After two years of war, heartbreak and unimaginable loss, the recent return of 20 living hostages was nothing short of miraculous. For those families, the prayers of an entire nation were answered. But as any trauma specialist will tell you, returning home is only the first step in the journey. The pain does not simply stop when the gates open. It lingers in the body, the mind and the soul. 

And so, we find ourselves at a pivotal moment — not of conclusion, but of beginning, for all those impacted by what happened because of Oct. 7, 2023. As the world momentarily exhales, the real work of healing begins. 

N Suma/Unsplash

Illustrative. Field of sunflowers.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, more than 10,000 Israelis have suffered life-altering physical and emotional injuries. Bar-Ilan University students, faculty, staff and their families have lost homes, loved ones, limbs and independence. Bar-Ilan’s support teams, even as they face their own struggles, continue to serve in hospitals, rehabilitation centers and surrounding communities. They remind us that resilience is not something we are born with; it is something we cultivate, nurture and sustain together. 

The hamniya (sunflower) is a symbol of hope — always looking upward, following the sun and drinking in resources to sustain and nurture growth. Sunflower: The Center for Academic Resiliency, launched with direct support from Canadian Friends of Bar-Ilan University, aims to weave resilience into the very fabric of university life and to extend that strength outward into Israeli society.

The Sunflower Center builds resiliency in three circles of impact: personal resilience, institutional resilience and societal resilience.

Resilience counselors are embedded in every academic department, trained to identify students and staff in distress. Workshops on stress management and trauma awareness provide practical tools to cope. A new AI-based chatbot provides 24/7 confidential emotional support connecting those in need with key resources ensuring that no one faces challenges alone.    

Additionally, faculty and staff throughout the university are being trained to recognize trauma and be proactive, with compassion. Policies and systems are being reshaped to embed psychological safety into daily university life. Even advanced tools like virtual reality training already in use, is being further developed, to help our community “step inside” the lived experience of trauma to build empathy and awareness. 

Finally, Bar-Ilan’s reach extends well beyond the campus. Its knowledge and methods are being shared with neighboring communities, national partners and other universities. The Sunflower Center is a model for post-crisis recovery, showing how evidence-based programs can be scaled to support Israel’s long-term healing. 

Together with her multi-disciplinary team, professor Rivka Tuval-Mashiach, the university’s vice president for international affairs and the psychologist at the head of the Sunflower Center, is demonstrating that effective treatment is not only about a response to trauma: it’s about preparing for the future by creating a culture of care and readiness, where resilience is not left to chance but actively cultivated. 

This work is grounded in Jewish values of arevut, mutual responsibility, and in the eternal teaching of refuat hanefesh alongside refuat haguf, healing the soul as well as the body.  

The Sunflower Center is helping students rediscover hope and giving the nation tools to heal invisible wounds. It is evidence that resilience can be taught, that empathy can be scaled, and that out of immense pain, we can grow a new culture of strength and compassion. Sunflower is planting seeds of resilience that will sustain not only Bar-Ilan’s community of 27,000, but Israel at large, for years to come. 

We cannot change the past; but through vision, science and solidarity, we can help shape what comes next. The Sunflower Center is proof of concept that even in the face of tragedy, we can turn toward the light and help one another rise again. 

Randy Spiegel is the CEO of Canadian Friends of Bar-Ilan University. He is a career Jewish communal service professional and certified fundraising executive.