This year, as Chabad communities around the world mark 50 years since the Rebbe launched Shnas HaChinuch, Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh has chosen to focus its entire school year on a single guiding principle: JOY!
During Shnas HaChinuch, the Rebbe introduced the 12 Pesukim, and inspired by the possuk of “Yismach Yisrael b’Osav”, the school sees this moment as an opportunity to revisit one of the Rebbe’s core messages: A Chassidishe education must be strong, demanding, and disciplined, but it must also be infused with joy.
“For Chassidim, simcha is a serious business,” says Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum, CEO and Head of School. “Joy is about confidence in Yiddishkeit. When children feel happy and secure, they rise to higher expectations, deeper learning, and stronger connection.”
That understanding shapes daily life across the school.
Each morning, Yeshiva Schools principals in every division stand at the doors personally greeting students with a smile, reinforcing from the first moment of the day that every child is seen and welcomed. In the boys’ school, the day begins with an assembly, where the Talmidim recite the 12 Pesukim together every single day. In the preschool, joy is tangible and expressive, with spirited rallies for Yamei d’Pagra and Yamim Tovim, helping young children associate Yiddishkeit with excitement and warmth.
“There can be a misconception that somehow focusing on simcha at school is soft, or lowering standards,” Rabbi Rosenblum explains. “But it is the opposite. It allows us to demand more – because children who feel secure and confident are capable of more.”
As Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh launches its Fuel the Joy Charidy campaign, it does so as part of this broader vision – strengthening a model of chinuch that is joyful, serious, and deeply rooted in the Rebbe’s horaos on chinuch.
Join us by donating today to fuel a year – and a future – of joyful Torah education
