Chabad Class picture in Crown Heights

The annual “class picture” of Chabad rabbis took place Sunday morning at the 41st annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries (Kinus Hashluchim), under the iconic gables of Chabad headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights.

The portrait of thousands of black-hatted rabbis represents not just an annual conference tradition — since 1984 — but also the many faces of Chabad who bring Judaism to the world. Rabbis from war-torn Ukraine to those stationed in the towns along Israel’s hostile borders; rabbis serving college campuses to those bringing Judaism to communities that have sprung up in out-of-the-way places.

This year, there was a noticeable absentee: Rabbi Zvi Kogan, the 28-year-old emissary who was murdered by terrorists in the United Arab Emirates last week, may not have been there in person but he was on the minds of all those posing in the picture.

“Our job has never been clearer,” declared Rabbi Levi Duchman, director of Chabad of the UAE and chief rabbi of the Emirates, at Kogan’s funeral last Monday in Israel. “To remind every Jew who they are and why they are here. The world needs to hear our voices. Do more, stand prouder, fight harder, reach further. This … is about us and our people. We are not just here to survive. We are here to transform the world.” —Chabad.org