Posted to Chabad News on

Melbourne Seminary Girls Imagine 22 Shvat, 2022

On Chof Beis Shvat, the girls of Ohel Chana in Melbourne Australia organized their very own kinus, with the theme being the important role of women, as Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka has shown.

They learned about how women are a vital part of their home, in charge of their children’s education, and the ones who determine how their house will be run and on what foundations it will be based.

At the start of Chof Beis Shvat, they organized a function for the girls in Beth Rivkah high school, to bring the girls together to commemorate the yartzeit. After a short video presentation on the life of the Rebbetzin, they were fortunate enough to be addressed by a panel of Jewish women, including Mrs. Sara Lieder and Mrs. Suri Adelist of Melbourne, and Mrs. Amanda Tenne of the Gold Coast. They described their experiences and how they overcame challenges growing up in this day and age, such as Tznius, Shabbos in the working world and Jewish pride. The night ended with a cake demonstration, and the girls were able to decorate their own cupcakes. The large number of girls who attended really enjoyed it, and got a sense of what it is to follow the Rebbetzin’s legacy.

Later on that evening, the girls were privileged to attend the Neshei Chabad function on Tuesday night, getting a taste for what it will be like to be Chassidishe women out of the environment of seminary! They were inspired by the meaningful program, with performances by local women and speeches by Local Shluchos: Mrs. Menucha Cooper, the MC, and Mrs. Rivkah Jurkowicz of Malvern Chabad. It was also beautiful to see the wide variety of women that came to share in the unique feel of this event, with shluchos within Melbourne, women from the wider community, as well as some not yet frum women who were brought by shluchos. It was a wonderful way to start the Melbourne Chof Beis Shvat experience.

On Wednesday morning, the girls started off bright and early with Chassidus and Davening, as usual. Each received a shlucha card with photos and the name of their hometown, highlighting that wherever they are from, they are shluchos.

After breakfast, they got straight into the special atmosphere of the day, with chavrusa learning, delving into the Rebbe’s teachings on the hora’os that can be learned from the Rebbetzin’s yartzeit. Throughout high school, the girls always heard the phrase ‘v’hachai yiten el libo’, and would speak only briefly about its meaning, which made it very refreshing to have the opportunity to learn more in depth on the Rebbetzin.

The girls then watched the video, ‘The Rebbetzin’, which gave them a new perspective on the amazing qualities of the Rebbetzin, from the stories of the few people who knew her.

Following the video presentation, the girls were privileged to hear from Mrs Timmy Rubin, a prominent member of the Melbourne Jewish community who runs the Chaya Mushka mikvah. She shared stories of her own personal experiences in returning to Yiddishkeit, and her long journey spanning years and continents in search for truth. She recalled her first encounter with the Rebbe, and the powerful connection she felt when passing for dollars. Mrs Rubin imbued in the girls feelings of pride in being Chassidishe women, and inspired them to go out and help others find the path to the Jewish way of life.

After lunch, there was a special program in the dorm. The dining room was spectacularly decorated by girls, with coloured tablecloths and posters on the walls. It felt as though they were at a professionally planned event!

The idea was that they were coming to the Convention of 2022 – each girl dressed as she sees herself in 10 years, and had workshops focusing on how to reach these goals. The girls were all so excited with this challenge, and although they had a vague idea of who they wanted to be – some more than others! – finding something specific was both difficult yet extremely fun.

Related Articles

33 Comments