On Thursday I turned twelve years old and became a “Bat Mitzvah” - a responsible and dependable Jewish adult. This is such an important and exciting milestone I have been looking forward to and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to travel together with my father to pray at the Rebbe’s Ohel to receive the blessings I know I will need as I embark on my life’s journey as a Jewish woman. On the flight, my father and I studied a special booklet the Rebbe distributed in the winter of 1992 on the Yartzeit of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, after whom I am named. The booklet is a collection of the Rebbe’s teachings about the critical and vital role women play in Judaism culled from various public talks and letters spanning over forty years of the Rebbe’s leadership. In it, we discovered a letter addressed to the Chabad Women’s Convention which occurred days before the holiday of Shavuot in 1957. The Alter Rebbe, the founder of Chabad and the author of the Tanya declared that a Jew “must live with the times” which means we can understand our divine mission for any given time period based on the lessons we glean from the Parsha of the week. In that spirit, the Rebbe in his letter to the participants of the convention explained an inspiring lesson we can learn from the common theme of the two Parshas relevant to the weekend of the convention, Bamidbar and Nasso. In both sections, we learn of G-d’s instructions to Moshe and the Jewish people on how to transport the Mishkan (the divine tabernacle) through the desert as they journeyed towards the Promised Land. Although this process was only practiced many thousands of years ago, it is recorded in the Torah at great length and we learn about it today because it teaches us a tremendous lesson in our daily lives. Although the Jews were then in a wilderness, in a place with extremely harsh living conditions, they were able to build an edifice for G-d. It stood at the center of their camping grounds and was the focus of their travel formations. The lesson is clear. Even when Jews find themselves in a spiritual wilderness, surrounded by conditions that are hostile to Jewish life and living, we have the ability to build a home for G-d as the focus of our lives as we journey toward the ultimate goal which is the coming of Moshiach. Since my Bat Mitzvah day occurred within the week of Parshat Bamidbar and my celebration in El Paso will happen during the week of Parshat Nasso, I feel this lesson is extra relevant to me as I continue my journey. I must always remember that my mission in life is to be a beacon of the light of Torah, Mitzvah, goodness and kindness and transform the spiritual wilderness of our world into a divinely serene garden, ready for the era of Moshiach when peace and serenity will reign for all.
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