Special events dedicated to Yud Shvat were held at the Levi Yitzchak Schneerson Jewish Lyceum No. 144, the leading educational institution of the Dnipro Jewish Community. Yud Shvat is a day of profound spiritual significance for the entire generation, as it commemorates the Sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, and marks the beginning of the leadership of the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, whose teachings continue to inspire the Jewish people worldwide to this day.
For students in grades 6-11, this day became a time for focused reflection and practical contemplation on how to maintain a living connection with the Rebbe in contemporary life. The event began with the ceremonial lighting of a ner neshama in honor of the Rebbe Rayatz and the joint study of Mishnah passages, which set the tone for inner focus and spiritual depth. The central theme of the meeting was the question of personal connection with the Rebbe through study, prayer, and concrete actions. High school students studied in chavruta format, exploring the ideas of the maamar “Basi LeGani,” wrote personal letters (which Hebrew teacher Chaya Nachshon is to deliver to the Rebbe’s Ohel in New York), and undertook good resolutions to implement in their daily lives. The spiritual segment naturally transitioned into a farbrengen with niggunim, heartfelt conversations, and an intellectual quiz, during which the students could demonstrate their knowledge and receive memorable prizes.
For younger students in grades 1-5, Yud Shvat was conveyed through a language understandable to a child’s heart, through stories about the Rebbe’s love for every Jewish child and his faith that even the youngest are capable of changing the world for the better. The children learned about their daily mission, fulfilled through studying verses, observing mitzvos, and performing good deeds. One of the most touching parts of the program was the introduction to the concept of “Tzivos Hashem,” during which the students, together with their mentors, discussed overcoming personal laziness and selfishness, the power of Torah knowledge and good deeds, and the ultimate goal of hastening the coming of Moshiach. Following this, a solemn dedication ceremony took place, where the children felt a special sense of responsibility for their role in perfecting the world. The celebration continued with a children’s farbrengen, an educational game where students assembled the phrase “Moshiach Now!”, and a creative workshop for decorating tzedakah boxes, so that each child would have their own personal item reminding them of their daily mission to bring light into the world.
“Yud Shvat at the Lyceum was a day when both older and younger students felt themselves part of a great heritage passed from generation to generation and understood that the connection to the Rebbe is manifested not only in words but primarily through study, good deeds, and responsibility for the spiritual face of the world we live in,” noted the Lyceum’s Deputy Principal for Jewish Traditions, Aliza Rabinovich. “We saw how children of different ages genuinely engaged with the events of this day, how their eyes shone with the understanding of their own significance and mission, and we are sincerely grateful for the opportunity to raise the younger generation in an atmosphere of Torah and Chassidic values within the united and cohesive Dnipro Jewish Community under the leadership of Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki.”
