new york | Naava Applebaum approached the eve of her wedding day with all the eagerness and anticipation of a beautiful 20-year-old with a bright future ahead of her. But a terrorist’s bomb ended a lifetime full of promise in one violent moment. Naava and her father, Dr. David Applebaum, were killed Sept. 9, 2003, at a local café near the Jersalem hospital where they worked.
Now there is a chuppah (wedding canopy) in her memory.
Naava had just completed her second year of Israel’s national service where she tended to pediatric oncology patients, providing comfort and all aspects of non-medical care to very sick children at Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem. Her father was director of emergency medicine at Shaare Zedek.
The Women’s Division of Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, commissioned the Naava Chuppah as a means of honoring her memory. Designed by American Judaica artist Fred Spinowitz, the chuppah is a tribute to her life.
Its lush velvet fabric, intricate embroidery and hand-painted design are ripe with symbolism. Two trees stand tall against a backdrop of bright flowers, their branches intertwined like the couple that stands beneath the canopy, waiting to be joined for eternity. The tree is nourished by a body of water, in which are painted four phrases from “Song of Songs.” Each of these phrases was specially selected because it contains the word “naava,” Hebrew for “pleasant” or “beautiful.”
The chuppah can be shipped directly for a tax-deductible donation of $5,000. Proceeds directly support the Naava Applebaum Sherut Leumi National Service Program, and provide much-needed funding for the young women who are an integral part of Shaare Zedek Medical Center.
Sherut Leumi women help sustain morale among patients and support the efforts of doctors throughout the facility. “It would be difficult for the hospital to function without them,” said Dr. Jonathan Halevy, the center’s director general. The Israeli government provides no monetary support to maintain the $400,000-a-year national service program. The Women’s Division of Shaare Zedek Medical Center established The Naava Applebaum Circle of Life Endowment Fund to honor her good works and ensure that the national service program will remain intact within the hospital.
Shaare Zedek, the only medical center located in the heart of Jerusalem, provides medical care to all patients regardless of religious affiliation or cultural background. It has the largest cardiology and women’s health center in Jerusalem, the most technologically advanced emergency room, and is a leader in genetic research and medical ethics.
To obtain rental information on the chuppah or learn more about the Naava Applebaum Circle of Life Endowment Fund, contact Stephen Schechter at (212) 999-5585 or Lee D. Weinbach at (212) 764-8053.