Guest of Shabbaton in Portugal Experiences Personal Moment

Marriage educators Rabbi Pinney and Helana Herman were guest speakers at a Shabbaton hosted by Avner Cohen Casa Chabad—Rohr Chabad Portugal in Cascais, Portugal, in honor of Yud Shevat.

On Friday night, Chabad hosted over 130 community members and guests for Shabbos dinner, where Rabbi Herman shared a personal story he had with the Rebbe when he was seven years old which transformed his family into Lubavitcher Chassidim. The title of the Hermans’ talk was The Mystery of the Mikvah.

“This year, we decided to dedicate each month to one of the Rebbe’s Mivtzoim, and every event we do that month is connected to that Mivtza,” Portugal Shliach Rabbi Eli Rosenfeld. “Even our new building is designed around the theme of the Mivtzoim. The Rebbe always stressed how action is paramount, and what better way to observe Yud Shevat than to encourage people to use the Mikvah?”

Shlucha Raizel Rosenfeld has been encouraging the women in her community to keep this Mitzvah. “Boruch Hashem, we have been able to inspire community members to use our beautiful new Mikvah, but we wanted to do something that would really impact the community and take their observance to a whole new level. We wanted the husbands to learn about Taharat Hamishpacha as well. The Hermans did a masterful job of presenting this Mitzvah clearly and in a very discreet ‘eidel’ way. Some women have already contacted me about going to the Mikvah since their talk,” she said.

In keeping with the theme, the Hermans spoke about Sholom Bayis during Shabbos lunch. Using their Imago Relationship Therapy and Somatic Healing training, the Hermans taught practical Sholom Bayis tools to the participants. “The way they described certain issues that couples face, I thought they were talking directly to us,” one couple commented. “It was so refreshing to hear about relationship challenges and walk away with simple yet effective ways to address them,” said another couple. “Having a real live couple present together made the program even more powerful because we heard from both a male and female perspective.”

The Hermans, in turn, were very impressed by the community. “I visited about 10 years ago, and seeing how the Chabad House has grown from a private home to the Avner Cohen Casa Chabad, complete with all the amenities, is nothing short of a miracle,” Rabbi Herman marveled.

“This is a tight-knit community which continues to grow and develop. To see a thriving preschool, a first-rate kosher restaurant in Lisbon, and all of the volunteers for the programs tell me that Chabad will continue to grow and extend its influence throughout the country,” Mrs. Herman noted.

Another weekend highlight for Rabbi Herman was leining from his great-grandfather’s Sefer Torah. “My grandfather, Pinchas, brought the Torah to Pittsburgh in 1917. When the Romanian shul closed, someone called my father to take the Torah, which had fallen into disrepair. He had it fixed, and I was able to lein from it for my Bar Mitzvah 46 years ago. Last year, Rabbi Eli brought the Torah back across the Atlantic and it was very special for me to lein my Bar Mitzvah parsha from it once again.”