* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
“When you are happy on the inside, you are not so dependent on external attention and validation.” With these words, my mother-in-law, parenting and marriage counselor Ziva Meir, opened our joint event last night in Givat Ze’ev.
Her central message throughout the evening was about our inner world. That is what matters most: knowing that every good thing we do, in every situation and stage of life — whether married or single, as mothers or as grandmothers — is important and precious, even if it is not considered glamorous and does not provide immediate gratification. Raising small children throughout the long summer vacation is also a sacred mission. The question is whether we see it that way.
“We live in a world that encourages externalization, as though we need likes in order to feel that we exist and that we matter. But if we truly understand and internalize that each one of us was created in the image of God, that we have a soul within us — a piece of God — then we need nothing more than that. To be partners with God is the greatest thing there is. We need to understand that our parenting is a mission, and so are our relationships, our work, and everything we do. If we connect to that—we’ve hit the jackpot.
“And that is precisely the opportunity that the month of Elul brings with it: to connect inwardly to our own truth, without all the external trappings, to rejoice in it, and to improve ourselves through it. ‘I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.’ God is here—close, waiting, loving. He created each and every one of us, loves us, waits for us, wants us to succeed, wants us to be joyful and to grow—especially now.
“You are invited, during this Elul, to choose an area in which you have wanted to improve—and simply begin trying. Good luck.”
