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INSPIRATION
LAMP-LIGHTERS
A group of inspirational women illuminate the world
BY SHIRA DRUION
96 JEWISH LIFE
ISSUE 82
There were many lessons gleaned that night, which really
stretched into the wee hours of the morning, as I returned with
Gila Ash to Crown Heights for a fabrengen (get-together). But,
what I found most astounding was observing the women around
me. They were not timid rebbetzins who hid behind their rabbinic
other-halves. They were strong and powerful in their own right.
Although many of them would certainly be able to hold their own
in any board meeting, what made the most indelible impression
on me was the unwavering commitment they each showed to the
Jewish values of modesty, child-rearing and teaching of Torah to
those less connected among us. They were able to combine having large families with talking politics to teaching dynamic Torah
classes, and always with the end goal in sight. They embodied
what one would expect from the quintessential Jewish woman.
At around 2am, a very small group had gathered to share a
more intimate space. One woman who beamed with an iridescent light got up to share her story of how she is coping with
the ALS diagnosis of her young husband, who went from the
all-capable rabbi to a wheelchair, where he now communicates
through a machine that reads his eye movements. “When I sat
my children down to give them the news about my husband, I
told my kids: 1) not to look it up on Wikipedia because the information is outdated, 2) the doctors don’t know tatty (daddy),
and 3) they didn’t know the Rebbe.” Her faith filtered into the
room instantaneously that night and, quite honestly, blew my
mind. She was not bitter or angry, or deluded. She was heroic.
As Jews living in a fragmented world, it is all the more vital to
appreciate and acknowledge that which “the other” brings to the
table. Each unique group of Jews fulfils a unique role in helping to
create a more solid future for Jewry. Let us applaud one another,
as the Rebbe taught that every Jew is beloved to Hashem. That
vision will surely guarantee a world that is ignited in a halo of holiness, as sparks that may have been lost return to the fold. JL
PHOTOGRAPH: SUPPLIED
G
-d’s wisdom is threaded through every minute detail of
our lives, but it is when we consciously tune in that the
magnified image of the grand plan becomes amplified.
I often step back and watch with fascination as the chain of
events unfolds to expose the Divine plan that He has engineered so skilfully, so as to ensure our spiritual compass always
faces north. It is in these opportune moments of revealed Divine providence that we find ourselves in the most unexpected
of circumstances, which inspires in us a vision of hope for a
better tomorrow, a tomorrow that reflects a world that is more
illuminated and more whole.
Kinus, the annual conference of Chabad emissaries, is that
kind of lamp-lighting experience.
Every year in the Jewish month of Shvat, women from
around the world descend on Crown Heights, New York, as
they embark on a pilgrimage that is as mind-blowing as it is inspiring. The Kinus has been held since 1991 and coincides with
the yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of the Rebbe’s wife, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson, of righteous memory.
As circumstances would have it, I had to travel to New York
that weekend and contacted a friend of mine to let her know I
was going to be in town. She mailed back to enquire if I was planning to attend Kinus. As a great admirer of Chabad, it had always
been on my Jewish bucket list of “life-changing moments to experience as a Jew”. Little did I know that between G-d and Rebbetzin Mashi Lipskar, I would be afforded the w&VB&