By Mrs. Batsheva Deren
As we begin the new school year, I’d like to share something personal with you—words from the Rebbe that have accompanied me throughout my years in chinuch, and that I believe carry a message for every mechaneches as well.
Many years ago, my mother-in-law, Mrs. Kenny Deren, עליה השלום, was the principal of the school in Pittsburgh. And when I say principal, I mean she carried almost everything—the girls’ school, the boys’ school, לימודי קודש and לימודי חול.
At the time, I was a teacher, and little by little I began helping her with her role. There was no official title and no formal position. I simply stepped in wherever I was needed.
A few years later, after my mother-in-law suffered a minor stroke, she was preparing to return to school. Before returning, she wrote to the Rebbe and informed him that her daughter-in-law would be taking over the school, while she would continue teaching.
And she came back with the Rebbe’s הסכמה וברכה.
I remember how I felt when she told me.
At that point, I was raising my own growing family. I had my children at home who needed their mother—and now I was being asked to accept responsibility for an entire school, for so many more children.
So I wrote to the Rebbe. I asked for a bracha for my children at home and my children in school. And I asked the Rebbe for the כח and the יכולת to carry such an enormous responsibility.
This was before faxes, before email, before WhatsApp—certainly before the instant communication we are so accustomed to today. But one day, finally, a צעטל arrived in the mail.
On it were just a few words from the Rebbe. Words that became a source of strength for me throughout my years in chinuch:
הקב”ה הוא בעל הכח ובעל היכולת ובלתי בעל גבול, ותוספתו מרובה, וכל המוסיף מוסיפים לו.
The Eibershter is the Master of strength and the Master of ability. He is unlimited. And when He adds, His addition is abundant—and when we add, we are given more.
Over the years, I have returned to these words again and again.
Because in chinuch, there are moments when we wonder: Do I really have the strength for this?
To teach another lesson with enthusiasm.
To reach the child who is not responding.
To see the light in the student who may not yet see it in herself.
To answer one more parent.
To prepare one more lesson.
To give patience when we feel that our own reserves are running low.
And the Rebbe’s words remind us:
The כח is not limited to the כח that I think I have.
הקב”ה הוא בעל הכח ובעל היכולת ובלתי בעל גבול.
When we dedicate ourselves to His children, He gives us strength from a source that is בלי גבול.
And that is why, as we begin a new school year, I want to share this bracha with each and every one of you.
I received those words many years ago for my עבודת החינוך, but today, I would like to place them, so to speak, into the hands of every mechaneches.
When you walk into your classroom and look at the faces of your students, remember:
You are not doing this alone.
You bring your heart.
You bring your commitment.
You bring your love for each child.
You add your effort—
And Hashem – בעל הכח ובעל היכולת ובלתי בעל גבול, gives you the strength to uncover the light that is already waiting inside every one of your students.
