Seminary Girls’ Own Kinus

By Ohel Chana Students

On Chof Beis Shvat, the girls of Ohel Chana in Melbourne Australia organized our very own kinus, with the theme being the important role of women, as Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka showed us. We learnt 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, we 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, we were fortunate enough to have a panel of Jewish women including Mrs. Sara Lieder and Mrs. Suri Adelist of Melbourne, and Mrs. Amanda Tenne of the Gold Coast. They spoke to us describing their experiences and inspired us with how they overcame challenges experienced in growing up in this day and age, such as Tznius, Shabbos in the working world and Jewish pride. We ended the night 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 we were privileged to attend the Nshei Chabad function on Tuesday night, getting a taste for what it will be like to be Chassidishe women out of the environment of seminary! We 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 our Melbourne Chof Beis Shvat experience.

On Wednesday morning, we started off bright and early with Chassidus and Davening, as usual. We each received a shlucha card with our photos and the name of our hometown, highlighting that wherever we are, we are shluchos.

After breakfast, we got straight into the special atmosphere of the day with chavrusa learning, delving into the Rebbe’s teachings on the hora’os we can learn from the Rebbetzin’s yartzeit. Throughout high school, we 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.

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

Following the video presentation we 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 us feelings of pride in being Chassidishe women and inspired us to go out and help others find the path to our way of life.

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

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

The first workshop was with Chaya R. an alumni of Ohel Chana and a previous shlucha in Beth Rivkah high school. She spoke to us about a Chassidishe home, and how we, the women, are specifically responsible for setting the tone in our house. She told us stories about how we can influence our families, and shared with us tips for the future, such as making a big deal of Chassidishe Yomim Tovim by setting the table nicely and serving dessert. It was really empowering to see the Rebbe’s words, from sichos and the like, about the tremendous impact we can have.

Our second workshop was with our temporary dorm counsellor (while Brocha and Mushka are attending the Kinus in NY), Ella G. She addressed the theme of what type of women we can aspire to be, by contrasting various women in Jewish History and how we can learn from their diverse personalities on how to lead our own lives. We examined the priorities in our lives, and saw how even when our lives are occupied by more mundane pursuits, we always have our emphasis on the right Chassidishe priorities. We then had a roll call, showing how diverse our seminary is – we have girls from all around the world, from Adelaide, Australia, to New Haven, Connecticut, and pretty much everywhere in between including countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and Israel!

After the program, Bnos Chabad, run by the girls of Ohel Chana, held a chof beis shvat function for the girls of Beth Rivkah primary school. We spoke to the girls, and showed a video about what the Rebbetzin exemplified for girls as Bnos Chabad. We put emphasis on the role that Rebbetzin played in her own right, as well as her immense role in helping the Rebbe, her particular attention to tznius in both dress and behaviour and her genuine concern for others’ wellbeing. The girls decorated mirrors for them to look at themselves and make sure they are following in the Rebbetzin’s footsteps. The girls had a great time, and we really made it a relevant and meaningful day for them, ensuring they truly felt the significance of this day in the Chassidishe calendar.

We concluded our day with a Farbrengen with Mrs. Sara Lieder, shlucha here in Melbourne in the Chabad House for Israeli Travellers. She brought out the idea of how Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka was completely mevatel to the Rebbe, and how we can learn from her how to be true Chassidim. The stories she shared of her shlichus brought to life the inyanim of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka’s yartzeit, where we saw the actual effects of the Rebbetzin’s support for the Rebbe. She explained to us how we need to connect to the pnimiyus of mitzvos to truly fulfil them, especially nowadays, and the importance of our connection to the Rebbe and our mashpiyos who have his kochos to give us grounding. We found it especially moving when she shared the story of her mekurav who joined her at the Nshei convention and was inspired merely by seeing a picture of the Rebbetzin, and the honor we give to her. If this mekurav could form a connection with the Rebbetzin just from seeing the Rebbetzin’s regal nature, as captured in a simple photograph, how much more can we feel when we hear all these incredible stories and learn the Rebbe’s Torah about the Rebbetzin, and spend this special day enveloped in the incomparable environment of Ohel Chana, Melbourne…

We would like to thank Rabbi Tenenbaum, Ella G, Chaya R, Mrs. S Lieder and the committee of girls in the dorm who helped plan, decorate, prepare and set up, and to Reena F for making the shluchos cards for each girl! What a wonderful and inspiring day!