A Message to Jewish Leadership

I was honored to chair the opening session of this year’s International Conference of Chabad Shluchim.

Addressing a conference of 6,500 rabbis & lay leaders is both a challenge and an honor. What follows are my closing remarks (only slightly edited), which I hope you will enjoy:

One Jew at a time. One mitzvah at a time.

Because every mitzvah counts.

Tonight, as we mark 50 years of the Mitzvah Campaigns, during a time when our people are enduring the longest war in modern history… as hostages languish in captivity… and as we sit during the Shiva of Rabbi Zvi Kogan…

The Rebbe’s Army gathers to recommit ourselves to realizing our matara—to prepare the world for the coming of Moshiach.

Whether in Israel or Argentina, whether a new Shliach or a veteran Shliach, we will intensify our Mitzvah Campaigns, our “battle plans.”

Some communities may be ready for a Mitzvah tank; for some Shluchim, it might mean a monthly Tefillin club. One mitzvah.

Not every community can host a Rimon Market, but most can organize a Kosher walkthrough in Trader Joe’s. One mitzvah.

Encourage our JLI students to purchase a Chumash. One mitzvah.

Arrange a tour of a nearby Mikvah. One mitzvah.

A one-week day camp. One mitzvah.

A weekly Torah WhatsApp broadcast. One mitzvah.

Find one neighbor to gift a Mezuzah. One mitzvah.

As Maimonides writes:

A person should always view the world as equally balanced between merit and sin. If he performs one mitzvah, he tips the balance and brings deliverance and salvation to himself and the entire world.

Amen!