“If you will it, it is no dream.”
Im tirtzu, ein zo agadah.
Theodor Herzl was speaking about a homeland for the Jewish people. But as I look back on the Shabbaton I recently experienced, those words feel deeply personal to me.
For many years, Eshel has been a lifeline for Orthodox parents of LGBTQ+ children like me in the United States. Since 2012, Eshel has offered something many of us didn’t even realize we were missing until we found it: the reassurance that we are not alone. The first annual parent retreat brought together 36 parents from across the US, creating a space of understanding, support, education, and genuine community. I was fortunate to be among those first attendees, and for years afterward, those retreats became an anchor for me. Eshel was where I felt seen, understood, and strengthened. Each year felt like a family reunion, as so many parents came back again and again to reconnect and enjoy our communal bond. I continued attending each year until I made Aliyah in 2021.
Somewhere along the way, a quiet dream began to form.
I longed for that same Eshel parent experience here in Israel. I knew how meaningful it was for me to sit in a room with other religious parents who were walking this same path, speaking openly, honestly, and without fear. I wondered—could that exist here too?
As I, and others, began to explore the landscape in Israel, it became clear that there was a real gap. There were no spaces for English-speaking Dati parents of LGBTQ+ children. That realization was motivating – there was a niche that Eshel could fill in my new country. With encouragement and inspiration from two remarkable parents, the dream began to take shape.
I was not alone in this effort. Several other parents joined – opening their homes and their hearts, bringing their knowledge and experience. Together, in 2022, we held our first monthly meeting for parents.
I will never forget that first gathering. The turnout. The relief on people’s faces. The quiet exhale when parents realized they didn’t have to carry this alone anymore. Since then, those monthly meetings have continued and grown, branching out into different cities across Israel. A real void had been filled. Baruch Hashem.
But even then, the dream kept growing.
What if we could create a full Shabbaton in Israel—modeled after the powerful Eshel retreats in the US? I imagined it. I hoped for it. I wanted it deeply. I also knew it required much planning, commitment, and funding.
And yet—Baruch Hashem—it happened.
After many months of planning and countless details, the first Eshel Israel Parent Shabbaton finally came together. Thirty-five parents gathered, and the experience was nothing short of transformative. There was warmth, connection, learning, comfort, and validation. Some attendees had never heard of Eshel before that weekend, and yet by the end, deep connections of friendship had begun to grow.
Community formed quickly. Walls came down. Hearts opened.
The Shabbaton was enriched by an extraordinary team. We were joined by Eshel staff members, social workers, teachers, and several rabbis. They brought compassion, support, wisdom, guidance, depth, and dignity, through the sessions that they taught and the way they listened and spoke in one-on-one interactions.
Looking back, I am filled with gratitude—and awe. What once felt like a distant hope became a living, breathing reality. Proof that when something is truly needed, and when enough heart and will are poured into it, even the biggest dreams can come true.
Im tirtzu, ein zo agadah.
Mindy Dickler