A special program dedicated to the 3rd of Tamuz – the day of special connection between chassidim and the Leader of our generation, the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson – took place at the Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson Yeshiva Ktana, the leading educational institution for boys of the Dnipro Jewish Community.
In honor of this special day, the students of Yeshiva Ktana recited the 12 Pesukim with great spiritual fervor, which the Rebbe instructed every Jewish child to learn, gave tzedakah in honor of the Rebbe’s Day, attentively watched a video address by the Leader of our generation, recited Tehillim in honor of the Rebbe, and from the depths of their hearts wrote a personal appeal to the great leader – the traditional PAN (Pidyon Nefesh).
The main goal of the event was to help the students deepen their understanding of the Rebbe’s significance in their lives and strengthen their personal connection with him. To achieve this, the organizers prepared a special interactive program built around the children’s joint participation in various tasks and activities. The event began with a game of “Jewish Memory,” during which the students had to find matches between thematic images related to Jewish life and Chassidic values, demonstrating attentiveness, memory, and the ability to work together. Then, the children performed Chassidic niggunim together, with the program structured so that each new niggun opened the next stage of the event. Between the musical segments, participants received special tasks, performed various practical actions, and step by step discovered new ways to strengthen their connection with the Rebbe. This alternation of niggunim, games, reflection, and active participation allowed each child not merely to be a spectator of the program but to feel themselves a direct participant and to more deeply comprehend the significance of the day of 3 Tamuz.
Special attention was given to stories about the leaders of the generation. Rabbi Akiva Romanovsky told the children about the Sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, also known as the Rebbe Rayatz, while Rabbi Levi Engelsman shared inspiring stories about the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe and his impact on Jewish life around the world. These stories helped the students better understand the significance of the Rebbe’s legacy and feel their belonging to the great Chassidic family.
“It is very important to us that children not merely know historical facts but feel their hiskashrus – a living connection with the Rebbe – and understand that his directives are addressed to each of us even today,” says Rebbetzin Chana Segal, director of the Yeshiva Ktana. “We structured this event as a ‘seder niggunim’ so that each stage would reveal a particular aspect of the connection with the Rebbe – through niggunim, stories, games, good deeds, text study, and prayer, the children deeply felt this connection. We are happy to see with what sincere interest they participate in such programs, which have been made possible thanks to the constant support, attention, and care of the united and cohesive Dnipro Jewish Community under the leadership of Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki.”
