Martial arts expert, acupuncturist, and founder and director of MalkaCare, a chesed organization in Beit Shemesh that supports moms of babies

I grew up in Flatbush, in a Modern Orthodox home. When I was ten years old, I started taking martial arts classes through Torah Dojo, but I stopped when I became a bas mitzvah because the classes were mixed. In high school, a friend of mine was doing a form of martial arts called Pa-Kua, and they had an all-female class, so I started training there. I reached the blue belt level, which meant I was qualified to teach. Eventually, when the teacher left, I led the all-girls class myself.

Pa-Kua is a worldwide franchise, so teachers from other countries would fly in to conduct the belt tests. While these “masters” were in town, they would teach extra classes. One was called “energy ways,” and it taught me the foundations of Chinese Medicine. I was able to apply what I learned on my martial arts students if they came in with a headache, or if training triggered asthma or caused a sprained ankle.

My interest in acupuncture was piqued by my older brother. He was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and was having a hard time with the harsh medications, which often came with awful side effects. One day he shared that he’d found a treatment with zero side effects — he was getting acupuncture and taking herbal medicine.

At that point, I was enrolled at Neve Yerushalayim in Israel. I’d joined the seminary to strengthen my Hebrew skills, but I ended up gaining insights into more Torah-oriented hashakafos. I was conflicted about whether Eastern philosophy and culture were “kosher,” but hearing that my brother, a ben Torah, had benefited from Eastern medicine led me to ask the rebbeim and rebbetzins about it. It was my teachers at Neve Yerushalayim who encouraged me to learn acupuncture.