This past Sunday evening, November 3
rd
, over 200 Bais Yaakov of Baltimore alumnae from 1950-2019 were privileged to participate in an “Evening of Connection and Inspiration” in Lakewood, NJ. Attendees joined from as far as Brooklyn, Far Rockaway, Passaic, Carteret, Bensalem, and Allentown.
The décor was tasteful and welcoming, a precursor of the delightful experience to follow. The delicious sushi, salads, fruit cups, and desserts, many of which were expertly prepared by Bais Yaakov of Baltimore alumnae, were classy and delicious. But those were just the backdrop for the feelings of warmth and camaraderie that permeated the room, as old friends from Lakewood and beyond rekindled ties, and even those who did not cross paths in Bais Yaakov smiled and chatted amicably, united by our strong connection to Bais Yaakov. We were excited to greet
Rabbi Zweig
,
Mrs. Willner
, and
Mrs. Wolf
, our beloved principal and teachers. We were honored to have
Mrs. Rhoda Steinberg Pollak
join us, along with her daughter
Mrs. Miriam Blumenkrantz
, and granddaughter,
Mrs. Devora Katz
, representing three generations of Bais Yaakov alumnae and a tangible connection to our esteemed principal Rabbi Binyamin Steinberg
zt”l.
As difficult as it was to put our friendly banter on hold, we were asked to sit down as the much-anticipated program, entitled “A Tribute to Giveret Leah Steinhardt,
a”h”
began.
The evening’s MC,
Mrs. Devora (Neuberger) Einstadter
began by commenting on how heartwarming it was to see alumnae of Bais Yaakov spanning so many decades together in the room, and how we all share the gift of a wholesome
chinuch
from Bais Yaakov of Baltimore. She thanked all of those who had worked so hard to make the evening a reality, including
Rabbi Aaron Gross, Bais Yaakov’s Director of Development
, our
Alumnae Association chairs Mrs. Yocheved (Goldstein) Lieder
and
Mrs. Perel Malka (Freedman) Simpson
, and event chairs
Mrs. Chomily (Heinemann) Kushner
,
Mrs. Faige (Kronglas) Spitz
, and
Mrs. Shira (Kronglas) Jacobson
along with their committee. She then introduced Rabbi Zweig to begin with
divrei berachah
.
Rabbi Yechezkel Zweig
began by mentioning the pall cast on the event by the recent, untimely passing of fellow alumna
Mrs. Rivki (Kronglas) Wajsbort
,
a”h
. Rivki had a
lev tov
and built an exalted home of Torah, and her
petirah
is a tremendous loss for her family, her community, and for the whole extended family of Bais Yaakov. Rabbi Zweig then addressed the question that was echoing in all of our minds that night: Why do we all feel such a connection to Bais Yaakov? He answered that it is because of the
mesorah
we all received from Bais Yaakov, the
mesorah
of
achdus
, of being a “home” to anyone who wants to learn Torah. This
mesorah
was established by Rabbi Steinberg,
zt”l,
Rabbi Diskind,
zt”l,
and Rabbi Freedman,
zt”l –
through
their
ahavas Yisrael
and friendliness toward every person. Giveret Steinhardt,
a”h,
also played a big part of that
mesorah
. She personified
derech eretz
,
ehrlichkeit
,
achrayus
, conducting oneself in a balanced way, and appreciating knowledge, especially Torah knowledge. Rabbi Zweig ended by exhorting us to use our instinctive feelings, which are rooted in the beautiful
mesorah
we received from Bais Yaakov, when encountering any challenges or decisions we face in life.
Mrs. Rivkah (Gottdiener) Shachnow
then delivered inspiring words of
hesped
about her close friend Mrs. Rivki (Kronglas) Wajsbort,
a”h
. She described Rivki as easygoing and practical, with a great sense of humor. Rivki was also very smart and capable, but she never wore it on her sleeve. She turned down the offer for a promotion to a prestigious position within her company on the spot because she knew that taking it would not allow her to be there for her family in the way that she wanted to and because she saw her job only as a means to allow her husband to learn. She put tremendous
kochos
into giving an individualized
chinuch
to each of her children and filled her bucket of
zechuyos
with special efforts she invested in her son with special needs. Always putting her own needs aside, Rivki,
a”h,
was humble, genuine, and focused on what was important in life.
Next,
Mrs. Elise (Richels) Wolf
, in her inimitable manner, presented a special tribute to Giveret Leah Steinhardt,
a”h.
Mrs. Steinhardt taught in Bais Yaakov for almost 50 years before her
petirah
this past summer. Mrs. Wolf described how so many students from over the years kept in touch with Mrs. Steinhardt and pointed out that the number of former students and their parents who attended her l
evayah
were a testimony to the impression she made on them all and the respect and admiration they had for her. Mrs. Steinhardt had a vast store of knowledge and was always happy to share it with others, especially former students who were now teachers and didn’t know where to start. She commanded respect in the classroom because she wanted us to really learn, but she was also approachable and had a great sense of humor. She was truly a legend in Bais Yaakov – descended from greatness, but also a
gedolah
in her own right.
Finally, we were privileged to hear words of inspiration from
Mrs. Brenda Willner
. Mrs. Willner exhorted us to use the spiritual legacies passed down to us from
Sarah Imeinu
,
Rivka Imeinu
, and
Miriam HaNeviah
. All used their
binah yeseirah
and tremendous courage to stand up for what they knew to be right in order to build
Klal Yisrael
. Echoing what Rabbi Zweig had said earlier, Mrs. Willner charged us to
daven
a lot for
siyata d’Shmaya
, but at the same time, to have confidence in our abilities to know what is right, the
koach
to follow through, and to do it all with tact and
chochmah
.
As we exited into the cold night air, we were warmed by the feelings of
achdus
engendered at this special event and were so grateful to the program’s organizers for giving us this precious opportunity to reconnect with
our
Bais Yaakov.