Rivka Ravitz, at The Blogs

Rivka Ravitz

Sep 16, 2026, 11:13 PM

I never let my children fundraise, until now

Illustrative. A Haredi yeshiva, August 29, 2013. (Nati Shohat/ Flash90/ File)

When the Israeli government cut its subsidies for Haredi Torah study, the rabbis enlisted the community to make up the shortfall. Even the girls. Even my daughter

Aug 26, 2026, 12:48 PM

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‘I have chosen the way of faith’

Shas party's election campaign kick-off event in Holon, central Israel, August 20, 2026. (Yaakov Cohen)

As President Rivlin's chief of staff, I came to understand Haredi resilience: Don't think you can frighten or embarrass the community into abandoning its principles

Oct 2, 2024, 4:18 PM

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Not by my strength and not by our hands do we wage war

Image taken from video shows missiles fired from Iran being intercepted over Jerusalem, October 1, 2024. (AP)

If this year has taught me anything it's that even with all the wonders of Israeli technology, we still need God's guidance to protect us

Oct 12, 2023, 10:20 AM

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War comes to my ultra-Orthodox community

Illustrative: A man walks by a Sukkah in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem on September 19, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

My first thought: If the rabbi permitted my husband to ride in a car on Shabbat, something horrible must have happened

Aug 3, 2023, 12:57 PM

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When I left for work today, the sofa cushions still had stuffing

Summer vacation is a powerful reminder of the Israeli labor market's bias against the parents of schoolchildren

Jun 13, 2023, 4:31 PM

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Let them eat rugalach

A worker in an Angel Bakeries Factory in Jerusalem on August 16, 2010 (Abir Sultan/Flash 90)

Our boycott of Angel Bakery was a spontaneous grassroots response to the trampling of our most cherished symbols

May 24, 2023, 2:52 PM

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What Haredi mothers want

Ultra-Orthodox students seen learning in the classroom of a Haredi 'Talmud Torah,' in Beitar Illit. (Nati Shohat/ Flash90)

By law, my son receives 55% of the state funding allocated to Israel's non-ultra-Orthodox students, and we're the 'bloodsuckers'?!

Mar 14, 2023, 8:32 AM

Mothers’ broken hearts

“My heart is broken.” The scribbled letters, red marker on white burlap, cried out to me amid the more polished signs decrying the “end of democracy” and proclaiming “the duty to resist” in gleaming black and white. At the...

Nov 7, 2022, 3:23 PM

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It’s time to promote advancement of ultra-Orthodox working women

Illustrative. Ultra-Orthodox women employed at a high tech company in Modiin Ilit, August 17, 2009. (Abir Sultan/Flash 90/File)

The government encourages Haredi men who are absent from the employment pool to join it, but what if it offered incentives for training to the women instead?

About Me

Dr. Rivka Ravitz, a mother of 12 children, member of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community. Ravitz served as chief-of-staff to the 10th president of the State of Israel, an author & speaker.