Israel's Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar was in Chicago to dedicate the new Sephardic Center under the auspices of Chicago Sephardic Rabbi Daniel Raccah.

During his visit, the Chief Rabbi took three hours from his schedule to visit a few of the Chabad institutions in Chicago and have a special meeting at the regional headquarters of Chabad in Illinois where he was greeted by some 25 emissaries from throughout the Metropolitan Chicago area. Rabbi Daniel Moscowitz, Director of Lubavitch-Chabad in Illinois, introduced each one of the Chabad representatives to the Chief Rabbi. Rabbi Menachem Slavaticki, Director of the Chabad Israeli Center in Illinois, served as the MC. Rabbi Meir Chai Benhiyoun, Director of Chabad in Downtown Chicago, who attended the same school in Morroco as the Chief Rabbi, traded some personal stories with Rabbi Amar and even spoke to him in the unique dialect of Judeo-Arabic.

Finally, the Chief Rabbi spoke. He thanked the Chabad Rabbis for their warm welcome and told of his memories from Chabad in Morroco. He concluded his talk with a blessing to the emissaries that they continue to reach their goals in its fullest measure.

As the Chief Rabbi left, his assistant said that without a doubt the visit of Chief Rabbi Amar with Chabad was a highlight of his Chicago trip.