JNet Announces Winners of Chai Elul Learning Campaign

From Australia to Guadeloupe to South Africa to Spain, hundreds participated in the JNet Chai Elul learning campaign.

Participants were asked to study a sicha of the Rebbe in English, Spanish, or Yiddish and then answer three questions related to the material for a chance to win prizes. Three winners were chosen today.

Congratulations to:

First prize, $300: Esther Rochel Elkaim, Bal Harbor, FL
Second prize, Samsung Galaxy Tab2: Evan (Chanan) Nocks, New York, NY
Third prize, $100 to www.kehotonline.com: Sarale Chyrek, Brooklyn, NY

Participants were asked to share the most powerful new lesson they took from the sicha. Here are some selected answers:

“I can’t just rely on what my teacher/leader/Rebbe says and just do what they say, I need to make it a part of me, part of my life, and make it my own.”

“As someone who too often feels tethered to the tight grasp of a strong secular foundational life experience, I have profound gratitude for the encouragement to learn this lesson. There is a particular relevancy these words currently hold in my mind as spiritual nourishment for making better choices towards living a more Jewish life.”

“That I ought to make my relationship with Hashem more personal and I will i’yh focus on one specific prayer when I daaven for the month of Elul.”

 “That as a chabad chassid I was given the tools to work on myself in a very real and practical way.”

“That I can’t compare my service of Gd with anyone else. I need to focus on my own strengths and connection and make all Torah that I learn personal and realize that me discovering it is significant. I’m not just another person passing by, I can actually bring down new thoughts!”

“I realize that my own individual struggle with Torah texts and Chassidus can reveal new insights known only to me, making them not trivial.  This makes my own study.. extremely important because it reveals new answers about our world and provides me with a deeper connection to Hashem.”

“The lesson I took out is to never be satisfied with serving Hashem only according to what I think I “should” do. I need to also incorporate my individual personality and talents, and strive to create something new through my observance of Torah.”

Thank you to all who participated.

If you would like to have a part in the merit of all the learning by helping to cover the cost of the project, please go to www.jnet.org/donate and mention Chai Elul in the “In honor of” section.