There are times when growing, gaining and giving become inseparably intertwined. Leah Ferdman, a current student at Machon L’Yahadus who is passionate about bringing joy to others, is a prime example of how much we gain when we give.
Leah escaped from Ukraine at the onset of the war in February of 2022. Originally from Vinnytsia, she had been living in Kyiv, attending Torah classes for young women who were new to Yiddishkeit. She volunteered to leave Kyiv with a group of children who needed additional adult chaperones. With the clothing on her back, along with just a backpack and $15, she made her way to Israel.
In Israel, Leah had few friends and no family members. She was welcomed into Or Chaya in Jerusalem, a Chabad seminary that caters to many types of young women, including Russian-speaking Baalei Teshuva.
Leah is a doer, so she decided she was going to do something for the Ukrainian refugees in Israel. She started volunteering in a shop that gave out basic supplies to refugees like herself. Then with Fradl Vishedski, daughter of her shlucha Dina, she began to go every Friday to give out Shabbos candles on mivtzoim. Aside from bringing light to the people she touched, this newest act of giving also energized and uplifted her.
With the encouragement of her shlucha, Leah applied to Machon L’Yahadus. Under the leadership of Rabbi Shloma Majeski, they both felt it would be the right place for her to continue her studies and grow as a young Jewish woman.
“Young women join Machon L’Yahadus from every imaginable corner of the globe. Most of them come not knowing anyone else, but they leave as sisters. The atmosphere of warmth and growth, along with sharing a common desire for Torah learning, transforms the group into a sisterhood that in countless cases, lasts decades,” Rabbi Majeski remarks.
Once settled in Crown Heights and eagerly attending classes, Leah was determined to keep up her routine of sharing the Mitzvah of Shabbos candles. After all, a little light dispels much darkness.
But going on Mivtzoim in New York felt intimidating. People are busy, rushing, and sometimes downright disagreeable. Encouraged by weekly messages from her peers on the Machon L’Yahadus student chat of “Who wants to go with me on mivtzoim?” and sometimes “Who’s available to pack neshek?” Leah persevered. Instead of giving out tens of Neshek packages like she did in Israel, Leah would give out maybe three or four each time.
After October 7th, Leah and a group of students headed by Liron Avrahami (whose brother in special forces is still fighting in Gaza) packed and distributed neshek kits with names of soldiers to pray for. Though the girls found that many people were afraid to admit that they are Jewish, this made them even more determined than ever to keep going and giving.
Many a Friday would find Leah and fellow Machon L’Yahadus students on their way to Brighton Beach to give out Shabbos candles to a building of Russian-speaking Jews. One week, before entering the building, Leah stopped a young woman who was jogging down the avenue. After asking if she was Jewish, she responded in the affirmative. She accepted the candles, then shared that she is an IDF soldier fighting in the war and is on a short leave to bring her brother back home to Israel. When Leah showed her the name of an IDF soldier on the box of candles, the woman began to cry. It clearly touched a deep chord in her: Jews in America thousands of miles away from the war and bloodshed are deeply connected to all Jews, and especially those in Israel right now.
Another time, one of the Russian-speaking women in the building told Leah that she went through the concentration camps. She did not want to take the candles because “where was G-d there?” Leah understood she couldn’t give an explanation. But she suggested, “Maybe do it for the soldier?” The woman accepted this idea and agreed to light the candles for the soldier.
One time, Leah went to a children’s hospital to visit a girl with special needs from Crown heights. Being a very talented face paint artist, Leah brought along her face paint and to the little girl’s delight decorated her face. She also played board games with her and gave her a great time.
Last Purim, Leah went to an old age home together with some other Machon L’Yahadus girls. Going to old-age homes to cheer up the residents became a newfound passion for Leah, although she already had a taste of it from visiting an old age home back in Ukraine on Chanukah.
As Fridays got shorter, Leah began to go to old age homes each Thursday night. She connected with Mrs. Chana Morozow, one of the coordinators for this type of Mivtzoim, who armed her with all types of materials, such as Pushkas, L’chaim publications, and Russian Jewish reading material. Every week she was sent to a different old age home – sometimes Russian-speaking, sometimes Serbian, or at other times English-speaking ones.
The very first time she went, she met a woman who looked downcast. She said it was her birthday but had no one around to care. Leah smiled at her with her kind, sparkling eyes. “We’ll dance in honor of your birthday!”
This woman had a portrait of the Rebbe on the wall. The woman soon shared, “I was a student of Rabbi Majeski 40 years ago! Ask Rabbi Majeski if he remembers me. I was the one who always wore gloves, special glasses and had a small briefcase.”
When Leah later asked Rabbi Majeski about her, he confirmed that indeed he remembers her. Who would have thought that Leah, a student of Rabbi Majeski presently, would have the chance to connect with a woman who shared a common teacher four decades earlier!
Two weeks later at another nursing home, she met two women who were sisters and had also studied with Rabbi Majeski decades ago. They even remembered current teacher Rabbi Yossi Paltiel’s father teaching them.
“More than the physical Jewish materials, most of these places and the people in them need attention more than anything,” Leah explains, “Someone to show they care. So we come, sing and dance with them, ask them their Jewish name and find out if they have a letter in the Sefer Torah. We also give Tzedakah and say Shema and some Pesukim with them.”
“America is full of Jews and I feel very connected to this. I wish more girls could come and bring Judaism and happiness to the people at these homes who need it,” says Leah.
The backdrop to many of these stories is Machon L’Yahadus, a school that empowers and inspires young Jewish women to learn Torah, live Jewishly, and share generously. Machon L’Yahadus and its devoted staff work tirelessly to educate, support, and inspire young women like Leah.
You can be part of the light too. Create more positive chain reactions. Support the vital work of Machon L’Yahadus by purchasing tickets for their annual Boutique Auction at https://www.rayze.it/machonauction or by calling Miriam from 9 am – 1 pm at (917) 822-3873 or Bluma from 1 – 9 pm at (347) 585-9119. The event takes place this upcoming Monday, March 11, 2024, Rosh Chodesh Adar II, 5784.
Machon L’Yahadus thanks its sponsors, donors, and every auction participant for their steadfast support of a school so close to the Rebbe’s heart.
Machon L’Yahadus is under the auspices of NCFJE.
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