This year (as they did earlier this summer for the women Shluchos) the Chabad on Campus Kinus Conference is being held in Israel this year. While the Kinus this year is more hectic than usual with lots of travel time and site visits and going from place to place – I’m hoping I can do one post from each day, some highlights, observations, takeaways from this unique campus Shluchim conference in Israel.

The program began with an opening sessions of learning, farbrengen and inspiration adjacent to the Rebbe’s Ohel, on the day of Gimmel Tammuz itself. For some reasons I was unfortunately unable to join that part of the program and instead made my way directly to I arrived to the airport.

The first person I met was an Israeli flying home after spending a few weeks in Canada and New York, and yesterday going to the Rebbe’s Ohel for the Yartzeit. I noticed he had a cochlear implant or some sort of unusual hearing aid and I complimented his speech which was quite clear. He appreciated the compliment but said that it something he worked onf or a loing time and devoted much effort to it

He went off on a different line, and then I pulled my suitcase next to a dark-skinned traveler with obvious artificial aspect to his arm. I introduced myself, asked about him, and he said his name in Nesanel, and he was on IDF duty at Nachal Oz base near the Gaza Border on October 7th. He was badly wounded in the fighting but surived. He spent months of procedures and treatments at Sheba Medical Center (one of the places this Kinus plans to visit) and just now took off a month to visit friends in Miami and is now going home to continute his treatment. Wow – to meet a hero like this, someone directly impacted, on the first day, – and most amazingly, pleasant, with a smile, decent fine chap, after all he’s been through.

I met up with Nesanel later at the Gate again. I asked him about Tefillin and how he manages. He said he does it every day but he has someone help him due to his circumstance. TBH he doesn’t look the part, wasn;t wearing a kippah or he like, and he had plenty reason to be bitter. A real life example of what Rebbe said about the exceptional ones of Tzahal.
Also online I met a few chassidic types, non-chabad, but who came in for Rebbe’s yartzeit, and as part of a broader American trip, And a mother and daughter, Israeiis, but who live a long time now in Montreal, and are now headed back to Israel for a much needed visit,

In the corner of my eye, at a far distance across the terminal, I saw a red-bearded Chassid with Moshe Denburgs build. I am not built for running, but I asked the wounded IDF soldier to watch my suitcases and I took off and found Moshe just before he entered security! So good to see him. He traveled in and out for tjust the day to be at the Ogel for Gimmel Tammuz,

I like to shmoooze with people on the line. I met a Londoner who spent some time visiting friends in Dallas Texas, we commiserated about our respective political problems. I met a wedding dress representative from Hamburg who was here in America representing her company which specializes in simple elegance, less trimmings.

I met a Gerer Chassid, or so seemed to me, but he was in no mood to talk. I apologized for trying to make conversation and realized he may have a lot on his mind, who knows what issues or troubles weight him down so.

Also along the ever-windy security line, I met one of the Butman Twins or brothers, Shluchim in Israel who back in their yeshiva days in New York set up a cassette tape dubbing/borrowing library in my Brooklyn Yeshiuva which I benefitted tremendously from. He asked if I remembered anything from it, and I told him the story and its later sequel of Yosel Weinberg’s intro.

I noticed that Reb Zalman Gopin is on my flight. A celebrated Mashpiya, beloved teacher of Chassidic thought. Almost everyone on thsi flight is Jewish! or so it seems! One thing about flying El Al is that you;re alreadt in Israel even when still parked on the tarmac back at JFK. The Halachic times on the seat-back screen, the flight magazine caled ATmospheria in Hebrew,.
Its Gimmel Tammiz as we fly, so I worked on, best I could aboard the flight, this Rebbe Farbrengen Bleachers memories post.

We weren’t the easiest customers for the El-Al Flight Crew. Minyans erupting and all. They were courteous and understanding. And at the same time, Chabad on Campus was told optimum times to pray that weren’t as disruptive to meal times and such and kept to that. I also overheard the following exchange. Two men were in two separate Minyans, and one tells the other, let’s walk back to our seats together at the same time so the woman in our row won’t have to be bothered to get up twice. It’s nice to see this mutual respect and courtesy…

What else from the flight? Maybe later…