by LechuVnelcha | Nov 23, 2018 | LVN Shabbaton
Post-seminary girls from across North America and Canada had the unique opportunity to refresh, relax and reconnect with others during the 24th Lechu V’Nelcha Shabbos of Inspiration at the beautiful Hilton Stamford CT. Another Shabbaton in the Lechu V’Nelcha spirit, packed with noted mechanchos and esteemed personalities, led by Rebbetzin Dinah Fink.
Rabbi Todros Miller, the key-note speaker throughout the Shabbos, is a world-renowned marbitz Torah from Gateshead, legendary for his shiurim that have a distinctive blend of depth and clarity. He combines challenging questions, stories and British humor and leaves the listener awed, inspired and enriched with an enhanced Torah perspective.
Workshops and shiurim were also given by the many other noted speakers and mentors including Rabbi Dovid Greenblatt, Rabbi Dovid Refson, Rebbetzin Dinah Fink, Rebbetzin Faigy Ben Shalom (Yerushalayim), Mrs. Rivka Herman, Mrs. Yael Kaisman, Mrs. Debbie Selengut and Rebbetzin Shlomtzy Weisz. In addition, all these superb speakers made themselves available throughout the Shabbos for informal conversations in small groups or one-on-one, a rare chance for everyone to ask for objective advice and guidance from those who can impart words of wisdom based on a firm foundation of Torah knowledge.
Shabbaton members rejuvenated and reconnected in an atmosphere of warm camaraderie and intellectual stimulation and were a part of the unparalleled spiritual energy that is synonymous with a Lechu V’nelcha Shabbaton, whose effects stay with you for months to come.
WORLD CLASS SPEAKERS!
MEET GIRLS FROM ALL OVER!
GOURMET CUISINE!
EXCITING MOTZEI SHABBOS PROGRAM!
MAGNIFICENT LOCATION!
A SHABBOS NOT TO BE MISSED!
+ Click here to read about the 20th LVN Shabbos of Inspiration
+ Click here to read about the 19th LVN Shabbos of Inspiration
by LechuVnelcha | Oct 21, 2018 | Detroit, Eretz Yisrael, Far Rockaway, Lakewood, LVN shiur, Monsey, Uncategorized, Williamsburg
Since September, Rebbetzin Dinah Fink, founder of Lechu V’Nelcha, has been travelling globally to attend new branch openings and direct special events in several of the existing branches. The girls were warmed by her words of chizuk and inspiration whilst she highlighted the value of joining the weekly shiur on a consistent basis, describing it as the best step to take in maintaining a solid hashkafic foundation. The regular attendees of the weekly shiurim spoke about how much being part of LVN had done for them this past year. They expressed how they so appreciate having a weekly dose of inspiration while working in the challenging outside world, so they don’t feel alone in their pursuit to “get it right.”
On October 7, Rebbetzin Dinah Fink flew in to Detroit directing a most beautiful brunch whilst sharing divrei chizuk. The girls were very inspired and voiced their gratefulness on being a part of LVN! The coordinators prepared a lavish and delicious brunch with a stunning variety of salads and desserts. Personalized notebooks were available for all who attended and a powerful message from Mrs. Tammy Carmel concluded the gathering in an uplifting manner. The combination of the inspiration and the camaraderie gave the Detroit girls an event they are sure to remember for a long time to come.
During Rebbetzin Fink’s special visit to Lakewood on October 9, the girls were profoundly inspired by the deep yet practical shiur they heard. The coordinators selflessly prepared chocolates with a welcome LVN sticker tied together beautifully with some light refreshments. Each seat had a personalised notebook for note-taking and the girls had an uplifting and connecting evening together.
The Lechu V’Nelcha branch in Yerushalayim was also treated to an exciting and successful start to the new zman! Wednesday, October 17, Rebbetzin Dinah Fink, who was in Yerushalayim for just a few hrs, gave a shiur that the girls found both inspiring and practical. Questions were asked, discussions were raised, and the girls left on a spiritual high!
October 22, Rebbetzin Dinah Fink joined the Far Rockaway branch to share inspiring thoughts for Chodesh Cheshvan and impart to the attendees encouragement and excitement to keep on attending the weekly shiurim. It was a really beautiful event and all those who attended left feeling invigorated and strongly committed.
This week the LVN girls in Monsey and Williamsburg will be the lucky ones to have a special visit from Rebbetzin Fink. The coordinators are busy advertising and spreading the word so that no girl misses this wonderful opportunity of chizuk, growth and friendship. They are busy preparing refreshments and souvenirs in their desire to give their attendees the special feeling of being part of something so special.
It is heartwarming to see the excitement and camaraderie that is generated as more and more girls get involved in the special electricity that is a signature of the LVN program.
Thank you to all our wonderful coordinators for your tremendous dedication of heart and time! May the Eibershter repay you for all your efforts and kindness with an abundance of brachah and hatzlachah in both your personal life as well as in your avodas hakodesh.
by LechuVnelcha | Aug 11, 2018 | Branch Re-opening, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Far Rockaway, Marseille, New LVN Branch, Queens, South Fallsburg, Teaneck
Lechu V’Nelcha is continuing its unprecedented expansion around the globe! The location may differ but the system is always the same. Each location sets up a consistent schedule with a shiur given the same day each week.
During August, September and October 2018, 9 new LVN branches have opened/re-opened joining the 30+ branches across the world. It is so heart-warming to see how girls from all over the world, in any size community, want to constantly stay connected and invest in their avodas Hashem. You are an inspiration to us all!
Cincinnati – LVN branch launched Oct 28, 2018 by Shira Freedman.
Cleveland -LVN Branch re-opened Oct 24, 2018 by Faigy Zuckerman and Rasi Busel.
Dallas – LVN Branch re-opened in Aug 2018 by Rochel Blitz.
Denver – LVN Branch launched in Aug 2018, for nine post-seminary girls, by Chaya Wasserman and Leah Meyer.
Far Rockaway – LVN Branch re-opened in Sep 6, 2018 by Malka Katz and Chaya Batya Stern.
Marseille – LVN Branch launched in Aug 2018 by Sarah Peretz and Mihal Bensoussan.
Queens – LVN Branch re-opened Oct 8, 2018 by Avigayil Landau, Batsheva Twersky and Miriam Robinson.
South Fallsburg – LVN Branch launched in Aug 2018 by Mrs. Faigy Tress.
Teaneck – LVN Branch launched Oct 27, 2018 by Meira Sheffey.
The launching events were beautiful! It is special to see how much heart and work went into them, making them a unique experience for their individual communities.
The attendees heard a personal message from Harav Mattisyahu Salomon, shlita, Mashgiach of Bais Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, who described the vital necessity of the organization. “Lechu V’Nelcha is a wonderful project…upon which the future success of every Bais Yaakov depends…. It’s important. It’s vital. Without which I don’t think any girl can survive. And without which a family of bnei Torah will not be able to develop the way that the Bais Yaakov really wants them to develop.”
Rebbetzin Dinah Fink, founder and director of LVN, also sent her best wishes and brachos to the new branches, highlighting the value of joining the weekly shiur on a consistent basis, and describing it as the best step to take in ensuring a solid hashkafic foundation.
To give the girls a taste of what LVN is all about, they viewed a slideshow of LVN shiurim, activities and Shabbatons around the world. To see girls just like themselves, on different continents, speaking different languages, in different locales, but all hearing the same message of aliyah and growth, truly resonated. It drove home the feeling that the LVN ideal is universal; the thirst for Torah knowledge and wisdom is relevant to every post-seminary girl, no matter where on the map she may find herself.
Several of the branches gave out personalised Lechu V’Nelcha notebooks, pens and cookies with some accompanying light refreshments.
The desire to maintain what was learned and absorbed in seminary is universal, and Lechu V’Nelcha enables the girls to do just that. So, come join post-seminary girls like yourself at a local branch near you, in an atmosphere that nurtures growth, warmth and real friendship. Because that, in a nutshell, is what LVN is all about!
May the Eibershter repay all our wonderful Lechu V’Nelcha coordinators for all their efforts and kindness with an abundance of brachah and hatzlachah.
by LechuVnelcha | Apr 23, 2018 | Eretz Yisrael, LVN Events
The large hall feels cavernous. The last volunteer straightens a sign-up sheet on one of the chairs and sweeps the room with a backwards glance. And then she is gone. There is silence in the enormous room. One thousand chairs perfectly aligned. There are water bottles and a jumbo chocolate chip cookies neatly positioned on each seat. The camera is fine tuned, focused on an empty podium. Two immense screens are black, waiting. The technicians, with a few minutes to spare, have left to take a much needed break. The air is thick with expectancy, the clock ticks and every second brings the opening time closer.
And then it is 7:30, and there is a buzzing sound coming from the entrance. The large doors to the vast halls are thrown open and the girls pour in. There is no steady trickle; it is like a dam breaking, a wave unleashed, and chattering, enthusiastic, excited seminary girls flood the halls. There are hugs as girls meet their friends, there is quiet laughter and a palpable sense of energy. By 7:45 the hall is full. By 8:00 it is bursting and girls fill every available space. There is a repositioning of chairs, more are brought in, and some make do with the floor. The hall darkens and a hush settles over the hall. April 23rd, ches Iyar, 5778, and the inaugural Lechu V’Nelcha Inter-Seminary Event has begun.
Havav Mattisyahu Salamon’s penetrating eyes gaze at the crowd from the large screens. His words are welcoming, encouraging, demanding the girls’ continued growth. He speaks about the vital necessity of joining Lechu V’Nelcha and its sacred mission. He details the girls’ journey, having been raised in a Bais Yaakov environment and now moving onward, and the urgent need to be part of a movement that will maintain their commitment to the fundamentals of Yiddishkeit and encourage them forward in this new chapter of their lives. His divrei bracha envelop the audience.
The video presentation continues and those assembled view girls from cities throughout the world who have joined Lechu V’Nelcha , with its weekly shiurim, events and summer retreats, and the impact it has had on their lives.
And then Rebbetzin Dinah Fink, the founder and driving force of Lechu V’Nelcha ascends the stage and all eyes are upon her. She warmly welcomes the girls and in her inimitable style, shares the challenges that many graduates face. She speaks from the heart, having seen first hand the downward spiral that ensnares many girls who remain unmoored and without guidance or mentors. She implores the girls to sustain the spark that has been ignited during this wonderous seminary year and carry the inspiration forward by being a part of Lechu V’Nelcha and its continuous learning programs. She then introduces RabbiTodros Miller, who has flown in from Gateshead, especially, as the keynote speaker.
Rabbi Miller is a masterful orator, who keeps the girls spellbound with his comparison of the nine months of seminary to the nine months of pregnancy and its potential for growth. He contrasts chadashim– renewal and expansion, with shanim and its symbol of stagnation and sameness, and posits that the task of each and every one of us is LECHU- to move onward and upward. In Yiddishkeit, there is no such thing as remaining the same. We are either moving upwards, actualizing our ultimate potential and growing, or we are on a dangerous descent into a frightening abyss. He urges the girls not to remain complacent, but to follow in the footsteps of Avraham Avinu, the first one to be tasked with ‘lechu’, with the command of ‘Lech Lecha‘. There are girls in the audience who are copiously taking notes in their spirals, others are scribbling on the backs of loose paper, some, eyes like saucers, are just absorbing the inspiration- all are captivated. As Rabbi Miller wraps up his shiur, there is thunderous applause and 1400 girls rise to their feet for kvod haTorah.
The lights dim and the sand art presentation begins. As the talented artist delicately sprinkles sand and moves her hands in ballet-like motion, the narration comes to life. It is a familiar story, similar to many, of a young, fresh-faced seminary graduate, starry eyed, spinning dreams of the not-so-distant future. She has spent a wonderous, magical year in Eretz Yisrael, and envisions her next chapter in life unfolding. And then she lands back home. Hard. The challenges she faces, the hardships she endures, the perils and pitfalls of real life without the comforting cocoon of Bais Yaakov are painted in sound and sand. There is absolute stillness in the room. Girls are sitting on the edge of their seats and some stand to get a better vantage point of the stage. As the narrator describes the absolute relief of joining Lechu V’Nelcha, and having a place to share her experiences with like-minded girls, there is a palpable release of tension in the audience as well. As the sand artist deftly swirls the sand for the final time, the girls rise to their feet spontaneously. There are gasps of delight as the crowning image emerges. There is sustained clapping and there is a magical energy in the air.
The evening is drawing to a close, but there is one final surprise. Mrs. Tammy Karmel, a young mother battling ALS, and whose strength of character and indomitable spirit has touched the lives of so many, has arrived with a pre-recorded message for the girls. As her wheelchair is slowly wheeled to the front of the hall, the girls erupt in impromptu singing and their voices swell louder and louder. As Tammy’s message is played on the screen, it is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. She likens her oxygen dependency to the life-giving force of sustained, committed growth and the imperative to join Lechu V’Nelcha.
Although the program is officially over, and the main lights are switched on, the girls are in no rush to leave. There is soulful singing, and as over a thousand girls link arms and sway to the refrain of an age-old song, there is inspiration and hope intertwined in the melody. The evening has surpassed the wildest dreams of the coordinators. It has been moving, mesmerizing, magical. The girls fill out their Lechu V’Nelcha sign-up sheets and place them in designated boxes. With a spring in their step and a last goodbye, they are gone.
The hall is empty again. Crumpled papers and the detritus of a packed audience are all that is left. The chairs are a jumble, and the cleanup will soon begin. But the air! The mood! The magic! That still lingers in the atmosphere and in the hearts of every girl who has been a part of something greater than themselves.
Baila Ellinson
נקדש את שמך, שמך לעולם, כשם שמקדישים אותו בשמי מרום…
The tune carries me out into the cool night. It is here, at the tip of the road facing the hills surrounding Yerushalayim that over 1,000 girls have gathered in the night.
For what have they gathered? What purpose brings them streaming from seminaries from every direction of this holy city?
“Everyone wants a good life”, the voice of Rabbi Todros Miller thunders over the microphone. “But what defines a good life?” אין לך ימים שאדם שרוי בטובה יותר מאותו הימים. The girls have spent nine months ensconced in the uterus of seminary, eating of what the mother eats, drinking of what the mother drinks. Nine months of constant growth, progress, development. And now?
“It is not the end, nor is it the beginning of the end. At most, it is the end of the beginning” says Rebbetzin Dinah Fink. “You are what you do when you have the choice”. Now, you choose good, you choose growth, you choose Lechu V’nelcha.
The auditorium is vast and the girls are many, but the spirit of Lechu V’Nelcha spreads throughout the room and enters each heart. We have tears in our eyes as we follow the graceful painting of one girl’s story, feel her loneliness, her pain, her confusion. And then, the beauty and relief of the sun on the horizon as she finds her place.
What is life? What is life when one cannot move, cannot speak, cannot breathe on her own. “What would happen if my oxygen would be shut for two minutes?” Asks Mrs.Tammy Carmel. “I would not live. So too, without Lechu V’Nelcha, there is no life”
It is with one heart, one purpose, one goal that the girls have gathered on this night. As our voices rise in song it seems as the malachim themselves are singing along.
נקדש את שמך, שמך לעולם, כשם שמקדישים אותו בשמי מרום…
Faye Gitel Sugar
