One who has not experienced the Chabad Lubavitch International Kinus Hashluchim Gala Banquet has not experienced one of the great wonders of the Torah world. It is an event filled with an infinite level of love for Hashem and the Jewish people and an unlimited commitment to reach out to every Jew on Planet Earth.

The 5785 (2024) Gala Banquet, with over 6,500 shluchim and guests, followed five days of the gathering of 3,571 Chabad shluchim in Crown Heights. Chabad today can be found in 110 countries on six continents, with 5,200 centers and 6,049 shluchim couples.

For over 40 years, the Kinus was always a time for sharing, collaboration, the celebration of accomplishments and acknowledging the legacy of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, ob”m, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe. The Kinus this year was different. It reflected the most challenging year in modern Jewish history with the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the Gaza hostage crisis and an unprecedented rise in worldwide antisemitism. This Kinus also took place during the shiva of Chabad shaliach to Abu Dhabi, UAE, Rabbi Zvi Kogan, HY”D, who was brutally kidnapped and murdered by terrorists and his body found only a week before. The Kinus also sadly mourned the passing of Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, ob”m, who was vice chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of Chabad.

The Kinus Gala took place at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Edison, New Jersey, on Sunday afternoon, December 1. The opening remarks were delivered by Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, who spoke about his recently departed father, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky. Rabbi Moshe was the voice of the Kinus Hashluchim and the guiding force of the growth of the Kinus and the worldwide shluchim network. For over four decades as Kinus chairman he opened the Kinus with his powerful words. As vice chairman of Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch he helped direct the dispatch of shluchim to all parts of the world. As chairman of Chabad on Campus International he helped create Chabad student centers in over 950 campuses globally. As chairman of The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI), he helped create adult education programs in over 900 communities worldwide. Rabbi Mendy was chosen by his father to continue his legacy and he will be the ongoing chairman and voice of the Kinus Hashluchim.

The Kinus then turned to the horrific news of the recent murder of one of its own, Rabbi Kogan, a Chabad shaliach in Abu Dhabi who was brutally kidnapped and murdered by terrorists with his body being found by the UAE police. Rabbi Levi Duchman, chief rabbi of the United Arab Emirates, spoke about him. “You would see Zvi’s special care for every single person. … Our response can only be one way: to grow even more, to bring Judaism to the UAE, to impact more Jews and to add more good deeds.”

A special livestream connection was shown in the Kinus hall with the family of Rabbi Kogan sitting shiva in Israel and all the attendees then having the opportunity
to do nichum aveilim and say Hamakom Yenachem. A new sefer Torah in memory of Rabbi Kogan was dedicated, and many people had the opportunity to hold it and give honor to his memory.

A very touching highlight of the Kinus Gala event was the keynote address, which was delivered in American Sign Language by Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff, a Chabad emissary who is deaf. Rabbi Soudakoff, who is founder of Chushim Ben Dan, a Chabad center serving 15,000 members of the deaf Jewish community, is Israel’s only deaf rabbi. He signed (with a simultaneous spoken translation) about the challenges and triumphs of the deaf Jewish community in Israel, inclusivity and the Rebbe’s belief that Hashem has delivered to everyone a unique set of circumstances and a unique mission that no one else can fulfill. Rabbi Soudakoff said that he has devoted his life to bringing the teachings of the Rebbe to the deaf, even though he has never heard the words of the Rebbe.

“I am addressing you today using American Sign Language, my native language,” said Rabbi Yehoshua Soudakoff. “The voice you hear is not mine but the words most definitely are. For a deaf person, finding a place in the mainstream community is a struggle. But the most important part of my shlichus is to be a living example that every Jew can lead a fulfilling life.”

The Kinus included a speech by the new Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Kalman Meir Ber. He spoke about the contributions of Chabad shluchim in Israel and how each Chabad house is an embassy for the rabbanut. He reminded everyone that we must help each other to be good together—and then we will be victorious together. We have to pray for the hostages and not give up until they are free.

The Kinus included many stirring presentations and speeches and ended with an hour-long session of massive dancing and singing.

The development of the Chabad shluchim system is a study in a high-level management strategy coupled with the direction of and adherence to the ideology the Rebbe.

The Chasidic philosophy of Chabad was constructed around the ideals of being mentored by a rebbe who would give direction to his Chasidim on navigating a path within Judaism. Dedicating oneself to the service of Hashem through the words and thoughts of the rebbe was the method of accomplishing one’s goals in his or her connection with the Almighty.

The Chabad of the late 20th century, however, was different. It morphed into a multifaceted entity that not only gave direction to its members but adopted kiruv as its main purpose. The goal, as initiated by the Rebbe, was to bring Moshiach and the redemption by reaching every Jew possible in the world and enable them to connect with Hashem by doing more mitzvot. The method was to send shluchim to connect with every Jew.

As a youngster growing up in Crown Heights in the 1960s and 1970s, I personally witnessed the genesis of the Chabad shluchim movement. I remember being bar mitzvah in the Chabad shul I attended on Empire Boulevard, Chevra Shas. It was very different from the Modern Orthodox shuls I had been to. The feeling of warmth and caring and being connected to its Chabad Rabbi Halperin and his family was powerful.

Even though we were not a Chabad family, I would often walk up Kingston Avenue on Shabbat and wait for the Rebbe as he would take a 3 p.m. walk with his wife, so that I could greet them personally. Later I had an opportunity to have a meeting with the Rebbe and along with my parents get a bracha, and on another occasion get a dollar from him. These life events for me were the results of the impressive outreach that I felt from Chabad.

When I learned from Rabbi Halperin that his young newly married son Rabbi Shabsi Halperin was being sent to Brazil, I was shocked. Sending shluchim to remote places was in its early stages but I later realized that this was very much part of Chabad’s plan. Starting after the Six Day War in 1967 Chabad’s outreach and the sending of shluchim increased exponentially. First it happened in Crown Heights with the influx of thousands of men and women seeking Judaism and then it quickly started spreading all over the world.

Young Chabad rabbis and their families ventured to places where no other rabbi would go. They went with almost nothing but the blessings of the Rebbe. The emissaries went with the knowledge that reaching every Jew and giving him or her the basic tools to connect with Hashem would lead to further success. Being open to loving and accepting every Jew no matter how they currently feel or think, and making them part of Am Yisrael will bring Moshiach, they believe.

Chabad launched numerous mitzvah campaigns and “Mitzvah Trucks,” fostering mitzvot such as putting on Tefillin and making a bracha on an etrog and lulav. Many of these campaigns took place in public venues. This boldness spoke to people, especially young people, who felt pride in publicly displaying their Judaism.

Today Chabad is not just a local Chasidic movement. Chabad houses and centers have become the primary Jewish institutions in communities all over the world. In cities and towns and on college campuses, thousands of Jewish centers, synagogues and schools have been established with many of them not just having Jewish content but also top-notch general studies and academics.

Young Chabad rabbis and shluchim have adopted modern media techniques and advanced technology for teaching and outreach, each with their own unique focus to properly blend in with the local environment.

All the worldwide shluchim have one common denominator: They all are inspired by the teachings, thoughts and words of the Rebbe and his wife, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, ob”m, who believed that by reaching out and doing just one more mitzvah we can bring light into the world and bring about the coming of Moshiach.