On Sunday, June 26, 257 students received Rabbinical Ordination at the Morris Township campus. Close to 700 guests from eight countries and 10 states attended the event under a large tent placed on the Rabbinical College grounds. The event was presided over by former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Israel Lau. He and his wife flew in especially to test and affix his signature on the certificates of the graduates.

Rabbi Moshe Herson, Dean and President of the institution, stated that the 257 graduates represent close to 257 Jewish communities that will be, in the near future, reinvigorated with fresh young leadership in many parts of the world. This has been the signature accomplishment of the worldwide Lubavitch movement, which the Rabbinical College represents.

The Rabbinic Ordination program of the Rabbinical College was founded in 1998 and graduated 39 students in 2001. The 257 graduates of 2016 represent a 700 percent increase of the highly acclaimed program. This is possibly the largest celebration of its kind. The diverse group of new rabbis includes native speakers of English, Hebrew, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, French, German, Italian and Swedish. “They are ready and able to serve virtually every Jewish community in the world,” stated Rabbi Herson. Most of the graduates will go on to join more than 4,000 Chabad rabbis and their wives, presently serving Jewish communities on six continents.

During the event, Ed Mosberg, a Trustee of the institution, presented to the RCA a 200-year-old Torah Scroll rescued from the Holocaust. Graduates read in public from that Torah Scroll the very next day of the event.

The RCA was founded by Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson of blessed memory—and is conducted by the legacy, directives and inspiration of the Rebbe.