Photo Slideshow: Thousands of Chabad rabbis gather in NYC
More than 5,000 people from the devout Chabad-Lubavitch movement -- the vast majority of them rabbis -- gathered in New York City for their annual conference, which ended on Nov. 3.
From left, Rabbi Binyomin Klein, Rabbi Avraham Shemtov, Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, Rabbi Moshe Feller, and Rabbi Zalman A. Grossbaum are seen among a sea of black hats as they pose for a group photo in front of Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Sunday (Nov. 3). They are among nearly 4,000 rabbis from around the world who are in New York for the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, an annual event aimed at reviving Jewish awareness and practice around the world. Photo courtesy Meir Alfasi / Chabad.org
More than 5,000 people from the devout Chabad-Lubavitch movement — the vast majority of them rabbis — gathered in New York City for their annual conference, which ended on Nov. 3. Most are emissaries for the movement, which is based in Brooklyn, traces itself back to 18th century Russia and sends its representatives to more than 80 countries.
Invigorated in the last century by Rebbe Menachem M. Schneerson, who died in 1994, Chabad endeavors to deepen the spirituality of Jews globally. The movement is among the very largest of all groups of Hasidim — the most Orthodox of Jews.
Former vice presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman, a non-Hasidic Orthodox Jew who admires Chabad, addressed the gathering, which culminated in Brooklyn at what is known as the largest sit down dinner in New York City.
Rabbis are seen among a sea of black hats as they pose for a group photo in front of Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Sunday (Nov. 3). They are among nearly 4,000 rabbis from around the world who are in New York for the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, an annual event aimed at reviving Jewish awareness and practice around the world. Photo courtesy Meir Alfasi / Chabad.org
Thousands of rabbis pose for a group photo in front of Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Sunday (Nov. 3). They are among nearly 4,000 rabbis from around the world who are in New York for the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, an annual event aimed at reviving Jewish awareness and practice around the world. Photo courtesy Meir Alfasi / Chabad.org
From left, Rabbi Binyomin Klein, Rabbi Avraham Shemtov, Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, Rabbi Moshe Feller, and Rabbi Zalman A. Grossbaum are seen among a sea of black hats as they pose for a group photo in front of Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Sunday (Nov. 3). They are among nearly 4,000 rabbis from around the world who are in New York for the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, an annual event aimed at reviving Jewish awareness and practice around the world. Photo courtesy Meir Alfasi / Chabad.org
Rabbis pray during the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, an annual event aimed at reviving Jewish awareness and practice around the world. Photo courtesy Meir Alfasi / Chabad.org
Rabbis pray at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, in the Queens borough of New York. Nearly 4,000 rabbis from around the world are in New York for the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, an annual event aimed at reviving Jewish awareness and practice around the world. Part of the conference included a visit to the Rebbe’s gravesite. Photo courtesy Meir Alfasi / Chabad.org
From left, Lubavitch Rabbis Moshe Kotlarsky, of Brooklyn, Nachman Sudak, of London, and Mendel Raskin, of Montreal, pray at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, in the Queens borough of New York. They are among nearly 4,000 rabbis from around the world who are in New York for the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, an annual event aimed at reviving Jewish awareness and practice around the world. Part of the conference included a visit to the Rebbe’s gravesite. Photo courtesy Meir Alfasi / Chabad.org
A Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi studies a Chassidic text in a synagogue adjacent to the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, in the Queens borough of New York on Friday (Nov. 1). The rabbi was among about 4,000 rabbis from around the world who are in New York for the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, an annual event aimed at reviving Jewish awareness and practice around the world. Photo courtesy Meir Alfasi / Chabad.org
Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Berel Lazar, of Moscow, Russia, center, contemplates, as he and others gather at the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, in the Queens borough of New York. Lazar is among nearly 4,000 rabbis from around the world who are in New York for the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, an annual event aimed at reviving Jewish awareness and practice around the world. Part of the conference included a visit to the Rebbe’s gravesite. Photo courtesy Meir Alfasi / Chabad.org
A Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi prays in a synagogue adjacent to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson’s gravesite in the Queens borough of New York on Friday (Nov. 1). The rabbi was among about 4,000 rabbis from around the world who attended the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, an annual event aimed at reviving Jewish awareness and practice around the world. On his head and arms he wears tefillin, a box that contains Biblical verses. Photo courtesy Meir Alfasi/Chabad.org
Link copied!
No paywalls here. Thanks to you.
As an independent nonprofit, RNS believes everyone should have access to coverage of religion that is fair, thoughtful and inclusive. That's why you will never hit a paywall on our site; you can read all the stories and columns you want, free of charge (and we hope you read a lot of them!)
But, of course, producing this journalism carries a high cost, to support the reporters, editors, columnists, and the behind-the-scenes staff that keep this site up and running. That's why we ask that if you can, you consider becoming one of our donors. Any amount helps, and because we're a nonprofit, all of it goes to support our mission: To produce thoughtful, factual coverage of religion that helps you better understand the world. Thank you for reading and supporting RNS.