May 3, 2012
Dear Friend of Israel,
This is truly a special time for me. I'm thrilled to share with you that my daughter, Yael, just gave birth to her third child, a beautiful baby girl. This is my fifth grandchild, and I am grateful to God that both mother and child are healthy and happy.
The births of my children and grandchildren have always taken me back to my own childhood. My strongest memories are of my family and me at the weekly Sabbath table. It is this time we spent together that laid the foundation for all the other values my parents sought to instill in me. Those values were, first and foremost, a love of God, a love and responsibility for Israel, and a commitment to the preservation of the Jewish people – to maintaining this historical link from generation to generation.
My parents also taught me to respect others, and to expend my time and energy caring for and helping those who are needy, suffering, and alone. I’ve tried to follow their teachings through the work we do here at The Fellowship. I have full confidence that my daughter and son-in-law will raise their children with the same values – values that instill an abiding commitment to helping others, especially the less fortunate.
Of course, beyond the protective, loving embrace of the family lies a world that can be filled with danger and peril. Too often, we are greeted with bad news when we open our newspapers or turn on our computers. We hear of so much suffering and tragedy, and we feel powerless to stop it. Those of us who care about Israel and closely follow events in the Middle East may feel helpless as we read about the rise of terrorism, the brutality of regimes toward their own people, and the unfair treatment of Israel by the community of nations.
Yet, as I sit here in my U.S. office looking out at the Chicago skyline, I think of something the great Chicago poet Carl Sandburg once wrote: “A baby is God’s opinion that life should go on.” The truth of those words hits home for me today. All of us can become jaded with life, our senses dulled by routine. But, with the birth of a child comes new hope, new promise, and an opportunity for all of us to discover anew the wonder of life. It reminds us that, as amazing and impressive as the work of our hands like this Chicago skyline – can be, it cannot even begin to approach the miracle, the mystery, the magnificence of a single human life.
To my new granddaughter, I say: welcome to the world! We thank God for your arrival. And Mazel Tov, Yael, to you and your family. Thank you for bringing happiness and pride to me, and everyone who loves you.
Dear Friend of Israel,
This is truly a special time for me. I'm thrilled to share with you that my daughter, Yael, just gave birth to her third child, a beautiful baby girl. This is my fifth grandchild, and I am grateful to God that both mother and child are healthy and happy.
The births of my children and grandchildren have always taken me back to my own childhood. My strongest memories are of my family and me at the weekly Sabbath table. It is this time we spent together that laid the foundation for all the other values my parents sought to instill in me. Those values were, first and foremost, a love of God, a love and responsibility for Israel, and a commitment to the preservation of the Jewish people – to maintaining this historical link from generation to generation.
My parents also taught me to respect others, and to expend my time and energy caring for and helping those who are needy, suffering, and alone. I’ve tried to follow their teachings through the work we do here at The Fellowship. I have full confidence that my daughter and son-in-law will raise their children with the same values – values that instill an abiding commitment to helping others, especially the less fortunate.
Of course, beyond the protective, loving embrace of the family lies a world that can be filled with danger and peril. Too often, we are greeted with bad news when we open our newspapers or turn on our computers. We hear of so much suffering and tragedy, and we feel powerless to stop it. Those of us who care about Israel and closely follow events in the Middle East may feel helpless as we read about the rise of terrorism, the brutality of regimes toward their own people, and the unfair treatment of Israel by the community of nations.
Yet, as I sit here in my U.S. office looking out at the Chicago skyline, I think of something the great Chicago poet Carl Sandburg once wrote: “A baby is God’s opinion that life should go on.” The truth of those words hits home for me today. All of us can become jaded with life, our senses dulled by routine. But, with the birth of a child comes new hope, new promise, and an opportunity for all of us to discover anew the wonder of life. It reminds us that, as amazing and impressive as the work of our hands like this Chicago skyline – can be, it cannot even begin to approach the miracle, the mystery, the magnificence of a single human life.
To my new granddaughter, I say: welcome to the world! We thank God for your arrival. And Mazel Tov, Yael, to you and your family. Thank you for bringing happiness and pride to me, and everyone who loves you.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President
