At the Jewish Lyceum No. 144 named after Levi-Yitzchak Schneerson, a large celebration of Yud Alef Nissan took place, organized by the Department of Judaics for all students from grades 1 to 11.
The event lasted three academic hours – from the second to the fourth lesson. The entire lyceum was divided into three age groups: the younger group (grades 1-4), the middle group (grades 5-7), and the senior group (grades 8-11). However, the first part of the celebration was common for all: everyone watched a video prepared by the participants of the SLESH group about the month of Nissan. Then, the main theme of the day was announced – leadership, what qualities a leader should possess, and why the Lubavitcher Rebbe is considered a true leader of the Jewish people.
After that, the students watched a video in which the Rebbe explains the essence of true leadership using the example of his father-in-law – the Sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson. Following this, a quiz was held based on the video just watched. The questions were adapted to the students’ age levels. The children from the younger and senior groups performed excellently, while the middle group made only a minimal number of mistakes, which pleasantly surprised the organizers.
The next stage was teamwork in age groups. For the younger school, the task was to determine whether a certain behavior model was leadership-oriented. Seven challenging situations sparked lively discussions, and the children collaboratively reached conclusions about whether the behavior was that of a leader or not, and why.
The middle group was tasked with creating a map of good deeds that each of them plans to carry out during the month following the Passover break. “Most of the lyceum students suggested individual ideas – giving tzedakah, helping loved ones, speaking kind words, being polite, etc.,” says Aliza Rabinovich, the deputy director of the lyceum for Jewish traditions. “However, the sixth grade particularly surprised us: they made a collective decision to take responsibility for an animal shelter and help it for a month.”
The senior group received the most challenging assignment prepared by the Judaics department teachers. Each class was randomly assigned a theme, for which they would need to conduct an event for the entire lyceum after the break, coming up with the format themselves. All four events would form a unified “Marathon of Goodness.” The themes were as follows: the eighth grade had “Words Have Power,” the ninth grade had “Cleanliness is Not Where You Clean,” the tenth grade had “Support Day,” and the eleventh grade had “Secret Goodness.” The students engaged in a brainstorming session and presented their preliminary ideas and proposals for implementing their projects.
After that, all the students of the lyceum recited Tehillim in honor of the birthday of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. They first read Psalms 123 and 124, followed by the 20th Psalm. Each child received a personal copy of the book “Tehillim” in Hebrew with a translation into Ukrainian in a convenient pocket format for easy carrying. “These Tehillim were donated by the Nikitenko family in honor and for the spiritual elevation of their relatives and loved ones,” shared Aliza Rabinovich.
The celebration of the Rebbe’s birthday concluded with dancing: the younger group danced together, while in the middle and senior classes, the girls enthusiastically supported the boys, who initially felt shy but then danced more boldly and energetically to lively Jewish music. This brought immense joy, inspiration, and positivity to everyone involved.
“In general, this day at the lyceum went wonderfully – it was filled with spirituality and positive emotions,” summarizes Aliza Rabinovich. “I am sure that this day brought much nachas to our Rebbe.”
The event was organized with the support of the Jewish community of Dnipro.
