I made aliya from New York over 22 years ago. After finishing Bar Ilan Law School and getting married, I came to Beit Shemesh close to seventeen years ago. I worked for many years in Tel Aviv until 1991 when I opened up my own Law Firm in Beit Shemesh. While working in Beit Shemesh I continued to attend law courses in order to keep abreast of new legal issues, however, these courses were always given in either Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. In addition to the actual course I always had to commute for about two hours to and from class. Working and raising a family in Beit Shemesh left little time and opportunity to attend lectures and courses on subjects other than law. When I heard about the Woman's Leadership Course in Beit Shemesh I was keen to go. I know how expensive these courses are in the big cities and it was great to attend class just a few minutes drive from my house.

I always feel that there is always something to learn and ways to improve ones skills. In the Women's Leadership Course I learned many things that helped me to improve my personal and professional relationships. I was given the opportunity to meet many women who I never knew before. Many of these women I had seen at the store or in the bank, but I had never spoken to. We were a diverse group of women coming from all walks of life. I forged many friendships as a result of the course and made many new social and professional contacts in the city. I learned a lot, not only from the teachers, but from the women as well. I can safely say that I will never look at those women, or any other woman for that matter, in the same way again.

By participating in the course and getting to know each other many social barriers were broken. We learned about each other and many of the problems that face us and many other women in our city, country and indeed, the world. We were made aware of many issues. The material learned in the course gave us much food for thought and awakened us to the world of women and their problems. We also studied ways in which these problems could be addressed. We met with women from other cities who have decided to take an active role in working for the betterment and empowerment of women.

Speaking for myself, I feel that I was able to draw on the strength that I saw in the women that I met in the course. I think the other women felt it as well. I feel that I have been instilled with the longing to reach out to other women and work towards improving the lives of the women in our region. As a direct result of the course, I am active in the Women's Forum that we have recently formed in Beit Shemesh.

Beyond the above, I have to say that I miss our Sunday evenings together. Although I still see many of the women on a professional and personal basis, I miss our discussions and the unique input from the women of the course. At the risk of sounding like a cliche I have to say that what I miss from those evenings together is the feeling of sisterhood and strength that the women gave to each other. Like I said after finishing the course, I will never look at myself or any other women again in the same light again.

December 1999