Some 4,500 Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries (known as 'shluchim') packed a banquet hall at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, overlooking New York Harbor on Sunday for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement's annual International Conference of Chabad Shluchim.
Draped walls and ceilings in Pier12's bare structure gave the cozy ambiance of a family living room, where candle-lit tables capped five days of workshops and lectures attended by thousands of emissaries of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory.
The final event focused on the Jewish home, with a video segment screened at the dinner that illustrated the difficult circumstances in which some of the emissaries often have to operate.
Often, essentials such as kosher food and Jewish schooling for their children are not readily available – forcing them to compensate with a “can-do” resourcefulness that has become the hallmark of Chabad worldwide.
“But there is no compromising, they insist, when it comes to the quality and centrality of the home environment they create for their children,” noted Mendy Rimler of Lubavitch.com .
One of those was 10-year-old Moshe Cohen of Manchester, England, whose mother, respected Chabad representative Esty Cohen, died suddenly last month, leaving a husband and six children. “My mother is proud that I am carrying on my Shlichus (mission) with a smile just as she told me,” Moshe told the crowd.
Rabbi Moshe New, director of the Montreal Torah Center, addressed the theme of the conference, noting that only at home can Jews feel completely safe.
“Never before have people needed a haven, a place to nurture their Jewish roots as today,” he noted. “We can provide that by bringing the aura of our Jewish homes wherever we are, in whatever we do.”