By COLlive reporter
Photos: Shalom Burkis/COLlive
Tuesday was a special day at Bais Rivkah in Crown Heights. Chof Cheshvan 5782 marks 80 years since the first day of learning in the school which has been established by the Frierdiker Rebbe.
Bais Rivkah was created as a flagship institution, pioneering the Lubavitch Educational System for girls that prepares them for their futures as Jewish women and as community leaders, role models, and educators.
When the Friederker Rebbe escaped from the European inferno and arrived in New York in March of 1940, he immediately set about establishing Jewish schools, ones that would raise the level of religious observance across the vast spectrum of American Jewry. After replanting his famous yeshivah Tomchei Temimim in New York, the first Beth Rivkah girls’ school opened its doors 80 years ago today, with just 20 students.
At a Beth Rivkah dinner back in 1946, the Rebbe, who was the Frierdiker Rebbe’s son-in-law and would become his successor, addressed the gathering as the school’s chairman. He said people ask “whether it is our intention to create a school that will graduate rebbetzins. Our goal is that every student … understands her responsibility as a part of the nation of Israel, as a builder of a future home in Israel, and as a mother in Israel.”
Beis Rivkah ultimately became an anchor in the Rebbe’s historic efforts to dispatch energetic emissaries who illuminated and ultimately transformed the Jewish landscape.
Today, 80 years since the school’s founding, thousands of Bais Rivkah students, from head start through seminary, participated in a school-wide gathering to celebrate this special occasion. Thousands of mothers and alumnae joined virtually through the livestream broadcast on COLlive.com as well.
The program included the girls hearing a little about the history of Bais Rivkah and how it started and developed. There was a beautiful choir with a celebratory 80 year song, the reciting the 12 pesukim together as a school all led by Rivkas in the school, and a very special launch of a brand new Torah that Bais Rivkah is putting together.
40 years ago the Rebbe asked Bais Rivkah to write Torahs uniting all those who are connected to Bais Rivkah in any way. There are 7 Sifrei Torah for Bais Rivkah written to date, and now the school will begin writing the 8th Torah, celebrating the 80th year.
Buy a letter in Bais Rivkah’s Sefer Torah at bethrivkah.edu/sefertorah
Bais Rivkah would like to thank all those who made this program happen! Thank you to Rabbi Sholom Goldstein, as well as the entire board of Bais Rivkah. Thank you to Rabbi Avraham Shemtov, the chairman of the board. Thank you to the principals of each department of school: Morah Gurwitz, Morah Teichtel, Mrs. Rosenfeld, Mrs. Jacobson, Mrs. Brawer, Morah Avtzon, Morah Nemamov and Morah Chaya Sara Tenenbaum. Thank you to Sara Blau. Thank you Chana Paltiel for coordinating and arranging the program. Thank you to Malka Aisenbach for taking care of the tech, Chavi Swued for leading our amazing ushers and coordinating the setup of the room. Thank you Chaya Mushka Baumgarten for writing and Hadassah Benshimon for arranging the songs written for this program. Thank you to those who helped arrange parts of the program – Mira Schusterman for the opening slideshow, Batya Katz, the choir girls, and all the girls who lead us in the Pesukim. Thank you Menucha Oster and Moussie Berkowitz. Thank you to all the girls who came to help set up the beautiful room.
who were the first 8 talmidos of Bais Rivka?