‘Heshel Ceitlin’s Corner’ Revived

By Joannie Tansky

Taking the Rebbe Maharash’s words – l’chatchila ariber – to heart, Mrs. Chany Zagury and Mrs. Zohara Hirschhorn saw a need and took the initiative to create something very special in Montreal’s Lubavitch Yeshiva school.

Together with the administration, parents and corporate donations, they created a quiet space with the reopening of the yeshiva’s library called Heshel Ceitlin’s Corner.

It was named after Rabbi Yehoshua Heshel Ceitlin OBM, Mashpia of the Chabad community in Montreal who also served as a shochet and a mohel.

Aptly on Hei Teves, after a little less than a year of working on this project, the boys of school toured their new school library, learned the rules and received a bookmark to take home.

Using Montreal Anash’s emailing system, Mrs. Hirschhorn and Mrs. Zagury sent a message to the community that they were building a school library, asking if anyone would donate books or give financial support. The response was immediate.

Rabbi Ceitlin’s grandson Rabbi Moshe Benshimon and his wife Toby contacted the women with the offer to donate in their late grandfather’s memory, hence the name – Heshel Ceitlin’s Corner.

With the help and advice of enthusiastic parents, who paid for workers and offered their services and talents, a storage room on the third floor was transformed into a beautiful quiet space. The walls are now blue and green, the floors redone, new furniture and an area rug adorn the room. It is modern, fresh and clean.

Mrs. Hirschhorn and Mrs. Zagury applied for a corporate grant from IKEA, who generously donated $1000 worth of furniture including chairs, tables, area rug, desk and librarian chair.

The library will officially open in about a month. Each class from Pre1A thru grade 8 will be able to visit weekly to browse the shelves, chose a book and read. The younger grades will have story time with the librarian.

There is a group of five librarians volunteering their time during library hours. Three hundred books adorn the shelves, with more coming in the upcoming weeks. The ultimate goal is that in the near future, the boys will be able to borrow books to take home.

A heartfelt thank you to all those who helped make this dream become a reality and for your continued support on this project. Our mutual goal of encouraging and instilling a love of reading is an important and essential gift to impart our children.