FULL RECAP: Kinnus HaShluchim 2025 Roundup, Large Photo And Video Gallery

(By Menachem Posner and Dovid Margolin)

EDISON, N.J.—The cavernous exhibit space-turned-banquet hall pulsed with energy. It was not the self-satisfied joy of accomplishment that filled the room but excitement for the future—the knowledge that however much has already been done, there is so much more to achieve.

The gala banquet closing out the 42nd International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries (Kinus Hashluchim) came after five days of programs and workshops, prayer and study, bringing together 6,500 Chabad emissaries and their guests from around the world. The thousands of rabbis come to New York every year for decades, their ranks growing each time they meet again, city after city, country after country becoming the latest frontier in the Chabad juggernaut.

This year’s conference came as Jews around the globe face difficulties they thought to be things of the past. The emissaries, however, remain unfazed, recalling always the message of the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—to never cower in the face of adversity, but to respond by building and growing in all matters of Jewishness, and goodness and kindness.

The program itself opened with a dramatic musical video montage conveying the theme of Chabad’s raison d’être: to spread the light of G‑dliness to every point on the globe and every soul, and painting a narrative extending from the Baal Shem Tov to the present and the future when the world will be suffused with G‑dliness.

Greetings were extended by Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Director of the International Conference of Shluchim, who shared an anecdote once told by his father—the late Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, the longtime Chairman of the annual conference. It was on Sukkot, and the Rebbe had spent seven hours on his feet. Yet when it was done, he turned to Rabbi Kotlarsky and inquired about the health of his father, who had recently suffered a heart attack.

This attention and care for others, he told, is what characterized the Rebbe’s unique approach and the mandate of his emissaries to go where no one else would go, to care for everyone and to share Judaism with everyone, leaving an indelible mark on the world around them.

While the showing in the room was overwhelmingly impressive, the program was crafted to stress that this was far from assured when the pioneering emissaries of the mid-19th century set out, perhaps unsure of how they would accomplish their goals but rock-solid in their commitment, with flames fanned by the Rebbe himself.

Psalms were led by three emissaries, each of whom was following in the footsteps of his father, who had passed this year: Rabbi Moshe Herson of New Jersey, Rabbi Abraham Korf of Florida and Rabbi Sholom Lipskar of Bal Harbor, Fla.

Greetings were extended by Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, 91, chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chiniuch and Machne Yisrael—Chabad’s educational and social-services arms, respectively—who highlighted a recent study that found the largest increase in Jewish engagement after Oct. 7 took place among Jews connected with Chabad. It is at a Chabad center in places near and far where Jews, especially those previously described as disengaged, have found a place to observe, celebrate and grow in Judaism.

The next presentation was by Rabbi Yaakov Raskin of Jamaica, who survived Hurricane Melissa in October and immediately pivoted to care for fellow survivors. He spoke about how he was inspired by his grandfather, a legendary emissary in Morocco, who never even considered abandoning his dwindling community.

He shared the frightening experience of stuffing his doors with beds—trying to stave off the vicious stormwinds and relentless rain—and his gratitude for the Divine protection that kept him and his family safe. “Even as the walls shook, I knew I was not alone,” he said. “I remembered the Rebbe’s words: A Jew does not find himself in a situation. A Jew makes a situation.”

Keying off the weekly Torah portion, he stressed that the job of the emissaries is to emulate Isaac, digging wells and searching for nourishing water, again and again.

The program continued with the story of Staff Sgt. Ben Craig, a member of the U.S. Marines, who grew up in Massachusetts with little Jewish background and joined the corps in search of purpose and direction.

It was in Japan that he was connected by Chaplain Chabad Rabbi Levy Pekar, who balanced his military credentials with his Jewish identity. The rabbi invited him for Shabbat. One week led to another, and a spark was lit. Today, tefillin, daily Torah study and teaching Judaism to others is a major part of his life.

“In the Air Force, we say, service before self,” said Pekar from the podium. “Today, we reflect on the Rebbe’s deep concern for those who served in uniform. He understood that … nothing stands in his way until the mission is accomplished—just like a shliach!” With Chabad emissary-chaplains representing all branches of the armed forces on stage, Pekar presented Craig with a mezuzah for the Jewish home he is establishing with his soon-to-be wife.

The following presentation was from Rabbi Menachem Feldman of Chabad of Nes Tziona, Israel, whose 7-year-old son, Zalmy, had contracted an infection that placed him in grave danger and cost him his legs. Yet as an agent of the Rebbe, Feldman was confident in his ability to overcome whatever challenges they would encounter with joy, faith and determination.

Then on his prosthetic legs, Zalmy Feldman himself strode to the podium amidst thunderous applause. Speaking in Hebrew, he spoke about the moment that he realized that “this is not the end of anything; it’s the beginning of something new! My father tells me, you are a soldier of the Rebbe. A soldier does not wait for someone to encourage him, he goes!

“So I go. I walk on. Sometimes, I fall; sometimes, I get hurt. But I get up and I keep on walking. That is how the Rebbe’s emissary walks!”

The younger Feldman referenced the inspiration of Rabbi Liraz Zeira, who recently lost his own legs while on duty in Syria, and from his hospital bed declared that he was ready to get up and dance.

Zeira, still in his hospital bed in Israel—the same hospital where Zalmy had fought for his life—spoke via livestream, his words drowned out by the thunderous applause that just kept on getting stronger and stronger.

Recalling the moments after he was almost killed by a grenade, he said he was cognizant of two things: “I needed to stay conscious to remain alive, and if I was alive, I still had a mission in this world.”

More than 6,500 Chabad Shluchim sing אני מאמין in a tremendous display of unity and longing for Moshiach.

In a particularly moving moment, a Torah scroll, dedicated to the memory of Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, was completed by the scribe, assisted by Mr. George Rohr.

And as the letters were written, the event culminated with the annual “roll call,” in which emissaries from every state of the Union and more than 100 nations were welcomed one by one—a task traditionally performed with zeal by the elder Rabbi Kotlarsky.

Now, with the roster growing larger than ever, the roll call was limited to continents and regions, a reflection of the exponential growth of Chabad around the world.

And then, in a tradition that never grows old, the host called out, “A round of applause for the whole wide world.”

As the final letters of the Torah were inked in, the room broke out into spontaneous dancing, generating joy that will radiate across oceans and continents, uniting Jews all over in a common mission and celebration.

Speaking with YWN at the Chabad shluchim conference, NYPD Inspector Igor Pinkhasov describes how Chabad was the seminal Jewish influence of his life.

The king of caterers, Reb Itche Meyer Greenwald, at the Shluchim Convention. 6,500 portions will be served in a magnificent fashion in under 15 minutes!