By Rabbi Zvi Gluck
It’s our worst nightmare—and it’s happening again.
In the past seven weeks, 16 people in our community died by suicide. Another nine attempts were thankfully unsuccessful. That’s 25 people in crisis, 25 lives on the brink, and 16 who are no longer with us.
I wish I could tell you there was a pattern, but there isn’t. These were men and women, some as young as ten years old. Others were in their sixties. They come from across the spectrum: Modern Orthodox, Yeshivish, Chassidish. No segment of the Jewish Community has been spared. Each loss is tragic, but what makes them unbearable is that many of them were preventable.
I don’t have the answers. I wish I did. It feels like we’re playing a deadly game of Whac-A-Mole: just reacting to crisis after crisis. Today, I’m not coming to you with solutions. I’m coming to you with urgent questions.
We must get ahead of this. We can’t afford to wait until a person is in full crisis. Mental health education should be a part of our daily lives—not just something we deal with after tragedy strikes. That means:
- Age-appropriate mental health programming in our schools
- Training for rebbeim, morahs, and staff to spot warning signs
- Incorporating mental health into chassan/kallah classes and yeshiva and seminary curriculums
- Removing shame and secrecy from the conversation
There’s been real progress in the last decade. Since Amudim opened its doors, we’ve seen the walls begin to crack. Words like “abuse,” “addiction,” and “mental illness” are no longer taboo. The stigma around seeking therapy is fading. Culturally sensitive resources are growing. Organizations like Sephardic Bikur Holim, SIMHA, and ODA Behavioral Health are doing incredible work.
But it’s not enough.
The past seven weeks prove it: too many of our people are suffering in silence. Too many don’t know that help exists. Too many feel alone and forgotten.
Klal Yisrael knows how to step up. When someone has cancer, infertility, or financial hardship, we rally. We raise money, we daven, we deliver meals. We did it after October 7th. We’re still doing it today. But mental health? Somehow, it still doesn’t ignite the same passion. The same urgency. The same responsibility.
Why?
This isn’t about blame—it’s about awareness. It’s about deciding that we will no longer accept quiet suffering as the norm, that we will show up with the same heart and strength for those battling internal pain as we do for physical illness.
{The Numbers Don’t Lie
Twenty-five suicide attempts.
Sixteen deaths.
Seven weeks.
If this doesn’t shake us, what will?
In the words of my dear friend and mentor, Mendy Klein z’l: “We may not have the answers, but we have the questions. And we must talk about them so we can find the answers together.”
Klal Yisrael doesn’t run from pain—we rise to it. We heal together. We carry each other. That’s how we’ve survived everything thrown at us for thousands of years.
But we can’t wait any longer. The time is now.
Because if this is how many we lost in just seven weeks, we can’t afford to wait and see what the next seven will bring. Sometimes asking for help is the bravest move you can make. Amudim’s vision and promise is to ensure that every individual facing a crisis has a place to turn. We not only provide pillars of support, but also empower others to become pillars of support. If someone you know needs help or support, please do not hesitate to contact us at 646-517-0222.
Rabbi Zvi Gluck is the CEO of Amudim, an organization dedicated to helping victims of abuse and those struggling with addiction and mental health challenges in the Jewish community. For support or more information, visit www.amudim.org.
