Monsey Grade 8 Graduates

This past Tuesday night, Cheder Chabad of Monsey held its fourth boys 8th grade graduation at the new Cheder Girls Campus!

Cheder principal, Rabbi Wolowik welcomed everyone and introduced the shliach in Prague, Czech Republic and student of the Eighth Grade to act as MC. The MC called upon fellow talmidim: Moshe Farkas to recite the Rebbe’s kapitel Tehillim; shliach in Fort Lee, NJ Levy Konikov to recite the Rebetzin’s kapitel Tehillim; and Postville native, Yudy Holtzberg to recite kapitel 54 for the immediate release of R’ Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin.

The dean and founder of the Cheder, Rabbi Yisroel Shusterman was then called upon to read a letter of the Rebbe. He then shared a few personal words expressing the emotions he felt observing the fourth graduating class of Cheder that started in Nursery and matured into talmidim hamesaymin in Kitah Ches. He stressed the importance for talmidim to always interact with their peers with ahavasYisroel and how they need to show care and compassion for every single Yid.

Before introducing the Moroh D’asrah of Kehilas Chabad in Monsey, Rabbi Boruch Lesches, the MC thanked him for all the time he spends with the bochurim farhering them and answering all their questions. Rabbi Lesches shared with the graduates some very warm and personal words on what is expected from the talmidim as they grow up, highlighting the importance of the talmidim to recognize today’s nisyonos, and how they have the koach to remain focused and devoted to their learning and being neiros lehoir.

Fellow talmid Daniel Cohen shared a beautiful d’var Torah stressing the importance for the talmidim to take a lesson from the Frierdiker Rebbe (who’s birthday and chag hageulah are this week) that no matter what a Yid does, he always has that spark that can never be extinguished.

Yekusiel Kaplan represented the class in talking about what the Cheder experience meant to him, highlighting the influence of his melamdim and teachers starting in Kitah Aleph and how they developed within him a love for learning Torah and Yiddishkeit and how they gave him the skills to be successful in Mesivta.

Shliach in S. Antonio, TX Mendel Marrus, who joined Cheder for the 8th Grade spoke about what Cheder means to him, highlighting the differences between life in Texas to the life in a frum community like Monsey and how grateful he is at being able to attend a frum chassidishe Cheder.

Dov Frommer and Boruch Moshe Crane expressed gratitude to Cheder personnel on behalf of their class, especially their beloved 8th grade rebbi, Rabbi Yossi Soble, for all the personal time that he invested in each talmid individually and for all the exciting activities and trips he planned for the class. They surprised their rebbi with a gift of a coffee machine so that he has the strength to continue educating the 8th Grade.

The General Studies Principal, Mr. David Kandel shared some words of encouragement with the students, illustrating to them that just like children will work for rewards, so is true with adults and that the ultimate form a reward a parent can receive is nachas from their children.

Several talmidim in the Eighth Grade put together a slide show going through their years in Cheder.

The evening was concluded by the distribution of diplomas and a specially inscribed Tanya by the Cheder Principal, Rabbi Avrohom Wolowik and Mr. Kandel. As the children received their diplomas, Rabbi Wolowik shared a personal message with each individual talmid highlighting their accomplishments and wishing them hatzlacha in Mesivta and beyond.