Dear Friends,
In this weeks Torah portion we have the delivery of the ten commandments. It is interesting to note in the scene at Mount Sinai, in the days leading up to that most awesome spiritual event in history, G-d gives Moses very specific instructions about conveying the message to the Jewish people: in preparation for the big event, He tells Moses to first address “Bait Yakov” – the women – and only afterwards the men.
The point was, that G-d knew the only way His Torah would be properly received and effectively transmitted from one generation to the next was through the enhanced qualities of vision and foresight, clarity and intuition, loving and nurturing, that women bring to the table.
This is a phenomenon that we have seen throughout the millennia, that there was a more internal, far-sighted, and soul-based influence wielded by our strong and competent Jewish women. These qualities have served as our nation’s greatest source of salvation and most effective engine for positive change and growth.
When we study the lives and times of the heroines of our history, women like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, like Chana and Devora, Ruth and Queen Esther, and so many others, the common thread among all of them was their keen ability to see beyond the difficult issues and challenges of the moment, to the bigger picture of what it’s all about and to act and lead the way with incredible boldness and selflessness.
This week Ettie is at the Chabad International conference, attended by women hailing from around the world, as far away as Laos and Angola. As more than 4,000 Chabad women gather in Crown Heights, can you imagine the power emanating from there! This is a special time to acknowledge, as we all know, the not-so-secret formula behind the success of Chabad and Preschool: it is Ettie. Although it is impossible for me, both literally and figuratively to fill her shoes, I will do my best to hang in and ‘hold the fort’ until she returns.
Rabbi Fishel Zaklos