A Tribute to Sarah Schenirer, on her yahrzeit 26 Adar

tzniutfashion

Tue, Mar 17 2015, 2:14 pm

Today, 26 Adar, is the yahrzeit (anniversary of the passing away) of Sara Schenirer, a”h (peace be upon her), and I would like to dedicate this post in her memory. Sara Schenirer founded the Bais Yaakov movement and I’m sure some of you are Bais Yaakov students somewhere in the world.

Like many Jewish women, past and present, Sara Schenirer was a strong woman of conviction. She believed in her ideals which were not popular at her time but worked on making them known to the world, one person at a time. It grew from there to one community at a time, and then later one country at a time.

Her devoted students spoke volumes about her through their writings and acts of chesed (kindness) and establishment of Bais Yaakov schools around the world. You will find Bais Yaakov schools across all spectrums of Jewish communities including both Ashkenazi and Sepharadi. Her idea was accepted by our diverse, culturally-rich Jewish population. Model schools based upon Bais Yaakov have been established all over the world for Jewish girls and women.

Although Sara Schenirer was also known as a dressmaker by profession, her interest at her time was known through her famous quote,

“People are such perfectionists when it comes to clothing their bodies. Are they so particular when they address themselves to the needs of their soul?”
Sara Schenirer dedicated her life to injecting Torah into the souls of precious Jewish neshamos, and saving many of them from being assimilated into the foreign ideals of her time, mainly, Communism, Secular Zionism, and the Haskalah movement.

These are some of the traits that one can learn from Sara Schenirer:

Serve Hashem with joy at all times! This trait is difficult when one is tested with challenges that are sent by Hashem, but Sara herself has demonstrated this through the thick and thin of her tribulations. Her students, particularly during World War II, demonstrated this hard but not unattainable attribute through their acts of chesed (kindness) and mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) by endangering their lives for other Jews.

Walk humbly (modestly) before Hashem. Sara was known to advise her teacher trainees to not gloat in their accomplishment as teachers, the future moulders of Jewish girls. Instead, they have to constantly be mindful of the Yetzer Hara (evil impulse) and fight the negative traits of arrogance and jealousy.
Sara Schenirer’s tznius (modesty) has been referenced by more recent female role models, including Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky, a”h, as a measure to aspire to. May we be zoche (merit) to learn more about Sara and emulate some of her fine characteristics in our lives.

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Reprinted from Yehudis Magazine
http://yehudis.pw/tribute-to-s......html