I taught a seven-person class and Batsheva was in it.
Bright, sparkling, luminescent Batsheva.
Batsheva who died far too young- because her mental illness was terminal.
And so it was an honor and privilege to introduce an initiative tonight that honors her memory.
My friend Marc Fein and I are helping other Jewish day schools learn how to create student-led mental health clubs. The goal is to reduce stigma, empower teen leadership and provide accurate information to the student body about mental health. To that end, we partnered with Prizmah, wrote a playbook with step-by-step instructions explaining exactly how to build and launch a club, compiled a list of Jewish mental health organizations, and created a speakers’ bureau. Our goal is to save lives.
And we’ve dedicated the entire initiative in memory of Batsheva Stadlan z”l.
Her parents wrote a beautiful foreword to our playbook:
The initiative in this playbook is intended לעילוי נשמת בתשבע חיה בת נועם יגאל ורנה.
Foreword from Rabbi Marianne Novak and Dr. Noam Stadlan
Our daughter, Batsheva Chaya Stadlan, of blessed memory, was full of life and sparkle. She could take anything and infuse it with her distinct aesthetic. Wherever she went, she brought not only light but kindness and caring. However, her very essence was no match for her anxiety and depression, coupled with an eating order, that tragically caused her to take her own life. Although she was under the care of physicians, psychologists, and psychiatrists and had the support of her immediate family, Batsheva suffered basically alone.
She rarely shared with her friends her struggles or her pain. Even when she did share, her friends didn’t have the resources or training to help her. While her illness was ultimately fatal, perhaps if she had had the support of her peers, her suffering might have been lessened. Our hope is that Mental Health clubs in schools can not only remove the stigma associated with mental illness but also, and more importantly, alleviate the intense loneliness many teens especially feel who are suffering.
These clubs also provide the crucial structure for other students to support those grappling with mental health conditions in a constructive and compassionate way where before, they might have wanted to help but been at a loss as to what to do. We hope, too, that these clubs will work not only to remove the stigma associated with mental illness but also to take the initiative to advocate for better research, diagnostic tools and treatments.
Schools are going to start creating these clubs. Lives are going to be saved. And it will be because of Batsheva.
And now I finally, finally feel like I have done something meaningful, something that carries her legacy forward.
I’m grateful to the Orthodox Leadership Project, who helped me refine this idea and figure out how best to make it a reality. I’m grateful to Prizmah for partnering with me. And I’m grateful to the interested school counselors, social workers and psychologists who showed up to our Zoom session- and of course, the students who make it all happen.
Together, with Batsheva’s spirit, we will build a more beautiful, sparkly world.