Shulamit Nutovics
The seventh annual Eshet Chayil event, organised by the Rosh Chodesh Women’s Circle, took place on 29th September, 2025 – 7 Tishrei, 5786 at the home of Perele Goldhirsch. Women from different backgrounds gathered to hear Gili Klein and Yameena Yager share memories of their late mothers.
Before the formal meeting began, someone told me about the first time she met Tikvah Broh, Gili’s mother. She had been a newly observant teenager attending a B’nei Akiva gathering. Mrs Broh was the guest speaker, the topic being Olam Haba, translated as life after death. This lady was inspired by Mrs Broh’s talk. She increased her religious observance, and today she is the matriarch of a large Jewish family.
At the start of the event, Rebbetzin Sara Gutnick spoke about the Rosh Chodesh Women’s Circle. She introduced their new project about honouring the elders of Melbourne’s Jewish community. Sarah mentioned her late mother who had passed away on Yom Kippur, and in whose memory the annual Eishes Chayil Event was held. Prayers for Israel were led by two Beth Rivkah girls, in Hebrew and English.
Sara began her inspirational Tishrei message by discussing the significance of number seven in the Torah, especially the day of Shabbat. G-d created the Sabbath on the seventh day. G-d rested on this day, and we are commanded to rest on the Sabbath too. Sara spoke about the term “Eshet Chayil” (Woman of Valour), the Friday night hymn. “Eshet Chayil” is sung at the Shabbat table, honouring the women of the household. She mentioned that this seventh annual Eshet Chayil event was taking place in Tishrei, the seventh month of the year starting from the month of Nissan. The day of this event is on the seventh of the Ten Days of Teshuva, the period between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur!
The evening continued with a slideshow, as Gili Klein spoke about her Eshet Chayil mother, the late Tikvah Broh. Mrs Broh was born in 1931 in the fledgling Chabad community of Shepparton, Victoria, her maiden name being Kantor. Shortly afterwards, the Kantor family made Aliya. Mrs Broh served in the Hagana during the Israeli War of Independence in 1948. After finishing her military service, she trained as a teacher. Mrs Broh returned to Melbourne in 1954 to teach Hebrew at Mount Scopus. She married Yekutiel Broh, one of the rescued groups of German Jewish boys who came to Melbourne aboard the Dunneera ship.
Mrs Broh worked at Beth Rivkah for more than fifty years. She taught Jewish studies and wrote songs for their school productions. Besides her teaching and songwriting, Mrs Broh was a talented seamstress, even creating garments from discarded umbrellas! She continued to knit and sew during her later years, as a resident at Gary Smorgon House. After her passing in 2017, her children established the Tikvah LeKallah fund in her memory, helping newly married couples with wedding expenses and establishing a home. Mrs Broh’s name “Tikvah” means “hope”, and “Tikvah LeKallah” could be translated as” bringing hope to brides.”
Yameena Yager was the next person to share memories of her Eshet Chayil mother. Yameena’s mother was known fondly as “Rebbetzin Janet”, and she had passed away five months ago. Rebbetzin Janet and her husband, who was a Rav and Torah scholar, dedicated their lives to strengthening Yiddishkeit in the South of the United States. She was particularly passionate about teaching the laws of Mikveh and Family Purity and she would travel for several hours from Alabama to Texas to use a Mikveh. Rebbetzin Janet and her husband eventually raised money to build a Mikveh in Alabama.
Rebbetzin Janet endured much pain from rheumatoid arthritis, but this did not deter her. Guests were welcome in her home, and she was famous for her split pea soup with pieces of frankfurter sausages! Every Festival, the house was decorated with Rebbetzin Janet’s own artwork. Butterflies were featured often in these decorations. Yameena told us that at the time of her mother’s death, a white butterfly appeared outside her window.
As an older woman, Rebbetzin Janet lived a youthful life, training as a social worker, and working with the elderly. She made Aliya when she was in her eighties and had been widowed for forty-five years.
After Yameena and Gili had finished speaking, there was the singing of “Eshet Chayil” by Esti Hochhauser, Raizel Gutnick and Dina Korol in a presentation about Israeli heroines, including former hostages Liri Albag and Agam Berger. The evening was concluded with a delicious catered Shabbat-themed supper, a table set with challah, Shabbat candles and Kiddush wine. While we enjoyed the refreshments we mingled and looked at tables full of mementos from Tikvah Broh’s and Morah Janet’s lives.