The 60th Precinct and Taylor Swift did it. Ellen Degeneres and friends at the White House tried it, too. And now, 4,000 rabbis in Brooklyn attempted to get in on the #MannequinChallenge.
The Hasidic rabbis were in town for the annual Chabad-Lubavitch conference, and posed for their annual “class portrait” on Sunday, traditionally set in front of the group’s headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights.
The photo, which requires risers and a super wide-angle lens to fit everyone in, shows the Lubavitch sect’s emissaries from around the world, who return to Crown Heights every year for the conference, also known as “kinus.”
In addition to taking the still image, the group tried to get on the #MannequinnChallenge bandwagon, filming a video with the goal of getting thousands of rabbis to stand stock-still, in silence.
The results … are mixed.
Many participants — including NYPD officers working security at the event — followed instructions, keeping quiet and frozen in place. But many did not; at least a dozen moved or waved, chastised by voices heard shouting “don’t move!” and “stop moving!”
Oy.
It’s not the first time the gathering of Lubavitch rabbis has tried out a social media trend at the conference. Two years ago, the group claimed to have taken the “world’s biggest selfie” using a huge camera extender and fish-eye lens.
