Abraham Shemtov

Abraham Shemtov (born February 16, 1937, Moscow, Russia) is a Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi and a shaliach ("emissary") of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

[4] In addition, Shemtov had successfully lobbied for a Congressional Gold Medal given to Rabbi Schneerson in September 1995 after his death on June 12, 1994, at 92.

Upon revealing the location of manuscripts at the government-controlled Yiddisher Historic Institute in Warsaw, Shemtov was asked to help assist Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky in pursuing its release.

This practice, which started out as a folksy phenomenon generating legal controversy, has since become a part of the public holiday scene in thousands of cities across the globe.

"[9] The group recounted that they were surprised that, when the time had come for them to leave, the President invited them to remain a little longer, so that he could tell them a story about a rabbi serving as a Navy chaplain.

A colleague in the group, Rabbi Feller, continued, "We place the kippa on the very highest point of our being -- on our head, the vessel of our intellect -- to tell ourselves and the world that there is something which is above man's intellect -- the infinite Wisdom of G-d."[10] Reagan later thanked the group in an official February 12, 1985, White House letter to Shemtov, ending with the prayer: "May the light of the menorah always be a source of strength and inspiration to the Jewish people and to all mankind.

Industrialist Ronald O. Perelman, chairman and chief executive officer of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, is a friend and disciple of Rabbi Shemtov.

[14] On June 21, 2006, Shemtov and Perelman established a fund under the auspices of Agudas Chassidei Chabad to financially assist new Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries.