Rabbi Baruch Rozmarin has a list in hand and is getting ready to do a little shopping before he returns home.
The Chabad-Lubavitch emissary stationed on the Caribbean island of Grenada plans to stop at a Jewish bookstore and a 24-hour kosher supermarket, both in Brooklyn, N.Y., in search of texts, religious items, food and treats that he can’t readily get at home.
“Every time we fly out, we bring back kosher things that we can’t get here,” says the rabbi, noting that the shopping list that his wife, Chaya, gave him includes dairy products, yogurt, beef, breadcrumbs and snacks for their two young children, including chalav Yisrael milk chocolate. (With no access to kosher-supervised dairy items at the highest level, they rely on soy and almond milk at home.)
Rozmarin is one of thousands of rabbis who have spent the last few days in New York City as part of the annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries (Kinus Hashluchim), which officially started on Thursday and concluded Sunday night with the gala banquet. While the large gathering is designed to provide sustenance for the Jewish soul—especially for those who live far from large, organized Jewish communities—it also serves as an opportunity to stock up on food for the family pantry.
“I will definitely buy some chicken and meat to take home, as well as some cheese and candies for my children,” says Rabbi Yehoshua Kaminetzky, the Chabad emissary in Belgrade, Serbia, and a father of four. “I also plan to buy new kippot and tzitzit for my boys, and new Jewish storybooks.”
He explains that his wife, Miri, not only provides him with a list of items to buy, but advises him on exactly which stores to head to for certain items. The rabbi brought two spare suitcases with him in order to lug back all his purchases.
In addition to shopping while in town for the Kinus, being in the neighborhood of Crown Heights—the heart of the Chabad community—also gives the emissaries a chance to enjoy a coffee, snack or meal out at one of the many kosher restaurants nearby.
And while access to Jewish amenities is a real plus, for Kaminetzky, there is a much greater comfort and purpose for visiting.
“I don’t miss any of the food,” he states matter-of-factly. Rather, “I miss my Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory], and I couldn’t wait to go to the Ohel.”
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