More than 200 Chabad-Lubavitch women who co-direct Israel-based Chabad Houses spent last weekend examining ways to bring a measure of rest to their hectic lives. According to organizers, the choice of the theme was obvious considering that the gathering fell out smack dab in the middle of Israel's shmittah year, the biblically-mandated once-every-seven-years period of rest for farmland.
Women Emissaries in Israel Celebrate Shabbat Together
More than 200 Chabad-Lubavitch women who co-direct Israel-based Chabad Houses spent last weekend examining ways to bring a measure of rest to their hectic lives. According to organizers, the choice of the theme was obvious considering that the gathering fell out smack dab in the middle of Israel’s shmittah year, the biblically-mandated once-every-seven-years period of rest for farmland.
“The Shabbat was very successful,” proclaimed Fruma Lipsker of Petach Tikvah, who arranged the event with the help of Tami Wolff, co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Yerucham, and Nechama Kahana. “There was a pleasant atmosphere and we all made positive resolutions for the future.”
Lipsker, whose husband, Rabbi Naftali Lipsker, coordinates Chabad House activities for the Chabad-Lubavitch Youth Organization in Israel, said that the emissaries know full well the challenges of juggling so many different responsibilities, from their families to their Chabad Houses to their communities.
At a hotel in the village of Ner Etzion near Haifa, the women split into discussion groups to examine the different areas of their lives that presented the most stress. At the close of Shabbat, they wrote down ideas for positive resolutions, including learning more Torah with their husbands, dedicating some Saturday nights to giving uninterrupted attention to their children, and going on family outings once a month. They affixed the suggestions to a wall, where attendees could peruse the choices and take upon themselves as many resolutions as they wished.
