This last week of seminary has been amazing, yet nostalgia brings us all to tears as the time comes to say goodbye.

The week began with Shavuos, as we all spent our last yomtov together. Conducting programs for tikkun leil with the high school, including brilliant guest speakers, Rabbi Blesofsky and Mrs Serebryanski; we all thoroughly enjoyed the extra dimension the learning added to our yomtov. The achdus reflected in the late night bonding and farbrenging enhanced this last week of sem and yomtov was a welcome contributor to the connection each girl has created to OC and to each other.

Motzei Shavuos came with mixed feelings; whilst excited for our showers, it was time to bid farewell to Chani E. Chani’s surprise party complete with a yummy cake and an Australian flag, really hit close to home as we were all forced to acknowledge that the time to say farewell was drawing too close for comfort. Tears stung our eyes as we all chanted the ‘Farewell Ohel Chana’ song composed by Chani, Mushkie D. and Leah S. We said goodbye to Chani as she left early to attend a family Simcha.

Wednesday, our second last day of classes was exciting. It began with late wake up (woohoo!) and a trip to the Mikvah. Thanks so much to Timmy Rubin and Mrs Blesofsky for conducting our tour and for enlightening us all! We returned to school for a final questionnaire and regular classes until the Hadracha goodbye party which was hosted by Dina and Moshe Kahn and co-ordinated by our amazing Bnos Roshes- Mushkee W, Michal R, Chaya A. and Faigy N. We had a blast receiving our awards ‘down the red carpet,’ and enjoyed the delicious sushi made by Shevy!

The last day of school was very emotional, with our final classes and final asifa marking the end of school. Cleaning out our desks brought a sadness over everyone, except that the excitement towards graduation saved us from too many tears. Our successful graduation featured inspiring speeches by Faigy N, Mushkee W, Rochel B, Devorah M. and Sara Leah L, and congratulations to Chanale R, winner of the Rochwerger Award for courage, dedication and self-sacrifice. A huge thank-you goes to Mrs Levitin for the cakes and fruit supplied for our after party which was enjoyed by all.

The final Shabbos was a half in-shabbos. We all ate in the dorm on Friday night and went to families we had become close to on Shabbos day. The in-shabbos was amazing, as everyone sat together in a unity that reflected the achdus of our phenomenal group. Shabbos meals were also thoroughly enjoyed by all and we took the opportunity to farewell our community.

Motzei Shabbos was tearful and heartbreaking. Beds were stripped and closets packed away – each room being cleaned of all traces of our group. The whole seminary ventured to Glicks for a final pizza party followed by Rebbe time in the dorm which lasted well past 2 AM!. Final messages and group singing reinforces each girl’s desire to stay here. No one wants to say goodbye nor conclude this amazing year.

I feel privileged to be able to write this last report and to extend my most sincere and heartfelt thank you to Rabbi Tenenbaum and all staff. This sem is the ideal seminary and I can honestly say that it has changed each one of us for the better. It has been a truly inspiring ride and we will all carry Ohel Chana and each other in our hearts forever!

Now we are really starting the count down…there are only 3 weeks left to OC!!!

What should we do -we don’t want to go…!? The first thing we have to do this week is go to all the markets to get presents for everyone back home.

Since we are about to leave, we have to Chap Arein and learn all the things we haven’t learned yet- starting on Monday with our full range of informative and great classes

Starting it off with a bang on Sunday night was an AMAZING farbrengen with Rabbi Cieitlin from Tzvas. It lasted till all hour’s of the night discussing the responsibility we had here and how we took advantage of our experiences. It was amazing and inspirational farbrengen which ended really early in the morning.

Tuesday afternoon for a practical shlchus session, we had Sarah Rubins mom Timmy come to speak to us about her experience becoming a Bal Teshuvah. What an inspiration she is!

Thursday night we had DL’s surprise birthday party. It was followed by a farbi with Mrs. Shaina Basha Lesches about the importance of finishing off the year on a high note and how to carry that into the future with us.

That Motzei Shabbas our amazing, unbelievable dorm counselors Malka and Mor

arranged for us to have a popcorn party!! It was soooo much fun and took hours

of clean up. There is only two full weeks of OC left but we’re going to “Chap Arain”

and do all we can to make sure it will be the best ever!!

So we start one of our last few weeks of seminary. Although we are sad to let go, we are still taking advantage of every single second. We had a very busy week full of learning, excitement and lots more! We were lucky to have Rabbi Laibl Wolf world renowned kabblah lecturer, come and talk to us about Moach Shalit al Halev, which was very inspiring. We learnt how we can actually control ourselves in our practical day to day life.

Later on during the week Mrs. Sheiny New came to speak to us about family violence in the Jewish community. It was very interesting to hear about this important social issue and to be able to recognize the signs as well as the importance of lending a helping hand to someone that may need it and to prevent them from getting hurt. It was very good to hear about something which many of us may not have been aware of.

Mrs. Nechama Werdiger showed us how to present a beautiful Shabbos table and stressed the importance of being a gracious hostess when you welcome guest into your home. Mrs. Werdiger is a role-model and really embodies the qualities of the “perfect hostess”. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting her lovely home and we know that we will appreciate her practical tips later on when we run our own homes!

On Thursday night, Mrs. Esther Malka Groner came to farbreng with us. She related to us how she became Lubavitch. Her story is incredible and inspiring to all… How she persisted and overcame all the harassment. Her courage and self sacrifice is amazing and is something which we can definitely all learn from. The whole week has been a packed week, BH. Ohel Chana always offers us the best of both worlds, beruchnius and begasgmius. Not a day goes by where we don’t learn something new and grow!

We are all thankful to Ohel Chana forever.

This past week- second week of this report- has been jam packed with educational, fun and inspiring activities. The week began with a visit to the ever gracious Mrs Nechama Werdiger, where we witnessed how to set a remarkable shabbos table and had the opportunity to view her unbelievable collection of Judaica from around the world, some dating back to the 15^th century. That afternoon we had an informative session with Mrs Esther Althaus, a successful financial consultant.  She gave us helpful and insightful tips for managing our finances and forming budgets. Her session, including the pamphlets she gave out are sure to be of great value to all.

Thursday, Lag Baomer we awoke in excitement for the packed day ahead of us. We celebrated Lag Baomer with a trip to Sherbrook Forest. After a scenic bus ride we arrived in beautiful Sherbrook Forest where we were greeted by a cluster of beautiful Rosella and native Australian Cockatoos. Feeding the birds and having them perch on our heads and arms were a thrill enjoyed by all. After a delicious barbeque and a stroll along the walking track we headed back, amidst laughter and excited chatter.  The rest of Lag Baomer was a buzz of excitement and enthusiasm with two functions in the night which we helped run. Some girls helped with the grand carnival for children, manning various booths from face painting to cookie crafts, and ‘finding beans in flour’.  Other girls helped run the function for the high school girls, a beautiful bonfire and barbeque with much singing and ambiance. The conclusion to a wonderful night was a bonfire for all the OC girls where we had a kumzits sing along while roasting marshmallows and enjoying each others’ company. The fun continued late into the night as we celebrated one of the girls birthday with a surprise party back in the dorm. Reenergized with the delicious birthday cake, the singing continued well into the early morning hours.

Shabbos was a particular highlight as many of the girls participated in a ‘Shabbos Achdus’ program, where they helped run a grand Friday night meal for the high school students. The girls enhanced the beautiful atmosphere at the meal, singing, socializing with the students and making it an overall success. Following the meal was a beautiful farbrengen in memory of one of the girl’s grandparents, where emotional singing and inspiring stories could be heard late into the night. The following day many of the girls attended meals with their bnos grades as part of the shabbos achdus program, running the meals and mingling with the girls. It was a wonderful end to a beautiful, busy and inspiring week.

Most of us returned to seminary on Sunday after our Pesach break. That night we all went out for Mushki D’s birthday. Happy 19^th birthday!!!!!

Monday afternoon we started classes again for the new term. Everyone came back from their Pesach break refreshed and eager to learn. It was great to catch up with everyone again and get into the spirit of Seminary as we conclude the final 6 weeks of OC!!

Bais Iyar, Tuesday night, we had a Farbrengen with Mrs Leah Greenbaum. Mrs Greenbaum spoke about the shlichus that she is involved in. She also spoke about the ups and downs of shlichus and the importance of staying connected to the Meshaliach at all times. All girls left the Farbrengen really inspired and it strengthened our resolve to go on shlichus.

We had a practical shlichus session with Mrs Sara Rosenfeld on Thursday.  She spoke about her role in chinuch. Mrs Rosenfeld described shlichus as a mind set so if you do not go on official shlichus you should still reach out to anyone even in your community and bring them closer to Yiddishkeit. This left the girls feeling that they have a responsibility to reach out to other Jews and bring them closer to Yiddishkeit. 

On Friday we all went on mivtziom and then we cooked for the in Shabbos that we were going to have together the first Shabbos back.

Shabbos was really beautiful as we all ate together, sang songs and told rebbe stories. We all found it so inspirational. It was great to be back and we look forward to an unbelievable last term of Sem!

Even though Purim was just behind us, the festive spirit in the air lasted through our next week at Ohel Chana.

Monday morning classes kicked off to a great start into a great week of learning, farbrengen and learning.  After returning to the dorm, satisfied by the day’s classes, we were greeted by the smell of freshly baked cookies, a.k.a. biscuits to Chanale R., our dorm cookie baker, which tasted very, very good whichever way you choose to name them. We called a Rebbe-Time and slowly but surely a Kumzitz formed on the floor of the Living Room. There I was, looking around me, thinking to myself “This is why I love Ohel Chana.”

The next few days were a whirlwind of davening, classes, learning about Parshas Shmini b’chavrusa, some more classes and good times.  We celebrated Michal R.’s birthday with pizza, the sea water and niggunim on the beach at sunset. 

Thanks to Mushky D. and Rochel L. and the rest of the Mishmor crew, grades four through six of Beth Rivkah had an incredible hour of learning and fun at Mishmor this week.

Thusrday evening we were privy to the inspiring words of Rabbi DeVries, Shliach in Melbourne, nearby.  We laughed, sang and enjoyed the farbrengen that lasted ‘til late into the night.  Tanya learning continued into the night in honor of the shloshim of the late Mrs. Herzberg a”h.  The entire seminary had taken up to learn all of Lekutei Amarim in the memory of this beloved supporter and community member.

Friday, we stretched over the St. Kilda and Caulfield neighborhoods for mivtzoim at senior homes and day schools.  Getting ready for shabbos and setting up for the Shalosh-Seudos for the Primary School kept us in a flurry of preparations and Shabbos was welcomed all too soon. 

On Shabbos, walking past 103 Hotham St., the sounds of a beautiful harmony of Mizmor L’dovid could be heard as the Grades five and six enjoyed a beautiful Shalosh Seudos Farbrengen with Rabbi Chezzy Deren.

Next on our Bnos agenda:

Plan for Yud-Aleph Nissan.

‘Til next week!

This week and a half in a nutshell- Second week of report-

With both a heavy and a joyous heart, we started the last week of OC before Pesach. Heavy, because we had to say good bye to many of our friends whom we have come to love over the past couple of months. Joyous, because we knew that a wonderful experience would be about to unfold for each of us. This Pesach wouldn’t be an ordinary Pesach spent at home. For some of us, this Pesach means going to Sydney, to stay with cousins. For others it means staying in Melbourne to spend Pesach with the community. For some others it means flying to Surfer’s Paradise to spend Pesach doing Shlichus. Wherever we will find ourselves this Pesach, we know that it will be a memory embedded within us forever.

The week started off with our regular classes, which we enjoyed immensely. It continued on with many tears, as girls went home, one by one, leaving the dormitory a little bit emptier each time. We remaining girls didn’t see why less girls had to mean less fun!! As usual we had our regular dorm activities, ranging from Rebbe Time to our Hachanos for Yud Aleph Nissan, topping it all off with an inspirational farbrengen with Mr. Kalman Rubin. Mr. Rubin is a noted psychologist, and he combines his work with Chassidus. He told us how to appreciate ourselves, and that a true friend is someone who connects with you on a deeper level than physical matters. We continued on till the late hours of the night. On Sunday, we had to say good bye to the larger portion of girls leaving, all the girls from Sydney. With tears of goodbyes we helped our friends load their suitcases, and wave them off to the airport. In the week to follow, we definitely felt the absence of the girls, and yet we resumed classes by combining both classes into one big class and learning all about the upcoming Yom Tov, Pesach. Each class had a different spin on the Pesach experience, depending on the subject taught. For example, our history teacher Mr. Aron taught us all about the historical aspects of Egypt, etc. In Tanya class, Rabbi Glick taught us Perek 47, concerning “Bchol Dor V’Dor.” We truly enjoyed our classes!

The week ended off with a bang, with our last In-Shabbos before Pesach. We enjoyed a truly inspirational meal with singing and laughter, and a few Divrei Torah, all topped off with delicious dorm-cooked food!! Mrs. Avigayil Wonder came to Farbreng and she inspired us to make sure that everything we do is infused with a purpose L’shaim Shamaim and the Rebbes Shlichus. What a way to farbreng as we prepare for Pesach and having our own personal redemption!

The night of Yud Aleph Nissan we had a beautiful and inspiring Farbrengen with Rabbi Tenenbaum and Rabbi Winner. In addition to the girls remaining in the dorm Rabbi Tenenbaum invited the alumni of Ohel Chana of the past few years who are in Melbourne with their families for Yom Tov. We had close to 40 girls show up, ranging from girls in various Israeli seminaries this year to others who had been in OC 2 or 3 years ago. The farbrengen lasted until well into the night with inspirational stories and Divrei Hisorerus delivered by both Rabbi Tenenbaum and Rabbi Winner. In addition many of the girls related inspirational words and stories from the seminary they are now in. It was really beautiful to see and hear so many different girls sharing vertlach at the farbrengen, of different ages and different seminaries who all share the feeling that their time in Ohel Chana was the best experience they ever had!!

On the morning of Yud Aleph Nissan we organized a Tzivos Hashame rally for the local boys and girls. There was a great turnout of more than 100 kids who said the Pesukim, watched a Rebbe Video, decorated birthday Hachlotos card for the Rebbe. The rally was topped off by a great magician. When we finished they all went out to the front of Yeshivah centre to watch the Mitzvah tank parade in honor of the Rebbe’s birthday!

May we continue to give the Rebbe lots of Nachana and Besuros Tovos!!!

Wishing everybody a Kosher and Freilichen Pesach!!

This past week in OC, was one of only joy and happiness with a Purim buzz in the air.

The week started off with a primary function from years 4-6 organized by Mookie b and Sarole C. Over 50 girls dressed in costume were taken to a roller blading ring where they ate, drank and played games. The girls were judged on their dress up costumes and a prize was awarded to the most creative and original costume.

After the exhausting function and regular Sunday night classes, as part of “the complete Jewish Women Program” all OC girls were given an interesting talk by Dr. Herbst on “healthy eating, healthy living.” It was a very interesting and informative discussion on how looking after your body is an important Avoida in serving Hashem.

As the week went on, and Purim got closer and closer, more plans needed to be made. It was arranged that every girl would pick a name out of a hat and would give shaloch manot that would reflect the girl that they had chosen.

After each issue relating to Purim was resolved, it was on to the next issue of what we should dress up as. After many a debate on what the costume this year would be, it was agreed that the entire OC would dress up as Africans,  draped in material, bangles and necklaces.

Unfortunately this weeks aerobic class was canceled as many girls volunteered  to help pack hundreds of shaloch manot for the community at various Chabad Houses in town.

 Thursday night one hour before the fast was over, a Tzivosh Hashem children’s rally was organized by Chana’le R, Raizel A and Riki l. The rally consisted of an amazing magician, gragger making , the twelve pasukim and heaps more. After the rally all councilors made their way to a high school function which was organized by Rochel B, Devorah Leah h and Batya P.  The function was jam packed with all different types of performances ranging from an unbelievable magician to professional bongo players which everyone watched in awe. The function ended off on a high with girls dancing in the lively spirit of Purim.

On Purim day all girls made their way to the Werdiger Hall to hear megilah reading with the rest of Beth Rivkah Ladies College where  over 800 ladies and girls came together to hear Megila. What a wonderful sight and what great noise when Haman was mentioned!!! Every OC girl looked on in awe at all the amazing costumes that the high school girls had made. The costumes ranged from brides to sailors, all which were made with extreme precision.

After a relaxing Shabbat, all OC girls were treated to a Purim function and party bus organized by the dorm councilors Malka s and Mor B. The party bus left OC and traveled all around the city with loud music playing. We really had a great time in the spirit of Simcha and Achdus!!

When we arrived back in OC we were given a pleasant surprise of pizza and chips. Thank you Malka and Mor! Thus concluding another hectic week in the life of an OC girl.