Since it first opened its doors a little more than 50 years ago, Bais Chana Women’s Institute in Minnesota has enriched and empowered thousands of Jewish women in search of a more meaningful experience of Judaism through residential study, part-time classes, vacation retreats, and, in recent years, online programs as well.
In honor of this milestone, the school and its alumnae have assembled a beautifully designed book complete with photos, anecdotes and personal stories of hundreds of women whose life journeys have been profoundly impacted by the spiritual enrichment that Bais Chana offers, spanning from the early 1970s until today. The book is being published this week on 11 Nissan, in honor of the 120th anniversary of the birth of the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—whose vision, blessing and influence have permeated Bais Chana from the start.
When the institute first began its programming, a Bais Chana class would include women of all ages—from college students to retirees. More recently, specialized programs have been designed for women at various stages of their lives. In addition to its general program are ones geared for single mothers, college students, retreats for middle-aged women and Uncamp, an enriching summer experience for teenagers.
Nadia Gold, a college student from Southern California who participated in Uncamp in 2019, tells Chabad.org that she struggled to find meaning in her Judaism throughout much of her teenage years. What struck Gold most about the program was the sense of mutual acceptance and support that she felt among the group of young women with whom she is still in touch. “Everyone became so close through exploring their Judaism together,” she says.
She goes on to explain that while exploring her Judaism and the teachings of Chassidus, she was fascinated to learn about the deep meaning behind every facet of Judaism. “Even something as basic as walking through the doorway of your home is a reminder of G‑d’s presence and of the fact that each Jew is entrusted with an important mission to bring G‑d into their little corner of the world. Learning at Bais Chana has helped me connect with my neshamah [‘soul’] and with the neshamahs of others.”
‘If It Works, Take It Further’
Rabbi Moshe Feller, who founded Bais Chana with his wife—Mrs. Mindelle Feller, of blessed memory—and Rabbi Manis Friedman, shared that before Feller and his wife moved to the Twin Cities in 1962, they entered the Rebbe’s office for a private audience.
“My wife is a graduate of Hunter College and attended when it was an all women’s school. The Rebbe recognized her ability in mathematics and advised her to attend the university in the Twin Cities and to spread Yiddishkeit there. To me, he said in Yiddish, du zolst zein ‘flexible’—‘you should remain flexible.’ In other words, don’t get hung up on any specific program; if it works, take it further.”
Bais Chana, which was founded 10 years after living in the Twin Cities and named after the Rebbe’s mother—Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson, of righteous memory—came as an outgrowth of this lifelong resolve to remain open to all ideas that came Feller’s way.
In the late 1960s, after bringing Rabbi Manis Friedman to St. Paul as a youth director, Rabbi Feller and and Rabbi Friedman saw a growing need for a women’s yeshiva. “There were places like Hadar Hatorah in Crown Heights [in Brooklyn, N.Y.] and Tiferes Bachurim in Morristown [N.J.] for men to extend their spiritual growth in a formal yeshivah setting, but there wasn’t any place for women,” said Feller.
“Rabbi Feller invited college women to come learn for a summer ‘on a whim,’ ” explains Friedman, who has served as the dean of Bais Chana, as well as a teacher and mentor to the women of Bais Chana, since then. “We sent out flyers to a couple of campuses in the Midwest, and to our surprise, 18 women showed up. The next summer, there were 42 women, and during the winter program, 101 women showed up.”
Describing his early years of teaching at Bais Chana during the heights of the hippy movement, Freidman says “it was amazing because the women who attended were so motivated. They had been active voices at their campuses, and they were determined to make a difference. When they found Chassidus, they decided that was the way that they were going to make a difference. We’ve been going strong ever since.”
‘Thirsty for Meaning and Truth’
From their modest beginnings in 1970 until today, thousands of Jewish women have walked through Bais Chana’s doors, each with a story, each profoundly impacted in their spiritual journeys. Feller attributes the success of the program to the Rebbe’s continued guidance and support. “What can I say? It’s not my institution; it’s the Rebbe’s institution,” he says.
Other factors he feels contributed to the success of the program was having Friedman on board, and his remarkable ability to sit and teach a captivated audience for hours on end.
Feller’s late wife, a legend in her own right, provided emotional support and a listening ear for the girls for the 47 years during which she served as a strong maternal figure and a guiding support. In addition, Feller credits the girls from Bais Rivka who came throughout the summer as counselors, and who mentored and learned with the girls one-on-one.
Chicago resident Devorah Chana Schwartz, who first attended Bais Chana in the late 1980s as a high school student and is the mother of a large Chabad family, describes her first impressions of Bais Chana: “I remember entering the building for the first time and seeing lots of girls sitting around on dining-room chairs deep in conversation and learning together, and the dorm counselors making sure we had everything we needed. I instantly felt at home. Rabbi Friedman would start teaching at 8 p.m. and would go for as long as people would stay awake.”
Bais Chana, which Schwartz describes as the first quenching of her thirst to learn more about her Jewish heritage, was unlike anything she’d experienced in her mostly secular upbringing in Madison, Wis. “We were so thirsty for meaning and truth. Learning about Yiddishkeit for the first time was like being a kid in a candy store. The madrichot [counselors] from Bais Rivka loved learning with us, and they were so inspired by how excited we were to be exploring our Judaism for the first time.”
After high school, Schwartz continued to return during college breaks while studying at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, where she became a piano performance major. Feeling alone, with no Chabad rabbi or rebbetzin on campus to guide her in her spiritual journey, she sat down to speak with Rabbi Friedman during one of her breaks: “I asked him how I was going to be able to remain in touch with my spiritual self and with my religious values, and he advised me: ‘You have the job of becoming the ‘Chabad House’ on campus; on Purim, you’ll give out mishloach manot; before Chanukah, you’ll give out candles.’ His advice got me through, and the results were amazing. People loved it because I was sharing what I was passionate about and what I believed in; it touched people.” A full time Chabad House was established at Oberlin in 2010.
Rabbi Friedman describes how they’d send periodic updates and the Jewish names of the attendees to the Rebbe. “Once, Rabbi Feller compiled a book with photos of a fundraiser dinner they held for Bais Chana and the Rebbe commented: mimenu yiru vichein yaasu; ‘others should learn from his example and do the same.’ The Rebbe appreciated the detailed feedback and especially the photos.”
In light of how meaningful this was to the Rebbe, they put together a gift of names, photos and anecdotes of women who attended Bais Chana throughout the years. “We felt this would be a fitting gift to the Rebbe in honor of the 120th anniversary of his birth and in honor of 50 years since Bais Chana’s inception,” says Friedman.
Bais Chana’s executive director, Hinda Leah Sharfstein, said that “seeing the photos come in from women we haven't heard from in years—gorgeous family photos, many of them from three generations—is breathtaking. You get a real sense of the history here, what's been accomplished personally and communally.”
Rabbi Feller says he has tremendous nachas when meeting graduates of Bais Chana, most of whom have gone on to raise committed Jewish families and some of whom have embarked on shlichus themselves, serving as Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries throughout the world: “St. Paul was not exactly geared to be a citadel of Jewish learning for anyone,” he acknowledges. “It’s a relatively small city, but we’re very pleased with the great influence Bais Chana has had on so many.”
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