At the Yeshiva Ktana named after Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, a leading educational institution of the Jewish Community of Dnipro for boys, a special program of preparation for the approaching Yom Kippur – the holiest day of the Jewish calendar – took place. Separate programs were prepared for students of different ages, enabling them to become acquainted, in a format appropriate to their age, with the traditions of this special day and to reflect more deeply on its significance in the life of every Jew.
For the younger students, the preparation for Yom Kippur combined a story about the traditions, watching a video, and a hands-on creative component. The boys watched a video about how the leader of our generation, the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, prepared for Yom Kippur, gaining the opportunity to see what a special place the preparation for this holy day occupies and how significant each of its stages is.
The program for the younger students continued with creative work – each of the boys made an improvised chicken, one of the most recognizable images associated with the kaporos tradition. Afterwards, the kaporos ceremony itself was conducted for the students, becoming yet another important part of direct preparation for the approaching Yom Kippur. Thus, their introduction to the traditions took place not only through narration and watching a video, but also through the children’s direct participation in the program of preparation for the holiest day of the year.
For the older students of Yeshiva Ktana, the preparation was structured differently – a special farbrengen was held for them with Rabbi Levi Engelsman. During the gathering, Rabbi Levi Engelsman told the boys stories about the righteous Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson, mother of the leader of our generation, the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, connected to Yom Kippur. Through these stories, the older students were able to turn to the Chassidic experience of observing this special day and reflect on its spiritual meaning and significance.
The different formats of preparation for the younger and older students became parts of a single educational and spiritual program at Yeshiva Ktana. The introduction to the traditions, the example of the Rebbe, participation in kaporos and creative work for the younger ones, and for the older ones – a farbrengen and stories about Rebbetzin Chana – enabled each age group to prepare for Yom Kippur in its own way, to feel the special character of this day and its central place in Jewish tradition.
“Yom Kippur is a special day for every Jew, and it is very important to us that our students not only know the traditions connected with it but also learn from an early age to understand its holiness and prepare for it consciously, in a format appropriate to their age,” said Rabbanit Chana Segal, director of Yeshiva Ktana. “That is why for the younger boys we chose a visual and creative program, while the older ones were given the opportunity to touch more deeply the spiritual meaning of this day during a farbrengen. We are happy to raise our students in an atmosphere of authentic Yiddishkeit thanks to the ongoing support, attention, and care of the united and cohesive Jewish Community of Dnipro under the leadership of Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki.”
