20th Anniversary Of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson's Death Draws Thousands To Resting Place

20 Years After The Death Of 'The Rebbe', Pilgrims Flock To His Grave
Backdropped by a huge poster showing Lubavitcher rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a group of Jewish Orthodox men pray during a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of his passing in Yad Eliyahu stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday June 21, 2004. Members from the Chabad Hasidic sect crowded into the stadium for the memorial ceremonies. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Backdropped by a huge poster showing Lubavitcher rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a group of Jewish Orthodox men pray during a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of his passing in Yad Eliyahu stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday June 21, 2004. Members from the Chabad Hasidic sect crowded into the stadium for the memorial ceremonies. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

It has been 20 years since the death of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, also called the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who is considered by many in the Jewish community to be one of the most influential rabbis in modern history.

To mark the anniversary of his death, more than 50,000 pilgrims traveled to the rabbi's resting place on July 1, which coincides this year with the Hebrew date, Gimmel Tammuz -- the day Schneerson died in 1994. The rabbi's gravesite is also called "The Ohel" in the Jewish community, a term which refers to a structure built over the resting place of a "righteous person." Many believe the site to be a sacred place where visitors may continue to receive lessons and blessings from the rabbi posthumously.

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Visitors pray at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson June 30, 2014 at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in the Queens borough of New York. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
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Visitors pray at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson June 30, 2014 at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in the Queens borough of New York. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
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Visitors pray at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson June 30, 2014 at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in the Queens borough of New York. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
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A visitor prays at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson June 30, 2014 at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in the Queens borough of New York. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
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Visitors pray at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson June 30, 2014 at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in the Queens borough of New York. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
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Visitors pray at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson June 30, 2014 at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in the Queens borough of New York. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
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Visitors pray at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson June 30, 2014 at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in the Queens borough of New York. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
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Visitors pray at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson June 30, 2014 at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in the Queens borough of New York. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
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A visitor prays at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson June 30, 2014 at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in the Queens borough of New York. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 30: Visitors pray at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson June 30, 2014 at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in the Queens borough of New York. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
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A visitor prays at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson June 30, 2014 at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in the Queens borough of New York. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

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