A Marlboro woman who has successfully met the challenges of creating a Jewish home, parenting, and volunteerism was honored at the Chabad of Western Monmouth’s 20th annual Jewish Women’s Day celebration on Sunday, Feb. 25.

Caryn Schweitzer was presented with the Eishet Chayil (Woman of Valor) Award at the event, which took place at the Morganville Fire House. The award was presented to Schweitzer by her two daughters, Sara, age 22 and a graduate of George Washington University in Washington, DC, and Arielle, 17, a student at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union.

“Mom sets the example by which we all live,” said Arielle and Sara. “She is completely dedicated to her family. Our Jewish education and her example will be the foundation of our own homes as we grow up. Through the personal observance of mitzvot, one can reveal the divine presence in their own homes and their community as well. This is exactly what our Mom has done, and for this we are so proud.”

Their sentiments were not lost on their mother.

“It meant a lot to me to have my daughters present the award,” said Schweitzer. “My husband and I have both tried to instill Jewish values in them and make them proud of their Jewish heritage. The fact that they handed the award to me and said how they felt makes me feel that we’ve succeeded.”

Schweitzer can’t remember a time when she wasn’t involved in Jewish life. She was born in Brooklyn and raised in Merrick, Long Island, and grew up in a kosher home in which Jewish holidays were regularly observed. Her parents were active in their synagogue and in the area’s Jewish community.

She met Sam Schweitzer, her future husband, while they were students at the State University of New York in Albany. When they were married 27 years ago, they decided to create a Jewish home like the one in which Caryn was raised.

“It was important for me as an individual and for us as a couple,” she said. “It was how we wanted to raise our children. You can’t just preach; you have to practice. You have to live it so that it becomes a very important part of their roots.”

The couple moved to Marlboro in 1981, and Schweitzer worked as an accountant before starting a family. She became a life member of Hadassah 10 years ago, is a past president of the Manalapan chapter of ORT, and, for the past two years, has organized a team for the annual Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer walk.

She has been involved with Chabad-Lubavitch, the hasidic movement that maintains Jewish outreach centers in communities around the world, for the past six years.

“To be able, in some small way, to publicly show my support for everything Chabad has done for me, my family, and for bringing Yiddishkeit to our community is the ultimate honor,” Schweitzer said. “The Chabad has been an incredible source of inspiration, friendship, and support. Like so many others, I never hesitate to offer my volunteer time when asked or when I see a need. To be recognized for just doing the things I love is quite remarkable.”

She credits her parents with instilling the “core values and timeless principles” that are central components of her Jewish life.

“They guided me with their own vision of Jewish commitment to family, to synagogue, to community, and to caring for others,” Schweitzer said. “They taught me by example.”

She thanked her daughters for strengthening her own involvement in Jewish life in Monmouth County. Like many others, she faced the challenge of learning how to raise her children in a traditional Jewish home in suburbia. Although neither she nor her husband attended Jewish day school, they decided to send their daughters to the Solomon Schechter schools. It marked a turning point in all of their lives.

“Almost immediately, we immersed ourselves in various school activities and began to grow communally and Jewishly,” Schweitzer said. “We began to see the Jewish community as an extension of our own family and to realize that our destinies as people are intertwined and connected and that one Jew is responsible for another. We share a common destiny and we realized that it is our collective responsibility to ensure Jewish continuity by being involved.”

Chabad, the Solomon Schechter schools, and the local community have enabled her to experience what it means to be part of a close-knit Jewish community in which people care about each other and those who are less fortunate, she added.

“I wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything in the world,” said Schweitzer. “This feeling has enriched and enhanced my life in so many ways. These experiences have made me who I am today.”