{"id":58089,"date":"2017-07-11T14:01:43","date_gmt":"2017-07-11T19:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=58089"},"modified":"2017-07-16T06:25:47","modified_gmt":"2017-07-16T11:25:47","slug":"%e2%80%a8filling-cardboard-boxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/%e2%80%a8filling-cardboard-boxes\/","title":{"rendered":"Filling Up Our Cardboard Boxes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of my earliest memories are of brown cardboard boxes with lids, full of files. As soon as I was old enough, I learned how to build and collapse these boxes and I \"\"loved that job. As I got older, I began to take interest in what the boxes held. The Creative Learning Pavilion, (now used and known throughout the world as\u00a0chinuch.org<\/span><\/a>,) was a vast collection of teachers\u2019 materials from Jewish educators all over, culled together to support each other.\u00a0 This was being done for the first time- and it was my mother who was leading this incredible effort.<\/span><\/p>\n

I grew up knowing my mother had done something important. She saw a need, and created a way to help facilitate better Jewish education worldwide, and I was extremely proud. Every year I would help load those boxes onto a truck, and we\u2019d travel to the Torah Umesorah Jewish educator\u2019s convention. There, I was known as a \u2018staff kid\u2019 and absolutely\u00a0everybody<\/i>\u00a0knew who my mother was.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I grew older, I always had this niggling sense that I wanted to do something like my mother; something meaningful with my life. After I got married, we moved to Jerusalem where my husband learned in the Aish Hatorah Kollel in the Old City. Our lives became full and purposeful with teaching those less exposed to Judaism than we were. We planned to stay on that course as long as possible, and we saw no reason why anything would change. It was a wonderful chapter in our lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

Five years and two beautiful children later, G-d had other plans for us. We ended up moving to Brooklyn, New York. My main function in life became driving my son around to various therapies, and navigating New York City traffic. Not exactly my glory days. I soon found myself working a low level desk job and watching days pass into months and years. It seemed like everyone around me was doing something meaningful with their lives and I\u2019d missed the boat<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>I grew up on piles of boxes that had changed the face of Jewish education, but now I was running on empty\u2026no boxes to fill\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Two years later I took a job at a marketing firm that primarily represented non-profits in Israel. I was excited to use my creativity, and for a higher purpose! But G-d had even better plans in store for me. My new bosses turned out to be close with members of the Kanievsky family in Israel. There was a project they were thinking about launching, called \u2018Ner Echad\u2019, in memory of the late Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky.<\/span><\/p>\n

I had met the Rebbetzin, twice actually, and as anyone who ever met her will tell you it was an unbelievable experience. She related on a very personal level to each and every woman who came to see her \u2013regardless of background, nationality or religious affiliation. She made me feel like the most important person in the world\u2026 it had touched my heart and moved me. What I hadn\u2019t known was that through the Rebbetzin\u2019s hundreds of daily visitors, she had been raising and quietly distributing close to 2 million dollars a year to widows and orphans! My bosses explained to me that her husband, Rav Chaim, was greatly disturbed by the void his Rebbetzin\u2019s sudden passing had left behind, and had asked for something to be created to carry on her legacy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At that point, \u2018Ner Echad\u2019 was not much more than an idea: \u00a0to help fill that void by forming an organization to promote unity among Jewish women\u2026and I asked my bosses to please let me help bring the dream to life.<\/span><\/p>\n

We fine tuned some details, and the idea took form.\u00a0 Every\u00a0<\/i>Jewish woman who signs up would receive a weekly message on Fridays with her local candle lighting time, give an automated dollar donation toward the Rebbizen\u2019s widows and orphans fund, and get the name and prayer topic of another woman to have in mind when she lights candles that week. The concept was simple. And brilliant.<\/span><\/p>\n

The next year was an absolute whirlwind for me – suddenly being thrown into a very real project with the potential to change the world. I was tapping into a side of myself that had lain dormant for far too long. There I was, phoning all sorts of important Rebbetzins to ask them to support the project, going to meetings with website developers and marketers \u2013 and these people were taking me seriously\u2026. Me!<\/span><\/p>\n

A fire was lit inside me.\u00a0 It turned out there was no such thing as \u2018missing the boat\u2019 \u2013 here I was filling my very own boxes; filling my life with meaning. I came to understand that each and every one of us has a purpose – something we can give – to help the world.\u00a0I see now, that no matter what age or stage we\u2019re at, we all need to find our passion.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

I once again found myself attending the Torah Umesorah educator\u2019s convention \u2013 only this time to promote \u201cmy\u201d project. To my delight, everyone I spoke to was impressed and happy to help. Who didn\u2019t want to help promote Jewish Unity? The feedback was endlessly inspiring.<\/span><\/p>\n

[See the member-made testimonial video of women around the world telling you what they love about Ner Echad here<\/span><\/a>]<\/span><\/p>\n

Each week now, when I light my Shabbos candles knowing I\u2019m a part of a worldwide movement, it makes feel so connected, and so proud. The day we had sent home the \u2018Ner Echad\u2019 flyers with my daughter\u2019s first grade class, she came home beaming. \u00a0\u201cI told my Morah that my mommy works for Rebbetzin Kanievsky!\u201d My heart swelled with such warmth\u2026 I could almost see the cardboard boxes at her feet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Becoming a member of\u00a0<\/i>Ner Echad<\/i><\/span><\/a>, the worldwide movement to unite Jewish women, takes 2 minutes on\u00a0<\/i>www.NerEchad.org<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u00a0or by calling\u00a0<\/i><\/span>844.637.3242<\/i><\/span>. For any further information you can contact Chumie Jacobson at\u00a0<\/i>CJacobson@nerechad.org<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some of my earliest memories are of brown cardboard boxes with lids, full of files. As soon as I was old enough, I learned how to build and collapse these boxes and I loved that job. As I got older, I began to take interest in what the boxes held. The Creative Learning Pavilion, (now<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133455,"featured_media":58091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nFilling Up Our Cardboard Boxes - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Each week now, when I light my Shabbos candles knowing I\u2019m a part of a worldwide movement, Ner Echad; it makes me feel so connected.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/\u2028filling-cardboard-boxes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Filling Up Our Cardboard Boxes - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Each week now, when I light my Shabbos candles knowing I\u2019m a part of a worldwide movement, Ner Echad; 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