Thousands of Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis will be busily studying, praying and schmoozing in New York City this week at the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, the world’s largest rabbinic gathering. The nearly weeklong event, which begins Oct. 31, brings together thousands of emissaries from 100 countries, hailing from as far away as Laos and Angola, Ghana and Uzbekistan, for an annual event aimed at strengthening Jewish awareness and practice around the world.

The start of this year’s conference comes just days after the anti-Semitic shooting in Pittsburgh that left 11 dead, believed to be the deadliest attack on Jews in America and an event that shook the global Jewish community to its core.

“It’s been a difficult and long past few days, from counseling congregants to finding the right words to represent the Jewish community on local TV, and then there were my own thoughts and feelings I had to cope with, my family’s and finding answers to my children’s questions,” says Rabbi Yisroel Bernath, who co-directs the Rohr Chabad of NDG and Loyola Campuses in Montreal with his wife, Sara. “I’m hoping I’ll be able to recharge and then get back to work, bringing inspiration and encouragement to the Jews in my community along with a message of action, to act more Jewishly—that’s the Chabad answer to hate.”

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To that end, they will take part in seminars and workshops around combating anti-Semitism, synagogue security, and counseling and guiding congregations in the aftermath of the attacks. They’ll also tackle current topics such as the opioid epidemic, mental health, relationships and inclusion for people with special needs.

Rabbis who serve students on college campuses will take part in a separate track within the conference, discussing issues specifically relevant to them.

Participants will also mark nearly 10 years since the murder of Rabbi Gabi and Rivky Holtzberg, co-directors of Chabad-Lubavitch of Mumbai, in the 2008 terrorist attacks. Their wives and co-directors in their shared mission gathered at a similar conference for women in February.

Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, director of the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries and vice chairman of Merkos L’lnyonei Chinuch—the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement—prepares for the annual event. (Photo: Shimi Kutner)

On Friday, they will board buses and head to Queens to visit the Ohel, the resting place of the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—the most influential rabbi in modern history, who is credited with spearheading a global Jewish revival after the Holocaust. The emissaries are continuing the Rebbe’s efforts, and although it’s been more than 24 years since his passing, the Rebbe’s legacy remains as vibrant as ever, and his teachings continue to be a guiding force as a generation, of both Jews and non-Jews, seek to positively change the world for the better.

On Shabbat, the emissaries will spend time learning and praying in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, near the worldwide headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. They will also participate in farbrengens (Chassidic gatherings), where they will share Torah thoughts and stories, as well as sing Chassidic melodies.

Thousands of rabbis will also pose for a “class picture” outside of Chabad-Lubavitch Headquarters.

The nearly weeklong event, which begins on Oct. 31, brings together thousands of emissaries from 100 different countries. (Photo: Shimi Kutner)

On Sunday night, they’ll gather for a gala dinner—intended to reinvigorate and inspire them before returning to outposts around the world—that will include an international roll call and spirited dancing. The dinner, which will be attended by more than 5,600 rabbis and communal leaders, has outgrown New York City venues, and this year will be held at the Rockland Community College in Suffern, more than an hour from Brooklyn. It has previously been held in various New York City locations, including armories, hotels and piers; last year, it took place in a massive warehouse in Bayonne, N.J.

Organizers note that the search for a venue gets harder and harder each year, but they like it that way—after all, growth is good.