The Yeshiva University High School for Girls is starting the spring semester by making the world its classroom. On Tuesday, January 30, Central’s senior-level Modern Jewish Thinkers course, led by History Department faculty member Mr. Richard Isaacs, ventured outside Queens for a day in Crown Heights, where the group was treated to a guided tour through the home neighborhood of the Chabad Lubavitch.
“We’ve studied the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s ideas for a couple of weeks now, and we wanted to see how his ideas were actualized – how they’ve been brought to life,” Mr. Isaacs said. “His ideas are that Judaism and Torah should engage and interact with the world and be a force of positivity.” With this in mind, the tour included a stop at the Levi Yitzchok Library, one of the largest Jewish libraries in the country, as well as a visit with a chasidic scribe, during which students observed how holy Judaica items are crafted. “It was really interesting to see where the sofer worked,” said senior Atara Peretz. Senior Chana Weinberger agreed that the day was informative, as well as fun. “The tour – while filled with many great puns – was also enlightening,” she said. “It gave a window into the history and inner workings of Chabad.”
Other stops included a visit to the 770 Synagogue, the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, and an inside look at the control center of Chabad.org, the Internet’s most visited religious website, and the main studios of Chabad’s global cable TV system. The day provided Central seniors with a diversity of perspectives. Senior Julia Nikravesh praised the experience: “We got to know how many different kinds of Jews there are, and what their cultures are like,” she said.
Other recent outings included the sophomore class’s excursion to Bryant Park’s Winter Village to enjoy the park’s ice-skating rink on Monday, February 5. That same day, the class of 2024 began their last semester at Central by being the first school to visit Yeshiva University’s annual Seforim Sale. Started in 1964, the event is the largest Jewish book sale in North America, welcoming over 15,000 customers to browse over 10,000 titles. This is a highly anticipated event for Central’s seniors and one more example of the special relationship that exists between YU and Central.
