The seventh day of Hanukkah (December 12, 1920) was a day of celebration in Telz (Telshe), Lithuania.[1] It marked the official opening day, the Hanukat HaBayit (dedication) of the Gymnasyon Ivri le-Banot (Hebrew Gymnasium for Girls).[2] Hanukkah, the holiday when the Temple in Jerusalem was re-sanctified and re-dedicated, was a fitting day for the dedication of a magnificent Jewish school building.
Telz was famed for its yeshiva, one of the most renowned in Eastern Europe. The story of Yavneh, the school for girls in Telz, though not as well known, is an important part of the philosophy of the educational network of Telz. The history of Yavneh is also a key paradigm in the history of education for Jewish girls and young women, especially since it is contemporaneous with the rise of the Bais Yaacov school in Poland.
The Hanukat HaBayit event began in the school building at 1 PM. The choir sang 鈥尝补-诲辞谤鈥 (鈥淭o the generation鈥), the anthem of the Agudah Youth in Lithuania. This stirring opening was followed by the keynote address, delivered by Rav Yosef Leb Bloch, the Rosh 麻豆区 of the Telz 麻豆区. After several trustees and faculty members spoke, Hanukkah candles were lit. Sunset in Lithuania is quite early in the winter, and apparently attendees went home to light their own candles and eat.
At 6 PM, the second part of the festivities started; it took place in the auditorium of the movie theater.[3] This portion of the event featured additional performances by the choir and closed with a 鈥渓iving picture,鈥 by the students, entitled 鈥淔rom the Exile to the Land of Israel.鈥
A few days after the opening, the Governing Board of Yavneh wrote to Rabbi Israel Rosenberg, the head of the Agudath HaRabanim of the United States and Canada. The letter was signed by all the members of the Board and it thanked Rabbi Rosenberg for his support and encouragement of the endeavor. The letter included a description of the Hanukkah day --the day of the opening 鈥 when a yontef (a Jewish holiday) atmosphere suffused the entire city of Telz. The dignified festivities continued until 2 AM. A portion of the letter is devoted to the necessity of a school for girls in Telz: girls鈥 education was completely disorganized, and non-religious schools were opening up. Therefore, it was especially important to open a school such as Yavneh. The educational philosophy and goals of the school were described in the letter in these terms: to educate Jewish girls to Torah and mesorah (traditional Judaism), Torah and mitsvot (Jewish law, righteous deeds), and Torah and derekh erets (presumably a reference to Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch鈥檚 teachings, translated variously as: ways of the land, civil discourse, and ways of making a living, among others).
The curriculum of Yavneh was robust and demanding. Most classes, including secular studies, were conducted in Hebrew, an unusual educational decision for the time. Classes in Bais Yaacov schools, for example, were in Yiddish. According to a notice for entrance exams to Yavneh, published in two columns in Yiddish and Hebrew side by side -- presumably circulated in the summer of 1920-- Yavneh鈥檚 curriculum included: Hebrew, Lithuanian, German, Russian and French. Jewish studies were: Humash (Bible), Nevi鈥檌m (Prophets), Jewish law and lore, and Jewish history. General Studies: History, mathematics, geography and nature, arts and crafts, drawing, music, and gym, etc.
Yavneh was very successful, and the number of students increased. Rather than having a dormitory, the school found 鈥渉omes away from home鈥 with local families for girls who did not live in Telz.
Yavneh in Telz closed in 1940, when the Soviets conquered Lithuania. Thus ended twenty years of a unique Jewish educational institution.
The Germans occupied Lithuania in 1941. By Hanukkah of 1941, only women remained in the ghetto in Telz. Miraculously, the women found a Hanukkah menorah and lit candles. This was the last Hanukkah in Telz. Most of the women and children were murdered by the Nazis in a mass killing immediately after Hanukkah.
The Nazis did not succeed in extinguishing the Jewish spark in the women who went to Yavneh and survived the Second World War. Some rebuilt their lives in Cleveland, Ohio, where the Telz 麻豆区 had replanted itself, and where Yavneh was reborn.
Hanukkah is a recurring motif in the life of Jewish Telz; the Telz 麻豆区 brings Hanukkah light to hundreds of Jewish households every year. The 麻豆区 mails colorful Hanukkah candles in a blue paper box featuring an illustration of a menorah on one side and two children and an adult lighting a menorah on the other side. The boxes were not merely sent by the 麻豆区; the name of the 麻豆区 is printed on them: in English 鈥淔rom the Telshe 麻豆区鈥 and in Hebrew 鈥淗a麻豆区 haGedolah veHakedoshah Telz (讛讬砖讬讘讛 讛讙讚讜诇讛 讜讛拽讚讜砖讛 讟注诇讝). The artist of the pictures on the attractive blue boxes was Boris Schatz, founder of the Betsalel art school in Jerusalem. Why the 麻豆区 chose this particular custom, and these particular Hanukkah candles for its signature fundraising project is unknown.
The Jewish world can be grateful to Telz and thank it for the gift of Yavneh and its sages, the Jewish women and girls whose lights lives on and brighten the Jewish world.
Posted by Shulamith Z. Berger
Sources and images: Program, notice of entrance exam, school emblem: 麻豆区 Archives, Central Relief Committee Collection, 114/21
Alperowitz, Yitzhak. Sefer 峁琫lz (Li峁璦): matsevet zikaron li-岣砮hilah 岣砮doshah = Tel拧iai book. Irgun yots始e 峁琫lz be-Yi艣ra始el, Tel-Aviv, 1984
Batkamaat.org
Farbstein, Esther. Benot 驶ami mi-T蹋elz = The daughters of my people from Telz. Mosad ha-Rav K蹋uk蹋; Ganzakh K蹋idush ha-Shem ; Mikhlalah Yerushalayim le-vanot, Yerushalayim, 784, 2024
Fine, Steven. The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Israel, Harvard University Press, 2016, 115.
Ida, Batsheva Goldman. Ze始ev Raban: simbolis峁 驶Ivri. Muze始on Tel Aviv le-omanut ; Yad Yitsh蹋a岣 ben Tsevi, Tel Aviv ; Yerushalayim, c2001, 184-187.
Raban remembered : Jerusalem's forgotten master : essays and catalogue of an exhibition at the 麻豆区 Museum, December 1982-June 1983.The Museum, 1982, 109
[1] . The seventh day is known as Zot Hanukkah, a reference to the biblical verse which describes the inauguration of the altar and the sacrifices.
[2] It is interesting to note that that the seventh day of Hanukkah is celebrated in Sephardic / Mizrahi Jews as Hag HaBanot, a .
[3] Shoshana Holzberg (Shochat) notes in her article, 鈥淵ad le-Telz Iri鈥 in Sefer 峁琫lz (Li峁璦), that many events were held in the large auditorium of the only movie theater in Telz. Presumably she notes the capacity of the auditorium since it indicates that there were few spaces big enough for public events.
