22
Federation Star
COMMENTARY
July/August 2022
The surest way to heal our world Rabbi Fishel Zaklos
W
e’re facing that time of the year again — summer — and everything that comes with it. One of the gifts of summer is time. In recent years, the expression “killing time” became popular. People kill time by doing meaningless, distracting things that make the time pass, thereby treating time as if it were something in endless supply. It most definitely is not. Jewish wisdom put it this way and even made it into a song: “Man worries about the loss of money and not about the loss of time. And yet, money is immaterial, whereas lost time is lost for good.” Time is precious, and the big question is, what do we choose to do with this time? Binge-watch Netflix shows? Stress about politics? Play games on our phones? Kvetch at the beach? There are much better options, like read interesting books while sipping your milkshake. Learn about one’s heritage. Meditate on the meaning of life. Smile at the beach. Some options are better than others, but there is one that I believe should be at the top of our priority list all year long, especially when more time is available. What is that magical time filler? Before I share it with you, let us explore a fascinating part of our history, specifically the history of monotheism and Judaism. The first fellow who discovered G-d was Abraham. Yet, he didn’t do it alone. He did it with his wife, Sarah, and their son, as a family, making his journey towards faith a familial experience. Their son, Isaac, his wife, Rebecca, and their children continued and consolidated this movement as a family. Jacob, Rachel and Leah, and their many children, all formed the nation of Israel. (Jacob was also called Israel.) When the Jews left Egypt hundreds of years later, they did it as family units. They
camped in the desert with their families, their “mishpacha.” The list goes on and on, proving a basic tenet of our heritage — Family is the crucible within which we form the golden links in the beautiful chains of destiny. Family is everything. It was never about an ascetic running off to the mountains and meditating endlessly without the responsibilities and stresses of family life. We do it as a family. It’s a team sport. In the Shema prayer that we recite twice each day, we are told to “Veshinantam L’banecha”–– we are responsible for transmitting our faith and traditions to our children. “L’dor Vador”–– we pass along the wisdom of the beautiful tapestry of our history, destiny and mystery from generation to generation. At the Seder table and the Friday night dinner, we are building the generation of tomorrow, which will continue our mandate of bringing heaven down to earth. This brings us to how we choose to spend our extra time. We need to prioritize family time with activities such as playing together, chatting, discussing and debating peacefully, making meals and eating together, going to the beach, traveling and playing board games. Loving families build healthy communities, just as we at Naples Chabad refer to ourselves as the Naples Chabad family. Healthy communities build a healthy nation. Our beloved country needs urgent healing. There is far too much pain, violence, anger, radicalism, physical and mental illness, materialism and spiritual void. Recent events bring home the necessity for spiritual health in our nation. We ought to see each other as family. Politics is not the most important thing. Love is. Healthy families with strong values are the solution to our societal ills. They are our best hope. I wish you and your loved ones a happy summer of healthy bonding. Let us heal our world one family at a time. May G-d bless you and America.
Real Estate is quite well in Naples! Contact me to list your home TODAY! Chellie Doepke
Premiere Plus Realty Co.
239-877-1722
seachell2@hotmail.com • www.sells-naples.com www.facebook.com/chelliedoepkerealtor Alicia Feldman PJ Library Coordinator programs@jewishnaples.org
Making Real Estate Dreams REALITY
