What Are Chicago Shluchim Doing

By COLlive reporter

Over a month after the passing of their Head Shliach, the Lubavitch community in Illinois are uniting to launch an innovative outreach project in his memory.

In fact, it was something that Rabbi Daniel Moscowitz OBM, Regional Director of Lubavitch-Chabad of Illinois, had been trying to move forward a mere 3 days before his sudden passing last month.

As a member of the organizing committee of the International Kinus Hashluchim, Rabbi Moscowitz helped make the decision to launch a project that would mark 20 years since Gimmel Tammuz 5754.

The idea was titled “Project Ignite” and its objective was to empower community members and lay leaders to reach out to their friends and acquaintances and inspire them, the same way they themselves were moved by the Shluchim.

“Perceiving the nachas the Rebbe gets from seeing a chossid devote his life and destiny toward spreading Torah and Yiddishkeit, he thought this would be a proper way to prepare for this upcoming 20th Gimmel Tammuz,” a Shliach involved told COLlive.com.

“The spirit of ‘Neiros Lehair’ and ‘Tofeiach Al Menas Lehatfiach’ calls upon us chassidim to share the wealth,” he added. “Not only one by one, rather to share the Rebbe’s vision of creating leaders who spread the light in their own world with their own circle of friends.”

At the end of Adar 1 of this year, Rabbi Moscowitz called Suite 302, the programming branch of Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch – the educational arm of Chabad Lubavitch – urging the staff on the perpetuation of this project.

He passed away unexpectedly 3 days later, on Tuesday, 2 of Adar II, 5774, at the age of 59 and leaving a shocked family and community. Those close to him say they saw this as his final wish and promised to get it into motion.

At the memorial tribute in Chicago marking the shloshim – 30 days since his passing, the Moscowitz family urged the community to join together to implement his dream, that “this Gimmel Tammuz we shall be in Golus no more.”

The project is spearheaded by a committee of 12 dedicated Shluchim who have been tirelessly working with the staff of Suite 302 in Brooklyn, NY. Merkos Vice Chairman Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, a close friend of Rabbi Moscowitz, gave his blessings for the initiative.

Participants at the memorial event agreed to bring boxes of Shmura Matzah and holiday guides to their friends, neighbors and colleagues throughout the city and state.

“As our forefather Avraham Avinu, the Rebbe shows us how precious it is to Hashem when a Jew not only is ‘Vayikra’ – calls out in G-d’s name, rather is also ‘Vayakrie’ – brings others to call out as well,” COLlive was told. “This initiative isn’t the ‘nachala’ (inheritance) of Shluchim – this is the Rebbe’s call to every Chossid and to every Jew!”

Now, they want to include the global Chabad-Lubavitch community to excite Jews in doing one more Mitzvah that can be the defining factor in bringing the final redemption.

A new video promo filmed on Eastern Parkway, in front of Lubavitch Headquarters – 770, illustrates how one light can easily ignite many more: