By Lymor Wasserman
International WL Budget Chair, WLCJ Consultant, WLCJ Executive Committee, Southern Region Treasurer
I’m writing this after an incredible eleven inches of snow fell in Charlotte, NC—something this city hasn’t seen in more than twenty years. Having grown up in northern New Jersey, gone to school in the Catskills, and spent a decade in Chicagoland, I wasn’t especially fazed. Still, sitting here with my morning coffee, looking out at my snow-covered backyard, I found myself thinking: What happens after the storm?
That’s a question B’nai Israel might have asked after standing at Mount Sinai. They had just experienced thunder, lightning, certainty, and awe. Hashem felt close. Everything was clear. And then . . . what next?
Parashat Mishpatim gives us the answer. No fireworks. No drama. Just laws—lots of them. Everyday rules about how people treat one another. Sinai was inspiring, but Mishpatim is what made it livable. The Torah seems to be telling us that big moments matter, but they don’t sustain a community on their own. What sustains us is the work we do afterward—building systems, showing up consistently, and caring for one another in practical ways.
Rashi reminds us that these laws aren’t a step down from revelation—they are revelation. Holiness doesn’t disappear when the excitement fades. It shows up in the details, in the follow-through, in the quiet work that keeps a community strong.
That feels especially relevant right now. Women’s League for Conservative Judaism is about to enter a period of change. We will welcome a new International Board, new Region leadership, and many new ideas and goals. That kind of energy is exciting—and it can also feel a little unsettling.
But while leadership evolves and visions expand, the path behind us remains the same. We are still building on the foundation laid by those who came before us. The values haven’t changed. The commitment hasn’t changed. The responsibility to one another hasn’t changed.
As Jewish women, we understand this instinctively. We move forward even when we don’t have every answer yet. We trust the process. And in moments of change, leadership earns that trust not through certainty, but through integrity, transparency, and care.
As I finish my coffee and watch the snow slowly melt, I’m reminded that the work we do through Women’s League is holy work. We may not experience thunder and lightning every day, but through our volunteering, our leadership, and our willingness to build together, we enrich, empower, and engage our communities in ways that make a real difference.
And that—quiet, steady, and shared—is where holiness lives.
Shabbat Shalom,
Lymor Wasserman
International WL Budget Chair, WLCJ Consultant, WLCJ Executive Committee, Southern Region Treasurer
