After four weeks of learning, discussion and connection, Think Again, the worldwide women’s Moshiach learning initiative, is wrapping up its summer course with a grand raffle celebrating the women who took part.
What began as an idea to make the Rebbe’s sichos on Moshiach and Geulah accessible and practical grew into 174 groups with more than 1,300 women participating around the world.
From Crown Heights homes,apartment buildings and bungalow colonies to groups in Baltimore, Morristown, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Detroit, New Jersey, London, Calgary, Sydney, France and beyond, women gathered each week to learn together.
There were groups of longtime friends, young Shluchos, teachers, bungalow colony neighbors and women who had never learned together before. Some met around dining room tables, others joined by Zoom, and many groups found that the hour of learning quickly became something more, an opportunity to discuss, farbreng and explore what it actually means to live with Moshiach.
“It was nice to have women learning together that otherwise wouldn’t have,” shared one participant.
Another described what she loved most as “learning together with the women of my colony,” while another said the program “brought a connection between all of us learning together.”
In Crown Heights, the program took on a particularly grassroots feel, with groups forming in buildings and on blocks throughout the neighborhood. One participant said “it was very bonding to learn with the women of our building, and with such an important topic to learn about.”
But the goal of Think Again was not simply to create more shiurim. The four-week curriculum was designed to take fundamental ideas from the Rebbe’s sichos and make them understandable, relevant and applicable to everyday life.
For many participants, that was exactly what happened.
“The classes were so well prepared and presented and made it so accessible to learn the Rebbe’s view on Moshiach and understand it in a very practical, ‘human’ way,” said Mushka Minsky.
Malkie Raskin, who taught a Zoom group, described an impact that continued long after the class ended.
“This course made significant changes in the way I think about Moshiach,” she said. “Each week the classes were practical and meaningful. I now feel a stronger responsibility towards participating in actively creating a Moshiach reality throughout my day.”
For another participant, the course changed the way she understood ideas she had encountered before.
“I learned a few of the sichos before, but the way I learned them this time was so practical and so beautiful, the messages really stuck…I actually taught the second sicha to my group and it literally changed the way I look at my life.”
Another participant described Think Again as “taking the huge concept of Moshiach and really making it feel so tangible and real.”
The interactive format was a major part of that experience. Each week included original sources, practical examples, questions and discussion prompts intended not only to teach the sicha, but to get women thinking and talking.
One participant described the classes as “a real farbrengen,” with “so much discussion and hashing out of the topic.”
Another wrote, “The discussion prompts were super engaging and felt so practical. It was such a nice way to learn in a group setting.”
For Chanie Gourarie of Chabad Toms River, one aspect stood out in particular: “It was great to finally learn about Moshiach from the Rebbe’s Sichos!!”
Chaya Nizard, who taught a French N’shei Chabad group, said the program gave her the opportunity to learn the subjects in depth while making them easier to teach. More importantly, she saw what happened among the women themselves.
“Women loved having that opportunity to learn, sit together and discuss these important subjects,” she said.
Across the groups, organizers heard the same request repeatedly: Please do this again.
“Looking forward to continued learning!” wrote one participant.
“Please make more!” wrote another.
A Raffle to Celebrate 1,300+ Women
To celebrate the women who made Think Again what it was, all participants are now invited to enter the Think Again Grand Raffle by submitting a short feedback form.
https://form.jotform.com/262316193223047
The raffle prizes include a Doona X, a family photoshoot with Rivky Nisilevitz Photography, and $750 of jewelry from Diamond Deals NY.
The drawing will take place Wednesday, August 26 / י״ג אלול.
The feedback collected will also help shape what comes next, as Think Again looks toward creating additional opportunities for women to learn the Rebbe’s Torah in a way that is accessible, engaging and deeply relevant to their lives.
Four weeks may have been the original plan.
For hundreds of women around the world, it seems to have been just the beginning.
Help us keep these programs going. Donate here:
https://thinkagain.womenseventch.com/donate
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A project of N’shei Chabad Brought to you by The One Hour Farbrengen
Thank you to our sponsors: Rivky Nisilevitz Photography and Diamond Deals NY
