| Mrs. Sara Malka Winter holds a Master of Science degree in education and is a sought-after speaker in her community of Silver Spring, Maryland. As a teenager, Mrs. Winter founded Ashreinu, a Canadian kiruv organization dedicated to Jewish outreach to the Russian immigrant community, which has influenced hundreds of girls. Mrs. Winter lived in Israel for eight years with her family, where she taught and lectured across Jerusalem in seminaries, outreach centers, and high schools. In 2008, Mrs. Winter moved to Maryland to help found the Greater Washington Community Kollel, together with her husband, Rabbi Menachem Winter. She continues to lecture throughout the Washington, DC area as a Senior Lecturer for the Kollel on diverse topics, including Tefillah, Chumash, Nach, Tehillim, Chagim, and Mitzvos. Mrs. Winter is also a beloved teacher at the Yeshiva of Greater Washington Girls Division. At the OU Women's Initiative, Sara Malka taught Sefer Tehillim 53-62 and 120-134 to over 5,000 women worldwide as part of the Torat Imecha Nach Yomi program. | | | Dvar Haftorah OU Women's Initiative Founding Director Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman | | | | | | Carved from Courage, Hewn from Hope Parshat Eikev | | | Have you ever felt completely alone — as if you were standing apart from the entire world? I know I have. In the months since October 7, that feeling has been sharper than ever — as an individual, as part of Am Yisrael, and as part of a nation so often misunderstood and misjudged. There have been moments when the weight of isolation felt heavy, almost overwhelming. The Navi recognizes these feelings and reassures us that isolation is not necessarily a weakness. He points us to Avraham and Sarah — seemingly alone in their viewpoints and messages to the world — a single couple standing apart from the world. Yet from that solitude came an entire nation, blessed by Hashem and destined to transform history. Yeshayahu tells us: if Hashem could build a people from one man and one woman, He can certainly rebuild and renew us now. The Navi is speaking to us — רֹדְפֵי צֶדֶק, מְבַקְשֵׁי ה — those who pursue righteousness and seek Hashem even in the darkness of exile. To find hope, he says, הַבִּיטוּ אֶל צוּר חֻצַּבְתֶּם, וְאֶל מַקֶּבֶת בּוֹר נֻקַּרְתֶּם — look back to your beginnings. Yeshayahu urges us to remember Avraham, separated from the masses like a single stone cut from a mountain, recognizing the One G-d amidst rampant paganism. He directs us to recall Sarah, the quarry from which you were hewn, who shaped and refined the family that would become Am Yisrael. The Radak notes, this is especially comforting when we remember how long Avraham and Sarah waited for a child. We too have been waiting for the redemption for so long — and in these months since October 7, the longing feels more profound. Yet, just as their long-awaited blessing brought forth a people that changed the world, so too our redemption, when it comes, will be vast and far-reaching beyond anything we can imagine. This restoration will not be partial — כִּי נִחַם ה' צִיּוֹן נִחַם כָּל חָרְבוֹתֶיהָ — Hashem will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her ruins. Every desolate place will be renewed, וַיָּשֶׂם מִדְבָּרָהּ כְּעֵדֶן, וְעַרְבָתָהּ כְּגַן ה — and He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of Hashem. This redemption will not be silent; it will overflow with שָׂשׂוֹן וְשִׂמְחָה… תּוֹדָה וְקוֹל זִמְרָה — joy and gladness, thanksgiving and the sound of song. | | | As part of your weekly learning, join Torat Imecha Parsha with Mrs. Chana Leah Rapoport. Register below to receive weekly recordings. | | | |
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