24 | NOVEMBER 23 • 2023 
J
N

OUR COMMUNITY

O

n Oct. 8, Shira 
Brown’s husband, 
Menachem, was 
called up as a reservist, and 
Shira struggled to care for 
their two children Ori, 4, and 
Hadar, 9 months, by herself. 
On Oct. 9, Shira created 
a Facebook post about 
the tactical needs of her 
husband’s unit and was 
gratified at the many 
donations that came flooding 
in. She raised more than 
3,000 NIS (about $800) in a 
few hours. 
One donation took her 
by surprise: Her cousin, Ita 
Feldman of Florida, messaged 
her, “I’m sending you money, 
but it’s not for the gear. It’s for 
you — get yourself therapy 
and a massage.”
“I was blown away; I felt so 
seen,” Shira said. 
Knowing that there are 
thousands of wives in the 
same position, including 
60+ alone in her moshav, 
Sde Ilan in the lower Galilee, 
Shira was eager to get that 
feeling to others. She created 
a landing page on her social 
media marketing website 
where donors from around 
the world can support 
these “Sheroes,” as she calls 
them, a term used since the 
suffragette movement that 

describes any heroic woman.
“Being without my 
husband, especially with 
small kids at home, is really 
hard. I’m trying to keep 
positive; but honestly, I’m 
scared, sad and lonely,” Shira 
said. “I don’t share that with 
Menachem. I don’t want to 
make him feel bad. I know it’s 
not important in the grand 
scheme of things, but he and 
all the husbands are fighting 
with the full support of their 
wives — and we also need 
support.”

HELPING LONE SOLDIERS
It’s not Shira’s first time 
organizing something special. 
Shira grew up in Southfield 
and attended Beth Jacob and 
then-Akiva. When she was 
18, she did Sheirut Leumi 
(IDF community service), 
made aliyah on her own in 
2014 and was thrilled when 
her parents, Avi and Lisa 
Parshan, joined her and made 
aliyah in 2017. 
Seeing a need, Shira 
organized a program where 
Lone Soldiers could fill 
out an informational form 
about themselves, including 
location, languages spoken, 
kashrut level, age, etc. — and 
she would pair them with 
similar-sounding families.

Former Metro Detroiter sets up fund 
to help the women who are holding 
the fort while their husbands serve.

Sheroes: The 
Wives Behind 
the Soldiers

ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Shira and Menachem Brown and their kids during happier times 
earlier this year.

Menachem Brown 
came back to his 
thrilled family twice 
since the war broke 
out, each time for 
24 hours.