Midwest Kinus Lasts 70 hours

By COLlive reporter

For nearly 4 days the Shluchim of United States’ Midwest, gathered in Chicago for their annual regional Kinus Hashluchim convention, organized by Illinois Head Shliach Rabbi Daniel Moscowitz.

From Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois, 70 Shluchim convened to fulfill the Rebbe’s directive that created the regional conferences.

From Thursday afternoon, 26 Tammuz until Sunday afternoon, Erev Rosh Chodesh Menachem Av, sessions were hosted by five Chabad centers. For what seemed like a 70 hour non-stop marathon, the Shluchim shared, learned, and inspired one another.

It began at Chabad Center of Glenview, directed by Rabbi Yishaya Benjaminson and continued to Rabbi Meir Shimon Moscowitz‘s Lubavitch Chabad of Northbrook. Shabbos was spent at Cheder Lubavitch Hebrew Day School, hosted by Rabbi Yitzchok Wolf and Rabbi Moshe Wolf.

The highlight was the inspirational Shabbaton held at the Cheder Lubavitch campus where the Shluchim enjoyed a truly “ruchneyasdike” experience of learning, davening and farbrenging together.

Shabbos began with learning with Wisconsin’s Head Shliach Rabbi Rabbi Yisroel Shmotkin. The meal was addressed by Rabbi Yitzchok Wolf and Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, Vice Chairman of Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch.

On Shabbos Day they learned Inyonei Bais Habechira with Rabbi Yosef Samuels of Milwaukee and sat for a lengthy farbrengen concluding with a shiur in Pirkei Avos with Rabbi Moshe B. Perlstein and Chazaros Da’ch by Rabbi Menachem Schechter.

On Motzoei Shabbos they were hosted for a Melaveh Malkeh at the home of Rabbi Baruch Hertz, Rov of Congregation B’nei Ruven in Chicago. There, Michigan’s Head Shliach Rabbi Berel Shemtov spoke about the development of the Rebbe’s Shlichus.

The grand finale was a community brunch held on Sunday at FREE, hosted by Shluchim Rabbi Shmuel Notik and Rabbi Levi Notik. Rabbi Daniel Mosowitz and Rabbi Kotlarsky spoke and were thanked for making the kinus a success.

The featured guest speaker was Rabbi Elkanah Shmotkin, Director of JEM, who enthralled the audience with the unique video clips of the Rebbe and presented a new program, “The New Frontier – Greater Access to the Recordings & Photographic Archives of the Rebbe.”