s a young child I grew up in a secular Russian home devoid of Yiddishkeit. We simply did not know any better. This all changed when I first attended the Shuvu school in Petach Tikvah. Shuvu served as my doorway to the Torah world.  A truly wonderful world I was fortunate to embrace together with Shuvu as they provided me with many of my “firsts” in Yiddishkeit. My first set of Tefillin and Daled Minim. My first true Shabbos, which inspired me to accept a Torah lifestyle.  My first Tefilla. My first Mishnah. And my first foray into the world of Gemara. All these first were done in tandem with Shuvu. By the time I graduated 12th grade, I had progressed to the point that I was interested in pursuing my learning in a post-high school yeshiva.

My sister Avital and I grew up in a home devoid of Yiddishkeit. Through the Chesed of Hashem, my parents decided to send us to a neighborhood Shuvu school in Lod as the school had a wonderful reputation. Going to this school changed our lives. We learned about things we never knew about. How to say Shema and how Hashem listens to our Tefillos. We learned stories from the children outside of Shuvu’s Lod Chumash and about various Mitzvos. It opened my world!  Our teachers also extended themselves by frequently inviting us to their homes for meals on Shabbos and Yom Tov. Experiencing firsthand the beauty of a Torah home helped me realize that this is the type of home I want for myself as well.

As a teacher in Shuvu, I try my best to inspire the many children who come to school each day, many from non­religious homes. Yet many times I find myself inspired by the children in school. One example is a girl named Shivat Pachmi. Shivat is a wonderful 5th grader who come to our school in Lod. When learning about Rachel lmeinu during Chumash class, Shivat was so taken by the story of Rachel that she decided to donate her hair on Rochel lmeinu’s Yahrtzeit so that it could be used to make a wig for a child with cancer! Getting a haircut can be an emotional experience for any girl, but this was even more challenging for Shivat who prided herself on having the longest ponytail in school.

My name is Iliana Kipins and I’m in 5th grade at the Shuvu school in Lod, here in Eretz Yisroel. Even though I am still a young child, people call me “the Rabbanit” or “Rebbetzin” as some of you in America may say. Here’s why: Though my family is not religious, my mother sent me to a Shuvu school. The experience opened my eyes to a world I never knew about. A world of Torah and Mitzvos. A world of Shabbos and Yom Tov. And my personal favorite, a world of Halacha. Halacha is so meaningful to me as it brings my Yahadut (Yiddishkeit) to life. Not just in the way I think, but in the way I act. I enjoy Halacha so much that sometimes I wish to go all over with a megaphone to tell people how much Hashem loves when we do things according to Halacha!

There is nothing quite like Davening at Kivrei Tzaddikim in Eretz Yisroel or in standing at the Kosel in Yerushalayim. In the past years when the borders of Eretz Yisroel were closed, my desire to go back certainly increased. But it is not just to be inspired by the Mekomos Kedoshim. It is to be inspired by seeing what Rabbeim and teachers do to bring back the children of Klal Yisroel and how the children respond. It is for this reason that my wife, Judy, and I try to visit a Shuvu school when in Eretz Yisroel. One particularly memorable visit was when we went to a Shuvu high school in Be’er Yaakov. Several girls spoke about their struggle in overcoming challenges with Shemiras Shabbos and Tznius. These were young girls living in secular homes.

My husband and I were not very religious. However, when it came time to send the first of our five sons to school, we wanted a school that offered some exposure to Yahadut (Yiddishkeit) and we sent our first son to the Shuvu school in Kfar Saba. It didn’t take long to see just how much our son loved school! Each day he would come home excited about everything he was learning, both in general studies and in subjects related to Torah and Yahadut. My son’s enthusiasm was so contagious that I found myself getting swept up in the world of Mitzvot as well. One by one, we sent each of our five boys to a Shuvu school. And one by one, upon graduating from Shuvu they went on to learn in Yeshivas.

Growing up motherless and poor, my sister and I were not necessarily on the road to a bright future. But our teachers in Shuvu changed the trajectory of our lives, showering us with the love and attention we so desperately needed. Their warmth and caring ultimately helped us see the beauty of Yiddishkeit Our Shuvu Morahs gave us everything. They taught us about Shabbos and the Chagim and even made sure that we had what to wear, filling a tremendous void in our lives and smoothing out the many rough spots of our childhood. After graduating elementary school, my sister and I continued our education at a Bais Yaakov high school, and I married my husband Yehuda after completing seminary.

Derek Saker and Ben Rabizadeh founded Frumster.com in 1997 in Passaic, New Jersey. While it was a pioneering service – it faced many early challenges, not least hesitancy and even some resistance to online dating services by many in Orthodox community. The early success of the service – which has always been defined by the number of marriages – was nowhere more apparent than in the fact that over 65% of Frumster.com marriages were initiated by women. That is, where the female member was the first to initiate an email. The reality, still today, is that in the “traditional” Jewish dating world, and certainly the more observant world, it is often the woman who finds herself playing second-fiddle as it were, waiting for the phone to ring.

Ohel Sarala and Bonei Olam will be hosting an exclusive women’s Livestream event TONIGHT! The event will feature Jewish music superstars Bracha Jaffe and Shaindy Plotzker along with Mindy Blatt, Risa Drizin, Miryam Lakritz, Illana Rosenfeld, and Sorah Shaffren. with high tech sound, lights, staging, and screens. The event will feature the Ohel Sarala Members panel featuring girls that are part of the Ohel Sarala program, and the viewers will be addressed by Mrs. Charlene Aminoff, Reb. Yemima Mizrachi . THIS IS A EVENT THAT YOU DEFINITELY DO NOT WANT TO MISS! TONIGHT 7:30 FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS ONLY    

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