The Legacy of Rebbetzin Vichna Kaplan
Tu B’Av has always been a special day for our nation. In the times of the Beis HaMikdash, it was a day of rejoicing as the nation filled the yearly quota of wood needed to fuel the divine fire on the Mizbeiyach. It was also a day devoted to helping young girls find their bashert.
This year, Tu B’Av also marks the twenty-fifth yahrtzeit of my beloved rebbetzin — Rebbetzin Vichna Kaplan a”h.
Rebbetzin Kaplan was the founder of the first full-day Bais Yaakov High School in America. She inspired a generation of Jewish women who would fuel the divine fire of Torah in America by marrying men who shared their love for Hashem. Rav Aharon Kotler ztz”l acknowledged this point, stating that if not for Bais Yaakov, the yeshivos would be forced to close. It would be pointless to produce bnei Torah, if there were no nashim k’sheiros for them to marry.
I can still recall how Rebbetzin Kaplan appeared to me as a thirteen-year-old girl starting high school. She seemed to be a giant of a person, although physically, she was on the short side. She was impeccably dressed, with not a hair of her sheitel out of place. Most memorable was the radiant smile that graced her face. When Rebbetzin Kaplan was in the room, I felt as if the Shechinah was hovering over her and HaKadosh Baruch Hu was walking right beside her.
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