Shifra and Puah’s Shocking Discovery Upon Their Visit From Mitzrayim to Crown Heights
This past week, hundreds of Crown Heights women gathered together in support of Shifra and Puah Crown Heights. The theme of the evening was “Embracing Our Mothers, Empowering our Nation.” There was a tremendous feminine power felt throughout the evening emanating from both the organizers and participants alike. The crowd was given the opportunity to “adopt a new mom” by sponsoring the complete post-partum package that is distributed to all women who give birth in the community. Many enthusiastically took part and all who did received a token of appreciation in the form of a set of beautiful Shabbos bentchers. The offer still stands for those who were unable to make it to the dinner and would like to take part in this incredible project. click here for more information.
The crowd consisted of women hailing from all around the world. A passerby would catch snippets of conversation in English, Hebrew, French, Russian and even Spanish as all of the external differences melted away in support of a cause that had touched all of their lives in the same way. The evening began with a lively musical allegro after which Mrs. Chana Lifshitz took the stage to welcome everyone and invite Mrs. Malka Michla Perlow, a representative of Junior Nshei, to read the perakim of the Rebbe and Rebbetzin.
The lights then dimmed and everyone’s attention was drawn to the big screen in the front of the room. A breathtaking video presentation with AI characters took the crowd back in time to the years following the holocaust and the subsequent rebirth of Am Yisroel. All of this is in the merit of the courageous women who brought new life into this world despite the uncertainty and instability of the world around them. Our children are our continuity, our victorious proclamation that Am Yisroel is alive! The video then skips forward a few decades and brings us to our current time period. Just a few months ago, on Simchas Torah day, our enemies once again set out to annihilate us – yet we are still standing! Interwoven in the video was an audio clip of a Sicha of the Rebbe in which the Rebbe extols the power of the woman and her ability to change the world for the better through the children that she raises.
A musical performance of song and dance that expressed the ides of Neshamos coming down to the world to prepare it for Moshiach followed the video. Followed by the guest of honor, Mrs. Raya Raskin, who took to the stage and delivered an inspirational speech about the power of the Jewish women and the necessity for her to tap into that tremendous power during these trying times. She spoke about the importance of Shifra and Puah supporting Jewish women who are bringing new life into this world while the Eretz Yisroel is under attack. It is specifically the women, she exclaimed, who are preparing the world for Moshiach. She shared her personal experiences that she had with the Rebbe in connection to the births of her children. She then went on to surprise the crowd with the announcement that she would be donating one of the dollars that she received from the Rebbe’s holy hand to be raffled off to anyone who pledged $770 in support of Shifra and Puah’s activities.
Representatives of the leadership of Shifra and Puah, Mrs. Shlomit Slapochnik, Mrs. Michla Segal and Mrs. Chani Farkash publicly thanked the hundreds of volunteers who enable the organization to accomplish the tremendous work that it does. The ballet performance that followed was dedicated to them in appreciation for all that they do.
The screen then comes alive again with the images of none other than Shifra and Puah who have seemingly traveled from Mitzrayim to take a closer look at what is happening in Crown Heights in the time period before Moshiach. They are astounded to see that, in this year alone, 9,000 healthy and nourishing breakfasts, 6,000 hours of childcare, 5,000 hours of cleaning help, hundreds of Shabbos meals and even 500 overnight stays in convalescent homes were lovingly provided for new mothers in Crown Heights.
When they inquired if all of the help only begins after birth or if the women receive support during the birth as well, they were informed of a brand new project to subsidize doula’s fees as well as an emotional support hotline.
They were then informed that Shifra and Puah Crown Heights invests $770 into each post-partum mother, and $1,200 plus for mothers requiring additional financial assistance!
The MC then invited two women to the stage for a special recognition for their outstanding contributions to last year’s fundraising campaign. Mrs. Rivka Morosow who managed to inspire the highest amount of people to contribute to Shifra and Puah’s annual campaign, and Mrs. Etti Allouche who secured the highest sum of donations.
The MC continued, “In the spirit of Maalin Bakodesh and in order to cover the budget for this year’s activities, Shifra and Puah is raising $770,000.” How will we ever manage to raise such a tremendous sum? There are no two better people to show us than Shifra and Puah who have returned to the screen the different steps that we all can take to raise the funds needed to provide for all of the new mothers in Crown Heights in the upcoming year. Shifra concludes this little fundraising 101 session with some practical tips for success.
The final tip that she gives is to share the miracle stories that have happened to those who have contributed to Shifra and Puah in the past. She then invited Mr. Avi Sharbani to the podium to share his story. He shared how he and his wife had been married for many years but had not been blessed with children. Last year, he and his wife made the decision to donate $770 to Shifra and Puah. This contribution entered them into a raffle to win a silver becher embedded with a coin from the Rebbe. To their shock and surprise – it was soon announced that they were the winners! What they did not realize was the incredible bracha that the becher would bring them as he and his wife were blessed with a healthy baby boy just 9 months later!
Shifra and Puah return once again, directly from Mitzrayim, to display a QR code on the giant screen. They encourage all participants to scan the barcode to discover their new annual goal in the ongoing campaign that is happening right now.
Hundreds of women scanned the code on the massive screen and filled out a short form to receive the new annual goal. As the women commit to their fundraising goals their name and the sum they plan to raise is displayed on the screen. Some women were particularly moved by the organization and took on the commitment to raise $7,700 to cover the expenses for ten new mothers in the coming year.
The two presenters, Mrs. Bracha Sternberg and Mrs. Chana Lipshitz, take the stage together, encouraging the audience to show up in support of an organization that reaches every woman in Crown Heights, regardless of background, language, etc. Numbers continue to appear on the screen.
At the end of the evening, the organizers expressed gratitude to everyone involved in this wonderful production—from the organization’s directors and volunteers to the production team that orchestrated an amazing event, and to the dozens of women and girls who took care of every last detail.
The winner of the dollar from the Rebbe was Mrs. Sarah Ziv, and the winner of the sheitel (women who pledged $1,200 or more) was Mrs. Estherke Wolff.
Hundreds of women who entered the hall as ‘guests’ of Shifra and Puah left at the end of the amazing event as ‘partners’ and active ambassadors of the wonderful chessed organization. They are committed to achieving and fulfilling the goal they took upon themselves during the campaign, which began on Sunday night and will end, God willing, on Thursday at midnight.
Throughout the duration of the dinner, every home in Crown Heights received the brochure of Shifra and Puah, featuring information about the ongoing campaign and valuable prizes for donors contributing in support of new mothers.
If you would like to take part in this tremendous Mitzvah for the chance to win from the incredible selection of prizes featured below, visit the Shifra and Puah campaign website today to make a real difference in the lives of new mothers in Crown Heights!
