Dear Friends,
First off, I want to say that Purim was absolutely 
amazing! We at Chabad Naples celebrated in style as usual. We truly celebrated AM YISRAEL CHAI — THE MIRACULOUS ETERNAL JEWISH NATION! Between the night and the day, I read Megillah nine times! We visited friends in the hospital, some in rehab facilities, and were able to spread the Purim simcha and cheer them up, and then it all culminated in 250 people coming together in celebration. The entire holiday was permeated with such joyous and palpable energy.
A huge thank you to Ettie, who orchestrated the entire Purim celebration, from the theme to the planning and every detail, and to everyone who contributed, volunteered, supported, and joined in.
Shortly after Purim, on Thursday morning, Morris and Roz Herstein stopped by our campus. They want to help us enhance the Big Build by donating many beautiful pieces of artwork, similar to the way they did in the social hall and the sanctuary. While on the rooftop, the ever-inspiring Morris — who was taking measurements at 90 years old — turned to us and said:
“Rabbi, patience, patience, hard work — look what it did! Following God's plan, and here we are on this beautiful campus that continues to expand.”
I don't know how many of you remember in 2008/2009, when we were bursting at the seams of our old Seagate location. We searched and searched for a building, with a seemingly endless string of dead ends. One of the places we almost purchased was the old Teddy Bear Museum. At the time we thought, “This is it.” But it wasn’t meant to be. At the time it was very disheartening. But it laid the foundation for a very important lesson.
In Parsha Ki Tisa, we confront one of the Torah’s lowest moments. Our people have just stood at Sinai. We heard the voice of God. All we need to do is wait for Moshe to return from the mountain. But when he doesn’t come back on our schedule, anxiety overtakes faith. Panic sets in. Impatience gives birth to the golden calf.
Patience, patience. Redemption does not unfold according to our clocks. Victory does not come on demand. Faith requires patience. What appears chaotic may conceal a deeper plan. Behind the scenes, history is moving with purpose. And so must we. We too should move with purpose in our own everyday lives.
So we have to put in the work, but it's God's plan and God's timing. Even when things don't work out on the timeline we desire, our efforts are never in vain. We are sowing the seeds for future growth that will be even greater than we can imagine right now.
The blessing of purchasing our current campus in 2011 certainly taught me that. Thank God, despite all the headaches and setbacks and false starts, our space has grown and continues to grow!
So aim high and put in all the effort you've got. But then remember Morris's wise words: “patience, patience.” We sow the seeds, but it is God that makes them grow. And as any farmer will tell you, it's slow but rewarding work.
And speaking of patience… we were meant to take 22 dear friends of our community, some for the very first time, on a very special trip to Israel this Sunday, but given the war in the Middle East the trip was postponed. We were praying for our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land over Purim, and we continue to pray for the safety of all civilians, and that this war should end swiftly and bring only blessings and enduring peace to the world.
In the right time — which we pray is very soon — we hope to take even more of you. For now, we wait to see how the future trip will be even better than the one we had planned.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Fishel & Ettie Zaklos
