Approximately 100 shluchim from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin gathered this week in Cleveland, Ohio, for the annual Midwest regional Kinus Hashluchim.

The Kinus was held in tribute to Rabbi Yehuda Leib (Leibel) Alevsky AH, longtime head shliach of Ohio, who led Chabad of Ohio for more than five decades.

Throughout the day, shluchim participated in shiurim, sessions, and workshops on Jewish education, community leadership, and halacha in Chabad house life.

Rabbi Yossi Marozov, director of Friendship Circle, led a workshop on analyzing a sicha of the Rebbe beyond surface learning. A timely session explored the use of artificial intelligence in strengthening communal outreach, featuring local experts alongside remote presenters from across the country.

Rabbi Shmaya Shmotkin, dean of the Chabad Yeshivah in Detroit, spoke about instilling in every child a deep sense of uniqueness and personal value, both at home and in school. Rabbi Shalom Ber Chaikin, respected Cleveland posek, addressed practical halachic questions that arise in community settings. An open forum allowed the shluchim to exchange best practices from their respective communities.

Participants also received a behind-the-scenes presentation from A Chassidisher Derher, with editors based in Cleveland sharing insight into the magazine’s work and untold stories behind its features.

Architect Phil Atkin presented the design of the Waxman Chabad Center, the building established by the late Rabbi Alevsky, describing it as “a forest with windows to the heavens.”

The shul features soaring east-facing windows that cast morning light onto tefillah, a blue ceiling symbolizing the sky, green walls like grass, and wooden beams evoking a forest. The building itself is modeled after 770.

The evening banquet, emceed by Rabbi Mendy Alevsky of Chabad at Case Western Reserve University, featured remarks from shluchim across Ohio, a keynote by Rabbi Zusha Greenberg of Solon Chabad, and an address by Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, executive director of Merkos 302 at Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters, who attended together with Kinus coordinator Schneur Najar.

A moving tribute to Rabbi Leibel Alevsky was presented by his son, Rabbi Chayim B. Alevsky, director of Mitzvah Workshops, through a multimedia presentation spanning his father’s life – from his early years working closely with the Rebbe in New York, to his invitation to Cleveland by Irving Stone and Mel Waxman, and the institutions he built across Northeast Ohio.

The evening continued with a long farbrengen late into the night.

Catering throughout the day was provided by Fiama by Mendel’s and Mendel’s BBQ.

A central gathering point was Cafe Chabad, the center’s new lounge, dedicated by Steve Stulman. Guests enjoyed coffee, cold drinks, snacks, and the well-known “Ohel cookies,” with the space serving as a warm hub of hospitality open to the community year-round.

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