1956 Shluchim to Hold Historic Reunion

In the spring of 1956, just five years after the Rebbe accepted the leadership of Chabad-Lubavitch, tragedy struck Kfar Chabad, the Chabad village near Tel Aviv.

A group of Fedayeen terrorists from Egypt infiltrated the village’s vocational training school and murdered five young students and their teacher as they stood in prayer in their classroom.

Kfar Chabad, established in 1948, was then a fledgling village struggling to build its infrastructure. Its residents, predominantly refugees who survived Stalin and Hitler, were hoping to establish their lives anew. The massacre traumatized them, shaking their confidence in the village’s future. They were considering moving elsewhere.

But the Rebbe believed they would find their greatest consolation by remaining and working to realize the vision they had nursed for so long: a thriving community with good schools, where they could give their children a joyful and authentic Jewish education, comfortable homes, and economic opportunities that would allow them to prosper—all the privileges that were denied them in communist Russia. “B’zos tenuchomu”—the Rebbe told them. “In continuing to build, you will find your consolation.”

In his desire to participate in these efforts and console the grieving community, the Rebbe sent 12 senior students from Chabad-Lubavitch Headquarters in New York to spend a month living with the people in Kfar Chabad. The students would reach out to the residents, get to know them and give them the courage and the moral support they needed to remain and continue building the village.

The shluchim were greeted by crowds of chassidim in every city they visited. Over the course of their trip, which took them through England, France, and all over Eretz Yisrael, these young bochurim farbrenged, spoke, and met with community activists, as they brought the chayus and inspiration of 770 wherever they went. Their trip was remembered for decades afterward by children and adults alike.

In the years that followed, these students went on to become prominent shluchim, members of the rebbe’s secretariat, community leaders and activists around the world.

Now, for the first time ever, all twelve of these shluchim, Rabbis Sholom Dovber Butman of Tel Aviv, Eretz Yisroel; Sholom Eidelman of Casablanca, Morocco; Shmuel Fogelman of Brooklyn, New York; Shraga Herzog of London, England; Shlomo Kirsh of Johannesburg, South Africa; Avraham Korf of Miami, Florida; Yehuda Krinsky of Brooklyn, New York; Zushe Posner of Lod, Eretz Yisroel; Faivel Rimler of Brooklyn, New York; Yosef Rosenfeld of Brooklyn, New York; Sholom Dovber Shemtov of Detroit, Michigan; and Dovid Schochet of Toronto, Canada, are coming together from across the globe for a historic reunion, to recount their memories of this monumental shlichus.

The Vaad Talmidei HaTmimim, together with A Chassidisher Derher are pleased to invite Anash, Tmimim, Shluchim, and Orchim to this one-of-a-kind event, where the Shluchim will share details of this unique shlichus, the Rebbe’s intimate involvement, and its immense everlasting effect.

The reunion will take place B’ezras Hashem on Sunday, 25 Tishrei (Isru Chag), at 7:30 p.m. in the Oholei Torah Beis Medrash 667 Eastern Parkway.

A special video presentation will be shown, courtesy of JEM. A unique Teshura, containing rare documents and photos will also be distributed.

The event will be followed by a Chassidisher Farbrengen with the shluchim.

This event is being generously sponsored by Rabbi and Mrs. Hillel Dovid Krinsky and family.

Photos courtesy of Kehot Publication Society and Yemei Temimim Archive.