2020 Winners | MyLife: Chassidus Applied Essay and Creative Contest
ESSAY CONTEST
Winners!
1. First Place, $10,000 winner: Miriam Goldberg, Teacher, MMSC Day School. Home city: Seattle, WA. Age 24. Topic: The Grass is Greenest on Your Side
2. Second Place, $3,600 winner: Shaina Slavin, Shlucha, Machane Yehuda, Jerusalem. Home city: Sydney, Australia. Age 20. Topic: A Time to Heal
3. Third Place, $1,000 winner: Shraga Crombie, Shliach, Chabad House at Rutgers University. Hometown: Edison, NJ. Age 38. Topic: The Alter Rebbe’s Brilliant Solution to the Addict’s Dilemma
4. Student Winner, $500: Lily Richman, Student at Machon Alte Seminary. Hometown: Twinsburg, Ohio. Age 24. Topic: Seeing the Future
Other Finalists:
5. Anonymous, Student Beis Chana – Tzfas Seminary St.. Age 19. Topic: The Super Human Unmasked
6. Liba Rimler, Teacher, Cheder Chabad of Monsey. Home town: Pomona, NY. Age 21. Topic: Weaning Our Children Off Extrinsic Motivation
7. Moshe Miller, Writing, translating, teaching, guiding. Self-employed. Home town: Chicago, IL. Age 65. Topic: Window for Words
8. Aidel Cohen, Tzivos Hashem, Writer and Editor. Home town: Brooklyn, NY. Age 25. Topic: Unconditional Trust
9. Koby Berkovits, Student, Kesser Torah College, Sydney. Home town: Sydney, Australia. Age 18. Topic: Complacency- And how to be Dissatisfied with It
10. Chaya Rivkin, Student, Machon Shoshanat Yerushalayim. Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana. Age 19. Topic: Judaism: Irrelevant Micromanagement
11. Rivka Cohen, Bais Chana Women International. Hometown: Jerusalem, Israel. Age 24. Topic: The Lamplighter
12. Mushka Cohen, Student, Beth Rivkah Montreal. Home town: Montreal, Canada. Age 16. Topic: “They didn’t change their names, their language or their dress” – Staying strong to who we are despite our surroundings
13. Chaya Miriam (Cynthia) Moline, QEP – Technical Copywriter. Home town: Jupiter, Florida. Topic: Getting In Shape – For the Final Redemption!
14. Michoel Moshel, Psychology Student . Dover Heights, Australia. Age 25. Topic: The BT Approach: Ways to Move Past Barriers to Growth
15. Yehuda Shmotkin, Shliach, Chabad of Hamilton Heights and City College. Home town: New York, New York. Age 35. Topic: The Power of Imagery
16. Sara Friedman, Student, Yeshiva Schools Pittsburgh. Home town: Pittsburgh, PA. Age 18. Topic: First, Love Yourself
17. Countess Rivka Elkaim, Home town: Bal Harbour, FL. Age 68. Topic: A Journey from Fear and Suffering to Control and Serenity
18. Chani Segelman, Shlucha, Machon Alte Seminary. Home town: Los Angeles, California. Age 19. Topic: STOP THE TRAIN!!!
19. Tzivia Greenbaum, Student, Beis Chana – Tzfas Seminary. Home town: Hampton East, Australia. Age 19. Topic: But Why?
20. Sara Soble, Mommy, Relationship Coach. Home town: Brooklyn, New York. Age 34. Topic: Marriage Demystified by the Mystics
21. Yael Kane, Bnos Chomesh Academy, Music Teacher. New York. Age 27. Topic: Music, Bitachon, and Mental Health
22. Mallory Rosten. Student, Mayanot Woman. Home town: Alpharetta, GA. Age 23. Topic: Peeling Away the Mask: The Chassidic Guide to Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
23. Aliza Leiner, Home town: London,UK. Age 26. Topic: You Are Stronger Than You Think
24. Rena Pinson, Student, Beis Chana – Tzfas Seminary. Home town: Los Angeles, CA. Age 19. Topic: Elevated Sleep
25. Aharon Zev Moshel. Student, Kfar Chabad. Home town: Melbourne, Australia. Age 19. Topic: Purposeful Living
26. Shoshana Gottlieb, Kings Cross Clinic, Receptionist. Home town: Sydney, Australia. Age 25. Topc: Loving the World Like We Love Ourselves
27. Mushky Ezagui, Bnos Chabad of Monsey. Home town: Montreal, Canada. Age 23. Topic: Tapping into our True Selves
28. Chaya Mushka Stern, Hebrew Teacher. Home town: Brooklyn, NY. Age 25. Topic: Loneliness
29. Mushka Feldman, Shlucha in Machon Alte Seminary. Home town: Brooklyn, New York. Age 19. Topic: Accept or Expect? Can We Do Both?
30. Yosef Yitzchak Bank, Student, Mayanot Men. Home town: Johannesburg, South Africa. Age 23. Topic: How can I feel connected to Hashem at all times?
31. Sarala Weinstein, Student, MBCM Monsey High. Home town: Spring Valley, New York. Topic: The Passionate Life – Adding Vitality and Joy into Your Every Day
32. Chani Herzog, Teacher at Lubavitch Senior Girls school London. Home town: London, England. Age 21. Topic: “Just Not Feeling It”
33. Kesem Mia Hetsrony, Chabad Shlucha, CGI Director, Children’s Author. Home town: Houston, Texas. Age 32. Topic: Control Within The Chaos
34. Shmuli Hecht, Student, Yeshivas Lubavitch Toronto. Home town: Sunnyvale, California. Age 19. Topic: In Other Words: An Exploration into the Meaning of Prayer and the Purpose of Words
CREATIVE CONTEST
Winner!
1. First Place: $1,000 winner. Chaim Bell. Teacher, Leeds Morah School. Home town: Leeds, United Kingdom. Age 63. Topic: The Return of the Exiled Prince (script)
Other Finalists:
2. Sara Blau. Extra Curricular Director of Beis Rivkah. Hometown: Brooklyn, NY. Age 31. Topic: Soaring Free (mixed media with text and visual)
3. Esty Stern. Home town: Brooklyn, NY. Age 28. Topic: Just a Leaf (lyrics and music)
4. Ruth Bell. Shlucha, Artist, Jewish Heritage Center Coordinator. Home town: Leeds, United Kingdom. Age 64. Unifying Force: The Power of Giving (hand woven tapestry)
5. Nechoma Dina Rosenberg, Teacher’s Assistant. Home town: Brooklyn, New York. Age 20. Topic: Mind Control – Controlling our Thoughts According to Chassidus (video and music)
6. Sarah Mochkin. Village Community School, School Administration. Home town: Brooklyn, New York. Age 28. Topic: Aleph; Elevating 2D to 3D (sculpture)
7. Moshe Gordon, Student, Tomchei Temimim, Morristown. Home town: Brooklyn, NY. Age 19. Topic: Me’odecha: A Niggun (music)
8. Rivka Goldenberg, Student, Beis Chana – Tzfas Seminary. Home town: Lawrenceville, NJ. Age 19. A Tale of Gold and Dirt (poetry)
9. Yehudis Fishman, Self Employed -Community Educator. Home town: Boulder, CO. Age: 76. Topic: The Edges of Illusion (poetry)
10. Anthony Bensusan. Home town: London, UK. Age 63. Topic: Torah Map (maps)
11. Yosef Kaufmann. Sofer. Home town: Johannesburg, South Africa. Age 27. Topic: My Garden (poetry)
12. Rivky Taichman. Shlucha at Machon Alte Tzfat. Hometown: Crown Heights, BK. Age 20. Topic: Infusion (painting)
13. Sholom Cohen. Carnegie Mellon University – Principal Engineer. Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA. Age 69. Topic: Ketores of Kedoshim (poetry)
14. Fraida Raskin. Student, Beth Rivkah Ladies’ College. Home town: East Bentleigh, Australia. Age 18. Topic: The World Around Us through the Lens of Chassidus (mixed media with text and visual)
15. Chaya Youngworth. Student, Torah Academy – Johannesburg. Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa. Age: 18. Topic: The Anatomy According to Chassidus (sketchbook)
16. Naomi Deitsch. Student, Beis Chana – Orange, CT. Hometown: New Haven, Connecticut. Age: 17. Topic: What is Within (3D model)
17. Tanni Cohen. Student, Torah Academy – Johannesburg. Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa. Age: 15. Topic: Tefillah to the Heavens (painting)
18. Ella Hadar. Student, Torah Academy – Johannesburg. Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa. Age: 16. Topic: Creation as an Act of Love (mixed media with text and visual)
19. Aidel Cohen. Tzivos Hashem. Home town: Brooklyn, NY. Age 26. Your Gashes Will Gild Me (poetry)
20. Esther Rosen. Mother. Home town: Brooklyn, NY. Age 39. Yeshut! The Original People Repellent (sketchbook)
21. Mendel Cyrulnik. Student, Melbourne YC. Home town: Melbourne, Australia. Age 14. Conquering Pleasures (video)
22. Mushka Cyprys. Teacher, Lubavitch London. Home town: London, United Kingdom. Age 22. Yud Shevat (sketchbook)
23. Chaya Solika Garbose. Machon Alte Seminary. Home town: London, United Kingdom. Age 20. Gray World (lyrics)
24. David Naccache. Home town: La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, France. Age 25. Every Jew is a Diamond that Needs to be Refined (sketchbook)
25. Mushka Heidingsfeld. Student, Ohel Chana High School LA. Home town: S. Monica, CA. Age 18. Diving Through Dimensions (lesson plan)
26. Rivka Einav. Home town: Pittsburgh, PA. Age 27. Light: The Series (painting)
27. Shalom Lipovenko. Fashion Designer. Home town: Toronto, Ontario. Age 25. Let’s Take it Easy? (poetry)