This chapter examines the first few years of Sarah Schenirer's enterprise, a story one has access to almost solely through her own writings and the legends that surround Bais Yaakov's origins. Schenirer's revolution not only expanded the educational options for Orthodox girls, it also created a cohort of educated, mobile, committed, and independent Orthodox young women, giving them unprecedented opportunities to combine religious commitment and socio-economic freedom. These seminarians and young faculty at the Kraków seminary were her closest associates, her travelling companions on her many trips around Poland, and the ones who welcomed her on her return from every journey. Ultimately, Schenirer's account of her great programme to save Jewish girls through inspiring lectures, a library, and a youth movement sheds light on some of the ways that Bais Yaakov culture developed. Her descriptions of the beginnings of Bais Yaakov also provide insight into how she viewed the school she founded after her other projects had failed.
10th Young Faculty Meeting, 6th June 2017
