My Mom Is Awesome - WomanPower Contest Entry

This is my entry for @sfp-cebu's What It Means To Be A Woman Writing Contest.

Now, I know, I know, it's a cliche. Pick an awesome woman? My mom. And I have so many amazing women in my life. But here's the thing: My mom is truly amazing. Follow along, and I think you'll agree and see why I chose her.

Dr. Dina Chanoch. My mom

My mom the rebel

In her late 20s and early 30s, my mom, already a psychiatrist, was a rebel. My parents and older sister (who was a wee child) were living in Riga in the USSR, and were part of the movement to let Jews leave for Israel. My dad was more active in the movement, but my mom had a significant part to play. Both were interrogated by the KGB. Neither broke. When they were finally given permission to leave, my mom, pregnant with me, hid important documentation in my sister's swaddling clothes and smuggled them out of the country.

My mom the immigrant

Moving to another country in your 30s is HARD. Both of my parents worked extremely hard to make a life here, and they did. While they never fully became comfortable financially, they did okay. They're still doing okay.

My mom the doctor

While she was trained as a psychiatrist in the USSR, my mom discovered, upon arriving in Israel, that psychiatry in the USSR was far behind the times. She had to relearn her profession in her 30s. And she excelled. She found her place in the psychiatry ward of Ha'emek hospital, and turned down offers to run psychiatric hospitals.

Ha'emek hospital

My mom the volunteer, part 1

In the 90s, after the fall of the USSR, my parents took positions in the Jewish Agency for Israel in Moscow, returning to a place they once fled to help others who wanted to make the same move they did. My dad's position was done after a while, and after staying for a bit as the unofficial doctor (my dad is a GP, or family doctor), he went back. My mom stayed on for another year.

My mom the volunteer, part 2

For many years now, both of my parents have been volunteers at Selah, an organization that helps Jewish immigrants to Israel ("Olim") at times of crisis. The organization's director and founder, Ruth Bar-On, was a big help to them when they arrived, and they wanted to pay it forward. My mom was a regional director for the organization, and is their point person in dealing with trauma. If an Oleh is hurt in a accident or terrorist attack in her region, she goes to the hospital to offer help. Have I mentioned that my mom is 77 years old? She still does this! My mom and dad were the first winners of Selah's volunteer award, and I was fortunate enough to speak at the ceremony.

Image: Maialisa on Pixabay

My mom the volunteer, part 3

Of all of her volunteering activities, this one may be the most awe inspiring: About 10 years ago, my mom went to war torn Chechnya to help build their mental health system. She had to have a bodyguard whenever she left the hotel room, but she was there for weeks, consulting and helping.

My mom

I think you'll agree that my mom is eminently qualified to be the subject of this contest entry. She has spent her life fighting for people: for Jews in the USSR, for mental health patients, and for her family. I have long said that my dad - gregarious, social, not as funny as he thinks - is who I get the way I am in the world. But my mom, smart, nerdy, dedicated - is who I get who I am in the world from. She is the foundation of my feminism and my humanism, and is my first and forever example on how to be a woman.