Dear Friends,
In this week’s Parshas Mattos, we’re given one of the Torah’s quietest but clearest reminders of what matters most.
As the Jewish people stand on the brink of entering the Promised Land, the two tribes of Reuven and Gad, approach Moses with a practical request. They have large flocks, and the land on the eastern side of the Jordan looks perfect for grazing. They ask to stay behind and settle there.
They say to Moses:
"גִּדְרֹת צֹאן נִבְנֶה לְמִקְנֵנוּ פֹּה וְעָרִים לְטַפֵּנוּ"
“We will build pens for our flocks here, and cities for our children.”
They mention their cattle first. And Moses lovingly, wisely, redirects them:
"בְּנוּ לָכֶם עָרִים לְטַפְּכֶם וּגְדֵרֹת לְצֹנַאֲכֶם" “Build cities for your children, and pens for your flocks.”
It’s subtle and it’s everything.
Moses isn’t just correcting their syntax. He’s correcting their priorities. Children before cattle. Souls before stuff. The people we love before the things we own. How easy it is to flip the order.
We work hard, and rightly so, to provide for our families. To build beautiful homes, to plan ahead, to make wise choices. In all that building, Moses reminds us: never forget what you’re building for.
Not the walls. The warmth. Not the spreadsheets. The spirit. Not the livestock. The love.
This summer, as life slows down, or speeds up depending on your family, let’s hold this reminder close. It’s who you share the moments with not about where you vacation. It’s about how present you not what you have.
And on Shabbat, we’re reminded once again: You don’t need to do. You just need to be. To be together. To be calm. To be home. So take a breath. Look around your table. Look into someone’s eyes. Be there.
Because the greatest things we build in this life aren’t made of stone or wood or currency. They’re made of love, time, presence, and priorities.
I’ve shared this before and I must share it again. I still remember when we inaugurated our current campus back in January 2012. After the excitement of the celebration, my father turned to me and said something I’ll never forget:
“Building, shmuilding.”
And I understood exactly what he meant. It’s not the building that matters. It’s the life that fills it. That’s what turns a space into a place, and a moment into a memory. It’s not about the structure. It’s about the souls within it. The laughter. The light. The life that fills its rooms. That’s what makes a building, a place, a moment holy.
As we near the final phase of our Big Build expansion, with the building rising and the rooftop terrace taking shape, we carry that same message forward with new spaces to bring even more community, families and children together.
And that’s exactly what people feel when they walk through the doors of the Alex & Carol Glassman Chabad of Naples or the Jay and Patty Baker preschool of the Arts.
Not an ostentatious and lifeless hall or a scattering of joyless rooms. Rather, a sense of belonging. A spirit of love. A place that’s joyful, personal, and full of heart.
Like Moses, my father reminded me: focus on the people. Focus on the children. That’s what makes a community. That’s what makes a legacy.
Wishing you a Shabbos of connection, peace, remembering and internalizing what really comes first.
With love and blessings,
Rabbi Fishel & Ettie Zaklos
by the Naples News, shows me blessing my son before Yom Kippur. It brings to mind the message above, the power of blessing another, blessing a child, a moment of presence and connection. We can all be that for someone else.