My
name is Miri Schneorson and I live in Kfar Chabad. Besides raising children and
taking care of my family (thank God, I am blessed with six wonderful children
and seven grandchildren—may there be more like them!), I guide and advise women
towards personal and financial success.
The
book you are holding could not have been written in a week, nor even in a month
or an entire season. For more than fifty-four weeks I grew together with this
book, which expanded from month to month and from season to season. Each week
that passed provided me with a new insight. Each month included within it a
variety of new experiences, most of which are ultimately reflected in the book that
is before you now.
In
the process of building, strengthening
and reinforcing My Choice- Miri Schneorson—what I am and who I am—I took
the opportunity to place on record my friends', my clients' and my own doubts, from
which I have extracted wonderful insights for life.
I
am a collector. I gather experiences and feelings, sift through them, and make
something out of them. Every story I have heard, every lesson I have learned,
has given me additional tools to help other women become empowered and achieve financial
success besides.
The
stories, experiences and lessons I collect anywhere: the supermarket, the
greengrocer, parent-teacher conferences, Torah classes on military bases across
this wonderful country, even employment conferences and sitting on committees
in the Knesset.
I
am privileged to count myself among the flock sheltered in the shade of the Lubavitcher
Rebbe's greatness, and wherever I go, I am accompanied by his inspirational,
practicable teachings. I am aware that women are in search of empowerment, are seeking
a path for themselves. Women look for recognition of their uniqueness. I chose
to look in the Rebbe's Torah for answers to the questions that have troubled
and continue to trouble many of the women I have encountered in the past year.
And ... I found what I was looking for.
I
found the answers among the hundreds of transcribed lectures, letters and articles
that the Rebbe addressed to women all over the world—enlightening answers that provide
clear guidance and enable each and every one to make the decisions that are
right for her.
Even
though a long time has passed since Gimmel Tammuz, the Rebbe's spirit is still
present among this nation and inspires billions of people; I am living proof of
this, as are hundreds of women I have met throughout this past year.
I
have made some important choices in life (who hasn't?), some of which changed
my life, my relationship with the Creator, and my relationships with other people.
Each and every of us can choose our own way. That is what I do, counseling women
to make their own choices.
God
has blessed me with the opportunity to convey topical messages combined with
Torah and Hassidism through my columns in 'Mishpacha Chasidit' (‘Hassidic
Family’) magazine, and through my lessons and lectures in the past and present.
Moreover, I get the chance to reach to the ears and hearts of tens of thousands
of women through my radio program on 'Kol
Chai’ radio channel.
This
book was written thanks to these women, and for their sakes. It can serve as a
voice for many other women who do not have the courage to confront the issues
that bother them.
While
writing this book I realized that "There is nothing new under the
sun" (Ecclesiastes). Anything that concerns us nowadays has always concerned
women, in some guise or another. This being the case, there is no reason not to
take advantage of the tremendous knowledge accumulated over thousands of years.
This
can be done by referring to the Torah given to Moses at Mount Sinai, which I
did week after week, as you can read yourselves. The Weekly Portion of the
Torah, which grants us guidance and strength to live through the following week,
can mediate our experience of the present; it can provide many insights and
practical advice for everyday life.
About
25 years ago I created a confection that, within a few years, turned into a
leading chain of children's clothing stores for religious and Orthodox Jews in
Israel and abroad. Over the years, I have met hundreds and thousands of
religious and ultra-Orthodox customers, in addition to the women among the staff,
designers and branch managers of our eighteen stores.
I
discovered a common denominator to (almost) all these women. They all want to
pamper their children, to dress them up in fine clothes and nurture them. I
learned that among Orthodox women, "Culture and Leisure" means
something close to the nest, the family that only they can care for and
maintain to the highest standard.
The
most important choice I have made is to invest in my family and build it anew after
finishing the fashion chapter of my life. It’s still not easy for me to choose
the dishes in the sink over a career as a businesswoman. I often struggle with
replacing a seminar about textile import with cooking in the kitchen, and
sometimes I still must choose between having a profound conversation with my
son or a conversation among friends at the Chinese or Turkish embassy.
This
is my choice!
I
put my family first. Everything else exists to serve this goal.
I
am glad to call myself a "Shlicha", an “ambassador” and to remind
myself that I—like any other woman—am only an envoy of God. My job is to make
this world a better place and to build my home with love.
The
right choice gives me great and continuous satisfaction. It brings light to my
life and allows me to invest in my job without being enslaved to it.
In
today's modern world, anything is possible. The media is easily accessible. The
world is in the palm of each hand (it's called a smart phone). Boundaries are
broken but the heart remains closed, encased in layers. Over time, through very
difficult personal work, I have managed to peel back all the layers that had
covered my heart. I managed to overcome the cynicism within me that
characterizes our generation, and discover my inner substance. In the
counseling world, this is called "connecting to my inner self."
The
connection to my inner self was possible thanks to the Lubavitch philosophical
work the Tanya, whose letters in Hebrew (תניא) are
an anagram of the word "firm" (איתן),
which is an acronym for the phrase “אתה
יודע תעצומות נפשי”— "You know the strength of the soul."
I asked God to give me the strength to reveal my inherent powers and to help me
and other women to do so.
There
is a Jewish proverb that though everything is already foretold, man still has
free will. Everyone has the opportunity to choose; to make the right choice.
Even in difficult situations a person can choose between sadness and joy, hope and
disappointment, initiative and inaction. God gave us the ability to choose, and
it is unquestionably in our hands.
I
made my choice and I make it again every day. You can, too.
Yours,
Miri
אין תגובות:
הוסף רשומת תגובה