By Libby Herz
This week, upwards of 1,200 women will review all of the laws of Taharas Hamishpacha, and you can be a part of it. Project #120Gifts, spearheaded by www.mikvah.org, leads to the Rebbe’s 120th birthday.
The Rebbe often spoke about the value of reviewing the laws of Taharas Hamishpacha yearly. That’s why www.mikvah.org held an in-person review every six months, attended by about thirty women. But that all changed once Covid hit.
Since March of 2020, online reviews have become the norm, and thousands of women who were never able to attend were able to join. A tremendous amount of content was added to the website.
But that was not nearly enough. “Now,” says Mushky Kotlarsky, a sought-after kallah teacher, “we want to get 120 new messages out between yud-daled Kislev and yud-aleph Nissan,” and all of this is in an enjoyable and approachable manner.
A new six-week Taharas Hamishpacha class begins this Wednesday. You can join at mikvah.org/events.
But if Zoom is not your thing, and you like listening to podcasts, you can review all of the laws of Taharas Hamishpacha at mikvah.org/audio.
Games and quizzes are another great way to learn, and mikvah.org maximizes their potential. They created a review on Kahoot last year. Kahoot, a game-based learning platform, allows users to create individualized trivia quizzes. “This followed a mandate from the mosad,” says Chassi Rivkin, Director of Mikvah.org, “which was to review the laws of Taharas Hamishpacha yearly.” The game, found at mikvah.org/kahoot, includes twenty to thirty questions on each subject.
Visual learners are sure to benefit from a free slide-show created by Rivky Gurary-Bukiet in memory of her mother. The 1,000 slides at www.mikvah.org/slideshow, are a great option for self-paced learners. The views on this rabbinically-approved slide-show are in the thousands. “It’s a lot more interesting than reading a book,” says one user.
In-person classes are great for small groups of friends who would like to learn together, certified kalla teachers are also available for personalized classes.
In the hopes of reaching a younger, newly-married crowd who just learned laws, and don’t need to review just yet, @mymikvah was spearheaded by Mushky Kotlarsky. The goal is to flood social media with 120 mikvah messages between yud-daled Kislev and yud-alef Nissan.
Toward this effort, one-hundred certified teachers brain-stormed 120 meaningful, positive messages about the broader concepts of taharas hamishpacha which are appropriate for all.
“It’s exciting to be gathering all this content,” says Kotlarsky. “There are so many new and exciting things coming out of this project.”
“120 days, 120 posts,” says Rivkin. “You can be an ambassador of light by sharing the messages on your own Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, and Twitter.”
When Mrs. Bracha Leeds, certified kallah teacher and Shlucha at UC Berkeley, first heard of Project #120Gifts, she knew that she wanted to be a part of it. “Taharas Hamishpacha has a ripple effect on all of a couples’ spheres of influence for generations to come,” she says. “It is a gift to the Rebbe and to everyone that participates,” says Bracha Leeds.
The six-week Taharas Hamishpacha class begins this Wednesday, and you can join at mikvah.org/events.
It’s easier than ever to join the global effort and, and you can begin this Wednesday. Be a part of the 1,200 women who will review the laws of Taharas Hamishpacha in honor of the Rebbe’s birthday on 11 Nissan. Follow @mymikvah, Mivkah.org/slideshow, mikvah.org/events, mikvah.org/refresher-courses, mikvah.org/audio, or mikvah.org/kahoot, and be a part of Project #120Gifts.
