Photos from the kinus

This is last years controversial photo of Rabbi Sholom Ber Estrin and myself:



This year we again stood in the exact same spot next to each other, and made sure not to stand out in any way: (except that I was wearing Canadiens boxers)



Our table at the banquet. I sat next to Shua Naparstek and Yisroel Bernath, both Rabbis (naturally). Next year iy"h we will each have our own table with layleaders:



This final photo is an interesting one. As I was wandering with Dovid Russ, we bumped into a couple of Chassidim (not Lubavitch... perhaps skver or something) and had a very nice conversation. I think they were brought down as lay-leaders. They said it was their first kinus and were very impressed and touched. They took a photo with us as well, and here it is: (from http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=52227)

What a kinus can do

Last year I caused quite a stir when I posed for a friend at the photo part of the kinus (international conference of shluchim), and it made it into the (New York) daily news.

So this year, undaunted, I made my way up to the EXACT SPOT I was last year with the EXACT SAME friend I posed with (what brevity!), only this time we smiled all the time (including when I smashed my funny bone into the metal back of the bleachers).

I am the guy on the top right of the picture (with the scarf).

The kinus, for us Russian shluchim, is something extra special. For some reason we are the pride of Chabad. I mean, they will be announcing the roll call, and passing through the shluchim of like Dubai, Cuba, South Korea and Lebanon, but only when they reach Russia, do they make a big event out of it.

Perhaps it's because Lubavitch originated there, but some guys have a harder time than us, in my opinion.

On a side note, from reading the Achdus shluchim forum and thwe population figures of Jews world-wide by country, I have compiled a short list of still-available countries to be a 'head shliach'.

Dubai (Pro: no need to fundraise in America ever again. Con: the cost to ransom your remains is exhorbitant).
Andorra (a tiny country between France and Spain where there are some Jews)
Gibraltar (Just noticed it wasn't mentioned by R' Kotlarsky. Why isn't there a shliach there?)
Mongolia (there is actually a community there)
Iceland (They even have a shul. But read from a paper Torah)
Phillipines (Some Jews in Manila)

See? told you I have alot of spare time.

Anyway, back to the kinus.

This year I made the motzei shabbos event, and boy was it inspiring. The banquet was also fantastic. My favorite moment came when the Israeli ambassador to somewhere thanked an Argentinian Rabbi who saved his daughters life (you had to be there).

This year there were two 'sessions' for the Russian shluchim and one farbrengen.

The first class focused on economic issues. I'd write in detail but I don't think this is the proper place to do so. The second was with George Rohr who promised to continue supporting us by giving us (at minimum) our salaries. He got a standing ovation for that (and who wouldn't?). At the end of the session, we all had a chance to personally thank him for about 20 seconds.

When I found myself in front of him I thanked him and gave him a gorgeous photo book Chayale made, with all the best photos of stuff we have done this past year in Stavropol. Inside was a letter with a plan (Chayale wants to start) to make some kind of Shabbos candles program going in memory of his mother.

He wished me Hatzlacha, and as I headed out I saw Rabbi Lazar perusing through the pictures.

The kinus gave me a boost, and I will return to Stavropol ready to try out many new ideas.

We leave in a week.

No beaurocracy for a change

It's always a pain getting documents together for anything... Particularly the Russian government.

We have spent the past month working our and you will have to excuse my very coarse language TUCHISSES off trying to get the following documents we need in order to make permanent residency (and don't get me started with what we had to do to get our new visas, suffice it to say that some licking of a Russian security guards toes took place).

- All birth certificates (inculding Chayale's original from England).
- Two copies of our marriage license (to go in BOTH our files). Thank G-d we aren't polygamists.
- A police report (with photo and fingerprints) of every adult.
- All those documents notarized.
- Then internationally notarized (apostille in the US, authentication in Canada).
- Then everythng translated into Russian by an official translator.
- And stamped by the Russian embassy, verifying the translation.

Of course after this must take several blood tests to prove that we aren't on drugs, and don't have AIDS, and then, and then, AND THEN...

And then maybe we will be allowed to get permanent residency, since only 1000 people are allowed each year in each province.

But it's worth a shot.

And everything took time, money, and errors.

Except for today. I was up to the part called 'authentication', which meant I had to take the notarized documents to Ottawa.

So I traveled 2 hours each way to the Canadian department of authentication and other long words, and expected:

- To pay alot of money
- To wait 10 working days for it to arrive
- To lick at least one toe

Anyway, in the end, I walked in. A lady says, "give me the papers and sit." 30 seconds later she comes out and hands me the papers back, stamped... all for free!

The world amazes me sometimes.

The end of the Kovalev story

Update: we are in Montreal, which is why we haven't updated the website in a while, since there isn't much to report here with regards to Stavropol news.

However before we left, I (Zvi writing) had another meeting with Alex Kovalev.

It was thanks to a great idea by Chayale.

Since the photographer at the Torah event came at a very cheap price, and did a great job taking high quality shots, why don't we hire him before we leave back, and take our own stock photos of all our Jewish items, so we don't have to search the entire internet next time we make a brochure like we had to for the Torah event?

To take this a step further, why not bring in 6 of the community's cutest kids to be in some of the pictures, like this we have high quality shots of kids FROM OUR COMMUNITY doing Mitzvos, so on our next Chanuka flyer we send out, there will be a local kid in a beautiful shot.

We had one day to organize it, and we managed to do just that.

Except for the Torah. Half hour before the photo-shoot I rushed to the Jewish center, and grabbed the Torah. Now I needed a way back, so I called everyone I knoew with cars, but they were all out of the city. It was raining, and I wasn't too keen on taking the Torah into a taxi with someone I didn't know, so I called Alex Kovalev (a Jewish cab driver I met), and for the first time in many tries, he was in the area.

He came quickly, and I showed him the Torah, and we spoke about it on the way home. I also explained him again about Hashgacha Protis, and finally he agreed to bring his family to a holiday, provided I give him advance notice.

As we pulled up to our apartment, he said, "by the way, I have something interesting to tell you."

"Go ahead" I said.

"Remember last time I told you that I have a sister who lives in the Czech republic? well she just gave birth to a son. Now in Czech, the tradition is to name the first son after the father, so everyone knew that the boy would be named 'Yarik', which is the name of her husband. However, when she arrived at the office of registry, she just blurted out that she wants his name to be 'David', even though she never knew anyone named David (note: David as 'Dovid', not David with a Day-vid)."

Alex then told me, "Strange Rabbi, David is a Jewish name, and I had never told her that she was a Jew!"