Rebbetzin Goldie 
Tomorrow begins tonight
Illini Chabad Celebration event
May 15 2012 – Iyar 23 5772
Bryn Mawr Country Club, Lincolnwood, Illinois

 

When darkness turns to light...
Thanks for turning up the lights. I'm Goldie Tiechtel. When I put my children to sleep at night, I get the occasional 'its too dark'. So what should we do? I ask. Should we chase away the darkness? Maybe let's gather up all of the dark and hide it in a bag. Or spray it away with the watergun.

No, they laugh. You can't do that, Mommy.

So, what should we do?
 
Let's turn on a light. Light a candle, light a lightbulb, strike a match. Just a little bit of light chases away a lot of darkness, as the old chassidic saying goes. Don't try to fight the darkness, don't focus on what there is NOT, add a little bit of light, focus on what you CAN do, and the darkness will automatically dissolve.
 
When we arrived in Champaign Urbana we saw a lot of darkness, a bit empty void. Void of active, vibrant and proud Jewish life. Yet a group of young people stood up to the plate, didnt say 'hmmmm.....its never been done' , they said 'lets go for it... its never been done!' . Seeing potential instead of caution signs, looking not at the darkness but at the bit of light that each can contribute.

When you take a group of individuals who each recognize the light that they can contribute and put it together, you have an irresistable force of goodness and kindness that can transform a university campus - offering Friday night dinners that attract over 100 students each week, social events throughout the semester, social action activities, philanthropies, community service trips to Berlin, to Mexico, peer to peer support groups, study groups, Jewish classes and so much more.

Just a small flame on its own wick may sway back and forth in the wind, it might possibly blow out. But take many wicks, weave them together into a multistrand havdalah candle, and the flame is so powerful and so strong that it can accomplish so much than if it just stood on its own.

And this, my dear friends, is the powerful force of the Chabad student leadership, the wonderful young men and women standing before you today, who go beyond their own social and career pursuits to give and create the Jewish community at the University of Illinois. We'd like to honor and present each one of them with a special award.

I'd like to give a special thank you to Jayme Levine, our outgoing president, who led a very successful year of events, and beyond that took a personal strong stance for Israel, equality and tolerance on campus.
 
When darkness turns to light, it only Begins tonight. To all of our young leadership, you are Tomorrow. And what you have shown us makes us all confident and proud that it will be a tomorrow full of goodness and light. Ladies and gentlemen, take a good look before you: Tomorrow Begins Tonight.