Every Friday evening, Rochelle and Shaina light the Shabbos candles with Mussie—a treasured highlight of our week. I’ll never forget their excitement when they began this mitzvah and how proud they are each time they do it. As part of the Rebbe’s initiative encouraging all Jewish women and girls to light the Shabbat candles, even young children join in. With their mothers’ guidance, children as young as two can participate, bringing in the warmth and holiness of Shabbat.
The origins of this special mitzvah are found in this week’s Parsha, where Rebecca, as a young girl, lit the Shabbat candles. Sarah had also lit the Shabbat candles, and after her passing, Abraham continued, but they didn’t burn throughout the week as Sarah’s had. When Rebecca began lighting them, her candles miraculously burned all week long.
This miracle symbolizes the unique role of Jewish women and girls—daughters of Sarah and Rebecca—in shaping the spiritual atmosphere of their homes. Though the candles’ physical light may last for only a short time, their spiritual light continues to illuminate and uplift the home throughout the week, bringing the sanctity of Shabbat into everyday life.
Today, when the world can often feel darker than ever, it’s more important than ever to add light wherever we can. The Shabbat candles are a perfect place to begin. Their glow ushers in Shabbat, filling our homes with warmth, love, and spirituality, and their light extends beyond the moment, illuminating our entire week. 

Each time a new baby is born, it’s a sign of growth and renewal, and in a small community like ours, this is even more meaningful.
Last week, we celebrated a bris for baby Yerachmeal Yeshaya, named after his great uncle and the prophet Isaiah. It was especially fitting that the bris took place now, as both last week’s and this week’s Torah portions discuss the mitzvah of bris milah.
In last week’s portion, we read about Abraham, who, at ninety-nine years old, entered the covenant with G‑d through circumcision. G‑d changes Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s to Sarah, promising that they will have a son named Isaac. From Isaac, G‑d promises to establish a great nation and forge a special bond. Abraham immediately fulfills G‑d’s commandment, circumcising himself and all the males of his household.
This week, we read how G‑d remembers His promise to Sarah, granting her and Abraham a son, Isaac, born when Abraham is one hundred and Sarah is ninety. Isaac is circumcised at the age of eight days, entering the covenant as Abraham had.
Since then, this mitzvah has been one of the most cherished observances among the Jewish people. Through good times and bad, our ancestors have done all they could to welcome their sons into the Jewish community with the bris. As we say in the prayers during the bris ceremony: “Let us give thanks to the L‑rd for He is good, for His kindness is everlasting. May this little infant grow to greatness. Just as he has entered the Covenant, so may he grow up to enter into a life of Torah, marriage, and good deeds.”

One of the questions I’m most often asked is about Jews and Israel. In fact, the question of what right Jews have to live in Israel is one that we are all asked repeatedly, by both friends and foes. Some point to historical documents like the Balfour Declaration or the League of Nations. More recently, some have referenced Israel’s defensive military victories of 1948 and 1967 as justification of legitimacy.
Despite these responses from various platforms, the question is still being asked, our legitimacy is still challenged, and our identity is often questioned. And this isn't just a rhetorical issue. When one’s identity is under question, so is their self-confidence—and this can also impact how they are treated by others.
So, perhaps it is time to return to the basics, back to the beginning—yes, the very beginning, in Genesis. This week, we read how G‑d said to Abraham, “I have given this land to your descendants” (Genesis 15:18).
When G‑d promised the Land of Israel to Abraham, and his son Issac’s descendants, the land became—and remains to this day--the inheritance of every Jew, not subject to negotiation or trade. It is solely G‑d’s promise to Abraham that constitutes our unshakable connection to the land.
On numerous occasions, when speaking with Israel’s leaders and in his public addresses, the Rebbe expressed his belief that confidently and unapologetically articulating this claim would earn the respect of the international community. The Bible, revered by billions around the world, commands respect; additionally, even those who do not share this belief will appreciate our conviction in it. The Rebbe argued that basing the Jewish claim to the Promised Land on treaties, military victories, or diplomatic agreements can, in fact, undermine respect for the legitimacy of our claim in the eyes of other nations. Only when we stand firm in our beliefs and traditions can others respect us as well.
When we are more educated and do stand firm, we are also a blessing to others for all the good needed in their life, as G-d said to Abraham “through you all the nations will be blessed,” and “I will bless those that bless you.”