Nov 22, 2022
In this podcast episode of the Tribesmen podcast, I interviewed Rabbi Shalom Hammer.
Rabbi Shalom Hammer lives in Israel now 32 years and serves as an educational lecturer for the IDF. He is the founder and director of Makom Meshutaf which offers non-denominational and non-coercive Jewish educational programming for Pre-Military Academies throughout Israel.
Since his daughter Gila died from suicide at the age of 18, Rabbi Hammer champions mental health awareness and suicide prevention worldwide.
In this episode, he dives deep into his experience with grief and how he found the strength to keep going.
It is an inspiring conversation that opened my eyes to the importance of mental health awareness, self-care, and resilience in times of adversity. I am extremely grateful that Rabbi Hammer shared his story with us on this episode.
What you'll learn from this episode:
Gain a greater understanding of why it is so important to prioritize mental health and learn tangible action steps that you can use to support someone who is struggling.
We all have an obligation to care for each other, as Rabbi Hammer explains so powerfully in this podcast.
"..our greatest attribute is life. We want to live, we want to embrace life. And everyone obviously deserves a shot at that. Everyone has to embrace and remember it, and certainly to take care to even those who are suffering, to somehow remind them of that and bring them there."
"..because people are afraid to say the word suicide. It's something that as I said before, remains a taboo. People are afraid if they mention the word that, it will promote and that it will certainly encourage others and so on and so forth. And that's a mistake."
"But ultimately, when someone is experiencing those things, it's a downward spiral. And they feel trapped, so trapped in a place of darkness and despair that they just don't know if there are any viable options out there."
".. the vast majority, not all the vast majority of people, particularly adolescents who die from suicide, do not want to die. They want to live. They just don't have direction guidance, or they don't have the know how of what they're supposed to do for themselves..."
I hope you enjoy this episode! Remember to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review!
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Chazak ve'Ematz!