(Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Krivoi Rog, Donetsk, and Kyiv) Report of a ...

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return for the teaching done by the pupils) and by the Masa program of the Israeli
government. It is likely that the fee in 2011-2012 will be about $7,500, Rabbi Weber
stated.
The writer met with seven of the nine girls without any outsiders present. In response to
a question about their expectations, several of the girls said that they had not known
what to expect. Their major purposes in coming to Dnipropetrovsk, they continued,
were to meet other Chabad girls from different countries and to help the local Jewish
population. They were surprised by the highly developed Chabad infrastructure in the
city. One participant said she expected Ukraine to consist mainly of “cabbage and old
people”, and another assumed that Dnipropetrovsk was a “hick town”. The city was
larger and much more “alive” than they had anticipated.
They expressed appreciation for the help offered to them by Rabbi and Mrs. Weber and
said that everyone in the Chabad infrastructure (in Dnipropetrovsk and other cities that
they visited) was very supportive and caring. Further, it was a real privilege to be in an
area so rich in Chabad history. The caliber of instruction was excellent, except for some
of the classes conducted by Skype from Israel. (Some of the Israeli teachers were not
skilled instructors, and the spoken Hebrew of some was difficult to understand in the
distance learning transmissions.)
When asked if their parents had suggested that they come to Dnipropetrovsk for a year
or if the girls had heard about the course independently, each girl responded that she
had heard about the course on her own through various media and then persuaded her
parents of the value of such an experience. In response to another question, the girls
said that their parents were not afraid to let them go to Ukraine; Rabbi Kaminezki, they
continued, has such a fine worldwide reputation that their parents had full confidence in
any program associated with him.
Responding to another question, the girls said that they would recommend the program
unreservedly to their families and friends. No other program open to Chabad young
women, they said, combines all of the elements – learning, teaching, organizing camps
and other activities, volunteering, travel to places rich in Chabad history – that are
available to them in the Dnipropetrovsk Seminary.
In fact, although the first Seminary year was still in operation (in late March) and none of
its participants had yet returned home, its reputation had already attracted an
unexpected 90 applicants for the 2011-2012 academic year. However, the Seminary
would remain selective in accepting candidates, said Rabbi Weber; he was very leery
that it would become so large that it might become impersonal. Rabbi Weber, who had
just returned to Dnipropetrovsk from interviewing applicants in Milan, was visibly
pleased with the success of the program to date. The Seminary, he said, was the
beneficiary of great attention from many individuals in the local Chabad community,
including families who invited the girls into their homes for meals and found ways in
which to help them become engaged in various community activities. Many of the girls
themselves, he said, were daughters of Chabad emissaries posted in various countries