Ride Through
Suicide Prevention and Resilence
Trigger: This is my personal story about Ariel z”l and suicide prevention.
What is my “Why”
Suicide prevention and resilience have become my mission
My objective is to take ownership and responsibility for my mistakes and lack of knowledge. I want to take my grief and guilt to a place of education in order to increase awareness about suicide prevention and to decrease the stigma surrounding the subject. This is my “ Why” and the best way for me to honor my son’s memory on his Azkara.
.יהי זכרו ברוך
In December 2016, my beloved son Ariel, of blessed memory, ended his suffering and life by suicide after a prolonged struggle with anxiety and depression stemming from OCD – obsessive compulsive disorder. Soon after my son’s suicide, I engaged in individual trauma therapy. In addition, I participated in a support group for parents who lost children to suicide that was organized by B’shvil HaHayim – an NGO that provides emotional support and organizes programs that promote suicide awareness and prevention.
After years of reading and writing about the subject of suicide, I then underwent an intensive training program for volunteers organized by B’Shvil HaHaim about how to share my “personal story,” in an informative and sensitive manner.
Publishing this website is part of my mission to increase awareness about suicide—a painful and complex subject that society prefers to ignore because of stigma and shame. I am committed to speaking and writing about suicide prevention because I deeply believe that honest and open conversation can help to reduce this epidemic and hopefully save lives. I am also determined to talk and write about resilience, because despite the deep sense of loss and pain, I believe that people can hold sadness and joy side by side and Ride Through on the path of life.
Featured Resources
Ride Through
Understanding the metaphor of the emotional backpack and the ongoing cycles of grief and resilience.
Suicide Prevention
A father's hard-learned lessons on depression links, isolation, warning signs, and securing the home.
We Mourn Differently
Understanding that every family member mourns differently and learning to accept those differences without judgment.
Meir Charash
Meir Charash, originally from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, made Aliyah in 1979. A few months prior, Meir acquired a BSc. in Business Management, majoring in organizational management, from Boston University and a MSW in 1984 in Group and Community Work from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work (WSSW) at Yeshiva University.
Meir worked as a community worker in Beit Shemesh and in Jerusalem, was the Director of the Israel Office of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia for 19 years providing fiduciary oversight to donor funds and facilitating Israel – Diaspora relations.
Meir’s expertise is in community building, fundraising and organizational behavior. In addition to supervising Wurzweiler social work students, Meir worked as Faculty Advisor and Coordinator of the Israel Block Program from 2010 to 2017.
Meir is married with three children, two adorable granddaughters and another granddaughter on the way! Meir resides in Jerusalem and is a certified fitness trainer, Thai massage therapist and an avid mountain bike rider having participated for 11 years in the Alyn Charity Bike Ride for the Children of the Alyn Rehabilitation Hospital and in two races, the “Epic,” and “Sovev Arava”. Meir was in the armored forces for a year and a half and served 15 years in reserve duty.
Latest Reflections
A Poem to my Son
Six days a week I’m constantly on the move. On Shabbat, I sit with my guys at Mitzpe Ariel. Six days a week I feel Ariel’s z”l absence. On Shabbat, I sit at Mitzpe Ariel and feel his presence יהי זכרו...
B’Shvil HaHaim
It’s time to talk about what everyone is afraid to say out loud. Suicide is still one of the biggest taboos in our society. We prefer to whisper the word, hide the phenomenon, or simply look away and hope it will pass. But this silence comes at a heavy price...
Sitting and walking through grief
Mourning my dear son Ariel z”l on his fifth azkara twice within a month (the Hebrew date of his death was November 20th while tomorrow, December 17th, is the day that is seared in my memory) is just another example of the painful complexity of losing him to...