Emergency medical technicians with Ezras Nashim say caring for the sick is more than a mitzvah.
There are 50 volunteers in this all-female EMT group, and they only treat women.
“I think the reward of me being able to assist the community, it’s endless," EMT Tamar El Katas said.
What You Need To Know
- Ezras Nashim is Hebrew for “helping women,” and that's the goal Rachel Freier had when she founded the EMT group more than a decade ago
- Until its founding, all other Jewish Orthodox EMT groups were operated by men, and women were not allowed to join
- Women who are interested in joining Ezras Nashim — Jewish or not — are encouraged to log on to the group's website for more information
In some Orthodox Jewish circles, men and women are separated. Typically, these rules do not apply to health and medical emergencies. However, there is still a comfort factor.
“We want to keep these women that are in compromised positions, either having a baby, hemorrhaging, I had a lady with a burn down her chest, she just felt so good that we were there," said Chips Gold, a volunteer EMT with Ezras Nashim.
Ezras Nashim is Hebrew for “helping women,” and that's the goal Rachel Freier had when she founded the group more than a decade ago: to serve Brooklyn's Jewish Orthodox community.
"I though it was a slam dunk. I thought it would be my mitzvah of the month," said Freier, who serves as director and CEO. "I would help them, advocate for them, and then move on to my next mitzvah. I had no idea what opposition we would confront in those early years."
Freier — who is the first Hasidic woman to serve as a New York Supreme Court judge — says this pro-bono work was guided by something greater than the law.
"I saw God's hand guiding us, I saw step-by-step, things were happening, so I had faith, and that's what kept us going," Freier said.
Until its founding, all other Jewish Orthodox EMT groups were operated by men, and women were not allowed to join. These groundbreaking EMTs have faced their fair share of backlash over the years — often from male counterparts.
“There was a lot of men, and even women, who doubted the idea that women could be EMTs, that women could be fast, that women could know what to do. And I’m happy to show the world that women are strong, good, capable," said Ezras Nashim COO Leah Freier Levine.
NY1 was there when Ezras Nashim got its first ambulance in 2020, but it needs donations to expand its fleet from one to two.
"A lot of calls are coming in from Flatbush and even Crown Heights, so we just need another ambulance, that's number one," Gold said.
Women who are interested in joining Ezras Nashim — Jewish or not — are encouraged to log on to the group's website for more information.