Moshe Kotlarsky
{{Short description|American rabbi (1949–2024)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{infobox person
| name = Moshe Kotlarsky
| image = Moshe Kotlarsky addresses Kinus.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Kotlarsky addresses the Kinus Hashluchim in 2020.
| birth_date = {{birth date|1949|6|8}}
| birth_place = New York City, New York
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2024|6|4|1949|6|8}}
| death_place = New York City
| occupation = Vice Chairman of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch
}}
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Moshe Yehuda Kotlarsky (June 8, 1949 – June 4, 2024) was an American Orthodox Hasidic rabbi who served as Vice Chairman of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement which in turn oversees over 5,000 religious and educational institutions worldwide. Kotlarsky was a movement fundraiser and participant in the outreach operation.{{Cite web|url=https://forward.com/news/177251/fast-growing-chabad-asks-who-will-be-leader-for-n/|title = Fast-Growing Chabad Asks: Who Will be Leader for Next Generation?| date=28 May 2013 }} He also headed the Chabad on Campus International Foundation which is active on over two hundred and thirty campuses worldwide,{{cite news |last1=Sokol |first1=Sam |title=Chabad expands campus presence in bid to combat anti-Semitism |url=https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Chabad-expands-campus-presence-in-bid-to-combat-anti-Semitism-413394 |access-date=30 July 2021 |publisher=Jerusalem Post |date=27 August 2015}} and served as chairman of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute.{{Cite web|url=http://www.collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=25880|title=JLI Affiliates Gather in NY|date=24 June 2013}}
Early life
Kotlarsky was born and raised in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York, on June 8, 1949.{{Cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/6463934/jewish/Rabbi-Moshe-Kotlarsky-74-Instrumental-in-Chabads-Global-Expansion.htm|title=Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, 74, Instrumental in Chabad's Global Expansion|date=4 June 2024}} His father, Rabbi Tzvi Yosef (Hershel) Kotlarsky (d. 2008), was a native of Otwosk, Poland{{Cite web |url=http://www.shturem.org/index.php?section=news&id=31993 |title=Rabbi Tzvi Yosef Kotlarsky OBM |date=8 December 2008 |access-date=7 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216035354if_/http://www.shturem.org/index.php?section=news&id=31993 |archive-date=16 February 2019 |url-status=dead}} who spent the World War II years in Shanghai.{{cite web |url=http://www.dangoor.com/issue78/articles/78059.htm |title=Center Revives Shanghai's Jewish History |year=2005 |access-date=7 February 2011 |publisher=The Scribe}} The elder Rabbi Kotlarsky was a member of the administration of Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim, the main Lubavitch yeshiva in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, for over 40 years.
Activities
= Global ambassador =
Shortly after his marriage, Kotlarsky began working for Merkos, the Chabad division responsible for outreach, on the cusp of an explosion in the number of volunteer Chabad emissaries around the world. He traveled to outlying Jewish communities in 1968, identifying their needs and working with local community leaders to plan future Chabad centers. He became a crucial resource connecting field operatives with Chabad headquarters.Mishpacha magazine, June 25, 2014 Yisroel Besser, page 29
He oversaw about four thousand institutions in a hundred countries. He presided over the Kinus Hashluchim,{{Cite web|url=http://forward.com/forward-50-2008/#religion|title = Forward 50, 2008}} the annual international conference of Chabad emissaries that takes place in New York City.{{cite web |url=http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=74868 |title= PHOTOS & VIDEOS: More Than 4,000 Chabad Shluchim Gather For Annual Convention |work=Yeshiva World News |date=8 November 2010 |access-date=7 February 2011}} He served as director of the conference,{{Cite web|url=http://www.chabad.org/search/keyword_cdo/kid/17539/jewish/Rabbi-Moshe-Kotlarsky.htm|title=Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky}} where more than 4,000 emissaries and their families participated in workshops, social events, a shared Shabbat and a banquet.{{cite web |url=http://www.mishpacha.com/Browse/Article/300/Colossal-Converge |title=Colossal Convergence |last=Bensoussan |first=Barbara |date=3 November 2010 |access-date=7 February 2011 |work=Mishpacha |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004085755/http://www.mishpacha.com/Browse/Article/300/Colossal-Converge |archive-date=4 October 2017 |url-status=dead }} He also served as one of Chabad's spokespersons, and oversaw religious and educational institutions in over a hundred countries.
Kotlarsky had also been named in various published rankings of Jewish leaders, including the Algemeiner Journals 'Jewish 100'{{cite news |title=Jewish 100, 2014: Moshe Kotlarsky – Community |url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2015/02/05/jewish-100-2014-moshe-kotlarsky-community/ |access-date=28 July 2021 |publisher=Algemeiner |date=5 February 2015}} and the Forward 50.{{Cite web|url=https://forward.com/forward-50-2008/|title=Forward 50, 2008|access-date=2018-04-04|archive-date=2018-04-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406064913/https://forward.com/forward-50-2008/|url-status=dead}}
= Fundraiser =
Kotlarsky cultivated Chabad's relationship with many philanthropists worldwide, including the Sami Rohr and his son George. His office had administered the 'Bogolubov Simcha Fund' which disbursed grants to Chabad representatives worldwide for family related expenses.{{Cite web|url=http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2021624/Chabad-Lubavitch-Representatives-The-Object-of-Philanthropists-Largesse.html|title = Chabad-Lubavitch Representatives the Object of Philanthropist's Largesse|date = 7 January 2008}} He had also facilitated grants for individual emissaries and their community projects through his contacts with philanthropists.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Chabad North Orlando has a new shul, and it's only the beginning |url=https://www.heritagefl.com/story/2015/07/31/news/chabad-north-orlando-has-a-new-shul-and-its-only-the-beginning/4751.html |website=Heritage Florida Jewish News}}
Personal life
Kotlarsky was married to Rivka Kazen, one of six daughters of Rabbi Shlomo Schneur Zalman Kazen.Groner, Rishe. "Kazen Sisters". Binah Sisters Supplement, Pesach 5772, pp. 26–31. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
His brother-in-law was Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Kazen.{{cite web |url= https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/783328/jewish/Pioneer-of-the-Jewish-Internet.htm |title=Pioneer of the Jewish Internet Had a Passion for People |last=Zaklikowski |first=Dovid |year=2008 |access-date=7 February 2011 |publisher=chabad.org}}
Kotlarsky's son, Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, is the director of Merkos 302 and president of Chabad's international Cteen program.{{Cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/2018/02/26/news-opinion/united-states/parkland-students-begin-to-heal-at-jewish-conference-in-new-york|title = Parkland students begin to heal at Jewish conference in New York|date = 26 February 2018}}
Kotlarsky died in New York City on June 4, 2024, at the age of 74, from pancreatic cancer.{{Cite news |last=Berger |first=Joseph |date=2024-06-13 |title=Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, 75, Dies; Expanded Chabad's Global Reach |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/13/nyregion/rabbi-moshe-kotlarsky-dead.html |access-date=2024-07-05 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|url=https://collive.com/rabbi-moshe-kotlarsky-74-obm/|title = Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, 74, OBM|date = 4 June 2024}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [http://www.torahcafe.com/musicvideo.php?vid=d5839cc11 New Year's Greeting 5771 from Rabbi Moshe Kotlorsky]
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Category:20th-century American rabbis
Category:21st-century American rabbis