Exuberant Tishrei Activities at Girls Academy

Tishrei, a month filled with holidays and rewarding opportunities, allows us the ability to reconnect spiritually with who we are and our mission in this world. At Chabad Girls Academy (CGA), the schedule has been filled with special activities to boost the ruchnius of the students. The students have been privileged to start the year with a very meaningful trip to the Ohel and Tashlich as well as an uplifting farbrengen for Vov Tishrei, yahrzeit of the Rebbe’s mother Rebbetzin Chana.

The school lunchroom was decorated beautifully to welcome the students. In walked our new CGA high school students excitedly as they came to join in the wonderful program. Together all of the students sang the tunes of the davening, their voices filled the atmosphere with chayus and devotion. This is the goal of the teachers in teaching tefillah, to allow students to connect with Hashem in a deep and meaningful way each day.

The students eagerly boarded the buses to Queens where they arrived at a lovely park with a pond where they said Tashlich together. The students enjoyed being in nature and the park was a perfect backdrop for a school picture which the girls cheerfully participated in.

As the girls headed for the Ohel, the program director Bryna Horovitz gave them a booklet containing all of the customs for the Ohel. She guided the singing of Seder Niggunim in the order of all of the Rebbeim. The rich melodies and the sweet voices of the girls filled the bus. Ms. Horovitz taught students the difference between the text of a pan, a duch and a michtav. She gave them a Rebbe picture to look at while writing their pan. Some inspiring stories of the Rebbe were shared with the girls as well. Upon arrival at the ohel, the girls wrote their pans and said Tehillim.

Everyone came together and entered the ohel. The girls took their places and began to daven. Their tremendous achdus created an atmosphere of friendship allowing the girls to bond and feel a sense of being part of something special. They also went to visit Rebbetzin Chana and Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, for some it was their first time doing so. Leaving the ohel the students concluded their trip by taking turns on the bus microphone sharing personal stories of the Rebbe with their own families and relatives.

Another enriching program that the students experienced was an event created in honor of Vov Tishrei, yahrzeit of Rebbetzin Chana. Morah Rivkah Zajac, was the honorary speaker. She was zocheh to have the Rebbe be her mesader kiddushin. She had also met the Frierdiker Rebbe, his Rebbetzin Nechama Dina and the Rebbe and Rebbetzin Chana. She shared with the girls her story when she arrived with her parents at Ellis Island. The Frierdiker Rebbe wanted to meet her parents in person because in those days, it was so unique for Jews to remain frum after leaving the horrors of the war, so he invited the family to come to 770. At the time, Morah Zajac did not realize how special this event was; she thought it was “ordinary”. Only later did she understand how extraordinary it had been. Morah Zajac told other stories from her life, leaving the students with a very practical message – to recognize that within daily life there are extraordinary experiences if we would only notice!

Students are feeling very delighted after having a month full of amazing activities, challah baking, farbrengens, shofar blowing at school daily by Rabbi Yisroel Glick and all of the other enriching ventures that have been experienced in and out of school. They shared their appreciation to the staff and continue to come to school in high spirits looking forward to the excitement and learning that the school will offer for this coming year.