By Jamie Bornstein
Over the past year, my colleagues and I have had many discussions about how BaMidbar should, or should not, publicly address October 7th and the fighting that has been ongoing since that awful day. We are, after all, a Jewish organization and, in times of Jewish tragedy, it’s typical and 100% understandable for Jewish organizations to quickly issue firm statements of solidarity and support.
We are also a mental health organization that, in addition to mental health education and professional development programs, offers outpatient therapy with licensed mental health professionals. With that comes ethical responsibilities for impartiality that, no matter how challenging those responsibilities might be for BaMidbar staff members to navigate when our emotions are also running high, are critical to the fulfillment of our mission, and we have taken them very seriously.
BaMidbar is dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellness of all Jewish teens and young adults, ages 13 to 28, full stop. Every one of them, regardless of their beliefs, their perspectives on Zionism, Israel, or anything else, deserves access to mental health services and supports. Depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidality, disordered eating…each of these conditions, and others like them, are blind to partisanship.
We have tried very hard over the past year to “stay in our lane” and maintain a presence defined by deep appreciation and caring for the human soul in all its complexities, in hopes that Jewish teens and young adults of all stripes regard BaMidbar as an open and safe organization where they will be only supported and never judged.
While BaMidbar’s staff, like the Jewish community at large, is never 100% in alignment internally, we were all deeply impacted by October 7th and its ongoing fallout in different ways. Regardless of our personal beliefs, we are each shaken, heartbroken, and yearning for brighter future.
Most importantly, BaMidbar’s staff is more committed than ever to supporting the mental health of Jewish teens and young adults. As if the mental health crisis was not bad enough, the past year has added a terrible extra burden on Jewish young people. Clearly, the need for BaMidbar’s services has grown exponentially, and with that growth has come increasing needs for philanthropic support to meet these needs, which we hope will be a larger priority for donors and funders in the coming year and beyond.
October 7th was an immense tragedy for Israelis and the Jewish community worldwide. Regardless of the lenses through which you see these events, and everything that has transpired since, please know that BaMidbar is here, ready to meet Jewish young people where they are and to engage them without judgement as emotionally complex human beings, because their mental health truly matters.
Jamie Bornstein is the Chief Advancement Officer at BaMidbar. His bio can be found here.