It’s the first day back
Home for the house-sisters who spent a whirlwind summer vacation enjoying day
camp experiences, field trips and sleep-aways. Today the Home is buzzing with the energy and
the appearance of a combination of Grand Central Station in New York City and a
busy department store the day before school opens.
Girls
are rushing about the hallways, but never forgetting to say “hello” to those of
another age group they had not seen all summer. It seems that no matter how
frantic the atmosphere, there’s always a moment for a hug and a smile. This
really impresses me while I make a mental note to copy this behavior when I
return to the States.
I seek out Bracha Runes,
Lev LaLev’s Program Director. I begin my search at her office, where I press
the buzzer. Her
secretary opens the door just a crack and tells me that Bracha is in a meeting,
but she will be with me soon. No matter how inundated any staff member is,
regardless of the time of day, or year, I note that I am offered water and a
snack and a warm greeting. No sooner do I turn around to get my pad and pen
ready to take notes, when I notice a woman I’ve seen around the Home for years.
She was always rushing through the hallways, and picking up a waiting girl. I
never had the chance to ask what exactly she was doing, or where exactly she
was going. Now we are face to face, smiling at each other. We introduce
ourselves – me first, then the lady. Our ‘connection’ was easy and natural.
Finally, I think, I’m
meeting Yenty Roth! Her job description is not easy to explain without using a
few hundred words, at least! Yenty, I notice, is strong, but soft-spoken. Her demeanor is
friendly, and her smile is all encompassing. Yenty and I, like with Bracha, get
interrupted often during our impromptu hallway interview. Girls passing by
cannot resist excusing themselves while interrupting us to exchanging
greetings. Of course, they give and accept hugs, and share tidbits about their
summer with Yenty. I see how they walk away a little bit happier for the
momentary experience.
So, what is it that Yenty, a 32-year resident of Kiryat Sanz,
Netanya, do for and with the girls at the Lev LaLev Home?
Yenty Roth, a mother to nine grown children, who lives virtually across the
street, takes the girls to their doctor and dentist appointments. Her
official Hebrew title is “Achrayit Refuah” – loosely translated, it’s
“responsible for medical care”. Yenty
takes the girls at the Home to their medical doctor appointments, to their
dentist or orthodontist visits, to an optometrist, to lab tests, picks up their
prescriptions, and, most important, she is a mother figure, who holds their
hands when they are worried and frightened.
For five years now, Yenty, who is originally from the
Williamsburgh section of Brooklyn, New York, has been available 24/7 to the
girls at the Home. She began her career as an office
volunteer, serving Laniado Hospital for
two years - just blocks away from the Children’s Home, for 12 hours a week.
Then she worked at the Recovery Room of the Ear, Nose, and Throat Division once
a week for 2 years. Her services were then used at the Intensive Care Unit
(Heart) doing paperwork and checking patients’ vital signs. She also did a
stint in the Emergency Room.
All in the Family
Standing in the walkway next to Bracha’s office, I was so
impressed with Yenty’s background. Hungry for more about her, I asked about her
kids. Yenty added that two of her married daughters who now work at the Home,
brought her in as the “Achrayit Refuah”. One daughter, Chaya, is a tutor, and
the other, Leah, is a counselor. Her
daughter, Aidy, 17, teaches our special girls home economics including baking
challah, cookies and cakes. With a broad grin, Yenty tells me that while the
goodies are in the oven, she keeps the girls busy popping corn for a snack.
Our interview is almost over, since I see that Bracha is ready
to see me in her office. But, I have one more question to ask.
“So Yenty, about how many appointments a week do you go to with the girls?” A
quick mental bookkeeping yields t he answer “About 25 appointments a
week.” And, besides being on call day
and night, one of the former housemates, Hodaya H. dorms at Yenty’s home.
Hodaya was a “bat bayit” – sort of like an adopted family member, and when she
left the Home, it was natural for her to move into the Roth’s. Yenty tells me
that Hodaya works in Bnei Brak in a baby nursery.
Another Mentor Appears
Now it’s almost my turn to visit with Bracha, when I see another
lady I know for years. Her smile and laughter add some more energy to what
should have been a tiring day, but is now exhilarating. I bump into Sasya
Koppel, a jolly woman who the girls at the Home absolutely adore.
Sasya, who lives in the Kiryat Sanz enclave of Netanya for 36
years, began her career as a music teacher. She plays the
guitar, the flute and the accordion. She has directed plays and choirs at the
Home for many years. But, she’s also an “Aunty” and a role model for the
numerous girls who’ve lived at the Home.
Taking girls on day-trips to Haifa and surrounding areas, or out
for a relaxing evening at a café in Tel-Aviv, or
for a drive along the scenic Beit-Oren Route in Northern Israel, Sasya has
driven the girls at the Home to a multitude of retreats and get-aways.
Once again, as girls are walking through the hallways making
arrangements for the school-year and preparing their rooms,
Sasya gives them words of encouragement and asks them about their summer, how
they are feeling, what their future plans hold. Her face is candid, her
questions are genuine, and her concern is no less than a mother’s. Then I see
more smiles, hugs, and kisses on the cheek. I reflect back on the years I sent
my kids off to school – Sasya’s care is no less sincere as was mine for the
children who were my very own flesh and blood. I wondered
- how much love can such a woman possess?
Sasya Koppel is the mother of 3 grown daughters and 1 son. She
has grandchildren – snd with a full plate of responsibilities, she gives of
herself so freely. Since Malkie G.’s wedding was coming up soon,
I asked Sasya how Malkie met her future husband. Now her smile was so radiant,
it could have lit up a dark room. With great motherly pride, Sasya tells me she
was the one who was responsible for the “shidduch” – the match. Shalom’s
family, (Malkie’s groom), was a friend of her family’s. It was obvious that
pairing up this couple gave Sasya Koppel great pride and joy.
My curiosity got the best of me again, when I asked if she had a
moment for just one more question. She agreed – just one more – she had to go.
I asked her if her own kids bore any resentment of the fact that she spent so
much time working with the girls at the Home all the years she was physically
raising them. Once again, her
forever-glowing smile appeared, as she answered me. “One of my married
daughters told me lately that when she was a young girl she did feel some
jealousy. But now, at 24, a mother herself, she was very proud.”
Lev LaLev also takes great pride in knowing
that the girls at the Children’s Home are blessed with these two wonderful
women who are more than just responsible for our girls getting to
doctor and dentist appointments, for chaperoning them on fun-filled excursions,
but for being their life mentors – giving them memories of love and dedication
that they could not have received from their own parents. Yenty and Sasya and
their families became our girls’ families too!
Finally, Bracha notices me in the hallway and beckons me to take
a walk with her around the Home’s property.
I get another warm welcome, a hug and a smile. I note the dozens of new
nightclothes she has purchased for the girls, tops, skirts, and toiletries. We
walk together and look in on the girls and their state of preparedness. Smiles
and warm greetings are non-stop. How do these wonderful women do it, I wonder?
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