The Chronicle
The Community Newspaper of the Jewish Council of North Central Florida
The Beit Ruth Village Celebrates Its Bat Mitzvah Year
By Elissa Einhorn, Development & Communications Manager
Beit Ruth Educational & Therapeutic Village
It is hard to believe that December marked the last month of celebrating the Bat Mitzvah year of the Beit Ruth Educational & Therapeutic Village for at-risk girls in Israel. What an incredible milestone – 13 years of bringing in and caring for girls, most of whom arrived with just the clothes on their backs and, if they were lucky, a toothbrush in their hands. Hundreds of girls, as young as 13 – frightened and suffering from trauma – were welcomed into the compassionate arms of our staff who provide lifesaving interventions.
We can all be inspired by our girls’ perseverance and by their tenacity to take what life has given them – through no fault of their own – and to not just overcome, but to succeed. It is just remarkable.
We look forward to visiting you on January 12 and are grateful to be part of JCNCF’s “Celebration for Education!” At Beit Ruth, education comes in many forms. As a cornerstone of our holistic framework, we provide a rich curriculum of academic subjects. We are proud of our girls who, last year, scored an average of 85 points on their matriculation exams – above the national average!
We are also aware of the importance of English-as-a-Second Language to improve our girls’ abilities to achieve economic independence and to participate in Israel’s global economy. It is with thanks to the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University in Massachusetts that we now have the “Tufts International Fellowship Program.” Our first cadre of Summer Fellows arrived in June with primary responsibilities to teach English during the summer school session.
One Fellow shared, “As summer school progressed, I saw girls overcome their insecurity of speaking in a new language – a step that allowed them to vastly improve the flow and content of their speech. One girl who hadn’t spoken any English with me the entire summer asked me in English if I could pass her a Bamba snack! This simple question was one of many crowning achievements of the summer.”
We are also so proud and grateful to share that since our last visit with you, we have broken ground on a fourth residential house! This will increase our capacity to serve 60 girls at a time. And we are working on raising the funds to build a fifth house.
Within these houses, Beit Ruth girls are being taught dignity because they are treated with dignity. Every decision made at Beit Ruth – from buying new clothes for special occasions, or giving girls the freedom to decorate their rooms – is made with the purpose of treating them with dignity. Every girl receives kindness, love, gentleness, and, yes, firmness, because we all need that too. But no one ever feels less than here because no one is less than.
At Beit Ruth girls don’t just wake up each morning – they RISE up – every – single – day. They show up with their courage, their strength, their resilience, and their desire to accomplish so much more in their future than their past would have them believe they could do. How do we know this? Because our girls tell us:
“At Beit Ruth, I was cared for by women who wanted to see me succeed, grow, and flourish, and who saw my potential. And more importantly, they wanted me to see it too. From the fist moment – and for the first time – I felt empowered and saw a future for myself that I could be proud of.” Hannah, 17 years old
“Beit Ruth completely changed my life. I am grateful and proud of my accomplishments, but what I am most thankful for is breaking the cycle of generational abuse so my three daughters will never have to know a life of fear, of harm, a life on the streets, and a life that is not worth living.” Miri, 23 years old
“At Beit Ruth, I found myself not only studying, but wanting to study. After 3 years of not really doing anything at school and believing that I would never accomplish anything, I chose to stay another year to finish my matriculation.” Irit, 18 years old
Hannah, Miri, and Irit went from being teenage girls living on the streets, in abusive homes, and in unsuccessful placements to the caring and family-like environment of Beit Ruth. There is no better way to describe it than through our Jewish teaching: “Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.”
We look forward to joining you in January and to sharing more about the Village. We thank you so very much for your continued and critical support of our girls. Wishing all of you a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year! Thank you for helping to save a world entire.