The Surprise ‘Sholom Aleichem’

By Mica Soffer – COLlive.com

Mrs. Fruma Shapiro, the keynote speaker at the Kinus Hashluchos banquet, clearly remembers a blunder she caused to her parents’ dismay and didn’t hesitate to share it with 2800 colleagues and guests gathered at the Hilton New York.

“When I was 2, my parents took me to my first yechidus,” she recalled of her first private audience with the Rebbe, who sent her parents Rabbi Pinchos and Penina Feldman on Shlichus to Sydney, Australia.

They wore their finest clothes and Fruma was told not to speak a word without being asked and not to make noise. Instead, “I let go of my parent’s hand and ran over to the Rebbe and put out my hand, saying ‘Sholom aleichem, Rebbe!'”

Needless to say, her parents were deeply embarrassed, but 2 years later, at another Yechidus, they walked in and the Rebbe looked right at her and greeted her with “Sholom Aleichem.”

“In those two years the Rebbe had seen thousands of men, women and children, and yet remembered and recognized a little girl from Australia, and made sure to make her and her family feel comfortable,” Shapiro pointed out.

DIFFERENT BUT THE SAME

Participants of the gala banquet, which concludes the annual international convention, felt at home Sunday night in the Manhattan hotel’s large ballroom, skillfully emceed by Mrs. Shterni Gruzman, a Shlucha in Vienna, Austria.

While the city’s materialism was on display, the evening’s theme was about being a chossid. A chossid looks, walks, and eats like a chossid – no matter where he or she is. Evident of that was an opening video of young girls from around the world, speaking about being a chossid and what it means to them.

What was so noticeable about it were the various accents, each of these girls are growing up in places like London or Argentina – and they are born and bred products of their environments, except they are proud shluchim who live and breathe the Rebbe’s mission every day of their lives.

“Moshe Rabeinu appointed rulers of 50 and rulers of 10 and rulers of thousands – and each of those leaders have the same qualifications,” pointed out Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, Vice Chairman of Merkos and organizer of the Kinus, in his opening remarks.

“Same is true of the Shluchim, the Rebbe sent out Shluchim in all capacities, whether to countries, to cities, to states, or to schools, whether for youth or for counseling or for teaching or for humanitarianism – all are the same. They are men of truth, and each of the Shluchos is her part in a grand mosaic fulfilling the mission of the Rebbe.”

MISS JUDAISM

Mrs. Ilana Skolnik, the guest speaker, told the audience how she was led on a spiritual journey to Yiddishkeit which began with her being crowned Miss Africa South, and winning a trip to New York and then a trip to Paris to compete for the Miss World title.

Through her travels she ended up in Greece, ultimately meeting the man who would become her husband, an Israeli living in Greece. Together they moved to Tel Aviv, and met Shluchim Rabbi Yosef and Hinda Gerlitzky.

Skolnik’s life story was inspiring and moving, filled with sorrow even while continuously growing in their level of Yiddishkeit, meeting with the Rebbe a number of times. Slowly, the couple added in their observance, ultimately becoming fully observant, wearing Tzitzis and a full beard.

“The Shluchim were the inspiration who helped me turn my life around. And not only my life, but my husband’s life was affected as well,” she proclaimed.

“Over 30 years ago I traveled to New York as one of many other women, as part of a beauty pagent. Now, 30 years later I traveled to NY with thousands of women from around the world, but it is a group of women who bring light to the world. I have just one thing to say – thank you, Rebbe.”

NOT ALONE

In his remarks, Merkos Chairman Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky told the Shluchos, “you have infused the community of Crown Heights with your lebedikeit and chayus, your overflowing warmth, when meeting colleagues and friends.”

“Women are the akeres habayis, the ones who carry on with their shlichus, yet still maintain home and family – and chinuch al taharas hakodesh for their children,” he noted.

Yet, even for all encompassing women, attending the kinus and banquet is very invigorating.

“When I’m here, I feel like I’m not alone in the wilderness,” a Shlucha in a small town in California tells COLlive.com.

“Sometimes, living out there where we do, it can feel very isolated. But when you join a room with thousands of other people who are doing the same thing as you, you feel like you are not alone. The Rebbe is with us.”

Photos by Rivka Lifshitz for Merkos