1. Moshe Yehuda Kotlarsky 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.
Moshe Kotlarsky headed the Chabad on Campus International Foundation which is active on over two hundred and thirty campuses worldwide, and served as chairman of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute.
Moshe Kotlarsky was born and raised in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York, on June 8,1949.
The elder Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky was a member of the administration of Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim, the main Lubavitch yeshiva in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, for over 40 years.
Shortly after his marriage, Moshe 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.
Moshe Kotlarsky started by traveling to outlying Jewish communities in 1968 - identifying their needs and working with local community leaders to plan future Chabad centers.
Moshe Kotlarsky presided over the massive Kinus Hashluchim, the annual international conference of Chabad emissaries which takes place in New York City.
Moshe Kotlarsky served as director of the conference, where more than 4,000 emissaries and their families participate in workshops, social events, a shared Shabbat and a banquet.
Moshe Kotlarsky served as one of Chabad's top spokespersons, and oversees religious and educational institutions in over a hundred countries.
Moshe Kotlarsky had been named in various published rankings of influential Jewish leaders including the Algemeiner Journals 'Jewish 100' and the Forward 50.
Moshe Kotlarsky cultivated Chabad's relationship with many philanthropists worldwide, including the late Sami Rohr and his son George, the investor who has significantly funded Chabad's expansion on college campuses and in Eastern Europe, among other places.
Moshe Kotlarsky's office had administered the 'Bogolubov Simcha Fund' which disbursed grants to Chabad representatives worldwide for family related expenses.
Moshe Kotlarsky had facilitated grants for individual emissaries and their community projects through his contacts with philanthropists.
Moshe Kotlarsky was married to Rivka Kazen, one of six daughters of Rabbi Shlomo Schneur Zalman Kazen, who opened the first Jewish girls school in France in 1946 at the directive of the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn.
Moshe Kotlarsky's brother-in-law was Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Kazen who became a pioneer in the use of internet and email technology to spread Jewish knowledge.
Moshe Kotlarsky died in New York City on June 4,2024, at the age of 74, from pancreatic cancer.