Every evening she appears in a different city with her personal and miraculous story, and at every event she conveys a message of unity. Non-religious women sit next to hareidi women, laughing, crying and being inspired together • A spotlight on the personality of Rabanit Moria Panker.
Over 400 women, girls, mothers and graduates filled the Shirat David hall in Ashdod last night. In the background was the war in Israel and the threats confronting its people.
Among the hundreds of participants it was possible to recognize an extraordinary kaleidoscope of people - non-religious, religious and hareidi. This type of unity belongs to a world that is unknown in the State of Israel’s media and public life.
They all came to hear Rabanit Moria Panker, who in recent years has become a star who fills almost every night huge halls all over the country, from the north to the south.
In the midst of the event, Rabanit Panker addressed the crowd of women and asked loudly: "Do you want the hostages to return home safely?" “Yes!!!” the immediate response rippled through the air. “If you want to be protected and see a salvation and the hostages returning home - there is only one solution: unity! Let's be united together even outside the hall, even after the end of the event.”
After the event ended, a long line stretched in the direction of Rabanit Panker, all of them asking for a blessing, advice or just some inspiration to encourage themselves at this difficult time.
"Don't call me Rabanit, call me Moria," she told a group of 20-year-old girls who were making their way in her direction. They told her, "We are from the Gaza border communities, and many members of our family were injured and some were even murdered on October 7. We came here to connect and get inspiration,' they said. "You are my daughters," replied Rabanit Panker, and hugged the girls in a motherly embrace.
"She is funny, exciting, and above all inspiring," Mor Levy, a resident of Ashdod, told us. "She has a moving personal story that clearly illustrates that those who are optimistic in life - succeed. Those who have faith are not afraid. She knows that there is a Creator of the world who loves us and cares for us every moment," she added.
Going back a decade, no one could imagine that Rabanit Moria would a few years later turn into a "Rabanit" who heads the pninat or Midrasha. The institution has become a haven for hundreds of girls who are looking for a home and especially a mother.
"Rabanit Moria is like a mother to us. She is the 'mother' of many girls who connect to her warm, loving, and inspiring heart," says Gal Golan, anchor of a popular network who in recent years has made pninat or her second home. "She is a straight-shooter when talking to us and that is the secret of her magic," she explains.
Rabanit Panker’s spiritual path was paved by Rabbi Yitzchak David Grossman, head of the Migdal Ohr institutions and the “father" of thousands of boys in Israel. At the beginning of her spiritual journey, after graduating from the army, she was looking for meaning.
"I lacked nothing. Not money, family, or friends. But precisely because I had everything, I felt that I had nothing,” she said in one of her appearances. “I started studying at a Nefesh Yehudi study center, mainly because I wanted their stipend. Even before that in the army, I joined Torah classes only because they gave me an exemption from various activities. Then one day I realized that I really want to know my soul and my inner self," she said.
"When I first came to Rabbi Grossman," she tells her personal story to hundreds of women, "I saw a wonderful father figure and since then he has accompanied me every step of the way. Like a father.”
Her story includes miracles that happened to her personally. She had twins in an unusual way, even after they had to remove both of her fallopian tubes. The doctors were firm: "You will not have children," they told her. But she went to her "father", Rabbi Grossman, who was no less adamant: "You will have many children. Because whoever takes care of the children of the Holy One, blessed be He, He will take care of their children. "You give your life to inspire and help Jewish girls, God will do miracles for you and will take care of you," he said.
A few months ago she gave birth to her third daughter in a completely natural way, in a way that inspires trust in God. "Medically, this birth didn’t make sense. Giving birth without fallopian tubes? What kept me going was faith, believing in God that He only does good to us,” says Rabanit Panker.
In recent years, she has been devoting her schedule to the girls of her pninat or Midrasha. The first branch was located in Be'er Sheva, but she plans to open up other branches throughout Israel.
"My mission is Jewish daughters. To embrace them and take care of them," she says passionately. "The Holy One, blessed be He, has given me abilities and I will do everything to actualize them for the sake of spreading goodness and love."
Besides her work at the Midrasha, she is a sought-after lecturer on marital relationships, and she sees this as a mission as well. "There is no greater satisfaction than seeing a couple whose marriage almost came apart, returning to each other in harmony. In the end, everything is a matter of correct communication and expression," says Rabanit Panker.
In the last week she gave lectures in five different cities and met thousands of women. Each lecture has a different character and a unique style. Sometimes it's a challah baking event and sometimes a workshop on relationships, but she has one message which she repeats again and again and again: "Our strength is our unity. Because there is no true difference between secular, religious and hareidi. We are all members of one family, we all have one Father, and our strength is only when we are together, despite the differences of opinion," iterates Rabanit Panker. "And when we are united, we will defeat all our enemies," she adds in conclusion.
This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel