn’t notice the end of the fourth paragraph of this press release, which mentions 13 states that have had the Moment of Silence mandated, in the past. These states however, didn’t include the Rebbe’s most essential childush,, of a child speaking to their parents the night before, discussing concepts of morality and spirituality, that the child may think of, during the next day’s Moment of Silence. In terms of states that have the Moment of Silence as optional, very few schools actually implement the Moment of Silence, in such locations. Optional activities in the classroom are often avoided… Read more »