Kinus Guests Aspire for More

By COLlive reporter
Photos: Moushkie Teleshevsky
MoushkiePhotography.com

So what can one look forward to from the annual Guest Program of the international Kinus Hashluchos convention held mostly in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights area?

Apparently, much more than expected.

“So much of the information that the speakers imparted was life-changing for me,” gushed Mrs. Robin Atlas, who had arrived with Shlucha Tzippy Lipsker of Fountain Hills, Arizona.

And it wasn’t any dramatic statements that won over the owner of Robin Atlas Fine Art Consulting. “It was actually small things, a sentence here or there, that really changed the way my brain needs to be wired.”

Atlas, who lives in Seattle, WA, said: “I really expanded my Jewish family here, and met many wonderful Jewish women. What really touched me in the most profound way is the pride I see among all the beautiful Jewish women – it makes me proud to be a Jewish woman.”

And that feeling was shared by many of the 125 women who flew in to New York from around the world to attend the Classic Program for the newcomers or the In-Depth Program which included more intense lectures and workshops about Torah and Jewish life.

What both tracks had in common, aside from being held at the chic Jewish Children’s Museum, was elegantly decorated rooms and the five-star kosher dining that catered to all tastes and interests.

But it was the top-notch speakers who drew most of the attention in the program coordinated by Molly Resnick and Rivka Kotlarsky, along with a dedicated group of volunteers – Tamar Pewzner, Chaya Daimond and Bracha Chana Posner.

“Attending our program is the greatest thing a Shlucha can do for herself and her guests,” said Resnick. “When guests see that their Rebbetzin is one of a network of four thousand of the world’s most incredible and powerful women, she has a newfound respect and admiration for Shlichus and Chabad.”

Some participants, like Stephanie Defonte of San Ramon, CA, said that the program was not only an experience for spiritual growth, but also a journey for personal development.

“It made me realize that even though I am a strong and outspoken person, I can be as influential and important if I sometimes step aside and put my ego aside,” said the attorney who arrived with Shlucha Fruma Resnick.

“It’s not all about me, there are bigger things,” Defonte said, noting that this was her first visit to the chassidic populated Crown Heights, where she joined other guests in touring the stores and sights.

The slate of lecturers appeared during Thursday and Friday sessions, a Shabbos day meal, a Motzoei Shabbos Melave Malka (with entertainment by Malka Edrei on the guitar) and at a Sunday morning breakfast.

They included veteran Shliach and educator Rabbi Shmuel Lew of London, England, Tel Aviv Shlucha Mrs. Esther Piekarski, Toronto-based lecturer Mrs. Chana Weisberg, best-selling author Rabbi Simon Jacobson, and Brooklyn Shliach Rabbi Yosef Vigler.

“I learned the difference between living and just existing,” said Valerie Aviva Newfield from Ormond Beach, FL, who came with Shlucha Chani Ezagui and another 7 women from her community.

“What it comes down to is, you find out what’s really important. Like not just saying the shema, but living the shema,” she said.

Before visiting the Rebbe’s Ohel gravesite in Queens, the guests heard from a past Kinus keynote speaker, Rabbi Yudy Shemtov of Chabad of Bucks County in Pennsylvania.

“In today’s world of falsehood, when everyone is looking for an authentic experience, the Ohel is where that is found,” he said. “It’s a haven from reality, a safe place where one can connect to the Rebbe. At the banquet you will see the greatness of Chabad around the world, but at the Ohel you’re at the source.”

And indeed, guests got to experience both to the full extent, promising to strengthen their Jewish connection and even return for next year’s program.