Instead, by
unveiling and illuminating the human and cosmic
repercussions of each of the major mitzvos of women,
the Rebbe elevates us to an intellectual and
spiritual perspective from which we behold a
refreshingly broad world-picture.
From this perspective, everything is different -
womanhood, motherhood, Torah study and mitzvah
observance.
From this perspective, as she carefully checks the
kashrus of the local supermarket's food products, a
woman now understands that she is affecting the
spiritual and even the physical well-being of her
family.
As she lovingly observes the laws of family purity,
she knows that she is not only affecting the
spiritual and physical well- being of her family:
she is building eternity.
As she grooms the body and soul of her home on
Friday, she grasps that she is a priestess in G-d's
sanctuary, privileged to treat her family to the
experience of Shabbos, a foretaste of the World to
Come.
And as she discreetly deploys all her feminine
intuition and ingenuity toward keeping her marriage
fresh and loving, she realizes that she is
simultaneously reinvigorating the cosmic marriage
bond between Israel and her Groom.
The proportion of his time that the Rebbe
consistently allocated to promoting the status and
interests of women, is in itself instructive.
A few examples: Every year, during the week before
Rosh HaShanah, the Rebbe devoted a major address to
an audience of thousands of women of all ages. [1]
At some time between Lag BaOmer and Shavuos, there
was an address in honor of the annual convention of
N'shei uBnos Chabad, the Lubavitch Women's
Organization which the Rebbe founded in the US in
5713 [1953]. From 5716 [1956] the convention was
honored every year by an instructive and
inspirational letter in Yiddish and English. [2]
Towards the end of the school year there was always
an address for the graduating class of Beth Rivkah
and for the counselors of the Chabad-Lubavitch
summer camps for girls, who were traditionally
joined by great numbers of other women and girls.
In addition, there was always a letter addressed to
the participants of the midwinter convention of
N'shei Chabad, held in rotation in various cities
throughout the United States, and to the
participants of scores of parallel conventions and
events held in Eretz Yisrael.
Significantly, it was the Rebbe who personally set
the tone for the editorial policy of Di Yiddishe
Heim, the English/Yiddish quarterly of the Lubavitch
Women's Organization.
On a dozen occasions the Rebbe marked a significant
date in the chassidic calendar (such as, in recent
years, 22 Shvat, the yahrzeit of the Rebbitzin
Chayah Mushka) by handing a newly- published
kuntreis [publication] to each of the women and men
present.
And countless women throughout the world, like
countless men throughout the world, treasure to this
day the letters which the Rebbe somehow found time
to address to them individually, in response to
ideological queries, requests for guidance in their
personal or public lives, or requests for
enlightenment or intercession.
Throughout those beautiful years during which the
Rebbe received individuals and families for private
audience (yechidus), both women and men in their
tens of thousands were privileged to open their
hearts to the Rebbe, and leave his presence with
renewed strength and direction.
In later years, other opportunities were opened to
the menfolk - whether of the chassidic community or
beyond it - of meeting the Rebbe face to face, soul
to soul, for a fleeting but precious moment.
And the very same opportunities were made available
for the women and girls.
During the New Year season, for example, usually on
Hoshana Rabbah, the Rebbe personally handed the
traditional slice of sweet cake (lekach) to vast
numbers of women, each of whom heard the Rebbe's
voice as he offered them individually his blessings
for "a good and sweet year."
Finally, for six crowded years, the unique forum
that came to be known throughout the world as simply
"dollars" enabled innumerable thousands of men and
women from all walks of life and from every corner
of the world to be enriched and energized by a brief
but unforgettable moment.
To each of them the Rebbe handed a dollar to be
given to charity and offered his blessings for
success in their lifework, often adding an
individual comment of direction or encouragement,
and sometimes listening and responding to brief
requests. [3]
A Partner in the Dynamic of Creation is a
thought-provoking collection of ten essays outlining
a sampling of the Rebbe's teachings on subjects of
particular interest to women - social involvement,
equal rights, family planning, enlightened
parenting, women's Torah study and mitzvah
observance, and many other topical subjects.
The essays are based on a selection out of the
hundreds of talks which the Rebbe addressed at
various times to audiences of women and/or men in
Crown Heights, New York, as adapted over the years
by Rabbi Sholom Ber Hecht, Rabbi Yosef Halevi
Loebenstein and Rabbi Eliyahu Touger.
The adaptations as first published at their
respective times by Sichos In English [4] were
reworked, amplified and annotated for the present
collection by Uri Kaploun.
The project was conceived and nurtured from
beginning to end by Rabbi Yonah Avtzon, Director of
Sichos In English.
The Overview was written by Malka Touger; Yosef
Yitzchok Turner gave the book its refreshing layout
and typography; Avrohom Weg designed the cover; and
Yosef Kazen has made this book available
electronically on the gopher site of
Chabad-Lubavitch in Cyberspace.
"The words of tzaddikim endure forever." [5]
Every insight and every request and every directive
of the Rebbe continues to address us today as it did
in years past - if not with the same intensity as
before, then with more.
With this in mind, we at Sichos In English are
confident that the insights, requests and directives
presented in this work will fall upon attentive ears
and find their sure way into responsive hearts.
And when that happens, every reader who responds by
acting may rest assured th at his/her response will
bring the Rebbe's lifework one step closer to speedy
fruition, with the coming of Mashiach in our own
days.
Sichos In English
Rosh Chodesh Kislev, 5755
Notes:1: On one of those
occasions, shortly before Rosh HaShanah 5749, the
Rebbe proposed that every housewife permanently
affix a charity box (popularly known by its Yiddish
name as a pushke) to a prominent spot in her
kitchen. A little later, on the very eve of Rosh
HaShanah, as thousands of women filed past the door
of his study to receive his blessing with the
approach of the New Year, the Rebbe reminded many of
those who had not yet managed to do this, to turn
their homes into "homes of charity" by affixing
their box in place before the beginning of the
festival that very evening.
2: In 5741 [1981], N'shei uBnos
Chabad marked its 25th National Convention by
sponsoring a commemorative volume entitled Letters
by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, which was prepared for
publication by Sichos In English and published by
Kehot Publication Society.
3: In actual practice, recipients
often chose to give away a different dollar bill,
together with (in accordance with the Rebbe's
request) an additional contribution of their own.
Dollars were first distributed on 11 Shvat 5746
[1986], and thereafter on a regular basis (on
Sundays and on certain other occasions) from 11
Nissan of that year until the day before Monday, 27
Adar I, 5752 [1992].
4: Adaptations of the above and
many other themes which are incorporated in the
above-mentioned ten essays were originally published
by Sichos In English as full-length essays in their
own right; e.g., "Mazel-Tov: A Blessing for Mother
and Child " (cf. p. 58 below) and "The Shabbos
Lights" (cf. p. 82 below).
5: Phrase often quoted by the
Rebbe from the Igros Kodesh (Letters) of the Rebbe
Rayatz (e.g., Vol. II, number 470). |
