How Did Sarah Schenirer Contribute To The Orthodox Jewish World

How is it possible for one woman to combat assimilation in the Orthodox Jewish world? Well in 1917, Sarah Schenirer single-handedly established a Jewish school focused on serving the community of Orthodox women and girls. For Schenirer, girls as well as boys should have an education, in both general and Judaic studies. Since this was a very radical idea in the 20th century, Schenirer’s efforts are especially remarkable. Therefore, providing a better understanding of her personal life, the contributions she made to society, and the personal attributes that led to her success is a useful approach to understanding how Schenirer preserved Orthodox values in the lives of Jewish women and girls.

Firstly, Sarah Schenirer was born into a prominent

Schenirer’s journey as the first woman to create a Jewish school for women, extended beyond Krakow and those schools have expanded across the world. Schenirer’s love of G-d, Judaism, and nature was transmitted to her students with such dedication that her pearls of wisdom spread in leaps and bounds. The Bais Yaakov movement went from seven institutions in 1923 - with a student body of one thousand students - to a growth span of 26 schools, and 37,981 students within ten years (Abramson, H 2014). Another attribute that complimented Schenirer’s intelligence was her modesty. This is why Sarah Schenirer is known as the mother of Jewish girls’ education throughout the world. (Krohn, Paysach 2015). In the end,Sarah Schenirer, the seamstress, created the Bais Yaakov movement, which actually succeeded in educating the girls of our society to be highly educated and motivated in the Jewish tradition, without losing sight of their traditional values and

The biography focuses on telling the wonderful story of Schenirer, her students, and her visions of providing an education for the Jewish girl that will last her a lifetime. Benisch illustrates a perfect example of how Schenirer’s joy and enthusiasm was contagious to her students when she writes, “one day, Frau Schenirer came into the room with a nicely wrapped package under her arm. ‘Kinderlach,’ (children) she said, her twinkling eyes adding to the suspense, ‘I have a gift for each one of you. I hope you will like it.’ We were excited, eager to see the surprise,” writes Benisch. Schenirer then “unwrapped the parcel and pulled out a snow-white, beautifully starched collar. She asked one of the girls to come over and put on the collar on her dress. Then she attached the collar with a specially sewn-on button. She did the same for each of us. We stood there in a half-circle smiling, happy with the beautiful gift she bestowed” (35). In this example, it’s clear that Schenirer made each one of her students feel important and loved as one of her own daughters. Another personal attribute that led to Schenirer’s success was when she asked her students, “what is the greatest expression of joy?” In response Schenirer said, “the greatest joy one can experience is the joy of giving -- giving to your children,