Dear Friends,
On many different occasions, the People of Israel are occupied with numbers and counting, either their livestock and possessions, counting the Omer, or themselves as they do a census. What is this preoccupation with inventory, you might wonder?
We could all benefit from a little inventory on occasion as we assess and reassess our place in this confusing world and how we relate to others.
When small children first encounter a new acquaintance, they will usually try to figure out that person's place in their lives by all the physical attributes: sex, size, age, and friendliness. They also in typical childlike manner like to know how many things they have and how old people are. They are fascinated by numbers before they really grasp the concept.
Adults, on the other hand, may be attracted by human physical attributes at first, but generally wish to go a step further before admitting a stranger to their circle, by considering his character: honesty, reliability, ethics, generosity. Before we put others under our moral microscope, perhaps it's time to look in the moral mirror.
Most of us, if we took a household inventory, would find closets full of clothes and shoes we rarely if ever wear, and shelves full of knicknacks, books, and other long-forgotten treasures for which we have no use. What do you think we might find if we took a personal inventory? A smile getting dusty on the shelf? A kind word or compliment we forgot to use? A few extra hours we tucked away to spend with the elderly, but forgot we had saved them? What about the games with the children, or the quiet time with a spouse?
As we take stock of the ten wonderfully successful years we have spent building Chabad of Naples, we like to think of all the exciting things we have on our shelves, and none of them is collecting dust! An award-winning Preschool of the Arts, a Hebrew school, Women s Circle, summer camp programs, a Men's Club, Flying Challahs, loyal Shabbat attendees year-round, and one of the most supportive groups of caring partners one could ever imagine. With your continued help, we look forward to adding many more years of useful, loving inventory to Chabad of Naples shelves.
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Fishel & Ettie Zaklos