BROOKLYN, NY — Whether by plane, train or car, thousands of Jewish activists from all over the world made their way to the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, N.Y., for the much-anticipated 25th annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries. The rabbis began trickling in on Tuesday as their flights landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Kinus Hashluchim 5769 Kicks Off in Crown Heights
BROOKLYN, NY — Whether by plane, train or car, thousands of Jewish activists from all over the world made their way to the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, N.Y., for the much-anticipated 25th annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries. The rabbis began trickling in on Tuesday as their flights landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
More so than in years past, this year’s conference will shine a spotlight on Jewish unity. It takes place in a year of hakhel, a once in seven years occurrence that was marked during the time of the Holy Temple by a gathering of men, women and children for a special Torah reading in Jerusalem. The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, stressed in his teachings on the subject that in modern times, that spirit of unity can and should be accomplished by Jews everywhere in the world.
“There could hardly be a better way to honor this hakhel year than with the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries,” said Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, conference director and vice chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch. “As is well known, the Rebbe was emphatic about marking the year of hakhel by seizing every chance for Jews to congregate in an atmosphere of holiness.”
For six days, attendees to the largest-ever conference will discuss everything from how to better manage a classroom to how to be better police or military chaplains. Part extended family reunion, part morale booster and part business meeting, the conference will spread across five different venues in Crown Heights because of the sheer number of participants. A separate International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Women Emissaries will take place in February.
This year, the emissaries will be introduced to the new Chabad Teen Network, a program launched at several Chabad Houses across the United States that caters to teenagers and young adults. Coming off of a successful weekend gathering in Crown Heights last week – the project’s first – the teen network boasts a full-color magazine and is aiming to expand its enrollment.
