Donors Thanked at Banquet

Hundreds of Israeli Chabad high school and seminary students who are visiting Crown Heights for Tishrei gathered for a banquet event featuring fascinating and inspiring speakers at the Jewish Children’s Museum.

After two weeks packed with organized learning, programs and farbrengens, and part of a special series of events marking Rebbetzin Chana’s 50th yartzeit, the girls composed a touching song based on a story where the Rebbe said a rare expression about his mother.

The second part of the program included a special thanks and presentations to the generous supporters who are backing this unbelievable Hachnosas Orchim: R’ Avrohom Lokshin, R’ Shneur Minsky, R’ Nachman Lokshin and R’ Shlomo Hershkop. The girls also expressed their great appreciation to Mrs. Sarah Labkowsky who helped greatly in hosting the girls.

A group of staff who are chaperoning the girls throughout the month organized the evening’s program with the theme of “feeling”: to feel for Hashem, to feel for the Rebbe and to feel for others, based on the Hayom Yom about the 3 loves that are intertwined.

Niggunim were playing in the background as the girls entered the upstairs hall of the Jewish Children’s Museum, centrally located across the street from 770. They were greeted by a delicious buffet dinner, in the same plentiful style as the rest of the month’s daily programming and farbrengens.

Shaindy Butman, counselor, opened the evening with a short introduction and invited Rabbi Levi Garelik to speak for the girls.

After being inspired by a truly fascinating speech, the girls opened the program in the theme of 50 years since the passing of Rebbetzin Chana.

The program, which included drama and video clips, helped the girls see for themselves how they can follow in Rebbetzin Chana’s footsteps. On the stage were depicted dilemmas from day-to-day life, and answers were then shown from JEM’s video about Rebbetzin Chana in which people relate stories about her Mesiras Nefesh for a life of Torah and Mitzvos and her dedication to her great husband, R’ Levi Yitzchok.

Mrs. Sarah Labkowsky then related personal stories connected to Rebbetzin Chana in light of the fact that Machon Chana was named after her and the special way the Rebbe cherished the institute and the hundreds of girls who passed through its doors.

Mrs. Labkowsky played an important part in the success of Bnot Chabad this year, being that she hosted the girls in the Machon Chana building on President Street and it is thanks to her efforts that the girls were taken care of in such a superb fashion.

She spoke to the girls about the great zchus they have to be staying at a house where the Rebbe himself visited, and she spoke with great passion of the Rebbe’s personal visits to Machon Chana. The staff of Bnot Chabad honored her with a gift expressing their thanks to the thunderous applause of all the crowd.

The girls were then introduced to the song that was written especially for the occasion about the woman who asked the Rebbe an interesting question: she would like to have children like the Rebbe. The Rebbe’s answer was no less surprising: For children like this, you need a mother like Rebbetzin Chana.

After the musical interlude, Mrs. Mussie Feldman, who is caring for the physical needs of the girls, came up on the stage and called up the generous sponsors, who are supporting the girls with all their heart and soul, giving up their days and nights to make sure the girls get only the best both materially and spiritually.

The supporters, R’ Avrohom Lokshin, R’ Shneur Misnky, R’ Nachman Lokshin and R’ Shlomo Hershkop, heard first-hand from the girls themselves who voluntarily came up on stage, wanting to share their experiences and personally thank those who made, through their generosity, all this possible. The supporters were then presented with gifts in appreciation.

The MC thanked all those who stand behind the success of an all-inclusive program for the Bnot Chabad girls this Tishrei: R’ Mendy and Mushky Velner, R’ Yossi and Mussie Feldman, Mrs. Chaya Walles, the dedicated counselors: Michal Malka, Chani Kubetshik, Mushka Grabsky, Shaindy Butman, Mushky Cheruty, Dvori Gopin, and all those helping out with logistics, speakers, shiurim, and more.

The supporters, the staff and the girls, left the event feeling uplifted and with lots of energy for the second half of Tishrei “zman simchaseinu”, with the hope that it will be the true joy when we will see the Rebbe with our very own eyes in the Geula hashleima.

Bnot Chabad would like to make special mention of the families who so graciously hosted the girls for the yom tov meals. In this aspect, the girls rely totally on the hachnosas orchim of the local anash families who proved themselves once again by happily hosting the girls. Thank you!