Sephardic Strength and Service: Reflections for Jewish American Heritage Month

As many of you are aware, May is Jewish American Heritage Month. It’s a time to reflect, remember and recommit. It’s a moment to honor the stories, sacrifices and resilience of Jewish Americans who’ve shaped this nation, while recognizing the vibrant cultural diversity within our communities.

Dr. Deborah Villanueva with Inbal Greenberg at the Yom HaShoah Memorial Ceremony, hosted by the Israeli American Council. Photo courtesy of the author.

For me, as a Sephardic Jewish woman and a Doctor of Social Work, this month carries layers of meaning, both personally and professionally. The layers are woven from the threads of identity, healing and heritage. Growing up with the rhythms of Ladino music, Sephardic blessings and the quiet strength of generations who carried our traditions through exile and migration, I learned early on that being Jewish encompasses more than having a particular faith. It includes legacy, responsibility and action.

That legacy fuels the work I do each day–providing trauma-informed, culturally grounded mental health services to Jewish individuals and families navigating grief, anxiety, systemic injustice and intergenerational trauma.

In the sacred space between clinician and client, I witness what Hadassah has long understood: healing is not just physical; it’s emotional, communal and deeply rooted in belonging.

This is the lens through which I see Hadassah’s mission.

Dr. Deborah Villanueva and Rick Whitted receiving the 2025 Health Care Hero of the Year award at the RISE Summit on Social Determinants of Health. Photo courtesy of the author.

Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, a woman of courage, intellect and vision, Hadassah is more than an organization. It’s a global movement, powered by women who turn Jewish values into tangible outcomes — promoting health equity, education, youth development and global humanitarian aid.

Szold’s life work reminds me of the women in my own family – brilliant, bold and devoted to justice, even in the face of unimaginable adversity. Through Szold’s example, we are reminded that advocacy is sacred work.

Hadassah’s impact reaches across borders and identities. At the Hadassah Medical Organization’s two world-class research and treatment hospitals in Jerusalem, innovation lives side-by-side with inclusion.

Dr. Deborah Villanueva and her mother Rahel Havarri. Photo courtesy of the author.

Physician/scientists pioneer treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), diabetes, cancer and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), just to name a few of the diseases for which they have contributed medical breakthroughs that ripple across the world. And, as for inclusion, at Hadassah, patients of diverse backgrounds receive life-saving care without prejudice.

At Hadassah Hospitals, coexistence isn’t an aspiration — it’s a daily practice. I see echoes of this Hadassah model in my own work in the US as I build therapeutic bridges across difference, ensuring that care is culturally attuned and community informed.

Jewish American Heritage Month is also a time for recommitting to civic engagement. Hadassah leads that charge with unrelenting focus. Whether advocating for reproductive rights, fighting antisemitism or championing mental health policy, Hadassah’s network mobilizes thousands of women to influence legislation and protect civil liberties. Hadassah, you can say, safeguards and heals the soul of American democracy.

Dr. Deborah Villanueva recognized as one of the 100 Women to KNOW in America. Photo courtesy of the author.

This same spirit guides my work in social services, where I advocate for systemic changes that uplift vulnerable populations and empower survivors.

As I reflect on my own journey this past year, I think back to moments that both broke and fortified me. In November 2024, I was the target of a public antisemitic verbal attack; an experience that shook my sense of safety but also deepened my commitment to speak out against hate. Hatred tries to divide and silence. But through Hadassah, and through my own heritage, I’ve learned that our voices are our strongest defense. I carry that incident with me not as a wound, but as a call to action; a reminder that silence is complicity, and that love and justice must ring out louder than fear.

Heritage is not static. It lives in our actions, in the mentoring of a Jewish teen struggling with anxiety, in comfort offered during a hospice visit. It lives in the strategic advocacy that brings culturally competent services to synagogues, schools and shelters and in the hands of every Hadassah member who writes a letter to Congress, organizes a fundraiser or supports a young leader finding her voice.

As a Sephardic woman, I’m aware that our Jewish American heritage is not monolithic. Our community is kaleidoscopic – Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahi, Ethiopian, LGBTQ+ and multiracial. This month provides a chance to honor that complexity and to make space for every narrative, including those often overlooked.

We Jews often use the phrase, “l’dor v’dor” (from generation to generation). This is not just a phrase — it’s a responsibility. It means that the legacy of Jewish American women like Henrietta Szold, like my mother, like so many who came before us, lives on in our choices, our voices and our care. Jewish American Heritage Month is not only about looking back — it’s about stepping forward — toward justice, healing and wholeness.

Hadassah continues to light the path of our heritage. And I’m honored to walk it, with history in my bones, hope in my heart and healing in my hands.

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Deborah is a member of the Hadassah Writers’ Circle, a dynamic and diverse writing group for leaders and members to express their thoughts and feelings about all the things Hadassah does to make the world a better place. It’s where they celebrate their personal Hadassah journeys and share their Jewish values, family traditions and interpretations of Jewish texts. Since 2019, the Hadassah Writers’ Circle has published nearly 500 columns in The Times of Israel Blogs and other Jewish media outlets. Interested? Please contact hwc@hadassah.org.