A wonderful tradition has developed at the Dnipro “Chaya-Mushka” Maсhon, a leading educational institution of the Dnipro Jewish Community for girls: to visit friends at one of the city’s Jewish structures during the days of Chol HaMoed Sukkot.
This year, on the first day of Chol HaMoed, the Maсhon girls went to visit the students of the “Bait leBanot” boarding school, which hospitably welcomed first the younger girls and then the older ones in its beautiful sukkah, where a bright, exciting, and unforgettable program dedicated to the Sukkot holiday was organized.
In the first half of the day, the boarding school was visited by the younger students. For them, after prayer and a meal in the sukkah, activity stations were organized. At one station, the girls played exotic “darbuka” drums, danced for “Simchat Beit HaSho’eva,” and participated in a quiz game testing knowledge of interesting mitzvot related to the Sukkot holiday.
In the afternoon, the program for the older girls began. They prepared a meal over an open fire and enjoyed it in the sukkah. Afterwards, a “Limud” – a special lesson studying the Rebbe’s sicha dedicated to Sukkot – took place, conducted by Mora Daniela Listengurt. After the lesson, the girls answered questions and received delicious prizes for correct answers. A special moment was the performance of the duo Shayna Segal and Lyuba Kaminezki, who played nigunim on guitars and conducted a very important lesson for the girls on the topic of “Joy,” based on the book “Tanya.” The meeting concluded with lively “Simchat Beit HaSho’eva” dances.
“The lesson prepared by Shayna Segal and Lyuba Kaminezki was simply impressive; it revealed the meaning of joy in the light of Chassidut, showing how it can be achieved even in the most difficult conditions and maintained within oneself, citing specific examples with very useful advice,” said the Machon’s director, Rachel Milman. “Joy is the main motif of the Sukkot holiday, and it extends throughout the entire year. We are very grateful to the Dnipro Jewish Community, which helped make this event so bright and unforgettable. A big thank you to the boarding school for its hospitality, and we especially want to note the Machon teachers who organized all this – Shayna Smilyanska, Daniela Listengurt, and Anael Gaysinski.”
