Those who managed the last election campaign most of all were the media. Both the general public and the ultra-Orthodox.
It seemed like we were nothing more than tools in the hands of the lobbyists, the broadcasters, and the commentators on the various channels. But in the end, it was we who dropped the envelope into the ballot boxes. The ones who won and the ones who tried.
In general, we, the creatures, are only required to make an effort. The one who manages matters is the King of Kings.
Now, after we have breathed a sigh of relief with the end of an especially unnecessary and ugly election campaign, we can say anything.
So here it is. Tzipi who created expectation and disappointment. Similar to someone who is perpetually pregnant with nothing behind her. Even the "ultra-Orthodox" women who claimed to have tens of thousands of women behind them whose voices were not heard, and who received a tailwind from the general media, discovered that the number of unhappy women in our community does not exceed thirty in Bnei Brak, six in Elad, eight in Kiryat Sefer, and so on.
The obvious conclusion is: Those who want to make a change must do. Not talk. Those who are thinking of trying again should take into account that elections are not decided in radio and television studios. Elections are decided on the ground. In lasting impact. In unconditional giving.
And yes. There are Haredi women who need empowerment to deal with difficulties in the marital, parental, economic and employment spheres. They don't need someone to represent them in the media. They need someone to help them in practice.
It turns out that in the Knesset there are those who represent them with respect. On the ground, they still need help. Which of those women who "ran" for the Knesset is ready to take up the gauntlet?
The growing club
And on another matter: I am proud to be a member of the prestigious club of Haredi women, women who observe Torah and mitzvot, who are as strict as they are gentle, and who even study and know the nuances of the laws and customs, and are strengthened by the love and fear of God.
I would like to introduce you to this club that has tens of thousands of women all over the world.
These are women who build large homes, homes blessed with children, and educate the next generation to a life of Torah and Chassidism, love of God and love of Israel. This club was founded decades ago by the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt"l and is called 'Chabad Women.'.
The Rebbe founded this organization with a clear agenda and outlined for it methods of action that it operates according to to this day.
This was in 1973. A decade before the outbreak of radical feminism in the United States. The Rebbe made it clear that in order to bring about and hasten the redemption, we must all work vigorously and increase light and holiness in the world.
The Rebbe made a double demand of women. To dedicate themselves within the home to educating the next generation. To maintain the kosherness of food and the purity of the Jewish home. And to work outside, on other women who have not yet been blessed with the taste of the Torah and the mitzvot, and to bring them to a life of meaning. To introduce them to the divine light that fills the world.
My aunt, Ozit, is a mother of 21 children without the evil eye. She did not stay at home, claiming that she was unable to work outside the home. She never gave up the regular weekly lesson she gave to women who were not observant of Torah and mitzvot in a neighboring city.
At almost every Chabad wedding, you can find a table with women who are seen as not "of our kind." Yes. These are women who are approached by the husbands of joy. Some of them will find themselves in a few years in the same place where the husbands of joy are sitting.
Because this club is just growing year after year.
Sacrifice to get closer
Already in my childhood years, I went out with my mother, every Friday, to distribute Shabbat candles to women who live in the Malvan nursing home in Rishon LeZion. We did this for years, because we have a role in this world. We have a mission. We have a purpose. Giving to other women not only helps those women, but also those who give.
We must learn and know more and more about the reasons for the mitzvot, the laws, and the Jewish outlook, so that we can answer with the expression "Know what you will answer." This learning helps us deal with our inclination... in fact, it is "inflated in order to be inflated." But after all, it itself is inflated.
Meeting someone who doesn't yet observe the mitzvot forces me to observe the mitzvot better. Because I'm supposed to serve as an example for her. So it turns out that this mission work makes us better.
The Light of the Seven Days, our teacher the holy Baal Shem Tov, said that the spirituality of one Jew stems from giving materially to another Jew. That is exactly how I felt when I returned home at the end of the last election day, most of which I did at the polls in the city of Yehud.
There, among hundreds of women, most of whom do not observe Torah and mitzvot, and some who do not observe Shabbat, I stood and distributed Shabbat candles for this Shabbat, the Shabbat of Rosh Chodesh HaGeula.
I stood and explained to them one by one the meaning of the sanctity of Shabbat. I don't know if they will keep Shabbat, but I am sure of the words of Chazal that "a mitzvah begets a mitzvah," and who knows what will happen after that woman lights Shabbat candles? Who knows what the future implications of this mitzvah that has become a mitzvah, as our sages said in Pirkei Avot.
The Israelites lived in Egypt for over two hundred years, including many years of slavery and suffering. But the women of those generations did not despair for a moment.
They were not moved by the hardships of slavery and were imbued with complete faith that God would fulfill His promise and bring them out of exile. They had no doubt about it, and it was not for nothing that the sages stated that "by the grace of righteous women our fathers were redeemed from Egypt.".
In this week's Torah, it says, "A man will offer from among you." In order to draw close to God, one must sacrifice. Giving to someone else without expecting anything in return is sacrifice.
Leaving a home with 21 children and going out to teach a Torah lesson in the rain and sleet is a sacrifice and it is what is expected of us.
Time for a good decision
Shabbat is the Shabbat of Rosh Chodesh. Not just any month, but the month that is the head of months. The month of redemption. It is also the Shabbat of the "month" that is about renewal. It is the time to make a good, new decision. To decide that starting this month, with the cleansing of Passover, we will find time to give to someone else who has not received the light of Torah.
And you know what, it's even selfish, because God loves those who love His children.
Who doesn't want God to love her?
• Part of the column is based on the talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe | The writer is the owner of "My Choice", an event host, lecturer, and radio broadcaster. | For comments: [email protected]
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