Registration is now open for the summer Merkos Shlichus program. Register at ms.lubavitch.com, you have to get you application in before May 25th, applications will not be accepted afterwards.
Telluride, CO — Two Chabad-Lubavitch rabbinical students came to Telluride from Colorado Springs this week to educate locals on the Jewish holiday Passover, which began last night (Monday) at sundown.
With just a few contacts, Laibel Kesselman and Berel Zaklikofsky came into Telluride Tuesday.
Kesselman said the town has been very receptive to the visit, and also curious.
In the picture is the Bochurim who were sent under Merkos Shlichus to places far and far to conduct Sadorim for Yidden.
Brooklyn, NY — A special preparatory study day was held last week Thursday for around a hundred Bochrim who are heading out today, Sunday, on Shlichus to various places in Russia, under Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch’s Merkos Shlichus program.
More pictures in the Extended Article!
Yesterday interviews began for potential Merkos Shluchim to Russia for Pesach. Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, Vice Chairman of Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch, who oversees this project, conducted the interviews. He took a personal interest in each group and sat for some time interviewing them.
Last year hundreds of Bochurim traveled around the world from Bulgaria to Bloivia and from Africa to Nepal in order to conduct Sedorim and spread the message of Pesach. The Bochurim are sent to small towns and villages where there is no Shliach or Rabbi and the only exposure they get to Yiddishkeit is these visits.
More in the Extended Article!
Jews scattered by the winds of exile tend to land in metropolitan clumps or at least in suburban splotches. But then there are those who follow their hearts to the heartland, their dreams of financial success or adventure to the crannies of the country, the nooks of the nation. For many of those Jews living so far off the beaten track that they’re teetering on the edge of civilization, the 230 Merkos Shluchim sent out by the educational division of Chabad-Lubavitch to posts around the world this summer may be the only rabbis or the only other Jews they see all year. All summer long, the 20-something rabbinical students cruised the suburbs of the Diaspora, looking for Jews who might want to connect.
Abraham Ungar was at work in his apartment when he heard the familiar Jewish greeting over the door intercom. Shalom.
He greeted the two bearded men at the front door and chatted in Hebrew as he led them to his apartment.
“Why are you here?” Ungar asked the rabbinic students in English once they’d settled in the living room. “I’m very glad to meet you, but why are you here?”
Simcha Cruz, CA — For the past two weeks, Yossi Berktin and Pinchas Taylor, a couple of young single Jewish men from Morristown, N.J., have been wandering the streets of Simcha Cruz County, searching for a connection, hoping to rekindle that old flame called heritage.
“It’s kind of like a blind date,” Berktin said of their methods, which involve stopping people on the street and sparking conversations with strangers about religion and urging fellow Jews to reconnect with faith and prepare for coming of the messiah.
“Making people aware that the world is building toward something,” Berktin said. “It’s not just random. There’s a goal or a purpose in the world.”
Nyack, NY — Dressed in their traditional black suits, pristine snow-white shirts and black hats, rabbinical students Yehuda Blotner and Yehoshua Dubinsky have been walking the streets of Nyack to spread the word about Judaism.
Blotner, 24, and Dubinsky, 22, are rabbinical students of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of the Chabad Lubavitch movement in Brooklyn.
The two are among 280 senior Lubavitcher rabbinical students who are spending the summer on Torah-spreading missions throughout the world.
Rabbinic students Dov Herman, 22, and Shmuel Konikov, 24, plan to use humor and anecdotes of Jewish life to bring Jewish resources to central Oregon during August.
The duo are two of the some 280 senior Lubavicher Rabbinic students who will spend their summer on a mission to reach hundreds of Jewish communities throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.
“They are very funny young men,” Chabad of Oregon Rabbi Moshe Wilhelm said of Herman and Konikov.
Konikov, who is in Oregon for the first time, said that he enjoys Jewish humor. Using traditional Jewish jokes and funny tales of past experiences, Konikov said he likes to get a laugh. Originally from Englewood, N.J., Konikov has spent time in many places around the globe, including Hong Kong and Germany, so he has a diverse range of experiences to share.
Salem, OR – “Reaching every person on his own level—that’s what we have to offer him or her,” said Rabbi Reuven Gitter of his three-week assignment to spread the light of Judaism in Salem and surrounding areas.
As 280 Bochurim prepare to embark on Merkos Shlichus to hundreds of cities worldwide, the Hanholo of Merkas L’inyonei Chinuch held a meeting at the Jewish Children’s Museum to help the Bochurim prepare for their Shlichus. The gathering was chaired by Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, Vice Chairman of Merkos.
After welcoming the Bochurim, Rabbi Kotlarsky introduced R’ Abba Perlmutter of California’s Shul by the Shore as the first speaker of the session. R’ Perlmutter told the crowd to “be smart, be professional and take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself” to meet Jewish people and help them experience something Jewish.
More pictures in the Extended Article!
The Merkos Shlichus office is pleased to announce that registration is in full gear for summer Merkos Shlichus 5766. Shluchim and Bochrim that are interested in Merkos Shlichus can sign up at http://ms.lubavitch.com/
Registration will close on Sunday Ches Sivan – Isru Chag, so please make sure to sign up on time.
Not many college-age students would give up their summer to spread religious inspiration and knowledge, but for two Jewish men, there’s no better way to vacation.
“They don’t need me in New York; they’ve got enough of my guys in New York. They need me in Montana,” said Rabbi Chaim Bruk, who is from Brooklyn.
As a member of Chabad-Lubavitch, 23-year-old Bruk is spending his second summer reaching out to Jews in Montana. Joining him is 20-year-old Arik Denebeim from Palm Springs, Calif., a rabbinical student who’ll be ordained in two years.
Chabad-Lubavitch is a Jewish organization headquartered in Brooklyn, N.Y. The organization educates and provides religious support to isolated Jewish populations.
Chabad is a Hebrew acronym for the words meaning wisdom, understanding and knowledge, Bruk said. Lubavitch is a town in White Russia, the region commonly known as Belarus, where the religious organization originated.
