A major preparatory campaign for the 19th of Kislev – the “New Year of Chassidism”, the anniversary of the liberation of the founder of Chabad-Lubavitch Chassidism, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (the Alter Rebbe), from Russian imprisonment – has begun at the Dnipro Yeshiva Ketana named after Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson. This educational institution for boys is one of the leading educational projects of the Dnipro Jewish Community.
The preparation campaign will consist of two parts. During the first part, teachers receive educational materials which they study with the children. Based on this material, a riddle is then posed to the students. If the riddle is solved correctly, the reward is a sticker depicting an edition of the book “Tanya” published in one of the world’s cities. The children must find this city on a pre-provided map and correlate their geographical knowledge with the corresponding edition of the book. A map filled with the correct stickers will serve as a pass to the farbrengen (Chassidic gathering) dedicated to the 19th of Kislev.
The second part runs parallel to the first. The children memorize lines from the fifth chapter of the “Tanya.” In addition to individual incentives (such as points and ranks in the “Tzivos Hashem” system), they also collect “lanterns” for their class. The goal is to collect a complete garland of fifty-three lanterns, as the book “Tanya” famously contains fifty-three chapters. The class that manages to achieve this will receive a collective reward at the farbrengen in the form of an excursion.
“The general name of this campaign is ‘The Light and Life of Our Soul,’ and we are gathering light,” explained Rabbi David Vaskovsky. “On one hand, the children learn where and when the book ‘Tanya’ was published, because without this they cannot attend the farbrengen. On the other hand, they collect lanterns so their class is declared the winner at the farbrengen. Only at the farbrengen itself will they find out the location of the promised excursion. Furthermore, they will receive awards for individual successes in studying the ‘Tanya.’ This campaign and its solemn conclusion have been made possible thanks to the support of the Dnipro Jewish Community and its Chief Rabbi, Shmuel Kaminezki.”
