Following the passing of his father, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, z”l, one of the most influential figures in Chabad, Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky assumed the responsibility of helping guide and support thousands of shluchim around the globe. In this wide-ranging conversation, he discusses the extraordinary legacy he inherited and the challenges of stepping into his father’s role
When I interviewed Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky several years ago, I encountered a man who combined qualities that do not often coexist. He wielded enormous influence, yet was genuinely humble. He could be remarkably forceful, but there was a sweetness and warmth about him that made everyone feel like a personal friend. Indeed, long after our interview he continued sending me messages suggesting that we get together. He was a zeese Yid in the fullest sense of the term.
Rabbi Kotlarsky, who passed away in June 2024, was one of the central figures behind Chabad’s extraordinary expansion. As vice chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch and chairman of the International Kinus Hashluchim, he spent over five decades traveling the world, establishing Chabad centers, cultivating relationships with philanthropists and helping the shluchim who had dedicated their lives to the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s mission of reaching out to every Jew.
His passing left an enormous void, but it also placed an extraordinary responsibility on the shoulders of his son Mendy, who had worked closely with his father. Today, Rabbi Mendy serves as executive director of Merkos 302 and the International Kinus Hashluchim, helping to coordinate an international network that has grown to thousands of shluchim in over 4,000 locations. He also helped expand Chabad’s reach among teenagers and young professionals, and provide the organizational infrastructure necessary for continued growth.
Rabbi Mendy spoke candidly about his father’s final years, his remarkable dedication despite a devastating illness and what it means to carry the Rebbe’s mission forward.
I must tell you that of all the people I’ve ever interviewed, your father was one of those with whom I bonded the most. He was such a genuine person. I see that you’re smiling.
That was him. I worked with him, so there were very few things I didn’t know. But over the past two years I’ve learned about the impact he had on people he met throughout his life who feel exactly the same way. I’ll walk out of the Ohel and someone will come up to me and say, “Your father did this” or “Your father did that.” Everyone wanted to interact with him.
He was very reluctant to do the interview because he didn’t like talking about himself.
He almost never gave interviews. We would publish quotes in his name, but he refused to do more than that, which is rare for someone in his position. He would say, “The minute you start doing things for a picture, for PR or for the press is the minute you stop doing things for real. I never want to be in a position where I have to choose between taking something on for the right reasons and worrying about my image.” That’s why he never allowed it.
It was a double challenge for me because he was already ill at the time. He told me that he had days when he suffered tremendous yissurim and nights when he couldn’t sleep.
And he never complained. He was on dialysis, chemotherapy and radiation. We would always bentch him with “arichas yomim v’shanim tovos.” That doesn’t just mean a long life. It means that your days should be full of purpose and meaning. He embodied that definition.
He had everyone from bar mitzvah bachurim to shluchim coming to see him and he had a shul in his house. That was the Eibershter’s gift to him. He was a people person, and when he could no longer travel he still had the opportunity to farbreng every Shabbos until late in the afternoon. He had an open house, and he needed that.
Up until about two weeks before he passed away, when his blood pressure became too low for him to continue dialysis, we would bring the final meetings of things we were working on to him so he could make the decisions.
At his last Kinus he announced, “If I’m still here, I’m not just here to do what I did or even double what I did. It’s to do infinitely greater.” He then committed to a number of new projects, including opening 360 libraries, the OneMitzvah campaign and the afterschool talmud Torah. Unfortunately, Jewish education outside the frum community is declining.
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