40 Shluchim Meet Up in Turkey

By COLlive reporter

Istanbul, The predominantly Muslim city in Turkey, has never seen dozens of Jewish rabbis marching in its streets before this week, when the regional Kinus Hashluchim was held there.

This week, the city hosted 40 Chabad Shluchim from throughout Europe and Central African countries, as they joined for 48 hours of lectures, workshops, Shiurim and farbrengens into the night.

Monday morning, the Rebbe’s shluchim landed in Turkey, where they traveled to a hotel that was rented in advance, by the country’s Shliach Rabbi Mendel Chitrik, and in the early afternoon they participated in a lavish lunch.

The conference was attended by four guests who came especially from New York: Merkos Vice Chairman Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, his brother, Rabbi Mendel Kotlarsky, Shneur Nejar and Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky of Merkos Suite 302, which assists shluchim throughout the year.

Among the Shluchim who spoke on the first day of the conference on many issues pertaining to daily life on Shlichus were Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, and Shluchim Rabbis Chaim Griesman of Stockholm, Sweden, Baruch Mayers of Bratislava, Slovakia, Naftali Deutsch of Bucharest, Romania, Baruch Oberlander of Budapest, Hungary, Manis Barash of Prague, Czechoslovakia, Menachem Mendel Azimov of Paris, France, Chaim Hillel Azimov of northern Cyprus, Menachem Mendel Porush of Istanbul, Turkey, Alexander Namdar of Gothenburg, Sweden and Aryeh Eidelkop of Podgorica, Montenegro.

On Tuesday morning, after a dip in the Mikvah and a Chassidus shiur from the Shliach in Salima, Malta Rabbi Chaim Shalom Segal, the shluchim Davened Shachris in the Ashkenazi synagogue in the city.

After breakfast and a tour of the Jewish museum in the city, the Shluchim participated in workshops and lectures given by Rabbi Eliezer Gurary of Krakow, Poland, Chief Rabbi of Turkey, Rabbi Yitzhak Haliba, Representative of the Jewish Community in Turkey – Mr. Haim Hasson, Rabbi Baruch Oberlander of Budapest, Hungary, Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky of Merkos Suite 302, Rabbi Eliyahu Rosenfeld of Lisbon, Portugal, Rabbi Avraham Feldman of Reykjavik, Iceland, Rabbi David Libersohn of Barcelona, Spain, Rabbi Pinchas Zaklos of Zagreb, Croatia, Rabbi Yosef Solomon of Sofia, Bulgaria, Rabbi Yisrael Uzan of Abuja, Nigeria, Rabbi Rabbi Laima Barber of Grand Bay, Mauritius, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hendel of Athens, Greece and Rabbi Shlomo Bentolila of Central Africa.

Some of the important topics discussed by the Shluchim were: Eruv in the courtyards of hotels, issues of funding educational institutions, providing a Chasidishe education while homeschooling, security for home and community, halachic issues pertaining to daily life, tips for building Mikvaos – the halachic and economic aspect, and more.

At the end of the second day of the conference, the participants sat down for a Chasidic farbrengen, which continued until the early hours of the morning, when the Shluchim each departed to their place of Shlichus strengthened to continue their work.