At “Chaya Mushka,” the leading educational institution of the Jewish Community of Dnipro for girls, the celebration of 18 Elul was held in the form of a large team game and two farbrengens for different age groups.
The holiday was prepared and led by Fania Gaysinskaya and Dvora Sima Romanovskaya, who developed the concept, scenario, all necessary materials, and also served as hosts of this large-scale event. At the beginning, all the girls gathered in the school’s sports hall to watch a video of the Rebbe and a special clip prepared by the students themselves. In it, the girls, with childlike sincerity, answered questions such as: “Who is a Chassid?” “What is Chabad?” and many others.
Next, the participants were divided into groups distinguished by colored ribbons, and each team received a file with information to review within ten minutes. This was followed by a large quiz, where the girls answered questions related to the history of Chassidism and the significance of 18 Elul. The game turned out to be very lively and fun, filled with great enthusiasm, as the students demonstrated their deep knowledge, quick thinking, and genuine competitive spirit.
After the game came the farbrengens, which also unfolded in a very bright and unique way at two different locations — one for the younger students and one for the older. Both were held with great spiritual inspiration, the singing of niggunim, and wonderful Chassidic stories.
“At each farbrengen, the teachers shared with the girls their personal stories of Teshuvah, telling how they first encountered Chassidism, how meeting the Rebbe’s emissaries influenced them, and how the teachings of the Alter Rebbe, as presented in his book Tanya, changed their lives by filling them with meaning,” said Amora Sheina Smilyanskaya. “The stories and life paths were different, but they all had one thing in common — they revealed the power of Torah, the light of Chassidism, and the importance of unity and solidarity, which for us are embodied by the Jewish Community of Dnipro under the leadership of its Chief Rabbi, Shmuel Kaminezki.”
