By COLlive reporter
Chabad Shluchos who run outreach and community centers around Israel took advantage of the summer off-season to meet up for a national Kinus Hashluchos.
The convention at the Ramada Hotel in Jerusalem, organized by Lubavitch Youth Organization (Tzach) led by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Aharonov, was a chance for them to relax, reconnect and reenergize themselves.
Overseeing the conference and lectures, workshops and meals was Yaakov Shaari, a reserve Israel Defence Forces officer who has managed the hotel for the last 7 years.
But behind his professional exterior, participants found in Shaari a warm Jew who has much admiration for the Rebbe and is even nicknamed by some, “770.”
“When they say in Chabad we’re going to meet 770 they mean they’re meeting me,” Shaari told the COL Hebrew website. “In our conversations, they will say, ‘770, what do you think about this?’ Not even Yaakov.”
Shaari, who has hosted many Chabad events during his tenure at the hotel, says the reason for the nickname is because 770 is the numerical value of his full name and he is proud of it.
“The closest organization to my heart is Chabad,” he said about the International Chassidic movement that is headquartered at the iconic building at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, NY.
“When you talk with them, you see how the Chabad acronym for “Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge” comes into play,” he said. “They begin with a smile and end with a smile. On a personal level, they are special people, the people sent by the Rebbe.”
Shaari, who isn’t religoius but describes himself as “connected to G-d Almighty,” says it was a privilage for him to assist the Chabad Shluchos convention with the highest kashrus standards.
“I noticed the honor that Chabad gives the woman as the center of the home,” he noted. “You see how the woman is given an honorable and appropriate place and sets the tone.”
770 is the numerical value of his name. That’s super kool!