At the first International Kinus Hashluchim, in 5748, there was a festive atmosphere, with 350 participants.
On the official schedule, the Kinus was said to open on Shabbos afternoon at 1:30pm, at the Rebbe’s farbrengen. However, as a prelude, the Shluchim gathered for a Friday night meal in the Oholei Torah Hall.
At the meal, one of the shluchim spoke. “Eved avrohom anochi, I am the slave of Avrohom!” he passionately quoted from the weekly parsha, and went on to expound on the concept of a shliach to serve as a slave and totally subjugate himself to the Avrohom of the generation.
The next afternoon, at the opening of the farbrengen, to the surprise of the assembled, the Rebbe addressed the speech from the night before.
“There those who wanted to say that a shliach is a slave,” the Rebbe began, “but that is wrong!”
“A slave functions from kabbolas ol,” the Rebbe explained, “and his mission doesn’t become his own. As they say in America, ‘it doesn’t bother him.’ Whereas a shliach, he cares for the inyan, and he identifies with the shlichus.”
(Umal’a Ha’aretz Farbrengen p. 11)
