Open Door, Open Hearts $75,000 For Machon L’Yahadus
Most of us are still home, aren’t we? So are the young women of Machon L’Yahadus.
These young women from all over the world and at all points on their Jewish journey call Machon L’Yahadus home.
That’s why the dorm has been open despite the current situation.
And classes were not cancelled for even a day.
And student Sara (Benezra) Mizrahi – who got married on Yud Alef Nissan – felt the love of her core community at the dorm. She and her husband Reuven also experienced the love of the greater Crown Heights community when they were celebrated during a parade around the neighborhood.
Machon L’Yahadus has kept its door open. And the students and staff have opened their hearts even more than ever before!
Says Rabbi Shloma Majeski, principal of Machon L’Yahadus, “There are no words when I hear about the acts of kindness and comradery amongst the girls that extend to the broader community. They have risen and risen to the occasion!”
Rabbi Majeski is referring to many projects initiated by the students themselves. As soon as the Crown Heights community was hit by covid, the students volunteered to shop and run errands for home-bound mothers and seniors. And now that the students have all recovered from the virus themselves, they shop and run errands for the teachers and staff. Another example, Machon L’Yahadus student Maya Hernandez was not able to return to Crown Heights after a visit home to the Dominican Republic. But her sister was here in Crown Heights alone! Before Shabbos, Maya got a message from her sister. “The girls from the dorm just brought me food. They have me here tearing up, they’re amazing.” No one asked them to reach out. But thinking of others has become an automatic reflex for the Machon L’Yahadus students.
Following Pesach, classes resumed full-time via zoom. After school hours, these young women are used to being active and independent but they were primarily housebound like everyone else. Yet they have created amongst themselves an atmosphere of joy and positivity that is enviable! (The exceptional atmosphere in the dorm is due in no small part to the nurturing of dorm mother Mrs. Shterna Rodal and her incredible team of devoted dorm counselors!)
But the “cherry on top” thus far has been the unbelievable manner in which the students celebrated the wedding of their “sister” on Lag B’Omer! The dorm was decorated like a wedding hall. The food and its presentation could rival that of any caterer. Wedding shtik was rented, china borrowed, spirits were high and their sheer joy was even loftier to assure that this covid quarantine wedding would be an exalted event fit for queen!
Machon L’Yahadus student Miriam Zirdok, from Mexico City, shared, “Machon L’Yahadus is not just a school. It is giving life to every single one of us, nurturing us with love, compassion and knowledge. Machon L’Yahadus is preparing us to build our own homes where we will raise the next generation.”
During this current unprecedented situation, Machon L’Yahadus’ expenses have exponentially increased while revenue from donors who were impacted by covid and tuition revenue has decreased.
The Machon L’Yahadus students are counting on you to open your heart so that Machon L’Yahadus can keep their door open now and beyond.
Please donate generously to the # OpenDoorOpenHearts Campaign at https://www.rayze.it/opendooropenhearts/.
Machon L’Yahadus is under the auspices of NCFJE. For information about Machon L’Yahadus classes or general inquiries email machonlybh@gmail.com
