Op-Ed: What Are We Waiting For?

By Rabbi Zvi Gluck

It’s our worst nightmare—and it’s happening again.

In the past seven weeks, 16 people in our community died by suicide. Another nine attempts were thankfully unsuccessful. That’s 25 people in crisis, 25 lives on the brink, and 16 who are no longer with us.

I wish I could tell you there was a pattern. There isn’t. These were men and women. Some were as young as 10 years old. Others were in their 60s. They came from across the spectrum—Modern Orthodox, Yeshivish, Chasidish. No single segment has been spared. Each loss is tragic, but what makes them unbearable is that so many of them were preventable.

I don’t have the answers. I wish I did. It feels like we’re playing a deadly game of Whac-A-Mole—just reacting to crisis after crisis. Today, I’m not coming to you with solutions. I’m coming to you with urgent questions.

What Are We Waiting For?

We must get ahead of this. We can’t afford to wait until someone is in full crisis. Mental health education must be part of our daily lives—not just something we deal with after tragedy strikes. That means:

– Age-appropriate mental health programming in our schools

– Training for Rebbeim, Morahs, and staff to spot warning signs

– Incorporating mental health into chosson/kallah classes and yeshiva and seminary curriculums

– Removing shame and secrecy from the conversation

There’s been real progress in the last decade. Since Amudim opened its doors, we’ve seen the walls begin to crack. Words like “abuse,” “addiction,” and “mental illness” are no longer taboo. The stigma around seeking therapy is fading. Culturally sensitive resources are growing—organizations like Sephardic Bikur Holim, SIMHA, and ODA Behavioral Health are doing incredible work.

But it’s not enough.

The past seven weeks prove it: too many are still suffering in silence. Too many don’t know that help exists. Too many feel alone.

Why Is Mental Health Still Treated Differently?

Klal Yisroel knows how to step up. When someone has cancer, infertility, or financial hardship, we rally. We raise money, we daven, we deliver meals. We did it after October 7th. We’re still doing it today.

But mental health? Somehow, it still doesn’t ignite the same passion. The same urgency. The same responsibility.

Why?

This isn’t about blame—it’s about awareness. It’s about deciding that we will no longer accept this quiet suffering as the norm. That we will show up with the same heart and strength for those battling internal pain as we do for physical illness.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Twenty-five suicide attempts.
Sixteen deaths.
Seven weeks.

If that doesn’t shake us, what will?

In the words of my dear friend and mentor, Mendy Klein z”l:

“We may not have the answers, but we have the questions. And we must talk about them—so we can find the answers together.”

Klal Yisroel doesn’t run from pain—we rise to it. We heal together. We carry each other. That’s how we’ve survived everything thrown at us for thousands of years.

But we can’t wait any longer. The time is now.

Because if this is how many we lost in just seven weeks, we can’t afford to wait and see what the next seven will bring.

Rabbi Zvi Gluck is the CEO of Amudim, an organization dedicated to helping victims of abuse and those struggling with addiction and mental health challenges in the Jewish community.
For support or more information, visit www.amudim.org