If there’s one thing that is true about the Chabad brand, it’s that you can always count on a Chabad leader to radiate optimism.

As more than 6,000 participants from over 110 countries gathered for the 41st annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries (Kinus Hashluchim) in Crown Heights, from November 27 through December 1, the reliable radiance of Chabad-Lubavitch faced a serious challenge.

Before this year’s conference started, the Chabad family suffered two very significant losses. Months earlier, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky ob”m, one of the key organizers of the Kinus Hashluchim for four decades, had passed away. And days before the conference opened, the news had spread of the horrific murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, HY”D in Dubai.

In true Chabad-Lubavitch fashion, the assembled shluchim paid respectful tribute to both losses and drew attention to the rabbis’ many contributions to Chabad’s work. Simultaneously, the shluchim used the conference to learn from each other and take strength from their shared mission, as they looked ahead to their continued work to build vibrant Jewish communities all across the globe.

The conference featured discussion sessions on a wide range of topics, such as Raising a Jewish Family in a Complex World, On the Frontlines of the Mental Health Crisis, Jewish Student Life on Campus, The Jewish Response to Rising Antisemitism, How Diaspora Jews Feel About Israel, Navigating Complex Halachic Situations, and Using Tech to Engage the Next Generation.

The Kinus also held a collective visit to the Ohel, the burial place of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, zt”l, the Rebbe. As Avi Winner, director of media relations and marketing for the Conference and Merkos 302, described this gathering, “The visit to the Ohel is the spiritual highlight of the Kinus’s long weekend. Shluchim arrive to daven for their families, communities, Israel and peace around the world. Carrying notes with written requests from their networks spanning the globe, countless prayers pierced the heavens on the crisp autumn morning in New York.”

Each Kinus is perhaps most widely known for the iconic “class photo” of all the assembled shluchim taken outside Chabad Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn. This photo, taken on Sunday morning, December 1, featured thousands of shluchim and continued an annual tradition that, according to Rabbi Motti Seligson, director of public relations for Chabad, began in 1984.

The conference ended with a celebratory closing ceremony, filled with inspiring speakers and joyful singing, later that Sunday in the New Jersey Expo Center in Edison. Winner shared two special highlights of the evening:

“Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, son of Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, highlighted one of his father’s final initiatives: a campaign to inspire 120 million mitzvot. To achieve this ambitious goal, they launched OneMitzvah.org, a platform designed to encourage everyone to involve friends and family in acts of kindness. ‘Engage your network because that’s how we’ll make a real impact and usher in an era of peace and redemption,’ he emphasized.

“One of the most moving moments of the evening came when Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff, shliach to the Jewish deaf community, took the stage. Addressing the assembly in American Sign Language (ASL), his speech was simultaneously translated for all to understand. ‘For a deaf person, finding a place within the community can be challenging,’ Rabbi Soudakoff expressed through his interpreter. ‘But we are here to change that narrative.’ He shared personal anecdotes about the isolation many deaf individuals feel within the broader Jewish community and emphasized the importance of accessibility and inclusion.”

Winner described the scene as the dinner program wound down: “As the evening drew to a close, the atmosphere was charged with emotion. Music filled the room as the shluchim danced joyously. The attendees departed with a renewed commitment to return to their communities and make an even greater impact. The message was clear: Despite ongoing challenges, the dedication to reach every Jew, everywhere, remains unshaken.”

Harry Glazer is The Middlesex community editor of The Jewish Link. He can be reached at [email protected] and he welcomes reader feedback.