The Life and Teachings of Sarah Schenirer, founder of the Bais Yaakov Movement

“This is a story of a woman who never had children, but thousands called her ‘mother.’ This is a story of a person who avoided being photographed, but whose image is engraved in the hearts of thousands is among the gallery of historical photos of those chosen ones who helped pave the way in the difficult journey of the nation's survival." (Dr. Judith Greenfeld) Sarah Schenirer brought about a revolution through the founding of the Bais Yaakov movement and the Bnos Agudath Israel group. She was a pioneer, paving a road for Jewish education for girls, and was a partner in building the eternal nation. Sarah Schenirer founded an extensive network of Bais Yaakov Schools, teaching Torah and Jewish philosophy throughout Europe prior to World War II. Her students continued in her footsteps, collecting charity, and performing acts of kindness on behalf of their suffering brethren. These girls marched courageously and with much faith to the crematoriums. The few students of Sarah Schenirer who survived the inferno shook off the ashes of Europe and immediately began restoring and resurrecting the world of Torah and education worldwide. Following her death, Rabbi Alexander Zusha Friedman, may G-d avenge his blood, wrote that Sarah Schenirer was “a mother to thousands and thousands, a caring mother - and she proved this with the fervor of her words, hearts were filled with fervor for a loving and caring mother... loyal memories of admiration will accompany her great soul, for hundreds of generations and years, her name will be remembered with honor and glory..." Sarah Schenirer, a trailblazer – 5644-5695 (1883-1935), passed away at the age of 52 on the 26^th of Iyar 1883 – Sarah Schenirer was born in Krakow to a faithful Belzer chassidic family, a descendant of the great Bach and Shach rabbis 5674-5677 (1914-1918) – During World War I, she travelled with her family as refugees to Vienna. In Vienna, it was the first time she saw a community that combined both Orthodoxy and Enlightenment, the idea created by Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch of “Torah with the Way of the Land.” She was present in a lecture given by Rabbi Flesch in Vienna about the power of Jewish women, highlighting the contribution of Judith to the victory over the Greeks and the story of Chana and her seven sons. As a result, Sarah Schenirer became determined to work for the Torah education of girls in Krakow. 5677 (1917) – With the ending of World War I, Sarah Schenirer returned to Krakow and began to actualize her vision. She started by turning to the Torah leaders of the era, and particularly to the Chafetz Chaim, the Gerrer Rebbe – the Imrei Emet, and the Belzer Rebbe. With their approval, she founded Bais Yaakov. 5678 (1918) – The first cohort of the Bais Yaakov School was comprised of 25 girls in Sarah Schenirer’s home in Krakow. There, the Torah studies complemented the secular education the girls received in Polish schools. 5682 (1922) – The first issue of the Bais Yaakov monthly newsletter was published, followed by a children’s newspaper, “Kindergarten,” in 1925. 5683 (1923) – The number of Bais Yaakov schools across Poland stood at 54. Negotiations were underway to establish an official high school and teachers training institute recognized by the Polish Ministry of Education and including a full curriculum of study. 5685 (1925) – The Bais Yaakov teachers training institute was founded in Krakow. 5686 (1926)

• The youth movement, Bnos Agudath Israel, was founded for girls aged ten and up. In its wake, the Batya group was founded for younger girls. The organization was founded by Rabbi Eliezer Friedenson and its activities took place on Shabbat afternoons and on vacations. The group’s function was to hold social activities with a religious outlook, trips to forests and camps, and to engage in leisure activities. It also was an organization meant to assist the community.
• The first summer seminar for teachers and counselors took place in Jordanow, and from then on, the seminar took place every summer in Rabka or Jordanow, sometimes with the participation of Sarah Schenirer.

5687 (1927) – The cornerstone laying ceremony for the new teacher training institute building in Krakow. 5689 (1929)

• The teacher training institute in Krakow, led by Sarah Schenirer, graduated the first cohort of teachers, 22 women who would establish Bais Yaakov schools all over Poland in which 4490 students would study.
• The first Bnos Agudath Israel World Congress took place

5690 (1930)

• The first two floors of the teacher training institute were opened and construction began for three additional floors.
• There were already many branches of Bais Yaakov by this point in Poland, Lithuania, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Romania.

5693 (1933) – There were already 265 Bais Yaakov branches in Poland alone and within these schools 37,981 studied. 5695 (1935)

• The passing of Sarah Schenirer, may peace be upon her, on the 26^th of Adar. She was buried in the Jewish cemetery, which was later destroyed by the Nazis, who built the Plaszow camp over it. At her funeral, she merited the title “Chad Be’Dara,” (One in the Generation), meaning that she was a unique prestigious figure of that generation.
• After Sarah Schenirer’s passing, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Orlean became the head of the teacher training institute. He also served as a life teacher for his students. His students became teachers all over Europe and their educational influence was great in all the communities that they taught in until the outbreak of World War II.

5697 (1937) – 250 Bais Yaakov schools existed in Poland, in which 38,000 students learned. There were also 300 Bnos groups of which there were 16,000 participants. 5699-5705 (1939-1945) – With the Nazi invasion, most Bais Yaakov schools and activities for forced to shut down. However, many of them went underground and continued their activities, studies, and social gatherings despite the difficult conditions. 5705-5708 (1945-1948) – World War II put an end to the official Bais Yaakov education in Eastern Europe. With the ending of the war, Bais Yaakov students found themselves like the rest of the survivors in Europe – dwindled in numbers, in mourning, and displaced. “Du lebst Mama!” (You Are Alive, Mama!), was the title of an article written in one of the survivors’ newspapers by one of Sarah Schenirer’s students, Rivka Pinkschewitz. And indeed, Sarah Schenirer was alive – alive in the hearts, behaviour, and actions of all her surviving students. They were inspired by her vision and revived Bais Yaakov for the survivors. One by one, branches of Bais Yaakov arose in and out of the displaced persons camps. They were not the same as each other, but they shared a common spirit, the spirit of Sarah Schenirer, the spirit of the Bais Yaakov concept, an invincible spirit.