It all began during the last week of Selichot, just a few days before Yom Kippur of 2005. As is customary for Jews throughout the Selichot and the ten days of repentance, we prayed that the Almighty should grant us a year of not only health and material success but also a year of spiritual elevation, a year in which we will have the opportunity to develop a more intimate relationship with our creator. On that early crisp summer  orning, the selichot services were being recited at the home of Mr. Amir and Mrs. Parvin Esmailzadeh. The gracious hostess, along with Mrs. Minoo Zarabi and Mrs. Rosa Kohanzad, embarked on organizing an inspiring and exhilarating program of Yachad Outreach Center.

This program is a unique Hebrew reading class for ladies, and is followed by a discussion session about life lessons learned from Torah. The idea sprouted on the night of Yachad Kollel’s Trustees Dinner, when Mrs. Minoo Zarabi asked Rabbi Amiri about the availability of Hebrew classes for Persian ladies. Recognizing the vacuum in  educational programs geared for the ladies of the community and having always wanted to provide a remedy for this predicament, Rabbi Amiri was more than happy to agree to organize a course if a group is formed. Mrs. Zarabi said with sincerity that she not only wanted to utter the prayers in Hebrew, but that she has always yearned to understand the meaning of the the words as well. To Mrs. Rosa Kohanzad, who overheard the

exchange and as always wanted to learn and do more, this seemed like a great  opportunity. On more than one occasion she had also requested a class that would offer the ladies a chance to ask questions on Judaism and Torah topics.

Finally, on that Selichot morning, all these ideas came to fruition when Mrs.  Esmailzadeh, Kohanzad and Zarabi recruited all of the attending women to commit

and form the class. Mrs. Sigalit Amiri, Yachad’s Director of Women’s Services, with high credentials and a few years of teaching experience under her belt, took it upon herself to be the instructor for this highly motivated group. A few weeks later, Yachad Outreach

Center was pleasantly surprised by the attendance of more than twenty ladies, all eager to learn Hebrew. The class has been meeting every Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m. ever since.

Every participant has her own inspiring story of how the class has profoundly impacted their lives. Mina travels all the way from Calabasas and misses a full day of work to attend this class. She says: “Previously, when I looked at Hebrew letters, they looked so bizarre to me; I could not make sense of any of the letters. Now that I can read, I feel a whole new world has opened up to me. On a recent tour to Israel, I found myself to be much more connected because I was able to read Hebrew. Suddenly all the signs, all the billboards and every writing in the country were talking to me. The climax came when finally this past Friday I was able to say the bracha of Shabbat candles straight from my own Siddur.” Violet relates: “I get lots of smiles and encouragement from my husband and children when they see me in Kenisa, following the Shabbat services right from the Siddur.” Yet both Lida and Minoo acknowledge that they have many more meaningful Torah-related discussions at mealtime with their family and they feel proud of their rich Jewish heritage.

It was so timely and perhaps a divine message that the class finished the entire Hebrew Alphabet and vowels two weeks before Pesach. As Rabbi Goldman mentioned so eloquently in his article which appeared in our previous issue, eating Matza on Pesach conveys a special message. Pesach is the holiday of our freedom and Matza is eaten as the symbol of our people’s dramatic exodus from Egypt. The question is how a tasteless, hard cracker can be a symbol of freedom. Contrary to the lengthy process of making bread, preparing matza is a rather speedy one. Even though matza and bread are basically made of the same ingredients, when making matza, we do not allow the dough to take its time and rise as we do with bread. We take an action and swiftly bake the matza before the dough has a chance to rise. This action has a profound message for us. There are times in life that we must not sit and let events take their course. We ought to take action rather quickly and thoughtfully before things happen naturally on their own. We need to step into our lives and make deliberate choices to fulfill our spiritual goals before our dough rises naturally on its own, no matter at which stage of life we are. This is the true symbol of freedom. The fact that the class finished learning Hebrew reading right before Passover illustrated that the message of matza was taken to heart.

Yachad wishes to warmly congratulate these proactive champions upon their auspicious achievement. The joy and sense of accomplishment they feel is hard to miss and heartwarming to witness. May they merit continuing this sacred path to new heights.