A meeting for participants of the “Bnot Melech” project for 5th and 6th-grade students was held at the “Chaya-Mushka” Mahon, the leading educational institution of the Dnipro Jewish Community for girls. The gathering was dedicated to the approaching month of Kislev and the key event to be celebrated this month – the holiday of Hanukkah.
The session was titled “How a Small Light Can Overcome Great Darkness,” and symbolically, it was conducted in darkness, with the students only able to use small flashlights to complete their tasks. The project leader, Morah Zivi Smilyanska, spoke about Rosh Chodesh Kislev, the symbolism and significance of Hanukkah, and the interaction between light and darkness.
Morah Zivi shared a poignant story about a Jewish family secretly leaving Nazi Germany by train on the last day of Hanukkah. They were afraid to light the Hanukkah candles for fear of revealing themselves. Suddenly, the light in their train car went out, allowing them to light the candles. When Nazis entered the compartment to check documents, they did not understand it was a Jewish ritual and mistook the miraculous light for ordinary illumination.
This was followed by a special game, also dedicated to the month of Kislev and the spreading of spiritual light. Zivi Smilyanska asked questions, and the girls, using their small flashlights, had to find letters to form the correct answers. The meeting concluded with a fun lottery.
“It was an intense session with deep emotional resonance, helping to uncover the profound spiritual aspects connected to the month of Kislev,” shared Zivi Smilyanska. “All our girls, who are preparing for Bat Mitzvah, are eager for spiritual knowledge so that their coming of age according to the Jewish calendar becomes a great celebration for the united and close-knit Dnipro Jewish Community under the leadership of its Chief Rabbi, Shmuel Kaminezki.”
