Agudath Israel of America's 84th National Convention is to be
held November 23-26 at a new location: The Sheraton Stamford
Hotel in Stamford, Connecticut. Well-known community askan
Dr. David Diamond will serve as the chairman.
According to organizers, this year's convention program will
focus on a number of important topical issues, each of which
will be explored from practical, halachic and hashkafic
perspectives throughout the weekend. The innovative
format, introduced last year to popular acclaim, is designed
to maximize the time delegates can interact with roshei
yeshiva, rabbonim and special presenters in working to devise
plans of action for dealing with particular problems.
"Last year's convention, which dealt with issues like
tuition, shidduchim, political activism, and kids-at-
risk proved to be the springboard for a number of exciting
new initiatives which are already bearing fruit," says
Agudath Israel associate executive director Rabbi Labish
Becker.
Organizers have also announced that the Keynote session, held
for the last several years on Thursday night, will once again
take place on motzei Shabbos. Each year, the
convention keynote session attracts thousands of outside
guests from throughout the tri-state area.
There are many reasons to attend an Agudath Israel of America
national convention, observes Dr. Diamond, noting that the
opportunity to benefit from the thoughts and hadracha
of gedolei doreinu and the chance to make a real
difference by participating in planning sessions and
discussions are not least among them.
But there is another important reason to participate in a
convention, he says, one that has to do with empowering
Agudath Israel to realize its maximum potential in the realm
of shtadlonus both within the larger Jewish world and
outside of it — in the halls of courts and the
corridors of Congress.
"Our annual convention is a major yardstick by which our
strength as a movement is measured. When there is widespread
recognition of the vast number of people who support this
organization and share its ideals, the potential for
accomplishment is unlimited."
Thursday Night at the Agudah Convention
Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon, mashgiach, Bais Medrash
Govoha; Rabbi Ephraim Wachsman, rosh hayeshiva, Maor
Yitzchok, Monsey; and Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Agudath
Israel of America executive vice president for government and
public affairs, will be the featured speakers at the Thursday
night plenary session of Agudath Israel of America's upcoming
convention.
The Thursday night session is entitled "Torah Wisdom/Torah
Authority: Are We Losing the Connection?"
"Klal Yisroel has always understood that its true
leaders are the gedolei Yisroel, the einei
ho'eidoh whose uniquely refined vision enables them to
guide the Jewish people through the darkest of situations,"
says Rabbi Zwiebel.
"In recent years, though," the Agudah leader observes, "due
to a variety of factors, the authority of daas Torah
has been significantly undermined, even within our own
chareidi circles. Most troubling has been the proliferation
of Internet 'blogs' where misguided individuals feel free to
spread every bit of rechilus and loshon hora
about rabbonim and roshei yeshiva, all with the intended
effect of undermining any semblance of Torah authority in our
community. It is most appropriate for an organization like
Agudath Israel, whose very essence was built on the
recognition of the authority of Torah leaders, to address
this issue head on, and formulate concrete plans to
reinvigorate public awareness of this essential element of
the Torah way of life."
