The lights dimmed on the 6,500 rabbis and guests at the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries (Kinus Hashluchim), and the haunting cry of a violin filled the silence of the 150,000-square-foot New Jersey Convention Center. Then, 11-year-old Yitzchak Aizik Levitansky began singing an old Chassidic song: Nye Bayus Ya Nekogo—I fear no one, ee nye vyeru nikamu—and believe in no one, tolka B-ga adnavo—except G‑d alone. Levitansky is the son of Rabbi Yechiel Shlomo and Rochi Levitansky, directors of Chabad-Lubavitch of Sumy, Ukraine, a city on the northeastern border of that war-torn country and a place hard hit in the fighting of this past year. The song of defiance and belief in the Almighty G‑d, sung by Chassidim through generations of unthinkable hardships, set the tone for the evening’s gathering of the vanguard of the Jewish world, the emissaries of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, on all corners of the globe. This year, a Year of Hakhel, marked the 120th since the Rebbe’s 1902 birth in Nikolayev (Mykolayiv), Ukraine, and tehillim (psalms) were read by Rabbi Sholom Gotlieb, chief rabbi and director of Chabad of the south-central Ukrainian city since 1996. He was followed by Rabbi Mendel Hecht, director of Chabad of Auckland, New Zealand; a special psalm for the safety of the people of Israel was recited by Rabbi Dovid Lau, Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel. Noting how the volcanic landscape in Iceland, his adopted homeland since 2018, resembled the craters on the moon, Rabbi Avraham Feldman spoke about how the he and his fellow Chabad emissaries dig deep into the fertile ground of the Jewis soul finding passion, fire, and Jewish identity bubbling to the surface. Representing the newest crop of Chabad emissaries, Rabbi Laivy Mochkin, who recently moved to Palo Alto, Calif., said, “Although I never merited to meet the Rebbe in person, I did encounter on a daily basis the Rebbe’s message and mission. And that inspired my wife and me to similarly dedicate our own lives to our fellow Jews.” As part of the presentation, Mochkin’s grandfather, Rabbi Berel Mochkin, senior Chabad representative in Montreal also spoke, a representative of the generation of emissaries dispatched by the Rebbe in the 1950s. He was followed by one emissary from each decade, concluding with the younger Mochkin, who himself grew up the son of Chabad representatives in Rochester, N.Y. The evening’s host, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, introduced the guest speaker, legendary philanthropist patron of Jewish life all over the world, Mr. George Rohr, as his “best friend for over 45 years,” who, following in the footsteps of his late parents, has spearheaded the growth of Chabad on six continents. Back in 2006, Rohr’s father, Sami Rohr delivered the keynote address at the Kinus, sharing some of his own life story, his connection with the Rebbe, and what brought him to begin and maintain his worldwide investment in the work of the Chabad movement. By taking the podium his son, George, once more followed in his father’s footsteps by giving the conference keynote address. Rohr was born and raised to the late Sami and Charlotte Rohr, both Holocaust survivors, in Bogota, Colombia. As Sami recounted in his 2006 speech at the Kinus, […]
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