Chabad Woman Picked to Advise National Program

By COLlive reporter

Miri Schneorson, a resident of the Israeli village of Kfar Chabad, has chosen to advise a new national program called “Zman Atid” (Future Time), initiated by the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel.

The program is aimed at creating a network of leaders working together to improve the quality of life for the aging population in Israel, in an era of 100-year lifespans.

“The prolongation of life expectancy requires a renewed consideration of the challenges faced by the elderly and finding smart and innovative solutions for them and their environment,” say the program organizers.

The program is a collaboration between the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Social Services, the National Insurance Institute, the Budget Department at the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Social Equality, the local government, and Joint Israel.

Schnerorson and fellow participants will focus on promoting issues related to aging in the fields of health, well-being, leisure and community, finance, strategy, law, innovation, technology, knowledge management, and more.

Schnerorson, a Chassidic woman who lecturers and is often interviewed on Israeli media, has founded the “Empowered Wonders” (Niflaot Mitgabrot) group for widows of the third generation in Israel. It includes some 500 women at 12 centers around Israel.

“My intention is to present the Rebbe‘s view on preventive medicine, that is, disease prevention, as we work on the prevention of aging,” she commented. “There is no need to go to a doctor only when we are sick. The correct and courageous way of coping is to deal with problems at their root, while they are still easy to handle.

“Another issue I will present is honoring the Jewish body by integrating the observance of commandments with maintaining a healthy lifestyle,” she added. “The Tzemach Tzedek had a Chassid who, in his old age, did not properly take care of his health. The Rebbe told him that as the body ages, it needs to be honored more, because of the commandments it carries, like tzitzis and tefillin.

“In this context, it is interesting to note that the Rebbe once asked a doctor who came to him, ‘How will you earn a living when Moshiach comes and there are no more sick people?’ The doctor was perplexed. He did not expect such a question. The Rebbe smiled and said, ‘Patients will come to you, and you will pronounce them healthy.'”