About Bamidbar

VISION

BaMidbar envisions a Jewish community that actively supports young people in cultivating mental health and wellness.

Mission

BaMidbar is working to ensure that Jewish youth and young adults have the confidence, skills, and community support to navigate life’s challenges and thrive in the face of adversity.

Values

Shlemut

שלמות

Recognizing the multi-dimensional nature of whole-health wellness.

Simcha

שמחה

Finding joyful Jewish meaning in every aspect of our lives.

Tzmicha Isheit

צמיחה אישית

Accepting the challenges of personal transformation.

Kehillah

קהילה

Embracing the power of a supportive and inclusive community.

Our History

BaMidbar was founded in 2016 as a program of Ramah in the Rockies and launched its first wilderness therapy program in 2018. It became an independent 501(c)3 in 2021, and began offering outpatient clinical services in 2023.

We know that young people are struggling with mental health. We also know that they exhibit incredible resilience and potential.

Born from the Jewish camping movement, BaMidbar was founded on the power of experiential education and the belief that Jewish tradition provides tremendous opportunities for growth and self-discovery.

We combine the wisdom, strength, and support inherent in Jewish tradition, with a clinically sophisticated, evidence-based model. By doing so, BaMidbar provides the framework for Jewish youth and young adults to navigate life’s challenges, find their voice and agency, and rediscover their capacity for a brighter tomorrow.

BaMidbar has seen young people experience immense personal transformation through experiential therapy, professionals gain skills and confidence to better support the young people they serve, and a strong demand for increased programming for young people, parents, and Jewish communal professionals.

Our Impact

2023

BaMidbar releases new 4-year strategic plan, and pivots from residential wilderness therapy to an outpatient community-based model.

BaMidbar reaches 2,085 participants across 73 programs.

BaMidbar opens its first regional office in Boston.

BaMidbar hires 5 new full-time employees, doubling the size of its staff.

2023

2022

BaMidbar reaches 459 teens through 22 mental health education programs.

BaMidbar reaches 1,599 Jewish communal professionals through 65 mental health education programs.

BaMidbar increases focus on cohort-based learning experiences, and offers seven cohorts reaching 146 professionals.

2022

2021

BaMidbar becomes an independent 501(c)3 after five years as a fiscally-sponsored program of Ramah in the Rockies.

BaMidbar increases focus on mental health education, partnering with 22 organizations to provide 94 education programs reaching 2,323 Jewish communal professionals.

BaMidbar pilots the first cohort of the Wellness Fellowship, a cohort-based mental health education program for teens.

Wilderness therapy programs return, and participants see an average 39% decrease in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, as measured by the DASS-21.

2021

2020

Wilderness therapy programs pause due to COVID-19 and BaMidbar shifts attention to mental health education for youth and Jewish communal professionals.

BaMidbar pilots Mental, Emotional, and Social Health for Experiential Educators (MESH-EE), a cohort-based mental health education program for Jewish communal professionals.

BaMidbar reaches 624 Jewish communal professionals through education programs.

2020

2018

BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy launches, supporting Jewish young adults struggling with mental health and wellness on wilderness-based journeys of self-discovery, hope, and healing.

Participants see an average 42% decrease in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, as measured by the DASS-21.

2018

2016

Ramah in the Rockies hires Jory Hanselman Mayschak to lead the program development for the nation’s first Jewish wilderness therapy program.

2016