Coming together as a sisterhood

Numbers play a significant role in the Jewish religion, and for the 110 women who attended an annual Yom Iyun — Day of Learning — at the Sephardic Temple in Cedarhurst on July 26, specific figures were prominent.

Mimi Mehlman, the wife of retired Lido Beach Synagogue Rabbi Daniel Mehlman, said that the number 18 stood out for her. The number not only signifies chai — life in Hebrew — but how many years ago she established the event, which is organized by the Organization of Volunteers for Israel and Her Torah, also known as AMIT.

“I used to go to AMIT learning sessions 20 years ago, and thought it would be a very nice idea to put together a place for women to sit and learn from AMIT women,” said Mehlman said, who now lives in Woodmere.

AMIT is a New York-based nonprofit that aims to help Israel’s youth realize their potential and to strengthen Israeli society by educating and nurturing children from diverse backgrounds focused on academic excellence, religious values and Zionist ideals.

The group serves 34,000 students in 110 schools in 29 cities in Israel. More than 95 percent of AMIT graduates serve in the Israel Defense Forces or perform national service, and 85 percent of AMIT students graduate from high school with a Bagrut diploma — a prerequisite for higher education in Israel — compared with 70 percent of all Jewish high school students in Israel, according to AMIT officials.

“I feel that this organization is so important for the children of Israel,” said another Woodmere resident Audrey Wagner, adding that she has been a part of the 92-year-old organization for 70 years as her mother brought her into the group. “We are very mindful of the tragedies through the Nine Days, and very much concerned how we believe Israel is treated and how the country has grown.”

The Day of Learning takes place within the Nine Days, a period for reflection and recognition of misfortunes, including the destruction of both Jewish temples in Jerusalem, the expulsion of Jewish people from Spain on Tisha B’Av in 1492 (the Spanish Inquisition), and the outbreak of World War I on Tisha B’Av in 1914, which destroyed many Jewish communities.

Mehlman noted the current goings-on at the Temple Mount, where the Jewish government removed metal detectors and security cameras, and the most recent Jewish tragedy, when a Palestinian, Omar al-Abed, 19 fatally stabbed Yosef Salomon, 70, his daughter Chaya, 46, and son, Elad,36, as the family celebrated Shabbat on July 21.

“We are afraid, yet we stand together,” Mehlman said, “AMIT let us be together in a sisterhood. We learn to live in the Torah.”

Keynote speaker Dr. Shoshana Poupko offered a lesson in how an individual’s actions impact the community as a whole. Also a rabbi’s wife and the dean of students at Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls in Teaneck, Poupko spoke about the “communal responsibility” that a person has to conduct him or herself properly to help society function properly.

“The well-being of the community is at stake,” said the Los Angeles native, who is a neighbor of current AMIT President Debbie Moed. “... Society comes together to achieve what we cannot do alone.”

Sondra Sokal, a past AMIT President, paid tribute to Mehlman and her creation. “I remember some of us at the very first Yom Iyun in Lido Beach,” Sokal said. “What a wonderful, enduring event that you have put together.”