L’chaim Ettie!
As we welcome Shabbos, I want to wish a very special L’chaim to my dear wife Ettie Zaklos, who is spending this Shabbos in New York together with our daughters Chaya and Hinda.
This weekend is the International Convention for Chabad Women Leaders, and Ettie is getting the rare opportunity to gather with 3,000 of her peers from all over the world for a weekend of inspiration and growth.
The common saying that “behind every successful man is a woman” is not true in our case, as Ettie and I have proudly worked side by side for the past 17 years co-directing Chabad of Naples together as partners. It is with pride that I get to watch as my daughters join their incredible mother and learn from her inspiring leadership.
L’chaim for everything you do for our Chabad of Naples and for bringing so much joy and love into our community and our home.
I hope you enjoy this very special Shabbos and are able to reflect and rejuvenate for another year of growth and leadership.
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.
Look forward to seeing you in Shul tomorrow.
Shabbat Shalom!
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Parshah thought in honor of Rebbitzin Ettie and the thousands of Chabad Rebbetzins, "Shluchos" from across the globe.
In this week’s 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 conference, attended by women hailing from around the world, as far away as Laos and Angola. As more than 3,000 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
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