The growing community of anash and shluchim in Atlanta, Georgia, completed the first year of its Sunday Cheder program.
Over the past few years, Atlanta’s anash community has been growing, with new families moving in each year. Baruch Hashem, they have access to kosher food, shuls and an excellent Chabad school.
Last summer, a few parents came up with the idea of starting a Sunday Cheder to supplement the chinuch their children already receive.
Mrs. Shoshi Levin devotedly took the lead in setting up and running what is now a superbly operated program with over 50 kids participating each week. Mrs. Shifra Sharfstein, shlucha to Georgia State University, took on the role of overseeing the curriculum and the ruchniusdik development of the program.
Each Sunday, the elementary age children arrive at 9:30 am, anticipating an intriguing and stimulating day ahead. The children are divided into groups according to age, with boys and girls on separate sides of the building. The day begins with davening and breakfast.
Over the next two hours, the students learn nigunim, biographies of chassidim, how a chosid conducts his day according to halacha and minhagei Chabad, and the history of Lubavitch. Once a month, coinciding with special dates on the chassidishe calendar, the students enjoy a farbrengen, sometimes led by their teachers, other times with a guest speaker.
“The Cheder is crucial to my children’s growth as chassidim,” Rabbi Zalman Lipsker, shliach to Chabad at Emory University said. “My children come home singing nigunim and relaying stories of chassidim with enthusiasm, and they take the halachos and chassidishe hanhagos to heart.”
In honor of the final day of Cheder, the students were treated to a special lunch and farbrengen. As the day came to a close, students trickled out, already anticipating the start of next year’s Cheder.
