In this edition:

• Message from Jofa
• Jofa and Maharat Israel Solidarity Mission Reflections
• Global Leadership Conference for Jewish Women Entrepreneurs and Leaders
• Women's Voices
• Israeli Organizations and Resources
• Divrei Torah by Women on Parshat Beshalach

Message from Jofa

Friends,

Over three days in January, 35 participants gathered for the Jofa/Maharat Israel mission, to bear witness. But the group did so much more than that.

In addition to hearing firsthand and expert accounts about what transpired on October 7, we studied, we prayed, and we fell deeper in love with being a part of the Jewish people.

We even managed to find moments of joy, laughing and dancing, with the hope of better days to come.

And throughout, we learned more about the central roles that women have played and continue to play throughout this conflict.

Time and again, we were thanked for coming, for bearing witness, and for bringing our Israeli hosts’ powerful, poignant messages back to our communities.

Below you will find the personal reflections of mission participants, as well as local news coverage about the mission, and new resources to help you stay updated and engaged with what is happening in Israel. As always, we share reflections and divrei Torah by women. 

Please continue to use and share the resources and ways to help that we have compiled, in this email, on the new Supporting Israel resource page on our website, and in our social feeds, to keep up our efforts to support our people and find comfort and understanding amidst this difficult time. 

Besorot Tovot.

Jofa and Yeshivat Maharat

Israel Solidarity Mission Reflections

Taking in the scene of carnage and destruction at Kibbutz Kfar Azza.

Traveling to Israel now, to visit with Israelis, hear their stories, and do chesed on the ground, was an incredibly powerful and meaningful experience that deeply moved everyone who participated -- and motivated this passionate group to bear witness and share what they saw and experienced firsthand during time spent visiting, volunteering, and learning, which brought much-needed chizuk -- for the range of people with whom they interacted, and for themselves.

Here we share the first batch of reflections by mission participants:

• Reflecting on the Jofa/Maharat Mission to Israel, by Dr. Mindy Feldman Hecht, Board President of Jofa
• A Look Back at the Jofa/Maharat Israel Mission, by Daphne Lazar Price, Executive Director of Jofa
• Reflections on the Jofa and Maharat Mission to Israel, by Rabba Sara Hurwitz, Co-Founder and President of Yeshivat Maharat
• Mission Recap Video, by Dena Levie, Mission Participant

In addition, here is coverage from a few of the local Jewish newspapers whose communities were represented among the mission participants:

• Reflections on Maharat and Jofa Mission to Israel, by Rabba Sara Hurwitz, in the New Jersey Jewish Link
• Lemons to Lemonade on the Gaza Border: DMV Residents Head to Israel on Community Missions, by Fran Kritz, in the Washington Jewish Week
• Jofa/Yeshivat Maharat Mission to Israel: 72 Hours, A Lifetime to Recall, by By Deb Silverthorn, in the Texas Jewish Post

Global Leadership Conference for

Jewish Women Entrepreneurs and Leaders

On January 21, Jofa's Executive Director, Daphne Lazar Price, joined a group of distinguished panelists for the Global Conference for Jewish Women Entrepreneurs and Leaders, organized by The Global Network for Jewish Women Entrepreneurs, whose mission is to create bridges between Jewish women from Israel and from all around the world, and to empower them to become the Jewish leaders they were born to be. See this Jewish Journal article, In the Shadow of War, Global Women Leaders Meet Online, for more about the conference. View this one-minute video clip of Daphne speaking about empowering women:

Women's Voices

See graphic above and apply today for Jofa (North America) and JOFA Australia's next Op-Ed Writing Workshop, beginning soon!

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Here we share a range of women's voices and perspectives, posted and published in the past two weeks:

• When Our Hearts Turned Orange, by Shira Pasternak Be'eri
• What South Africa Gets Wrong About the Jewish Take on ‘Amalek,’ by Shlomit Ravitsky Tur-Paz
• The Fruit of Kfar Aza, by Rachel Sharansky Danziger
• How Quickly They Remember, by Reut Amit
• Collages for 100, by Jessica Levine Kupferberg
• For the Kidnapped: The Tragedy of the Loss Domain, by Talya Miron-Shatz
• Revealing the Diamonds in the Rough, by Cheryl Levi
• The Pastoral and the Sublime on Tu B'Shvat, by Gefen Bar-On Santor
• October 7th: Women's Journey to Healing, by Yarona Ben Shalom Richardson
• Our Burden and Our Hope, by Peta Jones Pellach
• Eicha in January: The Message of Perek Gimmel, by Leah Jacobson
• Israel: A Nation Grief-Stricken and Awestruck, by Debra Kiez
• Remembering Women's Voices on Shabbat Shira, by Rochelle Saidel
• On Hamas and Their Lies, by Lara Kwalbrun
• Raising a Quiet Voice Amid Blaring Antisemitism, by Nancy Ancowitz
• Tehillim Chapter 121, by Leora Jaffe Steinman
• 109 Days of October 7, by Leora Jaffe Steinman
• Deep Roots of Hope, by Wendy Lefko Messeloff

Standing with Israel

We must remain as steadfast and persistent as ever in our efforts and our advocacy on behalf of Israel and our people. To help, we have created a Supporting Israel: Ways to Help Now page on our website, where we will continue compiling, updating, and expanding numerous ways to stay up to date, active, and engaged with what is happening in Israel and how we can help -- particularly with respect to raising the voices and stories of how women are impacted, what they are doing, and what we can do to support them.

The page includes resources for fighting antisemitism, advocacy, staying informed, keeping attention on the hostages, finding comfort in rituals, ways to contribute, talking to kids about Israel, reaching out, mental health, community gatherings, and more.

We will also continue highlighting additional resources in this weekly email and our social feeds. We hope that each week you will find something that speaks to you, helps you stay connected, gives you specific things that you can do for Am Yisrael -- in Israel, around the world, and in your own home and community.

This Week's Highlighted

Israel Organizations and Resources

• ITIM: The Jewish Life Advocacy Center: Facilitating Jewish Life by Making Israel’s Religious Establishment Inclusive: An organization addressing the unique halakhic challenges and impacts of the war, including those affecting women.
• Aluma: Serving with Faith: An organization that supports Orthodox women serving in the IDF.
• Bonot Alternativa: Israel at War: Resilience in Action: A leading national Israeli women’s rights and gender equality organization, focusing its efforts on addressing the critical emergency needs of evacuees.
• Dvora Institute for Gender and Sustainability Studies/The Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes Against Women and Children: An organization documenting the crimes of October 7 to ensure that they are never denied or forgotten.
• Mizrachi World Movement: Unite With Israel: Letters for Israel: A way to send letters, pictures, and videos of support to Israeli students and soldiers.

Divrei Torah by Women on Parshat Beshalach

Shabbat Shalom U'Mevorach

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