The intrepid Rena Quint, the ever-sparkling Holocaust survivor who is a month away from her 90th birthday, continues her mission to bring the message of the Holocaust to Jews and non-Jews. She speaks to them at Yad Vashem, in private homes – including her own – hotels, synagogues, and community centers. Though recently beset with a few serious ailments, she barely rested before continuing to rush around with her walker and her devoted Indian caregiver Hetal Vanraj, who has familiarized herself with Jewish religious rituals, including Shabbat songs.
Quint has a long and close relationship with the organizers of Shabbat of a Lifetime, and frequently hosts 20 or 30 people at Friday night dinner or Saturday lunch. Vanraj sets up the table, and Shabbat of a Lifetime provides the meal. Last Saturday’s guests were women from Momentum Chicago plus a handful of Israeli women.
Some of the women from Chicago were encouraged by their husbands to take the opportunity to visit Israel; others defied their families, who were worried that they were going to a war zone. None of the women had any regrets that she had come. The women had a packed and varied itinerary, where they saw that in Israel life goes on as normal.
Group members ranged from Orthodox to Reform. The week-long visit was an emotional and bonding experience for all of them – strengthening both their Jewish and Zionist identities, making new friends, and discovering commonalities of which they were previously unaware. Some were third- and fourth-generation Americans, and some came from Holocaust survivor families. They were very pleased to meet Quint and hear her story because everyone’s story is unique. Quint also explained Shabbat customs to those who might not know them, and was pleased that they all knew the “Grace after Meals” by heart.
Each woman said that she could not wait to share her experiences with the folks back home. One said that she could not wait to bring her daughter to Israel.
Some were first-time visitors. Others had chalked up several trips, including a couple of them with Momentum. One woman in her early 50s had been to Israel five times in her youth but 30 years had elapsed since her last visit, and she knew she could not put it off any longer. She was encouraged by her non-Jewish husband to make the trip.
Although the women came from different backgrounds, they shared stories of their lives with one another. Some of the Israeli women were survivors of the Hamas massacre and shared some of their frightening experiences.
Quint, a people person who instantly makes friends with strangers, talks to groups at least three or four times a week – sometimes back to back. She was the sole survivor of her immediate family; but as the matriarch of a four-generation family, she has more than 80 descendants, most of whom are in Israel – and at least one more is on the way.
A speech honoring Sacks
■ JUST AHEAD of the fifth anniversary of the passing of Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, considered to be one of the greatest of contemporary Jewish philosophers, Kenneth Collins, a board member of the Hazvi Yisrael congregation in Talbiyeh, delivered a well-researched lecture with quotes from Sacks’s writings and speeches, his Torah commentaries, and aspects of his personal life. No one in the congregation was better qualified to speak about Sacks, considering that the rabbi’s first grandchild, whom he adored, is Noa Sacks, whose other grandfather is Collins.
One of the first quotes Collins shared was on parenthood. Sacks had written that the role of a parent is to give a child space in which to grow.
Prof. Ephrat Levy-Lahad gets lauded
■ BOYCOTTS OF Israel notwithstanding, Israeli experts in various fields continue to receive awards in recognition of their work. Among them is Prof. Ephrat Levy-Lahad of Shaare Zedek Medical Center, who has been awarded the Basser Global Prize by the Global BRCA Research Center.
The $100,000 unrestricted research prize was established and endowed by Shari Potter and Leonard Potter in memory of Mindy Basser Gray’s sister, Faith Basser, who died of ovarian cancer. In addition, recipients receive a personal $10,000 cash prize.
The goal is to recognize and support seminal advances in the field of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene-related research, with the ultimate aim of mitigating the adverse impact of these mutations.
Levy-Lahad is one of the world’s leading experts on hereditary breast cancer among Jewish women. Based on her research achievements, the screening test for mutations (changes) in the BRCA1/2 gene in Jewish women was introduced into the health care basket, with public funding. These mutations may increase the risk of cancer, based on the information that the risks of breast and ovarian cancer are high among carriers of these mutations in the general population and not just among carriers with a family history of cancer.
Levy-Lahad is the director of Shaare Zedek’s Institute for Medical Genetics. Since the establishment of the Basser Prize in 2013, she is the second Israeli recipient.
The Fuld Family Institute of Medical Genetics at Shaare Zedek is a world-renowned center for medical genetic research and genetic counseling that deals with the diagnosis, management, and counseling of hereditary disorders, including groundbreaking work in preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). Levy-Lahad also serves as a full professor of genetics at the Hebrew University.
In response to having been selected for the award, she said: “Throughout my 30 years of activity and research, I have had the goal of bringing about new discoveries in the field of cancer, with the aim of being able to find solutions that can reduce the risk of cancer and thus save lives. I have every hope that we will continue at the Institute of Medical Genetics to bring about new discoveries in the field of cancer that will improve the quality of life and extend life expectancy.”
Hebrew University's 40 under 40
■ APROPOS THE Hebrew University: Last month, in an inspiring ceremony, the 2025 list of 40 outstanding alumni leaders under the age of 40 was unveiled.
The 40 young leaders excel in diverse fields – innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, public policy, culture, education, and scientific research – in Israel and around the world. They were chosen from hundreds of candidates thanks to their extraordinary achievements, ground-breaking initiatives, and broad societal, industrial, and research impact.
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