New Building for Melbourne Cheder

Cheder Levi Yitzchok, a grassroots Cheder in Melbourne, Australia that has been growing exponentially over the past few years, recently celebrated the grand opening of its newly acquired building.

The dedication was attended by parents, friends, and community members, all who came to rejoice in this historic event for education in Australia.

The Cheder, which aims to provide Chinuch Al Taharas Hakodesh at the highest level, had humble beginnings over 10 years ago with one boy leaving regular school to continue learning limudei koidesh each afternoon. As time passed, more and more boys joined, and the classes were spread throughout different locations across the city. As the numbers continued to increase, it became apparent that a more cohesive school environment was required to accommodate the growing number of students and to allow for the school to function optimally.

After purchasing the building and spending several months on renovations, the school relocated to its new home several weeks ago. State of the art classrooms, a multipurpose zal, meeting rooms, playgrounds and halls decorated with pictures of the Rebbe were all in place to welcome the students as they marched through the building with a sense of pride and gratitude.

In his address to the students, Cheder parents and guests, one of the contributors to the Cheder, Mr. Eliezer Kornhauser, connected the Cheder’s establishment and trajectory to the pioneering work of Reb Zalman Serebryanski, who together with his wife Brocha, were responsible for originating and overseeing Chabad’s primary educational infrastructure in Melbourne – Yeshiva College and Beth Rivkah College, and the Rabbinical College (Yeshiva Gedola).

Mr Kornhauser referred to a letter that the Frierdiker Rebbe sent to Reb Zalman shortly after he had arrived in Melbourne, expressing his warm appreciation for the decision to open a Yeshivah without considering the number of enrolled students.

The building was dedicated to The Rebbe, commemorating the Serebryanski’s dedicated contribution to authentic Jewish education in Australia for over 40 years. As a special token of the Cheder’s esteem, and in recognition of his indispensable leadership and guidance as Reb Zalman’s Memalei Makom, Reb Arel Serebryanski, together with his wife Zlata, were presented with a symbolic key to the Cheder.

At the ceremony, the Cheder reiterated its mission to raise a generation of boys committed to the teachings of the Rebbe, who are shining examples of what it means to love and to learn Torah, with the aim to hasten the coming of Moshiach.