To a mother who asked advice on becoming a typist to supplement the family income, the Rebbe wrote:
Don’t become a typist. You are a mother. Type, if you feel you need to in order to support your family. But don’t become a typist.
From the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory; words and condensation by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman. Subscribe and get your dose daily. To order Rabbi Freeman’s latest book, Wisdom to Heal the Earth, click here.
© Copyright, all rights reserved. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with Chabad.org's copyright policy.
More in this section
Join the Discussion
Akanushka
Miura, Japan
August 31, 2010
The best instruction for today's women
Who said it's good for a woman to "become" everything at the same time? In today's modern lifestyle, I often see women overworking AND over-wanting everything; becoming a wife, mother, manager, representative for the local communities and much more if she wants to. It's good to have the enthusiasm for many things to be the help of the world and the loved ones, however, woman also has to realise her capacity limit and how to control her desire for life. "Doing" helpful things is never bad, but "becoming" everything can cause dilution in her closest, most needy ones, such as her husband and children. Furthermore, she might feel insecure if she's doing enough in every aspect of her life, which can cause her disatisfaction and worries...
A woman is first of all, the source of prayer, spiritual beauty, kindness and inner-strength, which all can contribute the best as a wife and a mother. So why not look close into this fact? No need to be too greedy...!
Reply
the typist thank you so much for this, it's so wise!!! and a good reminder not to totally identify with what we do -- as productive and wonderful as it might be - but instead, who we are, in the eyes of G-d.