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100 Women, Children Participate in Yad L’Achim’s Annual Shabbos Chizuk

Yad L’Achim last week hosted its annual Shabbos Chizuk, providing an empowering experience for 100 women and children. The theme of this year’s special Shabbos, held every Elul, was “Win Together.” • Read More, Photos

The program focused on Jewish identity, connection to G-d, the power of Teshuva, and the ability to turn a new page. Leading the lectures and discussions were Rebbetzin Orit Salomon and Harav Shneur Shmulewitz.

At the same time, the children were receiving individual attention from 10 specially trained counsellors. An animal therapist was also on hand, working with the children before and after Shabbos.

One young woman, who was attending a Yad L’Achim Shabbaton for the first time, had been raised by a non-Jewish father and schooled in a mixed educational setting. She arrived hesitant and suspicious but listened attentively to the lectures and follow-up discussions. Despite being “addicted” to her smart phone, she made it through the entire Shabbos without touching it.

Another woman, who had attended several Yad L’Achim Shabbatons, was keeping Shabbos for the first time. Raised abroad in a non-Jewish environment, she ended up marrying a gentile. During Shabbos, she managed to go without her phone and cigarettes for the first time ever.

Yad L’Achim notes that there are many stories of women taking it upon themselves to keep Shabbos at a Shabbaton and then continuing to do so in their private lives.

Girls 12 and older participated in a separate program run by a therapist, Yad L’Achim staffers and lecturers. Some of the girls have known each other for years, having attended the organization’s Shabbatons and summer camps. They had a chance to talk about their complex identities and how they see themselves in the future. The Shabbos sessions allowed them to talk openly about issues they find difficult to share in other settings.

Yad L’Achim notes that for some of the participants, Shabbatons like these are a turning point. One shared that during one such event several years ago, she saw a Yad L’Achim staffer walking with his wife and children to shul in their Shabbos finest and decided that this was the life she wanted for herself. Today, she is a married mother of children and leading a chareidi lifestyle. “It all started when my heart was opened at a Yad L’Achim Shabbaton,” she says.

One of the most striking phenomena is the progress the women make from year to year. The take on more and more, with the help of Rebbetzin Yona Nusbacher who advises them on Jewish issues.

At a session held at the end of Shabbos, participants expressed their gratitude to Yad L’Achim for providing psychological, economic and legal support, but most importantly for guidance and assistance in making their way back to Judaism.