From Patagonia to Brooklyn: Chabad Shluchim Gather for Annual Conference

At Chabad Headquarters in Brooklyn, it is the busiest week of the year.

Some 6,500 Chabad-Lubavitch representatives and lay leaders from more than 110 countries are expected to converge on Brooklyn for the annual International Conference of Shluchim. Arriving from as far afield as Australia, South Africa and Patagonia, they will be hosted by the Crown Heights community for the five-day gathering.

The conference, which opened Wednesday, is as much an opportunity for shluchim to reconnect with colleagues and friends as it is a forum for examining the issues confronting Jewish communities around the world.

High on this year’s agenda is advancing Chabad’s response to rising antisemitism: strengthening Jewish identity and pride through greater community engagement, expanded educational opportunities, and a deeper connection to Jewish life and tradition.

“That has been the Rebbe’s answer whenever Jewish life faced challenges,” reflected Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky at Chabad-Lubavitch Headquarters.

The Gala Banquet’s featured speakers will bring personal perspectives on Jewish loss, perseverance, and the building of Jewish life.

Among those addressing the Gala Banquet will be Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, father-in-law of slain Chabad emissary Rabbi Eli Schlanger of Bondi Beach, and Rabbi Schlanger’s son, Nosson.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Yechiel Leiter, will deliver the keynote address. His son, Moshe Yedidya, was killed in action during the war in Israel, and another son, Neria, was critically injured in a terrorist ramming attack. A longtime friend and supporter of Chabad-Lubavitch institutions, Dr. Leiter will reflect on Chabad’s role in Jewish life today.

Rabbi Alex Kaller of Chabad in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, will also address the gathering. Born in Moscow, Russia, Rabbi Kaller will share his journey from the former Soviet Union to his work as a Chabad representative in South Florida, where he directs a recently completed $21 million Jewish community center.

For the shluchim, whose work often takes them far from established Jewish communities, the conference offers a rare opportunity to exchange ideas, draw inspiration from one another, and celebrate their shared calling.

As they do each year, participants will visit the Ohel, the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s resting place in Queens, to pray for their families and communities. The gathering’s signature events include the iconic group photograph in front of Chabad-Lubavitch Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway and the Gala Banquet, billed as the largest kosher sit-down meal in the world.

For more information about the Kinus, visit Kinus.com.