Rachel Chalkowski ( he, רחל שלקובסקי; born 1939) is an Israeli

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; ...

and a

gemach Gemach ( he, גמ"ח, plural, , ''gemachim'', an abbreviation for , ''gemilut chasadim'', "acts of kindness") is a Jewish free-loan fund that subscribes to both the positive Torah commandment of lending money and the Torah prohibition against cha ...

organizer. Widely known as Bambi, she is a

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to '' halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in opp ...

Jew, and is married to Rabbi Moshe Chalkowski, founding principal of

Neve Yerushalayim Neve Yerushalayim ( he, נוה ירושלים) is the oldest and largest college for Jewish women in the world. Founded in 1970 to educate '' baalot teshuva'' (female returnees to Orthodox Judaism) in the why and how of living an Orthodox Jewish l ...

College for Women. She worked for over 43 years as a midwife at the

Shaare Zedek Medical Center The Shaare Zedek Medical Center ( he, מרכז רפואי שערי צדק, ''Merkaz Refu'i Sha'arei Tzedek'') (lit. "Gates of Justice") is a large teaching hospital in Jerusalem established in 1902, It affiliated with Hebrew University of Jerusa ...

in Jerusalem, and set up a charitable foundation to help impoverished Haredi families.

Biography

She was born Rachel Bamberger in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

in 1939, and had one sister and one brother, the latter being born after their father was taken prisoner by the Nazi-allied government in 1944; her father was deported to his death in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Always determined to become a nurse, she emigrated to Israel at age 15 to live with relatives in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropoli ...

, and attended Bais Yaakov High School before enrolling as a student nurse at

in Jerusalem. After completing her nurse's training, she took a midwifery course, and embarked on her life-long career. She worked at Shaare Zedek Medical Center for 43 years, becoming Head Midwife, and delivering more than 35,000 babies. After retiring from her full-time post at Shaare Zedek, she continued to work there for two nights each week. She asserts that: "Being a midwife is the most beautiful career in the world."

Matan B'Seter Bambi

Noting the poverty of many new mothers from the Haredi sector, who often have large families and must help support them, Chalkowski established a foundation in 1973 called Matan B'Seter Bambi, named after Chalkowski's nickname from her days as a student nurse, when it had been necessary to give nicknames to several students all named Rachel. The foundation has an annual budget of about USD$1 million, has 35 branches across North America and Europe, and is coordinated by volunteers in New York. It supports over 400 needy families monthly.

Documentary

Chalkowski and Haredi educator

Adina Bar-Shalom Adina Bar-Shalom (Hebrew: עדינה בר-שלום; born 1945) is an Israeli educator, columnist, and social activist. She is the founder of the first college for Haredi students in Jerusalem, and has spent years working to overcome gender discrim ...

are featured in the 2009

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

''Haredim: The Rabbi's Daughter and the Midwife''.

Personal

She is married to Rabbi Moshe Chalkowski, founding principal of

College for Women. The couple have an adopted daughter, Michal, and two grandsons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chalkowski, Rachel French emigrants to Israel 20th-century French Jews Israeli Orthodox Jews Israeli midwives Shaare Zedek Medical Center 1939 births Living people