Thursday’s General Session brought thousands of shluchim together for an unfiltered look at the realities of shlichus, its hurdles, its highs, and the stories in between.

Thousands of shluchim from around the world filled Brooklyn’s Bedford Armory on Thursday night for dinner and a closed general session.

In a setting designed for open, internal reflection, the evening offered a rare opportunity for shluchim to speak candidly about the emotional and practical challenges they face, and to draw fresh strength, clarity, and joy from their shared mission of bringing the Rebbe’s vision to life around the world.

The evening opened with Tehillim, recited by Rabbi Osher Litzman of Seoul, South Korea, followed by Rabbi Daniel Walker of Manchester, England, who offered brief but moving remarks recalling the moments when a terrorist attacked his shul on Yom Kippur.

Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Director of the International Kinus Hashluchim, formally opened the general session by addressing this year’s Kinus theme and sharing excerpts from the Rebbe’s sichos on the subject. A video greeting from Rabbi Moshe Bogomilsky of Brooklyn, NY, delivered on behalf of Vaad Rabbonei Lubavitch, was then played.

The next video presentation highlighted another major focus of this year’s Kinus: 50 years since the Rebbe proclaimed Shnas Hachinuch. The presentation previewed several upcoming initiatives designed to spark a revolution in chinuch, including utilizing modern tools such as AI to make Torah learning more accessible and engaging for children. It also emphasized a renewed spotlight on the 12 Pesukim and how they serve as a foundational roadmap for chinuch.

Addressing the Rebbe’s call to the shluchim in 5752 to “prepare themselves and the entire world for Moshiach,” Rabbi Berel Lazar of Moscow, Russia, reflected on the Rebbe’s instruction to bring Moshiach through simcha. He urged the shluchim to serve with renewed joy, in light of the Rebbe’s continued call for simcha as a catalyst for geulah.

The next segment of the evening featured a panel focused on the night’s theme, titled “Shlichus Without Filters.” It was chaired by Rabbi Benny Zippel of Salt Lake City, Utah, and included panelists Rabbi Moshe Raskin of Kampala, Uganda; Rabbi Yosef Goldwasser of Mobile, Alabama; and Rabbi Gadi Louzoun of Foshan, China. Each offered honest reflections on how they began their shlichus, along with vivid accounts of the challenges they’ve faced, the Rebbe’s guidance they’ve drawn strength from, and the unexpected blessings they’ve witnessed in the field. 

For Rabbi Shmuli Michaan of Vienna, Austria, the Kinus is always an extraordinary experience, but Thursday night’s session struck him in a particularly deep way.

“Shlichus comes with challenges. We’re far from our families, and it can be tough,” he says. “Coming to the Kinus each year gives us renewed energy to keep going. It reminds us that we’re not alone, we’re part of something so much bigger.”

He explains that this feeling was especially strong during Thursday’s general session. “The topics they addressed, the struggles, the difficulties, are things every shliach can relate to in one way or another. We each have our own challenges. But hearing how others faced theirs, how they persevered, and how they ultimately saw the brachos of shlichus… it was incredibly uplifting. It showed us that in the end, things do work out.”

Throughout the evening, a variety of initiatives and resources available to shluchim were highlighted, encouraging them to make use of both new and existing tools to enhance and expand their shlichus. 

The Kinus Hashluchim continues through the weekend, culminating in the grand banquet on Sunday afternoon, where thousands of shluchim and lay leaders will come together to celebrate the shluchim’s work and give them the inspiration and momentum to carry it forward in the year ahead.

Photo credit: Itzik Belenitzki/Kinus.com