Message to sponsors

Miriam, a devoted mother of five, her eldest just 16 and her youngest only 9, was supposed to be celebrating her son’s Bar Mitzvah this weekend. Instead, he and his siblings were at her funeral on Saturday night.

Miriam had immense merit. Over ten years ago, she came to me with an idea to start a Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit for emotional emergencies such as car accidents, terror attacks, and moments when children witness death. As a medic, she saw too many people left traumatized, untreated, or discharged from hospitals only to continue suffering. I loved her idea, and together we created United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma Unit, Chosen. Today, that unit has grown to include hundreds of volunteers, a therapy dog unit, and soon, a Resilience Center in Jerusalem.

The most heartbreaking part is that the very Psychotrauma team Miriam built was needed by her own children the moment they learned she was gone. From that second, they needed the same support she had worked so hard to create, and the team she founded was there for them.

Her funeral was a powerful reminder of the importance of resilience, not just for our communities but for ourselves. Our volunteers witness so much trauma, from October 7th and beyond, and often neglect their own healing. Miriam’s legacy reminds us that we must continue caring not only for others but for each other and ourselves.