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On Thursday, June 11, nearly 80 high school girls and their mothers gathered for two separate sessions in Baltimore’s Bnos Yisroel High School auditorium to participate in a seminary safety workshop. The interactive workshop, based on Mrs. Debbie Fox’s newly released guidebook Seminary Savvy and facilitated by renowned Toronto mechaneches Mrs. Chana Leah Rapoport, was brought to the greater Baltimore community thanks to the efforts of parent and activist Mr. Joshua Volosov and Bnos Yisroel Director Mrs. Ahuvah Heyman.
Mr. Volosov—whose own daughter will be attending seminary in Eretz Yisrael next year—first heard about Seminary Savvy at the Torah Umesorah convention, which he attended with his wife, Bais Yaakov of Baltimore teacher Mrs. Rikki Volosov. There, Mrs. Fox and her team presented the Seminary Savvy program on Friday to over 40 mechanchos. Upon listening to a recording of the two-hour session, Mr. Volosov resolved to bring it home.
“The information was far too valuable not to present to our girls,” he shared, adding that the recording threw him back to the challenges of his own yeshiva experience in Eretz Yisroel, like “being stuck somewhere late at night, dealing with young couples, taxi drivers, and other students with ‘issues’. I thought, if I experienced similar situations as a young man 25 years ago, and I wish I would’ve had better tools then, wouldn’t it be great if girls going to Eretz Yisrael this day and age had these tools?”
The proactive father connected with Mrs. Heyman, who’d recently reviewed the book and felt similarly about the significance of the subject. Mrs. Heyman and Mr. Volosov invested hours, tirelessly coordinating the technical details of the event, while an anonymous parent generously sponsored the workshop.
What was unique about the event, said facilitator Mrs. Chana Leah Rapoport, was that it was open to all: girls from three local high schools and widely varying backgrounds—Bais Yaakov of Baltimore, Bnos Yisroel, and the Yeshiva of Greater Washington—joined together to acquire important tools.
“The atmosphere was excellent,” she said. “Many of the girls didn’t know each other, but the audience gelled. I think it’s because this sort of information touches everyone.”
From 7:30 to 9 pm, Mrs. Rapoport spoke to the girls, who were joined by the hanhalah of Bnos Yisroel. Using an artfully designed PowerPoint presentation as the anchor, she covered a range of topics, including learning to listen to your inner voice, knowing how to designate trusted adults, staying safe on the go, maintaining proper self-care in seminary, identifying goals for the year, and ensuring healthy relationships with friends, newlywed siblings, and chesed families.
In the segment on ensuring appropriate interactions with men, some of the main points that emerged were: Halacha is not negotiable, relationships should not be secrets, and not everything is wrong…but hat does not make it right. In the segment on codependent friendships—and how to avoid them—Mrs. Rapoport laid out critical “refusal skills”: concrete steps people must sometimes take to get out of an unhealthy situation.
In the final portion, Mrs. Rapoport and Silver Spring high school mechaneches Mrs. Sara Malka Winter role-played two lifelike scenarios, portraying the struggles of two girls who became aware of information “too big” for them and didn’t know how to handle it. In each case, the educators stopped mid-scenario and threw the question to the audience: what should the girl do now?
“It’s not about answering specific questions, because the situations will change,” explained Seminary Savvy creator Debbie Fox. “What we want to do is give our girls tools, empower them to make good decisions independently.”
At 9:15 pm, the mothers’ session began, in what Mrs. Rapoport describes as a “a very effective format.”
“I detailed to the mothers what their daughters had just heard, and that really opened the lines of communication,” she said. “I also shared how the girls had reacted to different segments, so their mothers could be aware of the fears and concerns the girls were feeling.”
Audience involvement throughout the workshop was high, thanks to constant questions and answers, engaging role-plays, and interactive exercises.
“We were thrilled to be able to bring such an opportunity to the 12th graders of Baltimore and Silver Spring and their mothers,” said Mrs. Ahuvah Heyman. “It was an extremely important seminar, with sensitive information imparted in a positive and empowering way. The girls walked out with a lot of information and confidence, as well as a better understanding of the types of issues that may arise—in seminary and beyond.”
For the final segment of the event, noted Baltimore community activist Mr. Frank Storch presented his Keep Your Community Safe Initiative: Stay Safe in Israel, a recently-produced guide designed for both yeshiva boys and seminary girls. The downloadable handbook, which will be distributed free to all students headed to Israel, emphasizes physical safety and security issues, covering topics like tiyulim, dorm safety and practical tips for travel.
Mr. Storch said he was excited to join forces with Debbie Fox in ensuring the physical and emotional safety of every student.
"The mothers and daughters were extremely appreciative of the presenters, Mr. Volosov, and Bnos Yisroel for coordinating this event," said Mr. Storch. "I am certain that our efforts to educate the new graduates will have a lifelong impact."
