"With One Voice"

My quilt and entry form for "With One Voice", the 2008 Breaking Traditions Art Quilt Exhibit, were sent out in yesterday's mail. I am excited about this exhibit and look forward to seeing the entire show online, since I will not be in Michigan any time soon. Even though this is similar to my earlier post, I am posting again here -- since it successfully encapsulates all that Henrietta Szold and Hadassah (the organization she began) has done and continues to do. Plus the photography is brighter, perhaps. Tell me what you think.....


I chose to honor the memory of Henrietta Szold (1860-1945) for two reasons: (1) the success of Hadassah, an organization she founded and (2) the new trail she blazed for women in an age when they were not encouraged to venture beyond the traditions and expectations set by family and society. Henrietta was born December 21, 1860 in Baltimore, Maryland, when the country was entering the Civil War. She died in Jerusalem on February 13, 1945 as World War II was ending. She was 84 years old.


Dry facts do not capture the full essence of her remarkable spirit. As an educator, Henrietta taught in private schools, then began some of the first night classes for Jewish immigrants where she taught English (a necessary skill) and History. In 1888, Ms. Szold became the first and only female member of the newly founded Jewish Publication Society where she worked for 22 years as an editor, translator and administrator. She continued her own studies, receiving permission to study at the Jewish Theological Seminary after promising not to seek rabbinic ordination. This was a time when only men were Rabbis. Nearly one hundred years passed before the first female became an ordained Rabbi.

Aghast at the poor medical conditions she witnessed during a 1909 trip to Palestine, Henrietta Szold organized the first chapter of Hadassah in New York City. The primary goal of The Hadassah Chapter of the Daughters of Zion was to improve medical conditions for everyone living in Palestine, whether Muslim, Christian or Jewish. The year was 1912 and Henrietta was 51 years old, an age of independence, strength, and maturity.
Over the years, the Hadassah organization grew and adapted to the changing needs of Israel and the United States. In 1933, Ms. Szold began the Youth Aliyah movement that rescued over 22,000 children from certain death in the Nazi concentration camps during the years 1933 to 1945. Youth Aliyah continues to serve the needs of “at risk” children in Israel today. The Hadassah Medical Organization, continuing the early path set by Ms. Szold, is one of the world’s leading institutions in healthcare. In 2005, HMO was nominated for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, receiving international acclaim for promoting peace in the Middle East by providing equal treatment to Palestinians and Israelis. Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, has grown to be the largest women's, the largest Zionist, and the largest Jewish membership organization in the United States. For more information on Hadassah, please go to their website at www.hadassah.org


I am a Life Member of Hadassah and I am proud to share all that Hadassah has done and continues to do because of the bold determination of one voice, the voice that once belonged to Henrietta Szold, the founder of Hadassah. For more information on Henrietta Szold, please start with the Jewish Women’s Archive website at http://jwa.org/exhibits/wov/szold/over.html