Shortly before boarding the "Wing of Zion" official plane for New York, where he was scheduled to deliver his annual address to the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an informal meeting in the Cabinet Room with an official delegation representing the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
The delegation included Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov, chairman of Agudat Chassidei Chabad and Tzeirei Agudat Chabad; Rabbi Menachem Mendel Gluckowsky, deputy secretary of the Chabad Rabbinical Court; Rabbi Ariel Lemberg, secretary-general of Agudat Chassidei Chabad; and philanthropist Rabbi Chaim Yaakov Leibovitch.
During the meeting, delegation leaders presented the Prime Minister with the Four Species, as is traditional ahead of the holiday.
Rabbi Aharonov offered Netanyahu words of encouragement ahead of his speech at the General Assembly, saying, "The Rebbe gave you a mission to bring light into the house of darkness. You are going there with a great torch on behalf of the entire Jewish people."
During the meeting, which went beyond the usual protocol for such gatherings, participants discussed the importance of Israel standing firm on the international stage and sang the traditional Chabad melody, "Lechatchila Ariber," which expresses the idea of overcoming existing limitations from the outset.
In addition to the Four Species, delegation members presented Netanyahu with the new book "Oseh Shalom," a collection of teachings by the Lubavitcher Rebbe on diplomatic and security matters.
Netanyahu looked through the book and said he intended to read it during his long flight across the ocean.