The Whisper in Bnei Brak Heard Around the World

R
ecently, my wife and I returned from South Africa, where the Ohel Sarala initiative started a new chapter in conjunction with the Jewish community of Johannesburg.

After Pesach of last year, we received an e-mail from a South Africa- based organization called the Malka Ella Fertility Fund. This organization was established by Saul and Suzanne Sackstein, an incredible couple who, after experiencing their own challenges with infertility before becoming the parents of a beautiful family, decided to create an infrastructure to help others with similar struggles. This organization has developed contacts with top fertility specialists and subsidizes treatments for couples in need, while facilitating consultation with local poskim and mental health professionals who support the couples through the process. I guess you can call them the Bonei Olam of South Africa.

Suzanne and her dedicated colleague, Kate Gershuni, reached out to us after reading about Ohel Sarala in Mishpacha, and expressed their interest in starting a local chapter to offer chizuk to both singles looking for a shidduch and couples struggling with infertility. After some cajoling, my wife and I agreed to take the 16-hour flight to South Africa and help launch this initiative on the opposite end of the world.

They prepared a full itinerary for our six-day stay, filling my speaking schedule with 13 appearances. While this seemed a bit much at first, in the end I was gratified at the opportunity to meet wonderful Yidden from the various communities and to go from delivering a shiur at the kollel to leading a discussion about life’s challenges with a completely nonaffiliated audience. I saw clearly how connected we Jews are to each other, despite the geographic distance. Our challenges are the same, our concerns for our future and the future of our children are the same, and our deep desire to grow as Yidden and to help our communities grow are the same as well.