A relevant past, a most active present and a promising future were all combined in the Hilton New York hotel Sunday, where 4,622 Shluchim sat for the gala banquet of the International Kinus Hashluchim. COLlive's Live Broadcast is now ended.

By COLlive reporter
Photos by Shmulik Sofer, Levi Percia

A relevant past, a most active present and a promising future were all combined in the Hilton New York hotel on Sunday, November 11, 2012 at the gala banquet of the International Kinus Hashluchim.

4622 rabbis, Shluchim, lay-leaders, supporters and some family members filled up 4 different halls in the Manhattan hotel for an uplifting celebration of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, philosophy and accomplishments.

There were tall banners and a special video presentation marking the 200th anniversary of the yahrzeit of the Alter Rebbe, founder of Chabad, and the 70th year since the printing of the Hayom Yom daily spiritual message, compiled by the Rebbe.

And there was the current: The wreckage Hurricane Sandy has done to the northeast just 2 weeks ago and the resilience and resourcefulness that Chabad Shluchim in these areas have shown during the storm and its continued impact.

In fact, as the emcee Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky noted in the opening remarks, the banquet was originally meant to take place in the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in the Red Hook area.

The storm forced them to return to the Hilton, which the smaller banquets were held. "We are distant only by a few feet, but we are all together," said Rabbi Kotlarsky as the banquet was close-captioned to the other 3 halls where participants were scattered to.

Indeed, the program was a simultaneous presentation where Tehillim and the Dvar Torah were delivered from the satellite ballrooms and broadcast on all large screens. (Special mention was made of Devora bas Etta, wife of an absent Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky and for the Shliach Menachem Mendel halevi ben Ita).

VIDEOS: Courtesy of Jewish.TV