Israel's President Shimon Peres spoke of the legacy and leadership of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, and his gift to world Jewry, in video remarks for the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries.

"I had the privilege of meeting him and was deeply impressed by the glow of his personality and the strength of his spirit. He lives within us through his great legacy to preserve the Judaism of our people," said Peres.

Speaking in Hebrew from the President's residence in Jerusalem, he described the shluchim as emissaries with a mission to ensure Jewish continuity.

"I see you, the shluchim of Chabad in many places around the world, among them, remote, forsaken and hostile places. You are mitzvah messengers of the Rebbe, of his will that the Jewish People continue and sustained as a nation."

Peres noted that Chabad shluchim reach Jews who are "widely dispersed around the world. You go as pioneers everywhere, create Jewish communities, save lives and disseminate the teachings of the Torah. "Sometimes, you do this under difficult conditions, at times even at mortal risk to yourselves, and indeed there have been sacrifices," he said, alluding to Gabi and Rivky Holtzberg, the Chabad emissaries who were murdered by terrorists in Mumbai in 2008.

Peres thanked the shluchim "in the name of the entire nation for this greatmitzvah, for this great legacy. As it says, whoever saved one life of Israel it is as if the entire world was saved. We are a nation that sees in each person a full and whole world."

Rabbi Ovadia Isakov makes the long trek every year from his home in Derbent, Dagestan, to Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn, N.Y., to participate in the annual International Conference of Chabad Lubavitch Emissaries. This year Isakov, who directs Chabad-Lubavitch of Derbent, feels particularly fortunate to attend: On July 24, 2013, the rabbi was shot and critically injured by Muslim extremists as he exited his car and prepared to enter his home.

“The scene replays itself in my head each day,” says Isakov. “It’s like a video.”

Isakov, who has served as the Chabad emissary in Dagestan for the past eight years, was airlifted to Israel for medical treatment shortly after the attack. Since being released in early August from Beilinson Medical Center in Petach Tikvah, Israel, he has been recuperating in Tzfat, after being joined by his wife and co-director of Chabad of Derbent, Chaya Miriam, and their five children.

“My wife and I have been in contact with our community the whole time,” says Isakov. “There is a minyan taking place each day in the synagogue, and the mikvah and preschool are continuing to function, thank G‑d.”

Dagestan is a predominantly Muslim province the north Caucuses and has been a center of Islamic terrorist activity. July’s attack was not the first on Derbent’s Jewish community; a bomb was thrown into the synagogue’s courtyard in October of 2012, but did not injure anyone.

Strengthened by Colleagues’ Encouragement

In New York for the conference, Isakov says he feels strengthened by the encouragement from his fellow Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries.

Rabbi Ovadia Isakov, right, with Rabbi Avraham Berkowitz at the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries. (Photo: Avraham Berkowitz)

“The first thing that every shliach that I meet here asks me is how I’m feeling,” he says. “The second thing they share is that since the attack, they’ve led their congregations around the world in praying for me and my family. I get an immense amount of strength from that.”

At the conference banquet on Nov. 3 at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, Isakov was honored by his peers by leading the estimated 5,200 attendees in reading “the Rebbe’s psalm,” Psalm 112, which marks the number of years since the birth of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.

“When I come to New York, I feel like I am getting more strength and blessings from the Rebbe to continue in my work. To remain alive after what happened to me is a big miracle. It’s an even bigger miracle that I can be here with all of my fellow shluchim. I feel very privileged.”

Despite the first rumblings of the upcoming Canadian winter, crowds came out in full force on Sunday, Oct. 27, to participate in the “Walk 4 Friendship,” an annual event supporting the Friendship Circle of Montreal, which unites teenage volunteers with children with special needs.

Rabbi Yossi Paris, executive director of the Friendship Circle, said the walkers—wearing coats and warm hats—raised $438,656 through individual sponsorship. The Québec company Yellow Shoes donated an additional $150,000 through a matching grant challenge.

“We do it for the children,” said Michael Cons, who walked with his daughter Olivia. “Just seeing the glow on the faces of the children whose lives have been changed by the Friendship Circle makes it worth it.”

A special feature of this year’s event included an outdoor concert by 16-year-old Steven Abadi, a resident of the Montreal suburbs who has been helped by the Friendship Circle since he was 8. Many of the songs came from his newly released album, produced with Montreal music legend Félix Gray. The production was guided by Eli Elmaleh—who first heard Abadi’s melodious voice at a Friendship Circle dinner—and sponsored by Manta Stendel.

Proceeds from the album go to the Friendship Circle.

“When the kids see how far Steven has gone,” said Leibel Rodal, director of public relations of the Friendship Circle, “they see that they can do anything.”

He also noted that the walk was only 2 kilometers, as opposed to longer ones, to make it easier for everyone to participate.

It’s been almost 75 years since New York City’s Harlem neighborhood has witnessed the festivities that accompany the completion of a new Torah scroll. Yet come this Sunday, Oct. 27, Chabad of Harlem will be doing just that—completing a Torah scroll in memory of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh Gansbourg, joined by scores of friends, supporters and well-wishers.

“The Torah was sponsored in memory of my grandfather by his wife, Hensha,” explains Rabbi Yossel Gansbourg, the current director of Chabad of Harlem. “People in the community have stepped forward to contribute as well, and we will be completing the Torah on Sunday, which will be his seventh yahrtzeit.”

The festivities will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Harlem Jewish Center, Chabad of Harlem at 437 Manhattan Ave., at the corner of 118th Street, with a scribe completing the writing of the Torah scroll, followed by a processional and parade beginning at 10:30 a.m. on 119th Street. A seudot mitzvah celebratory banquet will be held at 11:30 a.m. at the PAL building adjacent to Chabad at 441 Manhattan Ave.

Chabad in Harlem was founded in 2005 by Tzvi Hirsh’s son and Yossel’s father, Rabbi Shaya Gansbourg, who, after fortuitously stumbling into the neighborhood and realizing that it was a changing one—demographically and economically—saw the need for a Jewish center there. The Chabad center quickly filled an unmistakable void in the burgeoning Jewish community of Harlem, becoming a second home and synagogue to the many young Jews who had recently begun moving to the neighborhood.

In 2011, Shaya began the process of writing a Torah scroll in memory of his father, known widely as Hirsh, a Russian émigré who had been born and raised in a Chassidic household in Moscow. He fled with his family to British Mandate Palestine in 1937 before ultimately arriving in New York in 1947 as a 19-year-old yeshivah student.

Hirsh became a businessman and a well-known Jewish activist in New York. One of the founders of the Lubavitch Youth Organization, he was also involved in printing the talks of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory. Hirsh passed away in 2006.

Shaya was a businessman in the publishing industry when he founded Chabad of Harlem at the age of 50, and together with his wife, Goldie, directed the growing center until his untimely passing in February, at 57. Just a month earlier, Yossel and his wife, Mushka, moved to Harlem to continue Shaya’s work there.

Doug Garfield, 54, has lived in Harlem for the last seven years. Two years ago, he happened upon Chabad of Harlem’s High Holiday services and has since become a regular attendee.

Garfield says that while he can sometimes feel intimidated in a synagogue, “Chabad has made me feel nothing but warm and welcome.” He has never participated in the completion of a Torah scroll before, and he’s curious to see what the celebration will bring.

“I bought some verses in memory of my late father and brother, and as I understand, I’ll be helping the scribe fill in the letters in the Torah,” says Garfield. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

“This will be a community-wide event, and it’s a special moment for Harlem’s Jewish community,” adds Rabbi Yossel Gansbourg. “Not long ago, parading with a Torah down the main streets of Harlem would have been unthinkable. This Sunday, we will be dancing proudly there.”

Less than a block from where crowds danced in the streets of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in celebration of Sukkot, an art exhibition showcasing Jewish artists and a series of events highlighting the joy of Jewish life is now underway.

Called “Pure Joy,” the exhibit focuses on Sukkot, a holiday referred to as “the time of our joy.” The show, which opened Sept. 21 and runs through Oct. 13, has welcomed a few thousand visitors so far, according to Rabbi Yitzchok Moully, co-founder of The Creative Soul, the Jewish artists group featured in the pop-up gallery, and editor of the Jewish Art for the Soul blog on Chabad.org.

Called “Pure Joy,” the exhibit opened Sept. 21 and runs through Oct. 13, and has welcomed a few thousand visitors so far.

“The Creative Soul is a group dedicated to fostering the relationship between art and Judaism,” says Moully, who hopes the show helps visitors see the connection between creativity and Judaism. “To inspire a greater connection with G-d through art, that’s what it’s all about—celebrating our uniqueness and our ability to share in our unique ways, to celebrate life and the joy of Judaism.”

The work on the walls—prints, photography, sketches and digital media—is all for sale, and so far, has been selling well, says the 35-year-old rabbi.

The idea came about a few years ago after an artist in Venice asked Moully to represent him in New York. Moully sought approval on a rental space—an empty storefront at 425 Kingston Ave.—and put out a call to various artists he knew. In less than a week, 15 artists were on display; by the end of the show, that number had grown to 30. Since then, community interest has continued to grow.

The gallery will host a series of events over the next two weeks.

Moully’s goal is to create a space “where young and old can experience and interface with creativity.” Along those lines, the gallery will host a series of events over the next two weeks, including women’s programs, open-mic and improv nights, a spotlight evening on Chassidic writers and a Moshe Hecht live concert on Oct. 10. For more information, visit The Creative Soul web site

The gallery is open daily, beginning at noon; it is closed on Shabbat.

Chabad X, inspired by TEDx talks, will feature five people who will speak for 10 minutes each about what they’re most passionate about in Judaism.