One Hundred Years After the Harrowing Imprisonment: Russian Rabbis Gather in Unity and Strength in the Great City of Petersburg
Under the banner of “Shevet Achim Gam Yachad” (brethren dwelling together), a regional convention of rabbis and shluchim from Russia and the former CIS countries will open tomorrow—Erev Shabbat Kodesh. All the rabbis and Chabad shluchim from across the country will arrive for a special gathering, aimed at unifying, strengthening, and providing spiritual and practical tools for the continuation of their holy work with mesiras nefesh.
The powerful convention will open on Friday morning at the Grand Synagogue of Petersburg, hosted by the city’s rabbi, the shaliach Rabbi Menachem Mendel Pewzner, and organized by the Director General of the Jewish community in Petersburg, the shaliach Rabbi Chaim Shaul Brook, featuring a series of sessions and professional workshops. The meticulously crafted program, planned down to the smallest details, includes fascinating panels on strengthening educational institutions, managing Chabad houses in major cities, as well as innovative discussions on integrating tools like artificial intelligence in the service of the shlichus and the community. The focal point of Friday will be the assembly of rabbis from Russian cities, headed by the Chief Rabbi of Russia, the Gaon Rabbi Berel Lazar, shlit”a, who guides and accompanies all the rabbis and shluchim year-round.
As Shabbat approaches, the rabbis and their sons will gather for a historic group photo in the synagogue’s plaza, and from there they will continue to an uplifting Kabbalat Shabbat and communal meals in an extraordinary Chassidic atmosphere. Shabbat itself will be filled with Torah and Chassidus classes, along with meaningful workshops on kashrus, Jewish advocacy, and education, and of course—a sweeping Chassidic farbrengen that will begin in the afternoon. The peak moments are expected during the seder niggunim of ‘Ra’ava Deravin’, where dozens of shluchim will unite in moments of devotion and spiritual awakening that will surely contribute greatly to their spirit and Jewish-Chassidic pride during their Jewish activities in their respective cities.
Following the conclusion of Shabbat and Havdalah—which occurs during this season at 1:00 AM (!)—the spiritual atmosphere will blend with an experiential bonding activity as participants embark on a cruise along the rivers of Petersburg under the opening bridges, partaking in the Seudata D’David Malka Meshicha by the light of Petersburg’s famous ‘White Nights’ of the months of Sivan and Tammuz. The following day, Sunday, after the learning sessions and breakfast, the convention will conclude with a historic tour of the Peter and Paul Fortress, where the Alter Rebbe, author of the Tanya and Shulchan Aruch, was imprisoned.
They will also visit, on the 15th of Sivan, the apartment where the Rebbe Rayatz lived when he was taken from there to prison for the “crime” of spreading Judaism. This will take place on the exact day marking the beginning of the centennial year of his redemption from prison.
Afterwards, the participants will tour additional historical Jewish sites which, by virtue of their connection to those eras, saw Russian Jewry rise to a revival. At the end of the convention, the shluchim will return to their cities and to their holy work with renewed strength.
