European Kinus Hashluchim Ends on High Note

Hundreds of shluchim at the kever of Rav Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, zt"l. (Itzik Roitman)
Hundreds of shluchim at the kever of Rav Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, zt”l. (Itzik Roitman)

Five hundred shluchim of the Lubavitch communities across Europe, who spent three days at the European Kinnus Hashluchim in Russia, are on a high. They are rejuvenated and invigorated by the joy and unity that they are experiencing and they will bring that energy back with them to the cities and countries where they are the emissaries of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zy”a.

Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, along with a dedicated team from the central office in N.Y., arrived last Friday.

The Moscow community experienced an unforgettable Shabbos with Rabbi Kotlarsky and other shluchim, all learning and davening together, as well as a big farbrengen with Rabbi Berel Lazar.

On Wednesday, they traveled to the cradle of Chabad Chassidus, the villages of Lubavitch, Liozna and Liadi. They were held up for about 3 hours at the tiny-but-oh-so-significant border between Russia and Belarus. They spent more than 24 hours on buses. Thursday they headed on a five-hour flight to the city of Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, where they would visit the Ohel of the great mekubal Harav Levi Yitzchak Shneerson, zt”l, father of the Rebbe, zy”a, on his yahrtzeit.

A kabalas panim for the hundreds of shluchim in Moscow. (Itzik Roitman)
A kabbalas panim for the hundreds of shluchim at the Marina Roscha Jewish Community Center in Moscow. (Itzik Roitman)

Reb Levi Yitzchak was known to have helped many, and his final resting place, far away in the city that he was exiled to, has become a place where people come to daven.

Exactly twenty-five years to the day have passed since the last kinus in Russia, and once again, the Chassidim and shluchim arrived to daven there together.  After Maariv, a siyum was made by one of the students of Yeshivah Tomchei Tmimim who came to Kazakhstan as part of the Mivtza Torah Project run by the global Va’ad Talmidei Hatmimim. This was followed by a farbrengen with Rabbi Berel Lazar and Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, which lasted through the night.

Tehillim was recited at the kever by philanthropist Lev Leviev, President of the Federation of Jewish Communities in the FSU, and philanthropist Avraham Yisroel Shaulson who sponsored this trip together with philanthropist Shmuel Stern.

It was late afternoon when the shluchim took a flight back to Moscow. On Thursday, the kinus continued in Moscow with a variety of workshops, shiurim and general session.

The kinus ended with a grand farbrengen after the banquet, at the lavish Europeiski Banquet Hall, which sits on the Moscow riverbank.

Rabbi Berel Lazar (R) speaks with Rabbi Moshe. (Itzik Roitman)
Rabbi Berel Lazar (R) speaks with Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky. (Itzik Roitman)

The kinus was organized by Merkos Leinyonei Chinuch, together with Fleishman-Peles Productions and a dedicated team of Moscow shluchim.

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