The Haredi Doctor Who Treated the Wounded at Har Nof: This Massacre Is of My Brothers

Nothing betrayed the terrible tragedy that took place on the morning of the 25th of Cheshvan, which seemed like just another pleasant, routine day. Dr. Morel Joyce slowly made her way towards the living room in her house, holding a prayer book in her hand. She intended to pray the morning prayer and then head out for another day of life-saving work. At that very moment, two terrorists carried out the horrific massacre at the synagogue in the Har Nof neighborhood, where she had lived since immigrating to Israel about two years ago with her family. Dr. Joyce heard a brief radio report about a shooting on Agassi Street, and she didn't hesitate.

Her Jewish instinct compelled her to go to the scene and help whoever she could. She got into her car and drove what felt like an eternity for a minute and a half. But nothing prepared her for the horrific sights and the deafening silence emanating from the synagogue. While the terrorists continued the slaughter, she assisted one of the worshippers, whose *tefillin* were still tied to his arm. Afterward, she hurried to assist Officer Zidan Saif, who later succumbed to his injuries. As a volunteer at United Hatzalah and the first doctor to arrive at the massacre site, Dr. Joyce says: "It was hard for me after the attack. I felt that I needed emotional help, which was something I hadn't needed as a doctor until now."

Dr. Morel Joyce. Volunteer at United Hatzalah

Joyce (57), originally from a religious family, works as a family doctor at the Meuhedet Health Fund in expanded Sanhedria and also volunteers at the 'B'Shvilech' clinic and United Hatzalah. During her work in the emergency department at Shaare Zedek Hospital, she had already become accustomed to difficult scenes, but nothing prepared her for the sights of her Jewish brothers, bloodied after being cold-bloodedly murdered. Nothing prepared her for the widows' cries and their heartbreak as they stood outside the synagogue, in those crucial minutes before it was clear who was alive and who was not. In a special interview, a month after the incident, she recounts the moments of terror and shares the impression the event left on the community.

Birth Amid the Funeral of the Late Rabbi

Dr. Joyce was born in Toronto, Canada, and married her husband, a full-time Torah scholar, about 37 years ago. The couple has five children and grandchildren. They immigrated to Israel in 2012, directly to the Har Nof neighborhood in Jerusalem.

Why did you choose to make Aliyah?

Since I was six, after the Six-Day War, I dreamt of making Aliyah. *Baruch Hashem*, all the children came before us, most got married, and they live here. We have an unmarried son who recently got engaged and lives in Toronto. But the rest of the children have established their families here. Israel is our home, it is our place. The diaspora is for non-Jews, while Israel is the gift we received from Hashem. *Baruch Hashem* we were privileged."

She became a doctor at the age of 37 when she started studying medicine. "I am considered a young doctor," she says. "After our fifth son was born, we decided to consult Daas Torah about studying medicine. When we asked, I was already a family person, a mother of children. I was settled, not young and impressionable. The rabbi we asked said it would even be good if there were a doctor in our community."

The community united (Photo: Flash 90)

In the middle of life, you decided you wanted to be a doctor?

"At age 7, I decided I wanted to be a doctor, but it didn't work out. I got married and, *Baruch Hashem*, the children came early, so the dream was slightly delayed. In my late thirties, I began to fulfill it."

Why medicine?

I wanted to save people and was also drawn to finding solutions to biological problems. Moreover, my children had a wonderful pediatrician, and I wanted to follow his path." Since she started working as a doctor, her husband also fulfilled his dream of becoming a full-time Torah scholar. "That was his dream, so we cooperated."

Two years ago, the family moved to the Har Nof neighborhood. "They welcomed us as part of the community," she shares. "My husband started learning in the *kollel*, where everyone behaved as if he had always been there, and I met wonderful women. I joined a group of women who travel every Friday to the Tomb of Rachel, and they became good friends. Additionally, I have a relative who made Aliyah before us, a good friend, and my in-law family. The community in Har Nof is very special. It's a community full of *mitzvot* and kindness. There's an appreciation for Torah and *mitzvot*, and the element of kindness between people is exemplary. The synagogue where the massacre happened is quite central; people come often for prayers or celebrations."

She joined United Hatzalah after encountering volunteers at the funeral of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. "I was at Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's funeral and saw paramedics in Geula," she recalls. "I told them I am an emergency doctor and, if needed, I could help. They agreed, and I was with them at the funeral. They asked me to come to the cemetery, but during the trip, we got a call about a birth, and of course, we went and delivered the baby. Since then, I have been volunteering with United Hatzalah."

What responses do you receive?

All positive. Everyone treats me with respect. The other volunteers call me Dr. Joyce, not by my name. I am older than them, so I feel they are like my children. The volunteers and paramedics are dedicated and nice people, it's a privilege to work with them. Patients are thrilled to see a Haredi doctor. They feel I can understand them better since I am one of them. I am happy to accompany them in life, it's a privilege."

Sanctification of the Name in the Synagogue

She will never forget the morning of Wednesday, the 25th of Cheshvan. She was getting ready for work until she heard the radio report. "I reached the living room and almost opened the prayer book to start praying, but then I heard a radio report about shooting on Agassi Street, with severely wounded," she recounts. "I ran to the car and drove there quickly. It took me less than a minute to arrive since the place is near my home. On the way, I prayed to be a good emissary and to help whoever needs it. I didn't think there would be more shooting, and it wasn't over yet. When I arrived, there was complete silence. I saw someone wounded sitting on the sidewalk, with *tefillin* on his hands. I started treating him. While I was treating him, the terrorists were inside. A policeman who came out of the synagogue told us to leave since there was more shooting. We took the patient and ran. It was miraculous that he managed to get up. We put him in an ambulance, and he was taken to the hospital."

The victims of the terrorist attack

I stayed at the scene and helped treat the Druze officer, Zidan Saif, who later died from his wounds. "He was lying on the road, severely injured, and I treated him, of course. Later, they pronounced him dead. I didn't enter the synagogue itself because nobody was allowed in, except for ZAKA personnel."

How did the place look at that time?

In the beginning, it was entirely empty. Later, family members, police, and others arrived. The families didn't know the fate of their loved ones and waited outside. I knew they were already gone, but we didn't want to believe it. We all knew the four were murdered. We still stood outside and waited. They wanted to give the families sedatives, but I said there was no point since they needed to know what was happening. Meanwhile, I stayed with them."

What did you experience?

There were scenes I cannot forget. I felt that I am now part of the exile of the Jewish people, that I am sharing in the suffering of the Jewish people, who have endured wars and terrorism for years. Now I am not on the outside, I am in the middle. I felt that I am bearing the burden with the people of Israel."

Did you find yourself crying?

It was very difficult for me. This trauma reminded me of other traumas I have experienced in my life. Everyone has a trauma they carry, and this added to what was in the past. I felt a challenge after the attack. I felt that I needed emotional help, which hadn't happened to me as a doctor."

You are a doctor in the emergency room; you have seen difficult things in your life.

I have seen traumatic cases in the emergency room, but I didn't feel this way. Here, it was slaughter, while the emergency room gets severe accident cases. People who hate us, who want to kill all Jews—slaughtered them. This is a massacre of my brothers. True, I have seen more severely injured as a doctor, but they are my brothers, and it was a terrorist attack—Arabs did this intentionally. These people died in sanctification of God's name; it is closer to my heart than those I've treated before. When a patient arrives at the hospital, and you don't see where it happened, it's easier for you."

Since then, have you been to the synagogue?

My husband learns across the way, so I am there almost every day, but I haven't had the opportunity to go to the synagogue. *B'ezrat Hashem*, I will go to the next celebration."

During the shiva, Dr. Joyce visited to comfort the widow of Rabbi Twersky, Rabbi Bashy Twersky. "I went to comfort two widows I know, the Goldberg family and the Twersky family, which is a cousin of my niece."

What do you say in such a situation?

You listen, not talk. You hear how Rabbi Bashy Twersky spoke of her husband, what kind of person he was. She remembered that I was with her after the incident; she said to me: 'Yes, you tried to help me.' When she stood outside the synagogue, she wanted to know what was happening with her husband. She said: 'Tell me who they are; where is my husband? Tell me if he is one of them.' She just wanted to know."

Since the horrific massacre, the united community in Har Nof is tending its wounds through acts of kindness and introspection. "We are all traumatized and shocked by the event," admits Dr. Joyce. "We try to cope and think about what we can do, what repentance to make? What correction or merit can we find or create to get out of this situation so that the Messiah will come. This event united the community, united the entire Jewish world, just like during the hostage event when the entire world prayed together. Every Jew felt this disaster."

Last week, on the 25th of Kislev, marked the 30-day commemoration of the massacre. For Dr. Joyce, it's an opportunity to remember and repent "so that something like this does not happen again. It's like a test for us to strengthen our will and improve ourselves."

What is your message?

"We cannot understand the ways of Hashem. We cannot understand why this happened, but we need to learn the lesson and repent, so such a disaster does not happen again. I thank Hashem that I have the privilege to help His children, with the talents He granted me. I hope I can use them only for delivering births."