International Conference Draws Chabad Women in Leadership To Study

by R.C. Berman – Lubavitch.com

Perusing the instructions a Chabad leader leaves behind before she attends the annual Shluchos Convention in New York is exhausting. It takes lists, sticky notes by the dozens and several people to cover for one woman at the helm when she takes a weekend off from her work as school principal, Hebrew school director, adult education teacher, mikvah coordinator, women’s group leader, and more, all wrapped into the title of Chabad Shlucha.

So when Chabad representatives switch email to automatic reply, kiss the kids goodbye, board the plane for a weekend away from the endless to-do’s, it’s somewhat surprising that they opt to fill their “me time”… studying.

On day one of the four-day conference that begins on January 24th and brings thousands of Chabad female leadership to Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn, a women-only Beit Midrash, study center, will open in the convention ballroom. The women will pair up to tackle Chasidic dissertations, interpreting the Hebrew and Yiddish text that references Talmud, Torah and legal codes.

“We are indulging ourselves a little bit,” said Mrs. Michla Schanowitz, a Chabad representative in Chicago and one of the program’s organizers.

Through the eyes of Chabad representative, butting heads and pitting wits over a text of Chasidic philosophy fits into the indulgence category normally associated with massages and manicures. Torah study “is a big part of emotionally and spiritually taking care of yourself,” said Rivky Kaplan, an adult educator in Tzfat, Israel. With all the communal responsibilities sitting squarely on the shoulder of Chabad’s female leadership, it’s hard to come by time to study Torah in depth.

Kaplan joined the chorus pushing for a Beit Midrash after she spent three weeks studying Torah during the summer. The experience “reminded me what my shlichus [mission] was all about.” Organizers turned to veteran educator Rivkah Slonim, of Chabad at Binghampton University in New York to select material for the Beit Midrash session.

Among the main topics will be the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s dissertation on spiritual implications of the spies sent by the Jewish people during their sojourn in the desert to investigate the Promised Land. The spies’ conflicting feelings over leaving the spiritual asceticism of the desert for a life working the land of Israel, parallels the challenges Jewish people, women especially, face in the modern world.

Article continued. (Lubavitch.com)

4 Comments

  • big supporter

    great article. the shulchot deserve their props. they’re the ones who make it all happen. it’s unbelievable.

  • Ruth Mastron

    Nechama [Greenberg], I know you’re in there somewhere! We miss you already in Oceanside and can’t wait until you get back with all kinds of new ideas and inspiration for us!

    love,

    Ruth “NOT the only Jew in Oceanside” Mastron