Some 2,500 Jewish community leaders are converging in Brooklyn, N.Y., this week for the 22nd annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Women Emissaries.
In their capacity as emissaries, the women – who will be joined by lay leaders from their communities – serve as school principals, teachers, counselors, writers, camp directors, editors, program managers, youth directors and fundraisers, in addition to their critical roles as wives and mothers.
Their conference, running this year from Feb. 3 to 8, will include educational workshops, tours of local institutions, a resource fair, forums and a Sunday evening grand banquet at the New York City Hilton.
Similar in scope to the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries that is held each fall, the first women’s conference was commissioned by the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, soon after the passing of his wife, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson. Since then, the conference – which is sponsored by Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch – has always occurred around the anniversary of that date.
For the emissaries, who travel from as far as Thailand and Australia to as close as Manhattan and points throughout the Tri-state area, the conference is a chance to “recharge their batteries,” in the words of organizers, “to be together and derive energy and inspiration for the entire year.”
Chaya Perman, who moved to Caracas, Venezuela, in 1974 to open the country’s first Chabad House with her husband, Rabbi Moshe Perman, explained that the annual gathering serves two purposes.
“It’s an opportunity for the women to get together, to network and learn from each other,” said Perman, one of the conference’s organizers. “It’s also a time for them to bond as sisters and to draw strength from each other, to grow individually and as a group.”
Workshops will cover such topics as physical health, marital harmony, child rearing, public speaking, and a review of the laws governing Shabbat observance. The conference’s overall theme is the Hebrew word ufaratzta, which comes from G-d’s command to the patriarch Jacob, as recorded in the Torah, to “spread out” in all directions.
In the same manner, said Perman, emissaries throughout the world have a charge to “extend themselves outward to wherever Jewish people may be in need.”
As in recent years, the conference will also include a lay leadership program for community leaders who travelled to New York with their local emissaries. The program will feature lectures and in-depth discussions on a host of Jewish issues.
“There is an intense learning program for the women,” said Perman. “It’s a really good opportunity to [concentrate] in a wonderful setting. After the banquet, the hope is that all of the attendees will return home to channel all of the positive energy they experience here.”
To view a live broadcast of the grand banquet, beginning Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. Eastern, click here.
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