By Linda Gradstein
AMIT alumna Naama Maimon, an accomplished 37-year-old obstetrician/gynecologist and mother of four, sees value in staying close to her roots—her family, her city, and her school.
Growing up in Tzfat, Naama attended the AMIT Evelyn Schreiber High School for Girls from seventh to 12th grade. In Israeli high schools, students choose at least one megama (like declaring a major in college). Naama chose biology, which coincidentally was taught by her mother, a longtime teacher at the ulpana (high school). The AMIT thread runs deep within the family, as Naama’s father has taught for many years at AMIT’s Florin Taman High School for boys in Tzfat. And Naama’s husband, Shachar, also from Tzfat and also an AMIT alum, attended Florin Taman, where Naama’s father teaches.
Naama vividly remembers the encouragement and support she received from her teachers in high school and the positive influence they had on her. Her Bible teacher, Ita, was particularly memorable and inspirational.
“She taught me to read everything with love and to look deeply and beyond the text,” Naama shared. “Because of her, after medicine, my second love is Bible.” As a student, Naama even competed in Israel’s national Bible quiz.
The most important skill she received from her teachers at AMIT was learning how to study—how to gather information and synthesize it. “With that skill,” she said, “you can learn just about any subject.” This served her well throughout her advanced studies and her career in medicine.
After high school Naama performed Sherut Leumi (National Service) at the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, then spent a year studying at Migdal Oz, a prestigious girls’ yeshiva in Gush Etzion. She then earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Tel Aviv University before moving on to four years of medical school in a program that allowed her to return home to Tzfat and be near her family.
Growing Their Family
Naama and Shachar’s first child, Hila, was 3 years old when Naama started medical school in 2013. Three more children followed during her years of study. Now with a full house, Naama and Shachar, a police officer, juggle their busy, sometimes unpredictable work schedules with their family life. Choosing to live in Tzfat has the advantage of being near both Naama’s and Shachar’s parents, who help watch the children while they’re at work.
Naama also has her AMIT teachers as a model.
“One of the things I learned from AMIT is the ability to combine family life—which is the center of my life—with personal development,” she said. “They are both very important to me, and everything we learned in school was about Torah and derech eretz (societal norms).”
At times, maintaining this balance has proven particularly challenging. One night on a 36-hour shift during Naama’s residency, Shachar was called to a police emergency. Fortunately, his mother was able to babysit the grandchildren.
Shachar has since switched jobs and now works at Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael with a more stable schedule. Naama combines hospital shifts with work at the Kupat Cholim (HMO), which has shorter hours.
Since the war began, Naama has seen an increase in stress and depression among her patients, in some cases affecting fertility. Increasingly, she refers women to mental health professionals for treatment.
Coming full circle, Hila, now 15, has begun studying at AMIT Evelyn Schreiber, the same school Naama attended—making the family three generations strong at AMIT.
Since we spoke just a few hours before Shabbat, I asked Naama what she was having for Shabbat dinner. “Whatever my mom cooks,” she said with a laugh. Her shift in the hospital would end just before Shabbat, and she planned to meet her family at her mom’s house for Friday night dinner.
The values that have sustained our nation for generations are alive and strong throughout AMIT schools, staff, and students: family, faith, tradition, and excellence.
