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.

RELATED Photo Gallery: Women Emissaries Spend a Week Strengthening Each Other Related News Stories Convention Draws Jewish Women Young and Old

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.

According to participants, the highlight of the weekend – which included classes in Jewish law taught by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Gluckowsky, director of the Chabad Rabbinate in Israel, and other legal experts – was a heart-to-heart session with fellow emissary Ruchama Steinberger, who opened a Chabad House in the Tel Aviv suburb of Holon two years ago.

After speaking with emissaries about their histories, their worries, triumphs and funnier moments, Steinberger presented an original poem to the group. The performance elicited more than a few laughs.

"I wrote a five line poem about each emissary," said Steinberger. "They had to guess which one of them was being referred to."

Ester Meshi-Zahav, a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in Ramat Hasharon, Israel, leads a discussion at a weekend gathering last week for women to find ways to add a little bit of rest to their hectic lives.

In addition, students Chaya Mushka Schemulevitz and Tamar Gruber performed four original sketches offering a lighthearted take on emissaries' daily lives. One of the plots centered around an emissary who is seemingly planning a vacation; the audience realized only at the end that the woman was really planning a vacation for her daughter, who also was an emissary.

"She felt that her daughter didn't have any time to herself," said Schemulevitz, whose parents, rabbi Yaakov and Chana Schemulevitz, direct Chabad-Lubavitch of Bet She'an. "But she didn't realize that neither did she."

Steinberger said that every woman who runs a Chabad House brings different perspectives to their mission.

"Each one sees their role from a slightly different angle," she explained. "Some say, 'Wherever I am needed, I'll be there,' and others focus on striving for the unity of all Jews."

The common denominator, she said, is that it all takes an inordinate amount of time and effort: "It was very emotional to see how they all do so many programs around the country."

Although the theme of the gathering was rest, Lipsker said that many returned home charged with idea and energy.

"We really did not rest, at least not physically," she said. "We were so full of energy and had such a mental high, that it was better than physical rest."