Chassidic Intelligence
It was the Shabbos that marked the JLI’s 19th anniversary. The JLI, otherwise known as the Jewish Learning Institute, is on a mission to make Jewish learning accessible and personally meaningful to every Jew, regardless of affiliation. They offer insightful curricula that use cutting-age educational techniques to educate, engage, and inspire Jews of every stripe.
Rabbi Yechiel Krisch
One woman who was at her first JLI weekend said to me on Shabbos that she didn’t know it was a Chabad event until she arrived at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC last Thursday.
Interestingly, that was one of the most commonly asked questions among the participants, that is, “How many have you attended?”
I previously heard about the high level of engagement at these JLI events, but that being said, this was just our second time in attendance, and from what I heard from many participants, each year the event improves on the one before.
People arrive at JLI from around the world. It is not just a gathering for people involved in Chabad institutions worldwide to attend; it is also a venue at which the Chabad stars from around the world have the opportunity to meet up with each other and shine.
So, this year we were in Washington, DC, and I thought the location was an indication that we would have the chance to hear from elected officials and political leaders from within the U.S. leadership infrastructure but, surprisingly, there was none of that at the hotel over the long weekend.
In fact, last year when the gathering was held at the Trump National Doral Miami, also at the end of August, we saw more of the President in an informal fashion because the President was playing golf at one of his favorite courses down the street from his stylish and amazing hotel in Miami Beach. The word circulating this particular Shabbos was that next year JLI will most likely take place again at the Trump Doral.
JLI is a combination of high scholarship along with intriguing discussions combined with some captivating and even light-hearted entertainment. To that end, we enjoyed an extraordinary performance by singing sensation, Shulem Lemmer, on Thursday evening. On Saturday night, after Shabbos, we enjoyed the comedy of Elon Gold.
The cuisine was spectacular and the amount of food was plentiful and varied. In other words, there was a close competition between the fabulous cuisine and the highly inspirational Torah that was being dispensed by leading rabbis from around the world.
JLI features on most days four simultaneous lectures or classes taking place on a wide variety of subjects, with something of interest for just about everyone in attendance. Obviously, we couldn’t attend all the lectures, but those we participated in included thought-provoking topics on subject matters that have you contemplating them long after the lecture is over.
Thursday evening featured a special tribute to the memory of Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, who passed away in 2024 after decades of extraordinary leadership. Very often, at the Rebbe’s behest, he opened up the world for shluchim around the globe.
I had a long personal relationship with R’ Moshe dating back to my days at Camp Gan Yisrael back in the 1960s in Swan Lake, N.Y. Moshe was a young man back then and I was a camper. My dad had a simple request of R’ Moshe, and that was for him to buy me a copy The New York Times every day. It was not the front page or the editorial section that I was interested in as a 10 or 11-year-old. It was the sports section and the scores of games from the day before that interested me. And Moshe Kotlarsky delivered them for me every day. I guess it kept me happy and content in camp all summer, if nothing else.
R’ Moshe Kotlarsky, a’h, was a force for international Chabad with its global success largely attributed to his round-the-clock unceasing efforts fueled and energized by the words and direction of the Rebbe. His son, Mendy, who he mentored for many years, has now stepped into his father’s very big shoes.
I’m sure it was mentioned at least once or twice over the course of the weekend that after the Rebbe’s passing 31 years ago in 1994, critics were certain that, to a certain extent, this might be the end of the road for Chabad and their global network.
They could not have been more wrong. And one of the contributing factors that testifies to this is the growth of the JLI and the strength and momentum that Chabad as an international force has gained over the last three decades.
And that is one of the many enjoyable things about JLI, to see up close and personal the vibrancy and impact that Chabad has had all these years in every corner of the globe.
One of the lectures I attended was last Friday morning was delivered by Rabbi Yechiel Krisch. His subject matter, “Beyond A Reasonable Doubt: A Scientist’s Rational Proof For Torah,” was articulate and indeed spellbinding. The subject touched directly on how the reality of Torah can stand up to scientific scrutiny.
On Shabbos afternoon, we attended a shiur delivered by Rabbi Manis Friedman, a staple at these JLI conferences. His talk, which requires one’s full attention, discussed the counterbalance of living life content versus living life to its fullest.
One of the key points (I think) is that we may live with a level of contentment, but can that be considered living life to its fullest? Being content with whatever we are involved in indicates a level of compromise over whatever it is you are endeavoring to do. The key to living life to its fullest and with uncompromising completeness is Shabbos and its timeless beauty.
The number of lectures and ideas offered either through presentations or panel discussions felt like they were indeed endless. There were many high points. One of those was the presentation by Mrs. Miriam Peretz. She lost two sons in the IDF. Her eldest, Uriel, was killed in an ambush in South Lebanon in 1998, and her second son, Eliraz, was killed in the Gaza clashes of March 2010. In between the loss of her sons, who were both married with children, her husband died of a broken heart.
As for herself, she says she decided to live with the idea of helping others who have experienced loss due to war, and she lectures to the youth and IDF soldiers. She said that this year and since the war with Hamas broke out in the aftermath of October 7th, 2023, she has paid 400 shivah calls to families in Israel.
So, there are ups and downs as is the case in our history as well as Jewish life in present times. JLI, like all of Jewish life dating back more than a hundred years, has been the result of the vision of the Rebbes of Lubavitch. We live a life today that they envisioned long ago as being doable and possible.
These JLI events, as great and compelling as they are, represent only a tiny fraction of their great vision. It’s our job to bring those visions to fruition. And that is partly what we managed to achieve last week in Washington, DC. And for that we need to be thankful.
Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
