Some 500 women from around Canada and the United States converged at the Markham Hilton Suites Hotel in Toronto to attend the 54th annual N’shei Chabad Women’s convention. This being a Hakhel year—when Jews of all ages are encouraged to congregate and study together—added motivation for the retreat, drawing a larger and more eclectic crowd than in previous years.
Its mission was successful: Through a collaborated effort, all of the 20 Chabad communities around the Greater Toronto area and Southern Ontario partnered with its sister cities joining from the States.
The show of diversity crossed ages and nationalities, including women from Toronto’s Chabad, Russian, Israeli and South African contingents.
“The incredible show of unity between Jewish women from all walks of Jewish life—representing the entire spectrum of the community—was a true inspiration and a most befitting event for the Hakhel year of Jewish unity,” said Goldie Plotkin, co-director of Chabad Lubavitch of Markham in Thornhill, Ontario, and one of the convention organizers.
Women from different backgrounds and communities—new to Judaism or not—were swept into the feeling of Shabbat as one people with one heart. An entire room in the Hilton hotel was filled with the warmth and brightness of hundreds of candles that women lit on Friday night. Highlights of this transformational Shabbat included prayers, Torah learning accompanying every meal and Chassidic farbrengens (informal gatherings) that went on late into the night.
“I learned so much,” said Janice Barrett, an attendee from Toronto. “I laughed and I cried. I caught up with some old friends and made some new ones.”
The theme of the three-day convention was “Women United, Communities Ignited.” Speakers from local communities shared how they overcame personal challenges they faced concerning health, family and religion. A selection of workshops dealt with healing, meditation, femininity, parenting and relationships. Lavish meals and banquets featured video presentations, musical performances and keynote lectures by such seasoned speakers as Rabbi YY Jacobson, dean and rosh yeshivah of theyeshiva.net, and Miryam Swerdlow, both from New York.
During the Friday-evening meal, Jacobson spoke about the four keys to happiness. These included keeping challenges in perspective: Often, hardships come from blessings, and one can find personal redemption through great struggle.
Shabbat lunch included TED-like talks of four women’s poignant life journeys and an entertaining lecture by Swerdlow on the topic of “How Are You Filling Your Bucket List?” She stressed the importance of home and family, and creating a joyful environment where children yearn to stay.
The Havdalah ceremony, which ends Shabbat and ushers in the new week, took place outdoors under the stars. Jacobson sang the prayers in a garden as women swayed nearby with glowing wands.
“The mood was electric; the women were elated,” recalled Plotkin. “Lives were literally changed in this three-day experience that featured an impressive lineup of sought-after speakers who provided the spiritual component of this incomparable weekend.”
‘What Really Matters’
On Saturday night, a large display of boutiques selling art, jewelry, cosmetics and clothing lined the area outside the grand banquet room. There were wine-tastings, a creative photo booth and a “mitzvah auction” that encouraged participants to take on a new good deed—such as lighting candles before Shabbat, keeping kosher or going to the mikvah—in exchange for being entered into a raffle.
The Melave Malka banquet that night attracted hundreds of more women to the Hilton, who joined especially for the evening. A roll call announced the many different cities the women represented.
Heather Aaron, who attended from Markham, Ontario, said she’s still thinking about Rabbi Jacobson’s speech on happiness, particularly about whether Joseph from the Torah was actually “sold” or sent on a mission.
“As women, we very often tend to think we have to do menial things because no one else will do it, and it’s not perceived as important,” explained Aaron. “But really, I’m being sent to do it because G‑d [wants] to help me and my family grow, so it is important for me to fulfill those tasks.”
At Sunday’s closing luncheon, Nechama Shaki, the wife of former Member of Knesset Avner Shaki, talked about her experience when she and her husband visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. A video of the interaction was played for the audience.
“It was a truly inspirational and enjoyable weekend,” said Barbara Orvitz with Chabad Flamingo in Thornhill, where the events on Friday morning took place. “I felt like my mind, heart and soul were nourished. It reminded me what really matters, and how we need to appreciate everything we have been blessed with, as well as seek deeper insights into the Torah and our history, and how it is all connected.”
Sara Slavin, who helped arrange the weekend’s events, said: “There was so much to gain and absorb—stories and their lessons, personal stories by amazing speakers, and fantastic workshops on how to make your home, health, family, community into a happier, more fulfilling place.”
Women headed back to their destinations Sunday afternoon packed with gifts and resolutions.
“We drove home from the convention on a high, reviewing every minute from the moment we arrived until we left,” said Blumi Rosenfeld of Chabad Lubavitch of Pittsburgh. “There was a very mixed crowd, yet the spirit of Hakhel resonated throughout.”
A collection of videos of speaker presentations at the convention can be viewed here
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