Through The Eyes of a Woman
Publisher's Foreword To The First Edition
Published byMachon Chaya Mushka
8 Machanaim St.Jerusalem 95314Tel.: (02)
532-3156Fax: (02) 532-3172In the U.S.A.
Machon Chaya Mushka
750 Eastern ParkwayBrooklyn, New York 11213
Tel.: (718) 493-8449Fax: (718) 773-7589
ISBN 1-8814-0030-1
Year by year, thousands of Jews lovingly tread the familiar path of the weekly
Torah readings. The path, however, becomes so familiar that it is easy to forget
that beneath the surface lie countless strata of hidden treasures. Mercifully, though,
from time to time, such as when one studies one of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's talks
on the weekly Torah readings, a penetrating shaft of light opens up the surface
terrain; it grants the reader a breathtaking glimpse of the deepseated treasures
that have lain hidden from mortal eyes since Sinai.
Many of these weekly sichos of the Rebbe have already appeared in a variety
of translations, summaries and adaptations. Yet this book is unique. Here the Rebbe's
insights and interpretations are perceived through the eyes of a woman.
For many years, until her passing in 1992 at the age of 39, hundreds of women
of all ages and levels of observance eagerly attended Nechoma Greisman's weekly
classes on Chassidic Insights into Torah, at Machon Chaya Mushka and at the Israel
Center in Jerusalem. As those women fondly recall, each of these shiurim
was not merely a forum for the transmission of information: it was an unforgettable
happening, a shared sisterly quest, a joyful igniting of souls. (Regrettably, not
all of these classes were taped.) Basically, they constituted a chassidic lesson
in learning from life. In addition, their womanly perspective considered the varied
roles of women earnestly, yet with mellow good humor. Now, within the limits of
the printed word, much of their tone and savor is distilled and preserved in these
pages.
The present book will be a welcome breath of life for those who seek a human,
vibrant, chassidic guide to digging for treasure, whether it is hidden within the
weekly Torah readings or within oneself. For those who have read (and reread)
The Nechoma Greisman Anthology, the present book will be doubly welcome. Simultaneously,
it presents womanhood through the eyes of Chassidism, and Chassidism through the
eyes of a woman.
Machon Chaya Mushka Women's Institute for Jewish Studies Jerusalem
23 Shvat, 5758 (1998)
Machon Chaya Mushka would like to thank Rabbi Moshe Miller, who painstakingly compiled
this volume from a variety of lecture notes and tape transcripts; Uri Kaploun, for
his editorial advice; Hinda Esther Baruch, for her conscientious proofreading; Yosef
Yitzchok Turner, for the tasteful typography and layout; and Rabbi Yonah Avtzon,
Director of
Sichos In English, for his tireless efforts as publisher.
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