I was introduced to Chabad in college at a “Head of the Charles” weekend with crew contests along the Charles River. Amid hundreds of intoxicated students stumbling through Harvard Square on a Saturday night, stood a Mitzvah mobile blasting Jewish music through speakers.

As an affiliated Jew, I was struck by the familiar music where I least expected it, but I was confused, if not turned off, by what seemed to me a meaningless form of outreach.

My feelings towards Chabad have since changed. While musical Chabad-mobiles still don’t do it for me, I’ve been blown away by the movement’s work in other areas: the success of its day schools and camps, its growing presence at colleges, its extensive social services, and its commitment to establishing Jewish life worldwide.

Its success is a story in itself — the subject of a book by Sue Fishkoff called “The Rebbe’s Army.” But what amazes me in particular is the prominent role Chabad women play.

When my sister and brother-in-law vacationed in Puerto Rico, Rochi Zarchi, the Chabad Rebbitzin there, provided them with kosher lunches and dinners, just days after delivering her own twins. We visited Puerto Rico last Passover, and there she was again, surrounded by Jewish hotel guests, engaging us in conversation and describing what it’s like to live among a scarcity of Jews.

There was something charismatic about her; as different as she was from us non-Chabadniks, it was so easy to talk to her, to connect with her, to be wowed by her, something Jewish travelers experience with Chabad emissary families dispersed around the world, making Judaism ready and available in even the smallest communities.

The female force is equally, if not more, at play in Chabad nursery schools, where more Jews from an assortment of backgrounds send their kids today. In the Chabad preschool environment, the female community of teachers are the draw, they are the presenters of Jewish ideas and values. On the Upper West Side, the director of the Chabad Early Learning Center, Pearl Stroh, is admired by parents as an impressive mother of 10 (and daughter of 16) who works full time running a thriving nursery school. There’s almost a celebrity-like quality to these women. The sisterhood of my Upper East Side synagogue recently held a ladies’ night out with Rebbetzin Krasnianski.

There’s an unexpected but inspiring irony here. When you think of Chabad, you think of a very Orthodox group, often associated with a diminished role for women. But in Chabad, their role is as important, as large and as central as that of their fellow male representatives. They are a crucial force and presence in Chabad’s mission, constantly proving their ability to connect with other Jews who may seem and think different. One of Chabad’s greatest strengths is the ability to appeal to people who do not necessarily share its beliefs.

Felicia Herman, a Brooklyn resident who sends her children to a Chabad school there, doesn’t feel comfortable in a shul with a mechitza, but is comfortable at the Chabad school because the “rebbetzin is so cool and hip.”

It is inspiring to see that Chabad encourages its female members to stand on the front lines of the outreach effort, recognizing their ability and strength to welcome new Jews. These impressive women welcome hundreds of college students on Friday nights while feeding their own frequently large families. They make their own personal and spiritual connections with other Jews, forming bonds with countless men, women and children from across the Jewish spectrum.

Courtesy of The Jewish Week