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Congressional and Chabad Leadership Headline Boteach Fundraiser

House majority leader Eric Cantor, Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky as well as noted philanthropists David and Lara Slager among many other lay leaders joined Rabbi Shmuley Boteach for a breakfast fundraiser benefiting the soon to be launched National Institute of Jewish Values.

The event was graciously hosted at the magnificent home of Jimmy and Lisa Cohen in Alpine, New Jersey.

“The idea [of the institute] is to create the Jewish equivalent of a Rhodes Scholarship” explained Rabbi Boteach, “by seeking out the gifted minds and talents within our community and training them to become true exponents of Jewish values.”

Notable guests included Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky Chairman of Mekos Linyonei Chinuch, and his son Rabbi Shmaya Krinsky of Machne Yisroel, as well as Rabbi Ephraim Mintz director of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky from Merkos Leinyonei Chinuch, and Rabbi Menachem Genack of the OU. The congressman was especially pleased by the presence of his longtime friend Rabbi Michel Gurkov Shliach to Wayne, NJ.

Avi Lesches, Special Assistant to New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand as well as other political activists were in attendance.

Closing a round-table discussion with the Majority Leader Rabbi Gurkov, who officiated at the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Cantor, asked the ranking house member to what he attributed his meteoric rise to prominence. In the spirit of mother’s day Mr. Cantor thanked his dedicated wife Debby “the mother of my children” and Rabbi Gurkov himself, stating “without you I would not be married to her.”

“Rabbi Boteach spoke to your humility while I would like to speak to your temerity” said Rabbi Getzy Markowitz to Mr. Cantor, and went on to extol the majority leader as an example of leadership for young Americans. Commenting on Rabbi Gurkovs question Rabbi Markowitz suggested to Mr. Cantor “providence has placed you where you are,” adding as he raised a glass of lechaim “may g-d bless you with the strength to continue doing all that you do to keep the American dream alive.”

Speaking exclusively with CrownHeights.info, philanthropist Mr. David Slager a prominent supporter of Chabad causes said “when the Rebbe sent Rabbi Shmuley [Boteach] 23 years [to Oxford] ago he recognized his talent for spreading Jewish ideas and values to a wider audience, this is a natural progression of that work and the further fulfillment of the Rebbes brochos, it’s a very worthy project and I am very excited to be a part of it.”

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15 Comments

  • Confused

    I am soooo confused.
    Merkos threw Boteach out as a shliach – now R Krinsky attends his functions?
    Why not bring him back ‘under the umbrella”?

  • mendel

    England’s Loss is Americas gain,
    May you and you family be blessed with only goodness

  • Comeback

    Wow! Rabbi Krinsly seems to have forgiven Boteach! Truly messianic times.
    Shmully, how’d you pull that one off?

  • Sara

    Looks like he was also pardoned by Rabbi Kotlarsky (he sent his son, Rabbi Mendy).

  • Mendy Hecht

    I think people realized that Shmuley did a lot more good than otherwise with his books and his general line of work, not to mention the fact that he’s been moving back toward the center for the past couple of years. If we can embrace every other Jew, why can we not embrace Shmuley?

  • history

    merkos had nothing to do with firing shmuley. he was let go by lubavich of uk. in an ironic twist of events, the shliach that was intrumental in removing shmuley (FV) was himself fired by lubavitch uk (NS) years later.

  • moses@oxford

    lubavitch loves bt’s except for one of our own returns.. welcome home shmully.. you are of the only in chabad willing to put your neck on the line to make progress. Keep on pushing the envelope!

  • to shmuely.

    i just hope it’s for real this time and he’s not doing this for some weird reason..shmuley are you really coming back or is this temporary? please speak up
    what made you decide? what changed?
    i have nothing against you but i just want to know the real motives..only good

  • observer

    Maybe its the kids who never left chabad and were raised with those values and identity who are up for shidduchim now… and chabad realizes Shmuley has the know how and access to the dough. Furthermore, Shmuley isn’t doing anything all that different from any other successful chabad house.

    When Booker runs for president, all Chabadniks will say – he was closely aligned with Chabad from the start and they’ll conveniently forget he was the reason Boteach was asked to step down from the “Jewish” student organization at Oxford…. Furthermore, Chabad at Yale was directly built on the chabad at oxford model (and with the help of Booker, who actually brought the jewish bodies for shabbos.) And Chabad at Harvard was built on the Yale model. But then Boteach amped it up and took it to a national level, which no doubt Krinsky would love to model after.

  • Not Sure

    What’s wrong with Shmuely Boteach? Rabbi Sudak threw him out? So? He threw out Faivish Vogel too, and others except for his children who are the only one’s left there that are capable workers to hold the positions in Lubavitch of UK.