Nechama Esther Diskin had recently lost her home in the Palisades fires. As she prepared to fly to New York for the largest Jewish women’s leadership summit, she wasn’t sure how she was going to manage it.
Then, one of the Chabad women she confided in reassured her, saying, “What’s the problem? Prepare a wish list and the community will cover it.”
Encouraged, Diskin wrote down a list of essentials she had lost in the fire, including a suitcase, clothes, shoes and other necessities.
“The next morning, I woke up, and a lady from Tribeca brought the entire wish list,” said Diskin. “It was amazing.”
The five-day conference, which was held between Feb. 19-23, was the 35th annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Women Emissaries, Kinus Hashluchos. The international conference brings together shluchas from all over the world; shlucha refers to a female emissary sent to a community to promote Jewish education and outreach).
Diskin’s parents, Zisi and Zushe Cunin, serve as the executive director and co-director of Chabad in Pacific Palisades. Her mother has been attending the conference since 1994. Back then, there were only about 200 women. Today, that number has grown to 4,000 women leaders who arrive in New York from over 100 countries and all 50 U.S. states. Because the event falls on a Saturday, hundreds of families in the Crown Heights area graciously opened their homes to host the visiting women.
This year, the experience was especially moving for Diskin, who not only lost her home but also witnessed so many others in her community lose theirs.
“There were also those whose houses weren’t burned but couldn’t stay there and had to be evacuated,” said Diskin. “Various Chabad centers adopted families from our Hebrew school and sent them care packages with sweatshirts, books and rain boots. They arranged Shabbat package deliveries, birthday cakes—one Chabad even hosted a bar mitzvah,” said Diskin. “It was non-stop and incredibly heartwarming.”
Diskin said that 80% of the families in her community had lost their homes. Some had left for Orange County, some moved to Florida and some stayed in town but aren’t sure when they’ll get to move back.
The conference was a tribute to the legacy of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson, the wife of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson. It was timed to coincide with the anniversary of her passing on 22 Shevat, which this year fell on Thursday, Feb. 20.
On Thursday morning, the emissaries visited the Ohel in Queens, N.Y., the resting place of the Rebbe, and the nearby grave of the Rebbetzin, praying for their families, communities and humanity while carrying countless prayer requests from around the world.
Friday morning featured the iconic “class picture” in front of 770 Eastern Parkway, Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters in Brooklyn, N.Y. Braving the cold, thousands of women stood together in a display of Jewish leadership and unity.
The conference culminated in Sunday’s gala banquet at the New Jersey Convention and Expo Center, centered on this year’s theme: “connection”—the bonds uniting Jewish people with each other and their Creator.
The conference featured numerous workshops and sessions, organized into specialized tracks for shluchas serving college campuses, working with teens and addressing mental health. The women engaged in brainstorming and exchanging ideas and experiences with one another. These sessions were presented in English, French, Hebrew and other languages, reflecting the diverse countries these shluchas call home.
A branch of Hasidic Judaism, the Chabad movement was founded in the late 18th century and traces its origins to Belarus. Under the leadership of the Rebbe, who led the organization from 1950 until his passing in 1994, Chabad expanded significantly, becoming one of the most dynamic Jewish organizations in the world.
In 1953, the Rebbe founded the Lubavitcher Women’s Organization to inspire and empower women to actively participate in Chabad’s mission. Though he expressed reservations about modern feminism, his approach distinguished Chabad within Orthodox Judaism, as women assumed leadership roles, established organizations and strengthened communities, according to conference attendees.
Today, Chabad consists of thousands of emissaries worldwide, with centers in 111 countries. Unlike most synagogues, it operates without a paid membership system, aiming to connect with every Jew—regardless of religious observance—wherever they are.
Some Chabad emissaries live in countries or cities without a large Jewish community or none at all. But wherever Chabad emissaries are stationed, the local Jewish community or Jewish travelers know they have a place to go to if they need to celebrate Rosh Hashana, Passover, Shabbat, or if they are simply lost and need help. The Passover seder in Nepal, for example, is known as the biggest seder in the world. It’s organized annually in Kathmandu and has hosted over 1,000 guests in some years, primarily Israeli backpackers, travelers and locals. The event is a massive logistical operation, requiring the transport of kosher food and supplies to the remote location.
For the shluchas, the conference serves as a great opportunity to connect with other women and hear firsthand about their experiences. Diskin said she found comfort talking with the shluchas from Ukraine who had to deal with the impact of the war with Russia.
“They’ve been through this and understood what we as a community are going through. It’s challenging times, but we know the Rebbe is watching us. We are on this mission to spread more light and things are going to be good in the future.”
“It’s challenging times, but we know the Rebbe is watching us.”
For many of these women, the annual conference serves as a family reunion. “My mother lives in New York and every Shabbat morning, during the Kinus, she invites everyone to her home,” said Cunin. “I get to meet new family members, like the wives of my cousins who had gotten married. It’s a very special time for all of us.”
Cunin’s grandmothers were also shluchas and so are the second and third generations. “To see so many women coming together and showing support for one another is really incredible,” said Cunin.
Her daughter agrees: “This conference gave us a lot of strength, to be able to come together like this—just the feeling that you are part of a bigger force. It was very meaningful.”
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