“I slept through the night without nightmares for the first time in four years.”
“I am back in school, working towards a degree that will help me make a living.”
“Before this Journey, I could not sit through a class.”
“For the first time, I spoke with my wife for three hours after the kids went to sleep, about our Journey of Healing, and about the true reasons I took it.”
Soldier participants in B’shvil Hamachar program
Tucked into the North Georgia mountains, Ramah Darom has been a haven, and a “happy place,” for scores of Jewish children and teens for over two decades. In addition, as part of the Conservative movement’s Ramah camps, Darom opens its doors throughout the year to Jewish men’s and women’s weekends, United Synagogue Youth conventions, and family holiday retreats. And now, for traumatized IDF soldiers, Darom is a place for serenity and healing.
The Friends of B’shvil Hamachar program will bring about a dozen IDF soldiers to camp, along with therapists, to help them deal with the traumas experienced during their service. The program, which began in Israel as B’shvil Hamachar , or Path for Tomorrow, 20 years ago, uses outdoor settings like ranches and camps to conduct therapy sessions and provide a safe space for soldiers to share their deepest traumas. Eli Zablud is one of the people responsible for bringing the program to the United States. His sister, Anat Samson-Joffe, is one of the original founders. He says, “You cannot heal one hundred percent from a trauma that happened to you during combat or military service. But you can definitely learn how to deal with what you went through and how to live with it.”
Zablud is a member of B’nai Vail, a congregation in Vail, Colorado. B’nai Vail is the first organization in the US to participate in B’shvil Hamachar. Zablud says he was inspired to bring the program in 2014. “In the first Gaza war I knew somebody who was very badly wounded there. After talking with my sister in Tel Aviv, I knew I wanted to do something connected to the organization that she created.” When he returned to the US, he decided to bring groups to Vail Valley.
The next step was to propose the idea to Rabbi Joel Newman of B’nai Vail. Newman’s wife Janet says they immediately jumped on board and brought the first group to Vail, along with two psychologists. “They do a process that was unique at the time and now has been duplicated by others. It is IDF approved and endorsed process of helping people share their experience in a group setting. They tell their story, they have the support of the group, and the psychologists help them work through their feelings,” she says. The result is that the soldiers no longer feel alone and have a community of people with shared experiences they can turn to.
Newman says the experiences of welcoming the soldiers is powerful for congregants as well and lasting friendships are formed. A highlight is a mountaintop Shabbat service that. “We have 700 people that come to the top of Vail Mountain. But at that service those soldiers come up and sing Hatikvah, and they face the 700 people who are standing and supporting them.” She says the bonds formed return to Israel with the soldiers.
When asked about the long-term success of the program, Newman says they do hear from participants who have returned to their lives. “We have one that came on the second journey here and he was a medic and experienced horrific sights and experiences; rescues that were horrific. In August he is taking his medical exams. He went back, he started medical school, and he still works for the elite 669 unit, but he is graduating.” She adds this soldier is now married to a former paratrooper who is studying to become an attorney.
“These people have had amazing experiences with us and have been able to go on and do phenomena things.” But she adds, it’s the little things that mean the most in terms of living day to day. “The stories we’ve gotten back is, ‘Now I can sleep at night,’ or, ‘Now I can get along with my family,’ ‘Now I can hug my children.’”
Nashvillians Dr. Gene and Ruthie Sacks spend much of their summers in Vail and are members of B’nai Vail, and not only learned about B’shvil Hamachar, but they also met some of the soldier participants. “I was very impressed with how this special program in Colorado gave these former Israeli soldiers the tools necessary to carry on with full, meaningful lives. After being there, and meeting with them and seeing what they do, I thought there could be no other place other than the facilities at Camp Ramah to do a similar thing.”
Sacks says it is not often institutions in the US can provide services to the Israeli army. So, his next move was to broach the idea to Wally Levitt, CEO of Ramah Darom. Levitt agreed. “Our 185-acre campus in the North Georgia mountains is the perfect setting for this program. Our campus has ample hotel rooms and indoor meeting spaces and a kosher kitchen. Plus, we are surrounded by the beauty of the National Forest and even have a waterfall right on our site.”
To help fund the program at Ramah Darom, Sacks reached out to his friend in Vail, Mikki Futernick who also believed in the value of the program, particularly the techniques for dealing with PTSD. “Soldiers in an army were the last forms of PSTD, that the medical world dealt with...except for Israel! The techniques for healing are different than trauma from a forest fire. Israel has discovered several new techniques which have proven to be successful in a short period of time.”
Support for what is now Friends of B’shvil Hamachar is growing in Nashville. Steve Hirsch, past president of The Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville, says he is grateful to the soldiers who have sacrificed in defense of Israel. “They are also fighting on behalf of all Jews, including those of us in the United States who are currently experiencing a renewed wave of antisemitism under the guise of ‘anti-Zionism’ and ‘anti-colonialism.’” And Adam Landa, whose children attend Camp Ramah says, “It sounded like such a mitzvah to be able to participate in a small way to provide these soldiers with some relief…and to do so at Ramah Darom made it even more special.”
The first cohort of IDF soldiers to come to Ramah Darom will arrive in mid-February and their final weekend will coincide with the annual retreat of the Southern Region Men’s Clubs. Levitt says in addition to the seed funding from the Saks’ and local donors, there is still a need for more support. “This includes airfare, ground transportation, food and accommodations for 10 days. We have successfully fundraised to cover most of the cost of the program but still have a little way to go.” To donate to the Ramah Darom cohort or learn more, visit www.ramahdarom.org.
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