BC emissaries joined the Kinus Hashluchos in February. (photo from chabad.org)
Some 4,000 Chabad-Lubavitch women emissaries and lay leaders from around the globe gathered in February in New York for the 35th annual International Conference of Chabad Women Emissaries, the largest Jewish women’s leadership gathering in the world. BC shluchot (emissaries) who attended were Chanie Baitelman (Richmond), Malky Bitton (Downtown Vancouver), Matti Feigelstock (Richmond), Raizy Fischer (Vancouver), Chana Gordon (Richmond), Fraidy Hecht (Okanagan), Chani Kaplan (Vancouver Island), Riki Oirechman (Vancouver) and Blumie Shemtov (Nanaimo).
While the yearly conference has a celebratory atmosphere, uniting women leaders from Alaska to Zambia, this year’s gathering came during a particularly challenging time for Jewish communities worldwide. From local wildfires to ongoing war in Israel and rising antisemitism on college campuses, the women on the frontlines of Jewish communal service are confronting urgent realities.
The conference, known as Kinus Hashluchos, ran from Feb. 19 to Feb. 23, uniting women leaders from all 50 US states and more than 100 countries for five days of workshops, networking and spiritual renewal. The conference is annually timed to coincide with the anniversary of the passing of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson, of righteous memory, the wife of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.
The Thursday morning saw the emissaries visit the Ohel in Queens, NY, the resting place of the Rebbe, as well as the nearby grave of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka. The women came to pray for their families, communities and humanity at large, carrying countless prayer requests from people around the world.
Friday morning featured the iconic “class picture,” with thousands of women gathered in front of 770 Eastern Parkway, the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Brooklyn, NY.
The capstone of the conference was Sunday’s gala banquet, held at the New Jersey Convention and Expo Centre in Edison, NJ. This year’s theme, “connection,” highlighted the bonds that unite Jewish people worldwide with each other and with their Creator.
– Courtesy chabad.org