Shaliach (Chabad)

A shaliach (Hebrew: שליח‎, pl. שליחים/שלוחים‎, shlichim/shluchim) is a member of the Chabad Hasidic movement who is sent out to promulgate Judaism and Hasidism in locations around the world. There are approximately 4,900 Chabad Shluchim families worldwide, in over 100 countries.[1]

This article is about the Chabad term. For the article discussing the general legal term, see Shliach.
Group photo of Chabad-Lubavitch shluchim, 2015

Origins

Starting in the 1950s, the Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, sent many thousands of shluchim all over the world, often to remote locations, to bring Jews closer to Judaism through his mitzvah campaigns and to assist Jewish communities worldwide in their religious needs.

A Chabad emissary lighting a public menorah in a German city together with the mayor

Meaning

The Rebbe told Rabbi G.M. Garelick when he went out to Milano, "[Y]ou will be a Rabbi of a shul, headmaster of a school, director of a camp and a counselor for people, but none of it will truly define what you will do in Milan. It will be above and beyond all of it – you'll be a Shaliach."[2]

Kinus HaShluchim

The Kinus Hashluchim (Hebrew: כנוס השלוחים‎, lit. Assembly of Emissaries) is the annual gathering of Chabad shluchim held in the fall of each year. The conference is typically held in New York City on the weekend prior to the Hebrew month of Kislev. Over 5,600 shluchim gather each year, making the assembly the largest rabbinical conference in the world. A similar conference is held each winter for the shluchos (wives of the rabbis), typically proximate to the yahrtzeit of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson. The 2011 Kinus Hashluchos was a four-day event including general sessions, nearly 100 workshops, an expo and resource fair, and a banquet attended by close to 3,000 women. One of the highlights of the banquet is the roll call which calls on shluchos from each continent, country, and state to stand for applause.[3]

Both Kinusim are simulcast in multiple languages and have extensive tracking, including programs for lay leaders and children.[4][5]

References
  1. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2346206/jewish/Facts-and-Statistics.htm
  2. Shliach to South Carolina, retold on a recent Merkoz Shlichus excursion.
  3. "Kinus Hashluchos 5771", Binah, 7 February 2011, p. 42.
  4. "Course explores the soul's journey". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  5. "Kabbalah course in Madison explores the soul". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
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