The annual Chabad Chinuch Convention is this summer, beginning on Gimmel Tammuz, followed by two days of packed programming in two separate locations for men and women.
We are proud to announce that our keynote speaker at the banquet is:
Rabbi Yosef Minkowitz
Principal of Beth Rivkah Montreal.
We asked him a few questions ahead of the convention:
How long have you been involved in Chinuch for?
K’’ah, over 40 years.
Why did you decide to get involved in Chinuch?
I had the zchus of being a part of the first group of 6 bochurim that the Rebbe picked to send to Australia. We spent 25 months keeping a rigorous seder of learning and setting up a proper yeshiva gedolah in Melbourne, Australia. It was 25 months straight, no vacation, no visits home, no phone communications etc. Just learning and Chinuch! After that experience, I was interested in continuing in Chinuch. When I became the principal of Beth Rivkah in Montreal, the school had 150 students. Now, the school boasts an enrollment of 500.
What, in short, is the theme of your address at the convention?
The title itself gives some clues: “The Rebbe’s Shlichus – Neiros Le’hoir: Our Awesome Zchus and Achrayus.” The Rebbe gave us a Shlichus with a clear ultimate goal of who we want our talmidim and talmidos to be. It is a huge achrayus, especially nowadays, but very much a tremendous zchus. It is vital that we always keep this goal in mind.
Why would you encourage other Mechanchim or Mechanchos to join the Kinus?
The Rebbe believed very strongly in continuing professional development in Chinuch, and teachers having a chance to recharge. The Rebbe said about the Kinus Hashluchim “איש את רעהו יעזורו ולאחיו יאמר חזק” that when we get together, we help, support and strengthen each other.
I heard personally from the Rebbe about a Mechanech, who would say that he has 30 years of Chinuch experience behind him and therefore he knows everything there is to know about Chinuch. The Rebbe said that the problem is that the experience is behind him. Chinuch has to be ahead of us, constantly growing.
If one don’t look forward, and try to learn new ideas and have a desire to grow, one will become stagnant. When one is not climbing, they are falling. Joining this event, especially on such a holy day as Gimmel Tammuz, we will be given the opportunity to grow in our Shlichus, and we will get the extra strength we need to continue to fulfill the Rebbe’s shlichus.
To learn more about or to register for the Kinus, please click here.
