After its second successful year, hundreds of shluchim worldwide gear up for Merkos 302’s Festival of the Future 3.0. A full-day program entitled “Peace by Peace” taking place around the world this Acharon Shel Pesach.
After the Festival of the Future program launched at four hundred and ten Chabad Houses last year, hundreds of shluchim worldwide are gearing up to host the revamped Festival of the Future’s meaningful, day-long Acharon Shel Pesach program exploring a new theme of “Peace by Peace.” This year's theme is more relevant than ever and is bound to resonate with the hearts and minds of all participants.
The Moshiach Seudah was always challenging for Rabbi Eli Pink of Chabad of Leeds, England. “It was never a particularly organized affair,” he says, “We’d eat matzah, drink wine, talk, and that was it.” Last year, he seized the chance to make it more meaningful by using the Festival of the Future’s guided Moshiach Seudah handbook.
The difference was immediately stark. “The whole community was very engaged,” Rabbi Pink says, “nobody schmoozed in the corner; people hung on every word.” By the end, Rabbi Pink was inspired by the number of people who took a concrete Hachlatah. “I’d never encouraged them to learn about Moshiach before,” he says, “now they were excited to commit to doing it.”
Last year, Rabbi Pink was just one of four hundred and ten Shluchim who brought the Festival of the Future to their communities.
In Toronto, Rabbi Shmuel Neft of the Jewish Russian Community Center at Rockford in Toronto, Canada, noted the program’s impact. “Preparing for Seudas Moshiach was always a research project,” he says. “What would I say? How would I make it practical? And how do I speak about one topic for ninety minutes?” Last year was different. “Festival of the Future prepared it all for me; it was practical, personal, and made global and personal redemption relevant.”
This year, the Moshiach Office teamed up with numerous Chabad organizations, including Chabad.org, CKids, and MyShliach, to expand its offerings to meet the needs of every age group.
“We’re capitalizing on each organization’s expertise,” says Rabbi Shlomie Naparstek, director of the Moshiach Office at Merkos 302, “We’ve created a package that fuses together curriculum, educational materials, and hands-on programs.”
Festival of the Future 5784 is now open for registration. Order it now in only a few simple steps. It includes a full-day program informing, engaging, and inspiring children, young professionals, and adults around a powerful message from the Haftorah of Achron Shel Pesach.
This year’s new theme, Peace by Peace, unpacks the idea of global, communal, and familial peace based on a Moshiach ideal. It expounds upon what the Navi says about the absolute peace that will reign in the world when Moshiach comes, affecting even the animal kingdom—“the wolf will lie with the lamb.”
“Since Oct. 7th, Shluchim have been seeing an awakening of interest in the fundamentals of Geulah,” said Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch, “Jews worldwide are seeking clarity regarding this foundational part of Yiddishkeit and our goal is to give them a very relevant feel for Moshiach and what it means in their personal lives.”
Festival of the Future is available for purchase now; Visit festivalfuture.org.
For more information, visit festivalfuture.org or email info@festivalfuture.org.
You can also reach out over WhatsApp at +1 (347) 343-4514.
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