3 New Shluchim to Long Island

By COLlive reporter

3 new Shluchim who will be serving the growing Jewish population in New York’s Long Island region were presented at the annual Kinus conference of local Chabad rabbis.

Hosted at Chabad of Huntington and Melville, the one-day get together was a chance for the 30 participating rabbis to draw inspiration, share thoughts and working techniques in their effort to boost Jewish involvement.

Helping further that cause will be 3 young couples who are joining Chabad Lubavitch of Long Island established by the Rebbe in 1977 and led by Head Shliach Rabbi Tuvia Teldon.

Rabbi Yisroel Halon and his wife Suri (nee Baitz) are leading the new Chabad of East Meadow located within the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County. It is home to the Nassau University Medical Center and offices of Getty Oil, Lufthansa and Swiss International Airlines.

Rabbi Aizik Baumgarten and his wife Musia (nee Goldman) are living in the waterfront town of East Hampton where they joined his parents at Chabad Lubavitch of the Hamptons. They offer the familiar feeling of “mishpacha” to locals and vacationers who enters its doors.

Another native Shliach is Rabbi Zevy Geisinsky and his wife Shani (nee Schochet) who returned to his hometown of Great Neck which boasts a majority Jewish population. A team of Shluchim led by his parents offer many community programs for all ages.

The 3 new Shluchim were presented to their peers and asked to speak at the concluding dinner banquet held at the Rubie’s Corporate Plaza in Melville with members of the local Jewish community in attendance.

Welcoming the participants was the hosting Shliach Rabbi Asher Vaisfiche of Chabad of Huntington and Melville, who with his wife Miriam Vaisfiche, organized a pleasant and productive conference.

Addressing the crowd were Rabbi Teldon and guest speaker Rabbi Moshe Herson, Head Shliach of New Jersey and executive member of Agudas Chassidie Chabad International. Rabbi Zalman Wolowik of the Five Towns made a siyum, as customary during the 9 Days of mourning after the destruction of Jerusalem.

At the opening of the Kinus, Shluchim heard from halachic expert Rabbi Levi Garelik and marketing executive Ken Greenberg. Two new programs presented were Jewish Heritage Day by Rabbi Shimon Stillerman of Bay Shore and Chabad Kidney Assist by Rabbi Boruch Wolf of New Hyde Park.

One example of Chabad’s impact was told by Dr. Paul Cohen, a physician specializing in gastroenterology who once had a practice on President Street in Crown Heights. It was next door to the Rebbe’s house which he says he looked at “as a shrine.”

Dr. Cohen told the Shluchim that he was a paying member of a Jewish temple for 5 years, but it was only after the congregation was closing down that he decided to try Chabad of Huntington.

“I never got an Aliya to the Torah at the temple,” he told. “When I came to Chabad, I got an Aliya on the very first day!”

His appreciation grew even more when he was scheduled for surgery and was having a difficult day. He said Rabbi Vaisfiche showed up unexpectedly and lifted his spirits. They placed Mezuzos in his home and he regularly visits the Rebbe’s Ohel in Queens, he said.