FOUNDING BETH RIVKAH

“…they had not yet realized the importance of educating girls.  The widespread view among many families was that it was not necessary to formally teach them Judaism; they could learn on their own by seeing what was done at home.”

From the life of R’ Yehoshua Shneur Zalman Serebryanski a”h

Prepared for publication by Avrohom Rainitz

Shortly after the chanukas ha’bayis for the Chabad school for boys, they began to discuss starting a similar school for girls.  R’ Zalman himself, who had asked the Rebbe Rayatz about chinuch for his daughter, did as the Rebbe said: It would be worthwhile for your daughter to learn the language of the country but in a limited way, as we see the necessity in this.

But some of Anash sent their daughters to public school so it was urgent that they start a program for girls.

In those days they had not yet realized the importance of educating girls.  The widespread view among many families was that it was not necessary to formally teach them Judaism; they could learn on their own by seeing what was done at home.  This perspective, which was correct a hundred years earlier, proved bankrupt with the spread of the Haskala movement and when girls began attending public school.  It became necessary to balance this negative influence with formal Jewish studies.

Some Lubavitcher families realized they had to look out for their daughters’ ruchnius and since R’ Zalman was already involved in founding a school for boys, they asked him to arrange classes for girls.  At this point it did not occur to them to start a school for girls; all they wanted was occasional shiurim.

GIRLS LEARNING IN THE SAME BUILDING AS THE BOYS IS OUT OF THE QUESTION

In a letter that he sent the Rebbe on 2 Nissan 5715, R’ Zalman wrote about the request of Anash and said there was a teacher who could give these lessons, Mrs. Broner, a religious woman who had graduated Beis Yaakov in Germany.  In his letter R’ Zalman expressed doubt as to whether he should get involved in something new before the boys’ school was running smoothly.  He also pointed out that since there was only one building, the only way to immediately start lessons for girls would be to have them study in one of the rooms of the Talmud Torah.  The question was whether it was befitting to start the girls’ learning in this manner. 

The Rebbe responded immediately in a letter dated 11 Nissan and said that learning in the same building was out of the question, but it was surprising that they could not find another place since surely the number of girls, for now, willing to learn in an institution like this, was not large.

Despite his busyness with the boys’ school, R’ Zalman began working on the girls’ project.  In a letter dated 7 Iyar 5715, he reported to the Rebbe that he had spoken about it to R’ Abba Pliskin whose only daughter (now Rivka Vishedsky of Crown Heights) had become of school age.  R’ Abba invited Anash to a meeting on the subject.

In the next letters that he wrote there are a few mentions of this subject.  At the end of a letter from 10 Av, R’ Zalman reported to the Rebbe that he met with Mrs. Hertz and Mrs. Broner.  This meeting with Mrs. Hertz was the first in a series of meetings that led to the founding of Beth Rivkah which was led by Mrs. Hertz, as will be described at length.

R’ Zalman received a letter from the secretariat affirming the receipt of his letter and in the Rebbe’s handwriting it said: Waiting for good news.

At the end of the Rebbe’s letter from 13 Elul, parts of which were quoted in previous installments, the Rebbe also referred to the meeting with Mrs. Hertz and wrote: I was pleased by what you wrote that you are being mekarev Mrs. Hertz, and surely, ultimately, her talents will be made use of in the vineyard of Chabad in a desirable manner.  May Hashem grant success.

R’ ZALMAN PAYS FOR THE LESSONS

Despite his many responsibilities with the boys’ school, R’ Zalman could not remain indifferent to the demand of Anash and he began organizing shiurim for girls.  In accordance with the Rebbe’s response that the girls not learn in the same building as the boys, he arranged two shiurim in private homes, one shiur in the home of the teacher, Mrs. Broner, and one shiur in R’ Nachum Zalman Gurewitz’s home.  Since these were little girls, whose parents did not allow them to travel on public transportation, there was no choice but to have a shiur in two locations so that it would be within walking distance from the girls’ homes.

These shiurim took place in the afternoon, after public school.  This was a novelty because until then programs like this were for boys only, usually before their bar mitzva, in order to teach them the Haftora.  The Jews of Melbourne had a hard time digesting the new idea and although the classes were opened after Sukkos, three months later, on 15 Teves, R’ Zalman reported that in the two classes there were only eight girls.

From R’ Zalman’s conversations with members of the vaad he learned that they did not understand the need for girls to learn Torah.  If he would call for an official meeting and propose that they start a school for girls, a majority would vote against it.  This is why he decided to pay for the lessons himself and not from the yeshiva coffers. 

On 15 Teves R’ Zalman reported this to the Rebbe and wrote that when the number of students grew and the members of the vaad would see that there was a need for a girls’ school, then he would raise the idea for discussion.  The vaad would decide whether to open a school for girls under the auspices of the existing institution or to start a separate institutional entity with a separate administration.

WOULD MRS. HERTZ AGREE TO BE THE PRINCIPAL?

In the meantime, R’ Zalman heard that Mrs. Hertz had opened a preschool in her house and that she intended on expanding it into a school in the years to come.  Mrs. Hertz had attended Beis Yaakov in Germany and was considered a superlative educator.  Furthermore, she had a leadership demeanor and outstanding administrative abilities. R’ Zalman, who knew of her talents, thought this woman should run the school.  However, due to the very fact that she was opinionated and a woman of principle, he was afraid she would be unwilling to see eye to eye with the Chabad approach and this would lead to arguments.

R’ Zalman decided to offer her a job as supervisor of the secular studies in the boys’ school.  This way, he thought, he could see her abilities from up close and would be able to slowly familiarize her with Chabad ideas.

She accepted the job at the end of Cheshvan 5716 and began work.  At that meeting, they discussed in general terms the idea of opening a girls’ school and Mrs. Hertz told of her plans to open a school the following year.  However, from the tone of the conversation it was apparent that she understood that running a school was something very complicated and she would not be able to do it alone.  R’ Zalman did not speak at length about a girls’ school; he waited for the right time.

That opportunity did not take long to arise.  One night of Chanuka the school arranged an evening to mark the conclusion of the first year of school.  The special program and the fascinating speeches made an excellent impression on the participants and on Mrs. Hertz.  At the end of the evening Mrs. Hertz told R’ Zalman that the time had come to discuss a girls’ school.  She said that she planned on opening a school in her home for the coming school year and was interested in coming to an agreement regarding collaboration with the yeshiva.

R’ Zalman wanted to report to the Rebbe before speaking to her and so he said they had to discuss the matter with the appropriate seriousness.  He therefore suggested they meet in a week, when her preschool would close for summer vacation and she would have free time.

In a letter that R’ Zalman sent on 6 Teves, he wrote, “On the one hand, we need to use this opportunity in which an expert principal and dynamic teacher is willing to work for Chabad.  In Melbourne you can’t find anyone like this, and it also enables us to open a school for girls without additional expenses of buying or renting a building.  On the other hand, we need to be very careful in clarifying and deciding on the conditions, because Mrs. Hertz, although known for her good qualities in Judaism and her knowledge, etc. is German born and is strong-willed and especially when the school is in her house.  So it is possible that if, over time, she doesn’t like something, she would stop working for us and come to terms with someone else.”

A PRIVATE SCHOOL OR A CHABAD SCHOOL?

A week passed and after meeting with Mrs. Hertz, R’ Zalman realized that the road to opening a girls’ school was long indeed.  Mrs. Hertz came to the meeting with her friends who were also graduates of the Beis Yaakov in Germany, with similar worldviews, and who supported her.  They made it clear they had not dropped their dream of opening a private school that would be run in her home and under her exclusive responsibility, and their purpose of meeting with R’ Zalman was to come to an arrangement with the yeshiva to help with registration.  Since representatives of the yeshiva spoke with Jewish families and convinced them to send their boys to religious schools, they could also talk about sending their daughters to Mrs. Hertz’s school.  In exchange, she was willing to arrange a special curriculum in the spirit of Chabad for those girls who came upon the recommendation of the yeshiva.

R’ Zalman immediately said this was not acceptable to him because the yeshiva planned on opening a Chabad girls’ division.  His counteroffer was that Mrs. Hertz open the school in her home, but it should all be run under the auspices of Chabad.  She would receive a salary from the yeshiva and even rental money for the use of her home.

Mrs. Hertz and her friends discussed his offer and said they were afraid to be dependent on the views of others, and they preferred to earn less from the school while being solely responsible for the running of the school.  At the end of the meeting they said they were not rejecting his idea outright and maybe they would eventually agree to it.

R’ Zalman reported to the Rebbe on 15 Teves and concluded with the hope that after Mrs. Hertz began working for the yeshiva in running the secular studies program, she would get to see those involved and see that it was all for the sake of heaven without personal agendas and that would make it easier for her to accept the authority of the yeshiva and run the school under their aegis.

THE SCHOOL MUST BELONG TO LUBAVITCH

The Rebbe responded quickly to R’ Zalman’s last letter and said there was no room for consideration to open a school not under the auspices of Chabad with the faint hope that with time the school would end up being run by Chabad. Lubavitch should open up a school for girls and be the balabatim (bosses) over it, albeit while giving whoever might actually run it the latitude to operate freely without pressure, obviously, if this was not in opposition to Lubavitch and in the spirit of Chabad.

The Rebbe also said there was no point in Chabad opening a school not under their name and using someone else’s building with the faint hope that the person would have a change of heart and give the school over to Lubavitch.  And if there was no room in the yeshiva itself, a place should be found nearby to enable the administration to oversee both.  The Rebbe also pointed out the need to be careful not to push anyone away, certainly not someone who was a capable force in chinuch and administration.

R’ Zalman understood from this that the Rebbe was absolutely opposed to any partnership within a Chabad mosad, whether in the administration or curriculum.  Since Mrs. Hertz insisted on retaining certain areas of authority, R’ Zalman wrote to the Rebbe that for the time being he was shelving the idea, especially when a new school year was about to begin in the boys’ school and energy had to be invested to arrange everything.  R’ Zalman emphasized that since the Rebbe wanted a school to open for girls, he would work to move the project forward at the first possible opportunity.