Overview
- Thousands of emissaries filled Eastern Parkway for the annual portrait outside 770, uniting representatives from 111 countries and more than 6,000 communities.
- The closing banquet in New Jersey drew over 6,500 Shluchim and guests and was described by organizers as the largest sit-down meal in the New York area and the largest kosher sit-down meal worldwide.
- Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky said the gathering offers reassurance and hope, noting Shluchim have been on the front lines nonstop.
- Program segments spotlighted resilience and service, including Rabbi Yaakov Raskin’s account from Montego Bay after Hurricane Melissa and reflections by U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Ben Crage with Air Force Chaplain Rabbi Levi Pekar.
- A Torah scroll was completed and dedicated in memory of Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, and the evening featured the International Roll Call highlighting the movement’s global reach.