Page 18 - HaMizrachi # 22 Rosh HahHana - Yom Kippur 2020 USA

ןוארבי המכ

Israel’s Most Precious Resource

is Its Children

hen Miriam learned she was pregnant with her The founders of the organization were Rabbi Solomon J.
third child, she was ambivalent about her preg- Sharfman a”h, Dr. Shimon Glick, who was then the Dean
Wnancy. She and her two young children were feel- of Ben-Gurion University Soroka Hospital, Jack Forgash,
ing unwell and she had recently been laid off from her part- a businessman from the USA and a friend of Dr. Glick and
time job, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Without his wife’s Rabbi Sharfman, and Madelaine Gitelman from Jerusalem,
paycheck to supplement the family income, Miriam’s hus- who became the organization’s Director and Head of Social
band was afraid they wouldn’t be able to both feed the family Workers in 1989. The organization’s name was derived from
and pay their rent. the Talmudic passage in Sanhedrin that states, “One who
saves a single Jewish life has saved an entire world.”
Then Miriam tested positive for Covid-19.
The key to the organization’s success is that
Due to her high-risk pregnancy, she
was rushed into isolation in the “we provide stability to families who are
corona ward at Shaare Zedek experiencing turbulence in their lives,”
Medical Center in Jerusalem. said Rabbi Martin Katz, who has
Miriam felt helpless, as though served as the USA Executive Vice
her entire life was crumbling President of Just One Life since
around her, and she was left its founding. “By providing pro-
to deal with it all on her fessional counseling, emotional
own, without even the sup- support and financial assis-
port of her close family. tance, Just One Life empowers
mothers to bring their preg-
When a Shaare Zedek nancy to full term, thus pre-
social worker suggested she serving Israel’s most precious
contact Nefesh Achat B’Yis- resource – its children.”
rael, Miriam jumped at the
chance. Veteran social worker Chaya
Katzin, the current Israel Director
For many women suffering from and Head of Social Workers, and her
financial and emotional distress, team of social workers and therapists,
or experiencing medical complica- help expectant women speak about their
tions or high-risk pregnancies, the preg- challenges at the welcoming Nefesh Achat
nancy is often too much to cope with. B’Yisrael/Just One Life office on Jerusalem’s King
George Street.
That’s where Nefesh Achat B’Yisrael steps in.
“Helping women process their choices and empowering
Nefesh Achat B’Yisrael (with the financial backing of Just
One Life, USA) was formed in 1988 by concerned individu- them to understand their strengths is the goal of our inter-
als who recognized the need to provide support for expect- vention. We try to bring down the crisis level and arm
ant mothers in Israel, where financial hardship and social women with the skills they need to more easily manage their
and medical issues can lead to difficult pregnancies. lives,” says Katzin. “Through various workshops and meth-
ods of individual and group therapy, we help women develop

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