Assistant Editor of Hidabroot’s Bulletin: "Who Knows? Maybe My Mission Saved My Life"

On that strange Seder night, at the height of the frightening COVID-19, Debbie Reichman, the assistant editor of the Hidabroot Shabbat bulletin, went to bed with no idea that in a few hours she almost surrendered her soul to the Creator. When she opened her eyes in the afternoon on Pesach, she saw MDA personnel above her, moments after they saved her life. Now she tells us about the incident, taking us behind the scenes of round-the-clock work, how her children help with her tasks, and the excitement of her role in the world’s most widespread Shabbat bulletin. It's a story of mission.

Debbie Reichman's children, the assistant editor and linguistic editor of the "Oneg Shabbat" bulletin, know there are certain days when every notification sound from the computer is a cause of alarm. The bulletin has to go to print, and mom needs to be available for messages, approvals, and editing requests. The Reichman home lives and breathes the bulletin's work at all hours of the day, adding an exciting atmosphere of a special mission to the family's daily life.

On that well-remembered Seder night, the family went to sleep, woke up in the morning, and didn't understand why Debbie continued sleeping till noon, mumbling incoherently. Debbie, the mother of the family, had a dangerous drop in blood sugar due to her diabetes in the middle of the night while everyone was asleep, unnoticed. "My son, who was then 11, realized I was in danger, called the MDA on the holiday, and the rescue team treated me, saved my life, and it seemed we could continue to celebrate the holiday together.

"Shortly after that, I started feeling very unwell. The fever rose, and on the holiday's end, I realized COVID-19 had reached us too. Although I was on sick leave, the bulletin was due to go to print, and it was clear to me that I wanted to return to work. Who would prepare the bulletin if not me?", she concludes with a smile.

What exactly do you do in your job?

"Initially, I joined Hidabroot's website as a linguistic editor. My job was and still is to edit articles, mainly from a linguistic and grammatical perspective – correcting all kinds of linguistic errors, improving sentence phrasing, and so on. Shortly after, I started working as the linguistic editor of the bulletin, and from there, the role expanded until I became the assistant editor. This means I'm responsible for everything related to the actual editing of the materials for the bulletin: I collect materials from various writers, edit them linguistically, and adapt them to the bulletin as needed. Afterward, I compile one file with all the bulletin's texts, ready for review by the chief editor and the spiritual committee. Even after reviews, my role continues: when designing the bulletin, sometimes the text is a bit too long or short, and I'm the one making the changes and edits to the text so the carefully crafted columns can integrate into the beautiful bulletin design.

"Besides editing, I also have several regular columns in the bulletin – the 'Did You Know?' and 'Wonders of Creation' sections, which I write, and various parts of the children's section, which I write, edit, and gather from different sources."

The Work Routine: Almost All Day

"I work from home. It's not always easy. I always try to balance between home needs and work needs. In fact, I chose to work this way, meaning I work almost the entire day: every hour is an opportunity to sit for a moment at the computer to send a reminder to writers or to say 'Thank you very much' to those who sent something.

"Working from home allows me to be available for the kids – I don't need to miss workdays and can work even when the kids are at home. The daily routine changes a lot from day to day, but for me, that’s a good thing. It adds an interesting flavor to life."

How do the children react to the fact that their mom is the assistant editor of the world's most widespread bulletin?

"My children are very proud that their mom edits the Hidabroot bulletin. They bring the bulletins to educational institutions and proudly share that their mom is responsible for what they hold in their hands. The kids are involved in the work, know the active people, help choose jokes, solve the trivia quiz, and don’t quite understand why I can’t enter them into the raffle."

What gives you satisfaction in your work?

"Over the years working at Hidabroot, I've had many special moments reminding me of my job's true purpose. Generally, many people recognize my name, and that surprises me – I never imagined so many people read the bulletin so attentively that they remember the names listed in the credits area. It's certainly exciting to see the enthusiasm in the eyes of the readers – from young children to older adults, when they see in person the person whose name appears in the bulletin, working to offer them unique and strengthening Jewish contents."

When the World's Largest Jewish Empire Honors Those Who Love Hashem

Is there a special moment at work that is etched in your memory?<\/strong>\/p>

"A special experience I remember is from the distributers' conference. It's an exceptional recognition event: the world's largest Jewish empire honors people who love Hashem and the people of Israel. The beauty here is that the distributors themselves do the work with great love, and this is actually the soul of the Shabbat bulletin – the distributors. When I arrived at the bulletin's distributors' conference, I suddenly saw in front of me a massive number of people, each responsible for at least 50 bulletins being distributed across the country – most handle much more than that. I was already familiar with the numbers, by virtue of my role, but seeing them in front of my eyes was very moving and empowering. The understanding of my role, and what's made possible by it, materialized before my eyes, and it was an incredibly exciting experience.

"Another special moment was when I opened an email containing a short note from one of the readers. He simply shared that the bulletin gradually brought him closer to Judaism until he recently began keeping Shabbat. This email stays in my mind and heart all the time, providing strength on more complicated or challenging days – it's what gives me the power to continue with joy. Because ultimately, that's the goal – to bring Jews closer to their Father in heaven. If my work contributed to even one Jew keeping Shabbat, that's the greatest reward I could ever hope to achieve."<\/strong><\/p>

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What Do You Love About Your Work?<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>

"I am fortunate to fulfill everyone’s dream – I work in what I love. I love the sacred language and working with it. Even as a child, my hobby was reading dictionaries and adding vowels to newspapers on the table. I always knew this was the field I wanted to be in – and Hashem blessed me with a job that fits me perfectly. It is a special privilege because I’m not just editing texts but participating in the world's largest public religious engagement bulletin. My editing makes Torah words and strengthening articles accessible to about one and a half million readers, and that's exciting every single time."

And finally, what do you have to say to the readers?

"In our generation especially, the people of Israel need many merits. I believe and hope that my mission in publicizing and connecting with many indeed stood by me when my life was in danger. Everyone needs at least one thing in life. Bringing merit to many is an infinite treasure of privileges that can be amassed through something so simple – spreading the world's largest Shabbat bulletin, bringing Jews lovingly closer to the Lord of the Universe."

Join the public engagement team. Together, we'll reach the target of 300,000 copies distributed thanks to you. Join and enter a draw for a couple's vacation with Hidabroot, 400₪ for shopping at Hidabroot Shoppes, and a month-long bulletin dedication worth 600₪. Plus, get the following gifts: first month free, 50₪ for shopping at Hidabroot Shoppes, and a free year subscription to the Jewish Campus or Hidabroot Kids. Call 073-222-1388 or click here, and join the team!<\/strong><\/p>