Some 5,600 Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries, communal leaders and their guests from all 50 U.S. states and 100 different countries—hailing from as far away as Bangkok and the Congo—gathered Sunday night for the gala banquet of the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries (Kinus Hashluchim).The annual event, the largest Jewish gathering in North America, is aimed at reviving Jewish awareness and practice around the world. It highlighted Chabad’s increasingly global impact as it opens permanent centers in more and more remote locations, including Uganda, Montenegro and Curaçao. It also detailed the humanitarian work in the aftermath of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, and the recent wildfires in Northern and Southern California.

Perhaps most notable, the event marked 50 years since the Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—initiated the “Mitzvah Campaigns,” a historic undertaking that took Judaism beyond the institutional walls of the synagogue and home, impacting millions of Jews with no or minimal Jewish engagement.

(Photo: Yechezkel Itkin)
(Photo: Yechezkel Itkin)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)
(Photo: Yechezkel Itkin)
(Photo: Yechezkel Itkin)
(Photo: Yechezkel Itkin)
(Photo: Yechezkel Itkin)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)
(Photo: Mendel Grossbaum)

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Uganda Becomes the 100th Country With Chabad

Rabbi Moishe and Yocheved Raskin shown leaving Israel to establish Chabad-Lubavitch of Uganda, the 100th country in the world with a permanent Chabad presence. They are among a number of couples establishing new Chabad centers around the world, including those in the Bahamas, Montenegro and Curaçao.
Rabbi Moishe and Yocheved Raskin shown leaving Israel to establish Chabad-Lubavitch of Uganda, the 100th country in the world with a permanent Chabad presence. They are among a number of couples establishing new Chabad centers around the world, including those in the Bahamas, Montenegro and Curaçao.

Announcement made at International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries.

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Montenegro, Set Deep in the Balkans, Gets Its First Rabbi in a Century

Chabad Rabbi Ari Edelkopf, left, recently settled in Podgorica, Montenegro, with his wife, Chani, and their seven children. They arrived at the invitation of the Jewish community and its president, Jasa Alfandari, right.
Chabad Rabbi Ari Edelkopf, left, recently settled in Podgorica, Montenegro, with his wife, Chani, and their seven children. They arrived at the invitation of the Jewish community and its president, Jasa Alfandari, right.

Chabad couple hits the ground running, tapping into the momentum of Jewish activity.

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After 366 Years, the Jews of Curaçao Welcome Permanent Chabad Presence

Shaarei Tsedek Jewish Center will now be served by Rabbi Refoel and Chani Silver, who landed in Curaçao right before Rosh Hashanah.
Shaarei Tsedek Jewish Center will now be served by Rabbi Refoel and Chani Silver, who landed in Curaçao right before Rosh Hashanah.

Rabbi Refoel and Chana Silver are reinvigorating Jewish life on the island.

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‘Capturing the Moment’: Thousands of Rabbis in One Photo

The 5778 group photo of thousands of Chabad rabbis gathered for the annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, the Kinus Hashluchim. (Photo: Chaim Perl)
The 5778 group photo of thousands of Chabad rabbis gathered for the annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, the Kinus Hashluchim. (Photo: Chaim Perl)

The backstory of the annual Kinus group picture in Brooklyn, N.Y.

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Visitors From Around the World at the Rebbe’s Resting Place

As many as 5,600 rabbis and communal leaders from around the world who are in New York for the annual Kinus Hashluchim—the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries—gathered at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in Queens, N.Y., on Friday morning to visit the resting place of the Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory. (Photo: Yehezkel Itkin)
As many as 5,600 rabbis and communal leaders from around the world who are in New York for the annual Kinus Hashluchim—the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries—gathered at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in Queens, N.Y., on Friday morning to visit the resting place of the Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory. (Photo: Yehezkel Itkin)

Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries gather at the Ohel in Queens, N.Y.