We spoke to her on more than one occasion about the intimate details of our own romantic life and she was incredibly candid and helpful.
New York, N.Y. Dr. Ruth Westheimer, that iconic soul in a tiny body with a mind as big as the universe, is no more. Her passing marks the end of an era in which she revolutionized the field of sex therapy and helped countless individuals and couples navigate the complexities of their intimate lives.
We would often see Dr. Ruth at Manhattan charity galas.
We spoke to her on more than one occasion, often after several Scotch, about the intimate details of our own romantic life and she was incredibly candid and helpful.
Her warmth and humor made even the most awkward conversations feel comfortable, and her insights were always profound.
Dr. Ruth’s contributions to the field of sex therapy are unparalleled.
She broke down barriers and destigmatized conversations about sex, empowering people to embrace their sexuality openly and without shame.
Her books, radio shows, and television appearances educated millions and provided a compassionate, knowledgeable voice in a field that was often misunderstood.
Born in Germany as the only child of an orthodox Jewish family, she attended synagogue regularly with her father. Shortly after Kristallnacht in 1938, at the age of ten, she watched tearfully as her father was taken by the Gestapo, loaded on a truck with other Jews and sent to Dachau.
Her mother soon after put her on a kindertransport to Switzerland where she spent her cheerless adolescent years in a shelter with 300 Jewish refugee children, most of whom would be orphaned by the end of the war. Ruth’s father was killed at Auschwitz. Her mother is listed as ‘missing/ murdered.’
In 1945, as a sixteen-year-old, she boarded the clandestine immigrant ship, Mataroa, the first ship that brought Holocaust survivors to pre-state Israel, still under British rule. The boat’s passengers comprised mostly children who had been hidden in France and Switzerland. The ship arrived in Haifa Bay and the Holocaust survivors were brought to a detention camp.
Once in the Jewish homeland, Ruth worked on a Kibbutz before moving to Jerusalem to study Early Childhood Education. During this period, Ruth joined the Haganah, which would later become the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Because of her diminutive height of 4 feet 7 inches, she was trained as a sniper, and became proficient with Sten guns and grenades.
During Israel’s War of Independence, Ruth suffered near fatal wounds in a mortar attack in Jerusalem. It took several months of recuperation before she could walk again.
After the war, Ruth moved to France and got her degree in Psychology at the University of Paris. She later settled in the U.S., where she would ultimately become known as Dr. Ruth, the renowned sex therapist, talk show host and author.
She was a fixture in American media, known for her frank discussions and endearing personality. Though she made her career in America, Dr. Ruth claimed until her dying days that she was and would “always be a Zionist.”
As we remember Dr. Ruth, we celebrate not just her professional achievements but also the personal impact she had on those who knew her. Her advice was a gift that many of us will cherish forever. As a survivor of the Holocaust, Dr. Ruth’s life was a testament to resilience and the power of human spirit. The world has lost a remarkable woman, an incredibly strong woman, but her wisdom and kindness will live on in our hearts.
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Renowned Sex Expert, Quiet Zionist, Passes Away (July 13, 2024)
#DrRuth #SexTherapist #MentalHealth #NewYork #InMemoriam #HolocaustSurvivor
TAGS: Mental Health, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Dr. Ruth, Holocaust Survivor, Israel, University of Paris, Psychology, sex therapist, Zionist, Haganah, kindertransport
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