"I never push, because ultimately, all choices have to come from them”

Growing up, Judy Levine’s* children knew they only interrupted Bonei Olam phone hours for blood or smoke. Otherwise, Mommy was unavailable. What Mommy was doing wasn’t public knowledge to the Levine children, but the description in short was, and still is: “being a lifeline.”

Infertility can be a lonely journey, something Judy knew intimately, having traveled this path herself for over a decade. “My husband and I stumbled around in the dark, with no direction or guidance. I underwent unnecessary procedures that strained our finances. We had no one.”

That’s why, with the creation of organizations like Bonei Olam and A T.I.M.E., Judy knew she had to be involved, to be the light in the darkness and give to others what she wished someone had offered her. And for almost 20 years, she’s been doing just that, becoming the soothing voice at the other end of the line, dispensing medical advice, emotional support, financial guidance, and when it comes to halachic matters, recommending rabbanim.

“It was frightening in the beginning,” Judy admits. “I was aware of what a huge responsibility this position is, and I was nervous. I was assigned another counselor as a sort of coach, and I’d call her before making a phone call to discuss what I should say, and then after the phone call, to rehash what I did say. She was great, but today it boils down to my own personal style.”

“After I’m assigned a couple, I send them an email introducing myself,” Judy describes. “Next, we speak on the phone, and I get the rundown of their fertility history. I then make suggestions based on my knowledge. I never push, because ultimately, all choices have to come from them.”