A note from Young Hadassah Without Borders, Hadassah’s ambassadors supporting and carrying out Hadasah’s mission and values across the globe:
With Passover approaching, we are once more reminded of the value of communication through the retelling of the Hagada, a preservation of our ancestors’ story and a way of forging Jewish connections. Importantly, the focus of the Seder night are the children. For them, the world is the newest, and connections therefore the most important. This was our guiding principle when creating the Words for Hope Project.
After October 7th, Bárbara Lichtman, a Young Hadassah Without Borders member, was presented with a particular challenge: her children had questions about the war. But how do you explain words like hostages, war, terrorists or even antisemitism to a 6-year-old? What information is comprehensible to them, and what would only overwhelm them? Should we approach such difficult topics at all?
Our team has worked tirelessly with Hadassah’s expert team of psychologists, counselors, and trauma specialists to answer questions like these and many more. It finally culminated in our information booklet available here.
Webinars and local events are in the process of being organized to complement the booklet. If you would like to organize one in your community, please reach out at younghadassah@hadassah.org
Children are our future. Our mission is to protect them mentally as much as physically. Communication strengthens mutual trust, provides a safe space, makes the world feel just a bit more manageable, and spreads the message, a message of hope.