19-year-old Nechemia (Chemi) Trachtenberg, who until last year lived in Yerushalayim, has been actively vaccinating people in the capital city for the past two months. As part of his work with Kuppat Cholim (HMO) Meuchedet, located on Chaggai Street, Chemi spends his days vaccinating people, and vaccinates between 200-300 people per day. During his free time, Chemi is a volunteer with United Hatzalah and responds to medical emergencies in his neighborhood.
Chemi is one of close to 500 volunteers from the organization who have stepped up and taken part in the national mission to vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly as possible. Chemi said that being a part of this widespread operation “makes me feel like I have a shlichus for Am Yisroel,” and encouraged everyone to come and get vaccinated.
“There are all sorts of rumors and fabricated stories about the vaccinations. I have vaccinated thousands of people already. Each day I vaccinate between 200-300 people, and they are always fine. Even if there are a few side-effects such as fevers, this is natural and occurs with other vaccinations as well. We are vaccinating people at an incredibly fast pace, and in an orderly and documented fashion. It is really nice to see how everyone is coming to get their vaccines.”
Trachtenberg added how happy and inspired he feels to have merited to vaccinate numerous Admorim and other great rabbonim. “I was very emotional when I had the opportunity to vaccinate them.”
While Trachtenberg also got to vaccinate some pop-culture celebrities he managed to take some selfies with them, but he didn’t take any with the Admorim. “I didn’t take selfies with the Admorim because that is not respectful,” Trachtenberg added that the Admorim get vaccinated in a separate room in order to protect their privacy.
“I look at how the vaccine operations are being run in other countries around the world, and how it is being done in Israel and I am very impressed. The health system in Israel is terrific and is handling this beautifully. Obviously, every death as a result of this disease pains us, but these deaths can be prevented if everyone follows the rules and if we all get vaccinated.”
In two months’ time, Trachtenberg is set to enlist in the IDF, but until then, he will be vaccinating the people of Israel at his HMO and responding to medical emergencies with United Hatzalah.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
2 points:
1) First I wouldn’t call him chareidi. Yes he’s frum and Yes he’s ehrlach.
But, you don’t have to be chareidi to be frum and ehrlich! 🙂
2) “Admorim get vaccinated in a separate room in order to protect their privacy”?
That’s crazy! It shouldn’t be an embarrassment, just the opposite, they should be doing it publicly to set an example for the oilam.
What an inspiring young man.
It is sad that our Charedi leadership would view him, and his life choices, as a failure.
If all the young men in the community were like him, we wouldn’t be in the mess we are in in the first place.
No mkylb, if all young men in the community were like him, there would be no kollelim, no yeshivos, and no zechus for Klall Yisroel during corona and untold tens of thousands would be dead ch’ve…….like every other country in the world…..
But Kol Hakovod he is doing something useful………
@Sugya25
By that logic, shouldn’t the death rate be lower in the yeshiva world? Not 4 times higher?
Long Island Yid:
The Admorim aren’t hiding in waiting rooms, it’s no secret that they are being vaccinated, but to get partially undressed, when they don’t usually appear in public without a hat and long coat, THAT is the privacy they deserve, the actual vaccination is done in a separate room.
MKYLB: No. We have NO IDEA the reasons for what Hashem does. However we know CLEARLY- handed down from Moshe at Sinai- what gives the greatest zechus for Klall Yisroel, and that is LIMUD HATORAH.
That is why we have yeshivos and kollelim in the world.