NY: Kinus Hashluchos Banquet

By COLlive reporter

2,900 women filled the Hilton New York ballroom in Manhattan Sunday night for the gala banquet of the annual Kinus Hashluchos convention of Chabad Shluchos and their guests.

They were also the topic of the evening.

“A recent article stated that only 3% of CEOs are women, and only 14% of Federal Government employees are women,” noted the emcee, Milan Shlucha Chanchi Kaplan. “In Chabad, the man gets a shtender, and the woman gets the pedestal. 100% of centers are co-directed by women.”

With the event’s theme “Women at the forefront,” most of the event indeed focused on the major and pivotal role of the Jewish woman and especially in the world of Shlichus outreach and community building.

Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, Vice Chairman of Merkos and organizer of the Kinus, said he was asked earlier in the day how many people will be attending the banquet, since it was the same night as the Super Bowl game.

Upon hearing a surprised reaction to the large number of 2,800 women, Rabbi Kotlarsky said he added: “Shluchos do touchdowns 30-40 times a day. This is the greatest ‘Super Bowl’ of all. The Shluchos throw the ball over the goal line every day.”

Noting how the Rebbe cherished and lifted the status of the women by setting an example, Rabbi Kotlarsky related the following story:

When the Rebbe and Rebbetzin were in Paris, a chosid named R’ Meir Shochetman accomplished something important for the Rebbe on behalf of the Frierdiker Rebbe.

With the mission successfully completed, R’ Meir wished to inform the Frierdiker Rebbe, but the Rebbe commented that he first needed to inform his wife, the Rebbetzin. Only after doing so, did the Rebbe proceed to share the news with his father-in-law.

The evening, which included the singing of niggunim by 2 shluchos accompanied by an all-female band, also commemorated the luminary figure of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson on the 25th anniversary of her passing.

And as much as has been said about her “dignity and regal bearing,” for the guest speaker of the evening, Louise Hager of London, the Rebbetzin was “a very human and loving person.”

In fact, she said she had permission from the Rebbe himself to share that aspect of the Rebbetzin’s life.

She said her close and rare friendship with the Rebbetzin began after her parents thanked the Rebbe for saving her father’s life after a serious and complicated medical procedure was recommended by doctors. After meeting with the Rebbe, the medical condition was miraculously cured without the need for the procedure.

“The Rebbetzin asked to meet my parents,” Hager said. “She said she was intrigued by them because they took a second trans-Atlantic flight just to return to the Rebbe to thank him; when most people come for help with something unpleasant, they want to forget about it when the ordeal is over.”

Hager said the Rebbetzin not only took the place of the grandparents she never had, but also taught her a lot about life, including advice on housekeeping, raising children, friendship (she sent boxes of chocolate for Hager’s birthday) and even fashion. But most important was that “for the Rebbetzin, a relationship was not for what she could get out of it, but rather what she could put into it.”

Indeed, the keynote speaker of the evening, Maryland Shlucha Chanie Baron, pointed out the same is true in Shlichus life. “My role is to be a role model for the community and my community inspires me to inspire my community.”

And for that same authentic and sincere approach, Merkos Chairman and Mazkir Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky told the Shluchos, “You are the envy of other organizations. You Shluchos are at the forefront of Jewish life.”

With the emcee mentioning that she is currently raising a fourth generation on Shlichus in Italy, and the endless list of countries named during the Roll Call, not to mention the energy in the ballroom, it was evident that traditional Jewish life and values as taught by Chabad are on the rise.