South Brooklyn Students Take the Stage at the Regional JewQ Championship
On Sunday morning, February 1, more than 40 children from public schools across Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay, and Mill Basin gathered at Chabad Seabreeze Jewish Center for the South Brooklyn Regional JewQ Championship. The energy in the room was electric. Parents and siblings on the edge of their seats, cheering on the contestants. And kids gripped their answer sheets like golden tickets.
For months, these students had been studying after school, between math, homework, and piano lessons; reviewing blessings, holidays, Jewish history, and the details of mitzvos. Now, the questions came fast.
“Today’s Jewish children face many challenges at school and online,” said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Executive Director of Merkos 302. “When they build real knowledge and pride in who they are, it changes how they walk into every room. Seeing that shift is incredibly powerful.”
“We are extremely proud of the dedication these students have shown,” said Mrs. Chana Charytan, Shlucha in Mill Basin. “They are an inspiration to their friends and our entire community to be prouder and more dedicated Jews.”
Name the order of the parshiyos.
Which bracha is said before eating cake?
Who led the Jewish people into Eretz Yisrael?
In a public school setting, where Jewish identity can sometimes feel nonexistent, this stage flipped the script. Here, knowing mattered. Remembering mattered. Being Jewish wasn’t in the background; it was center stage.
Eight students from four local programs earned their spot as this year’s South Brooklyn JewQ Champions:
Mill Basin Hebrew School
Sofia Rivka Lemberg – 7th grade
Simon Khrapko – 7th grade
Hebrew School Sheepshead Bay
Olivia Riven – 7th grade
Isabelle Kleynerman – 3rd grade
Chabad Neshama Hebrew School
Joseph Cohen – 5th grade
Jessica Manashirova – 5th grade
JKC – Chabad Neshama After School
Levi Evenaim – 4th grade
Jacob Shimoni – 5th grade
The winners will advance to the International JewQ Championship on March 22, joining children from communities around the world.
Registration for the CKids Shabbaton closes March 1st. Register at shabbaton.ckids.org.
