[The following is an article by Chabad.org]
Teaneck, NJ – When the opportunity arose for Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Ephraim Simon to potentially risk his life in the preservation of another’s, he paused. He wanted to give one of his kidneys to a suffering man; the problem was that he had to think about how he would communicate that decision to his nine children.
So in July, Simon, co-director of Friends of Lubavitch of Bergen County in Teaneck, N.J., gathered his family around him.
“As emissaries of the Lubavitcher Rebbe,” he told them, referring to Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, “we dedicate our lives to helping other people.”
He went on to describe the terminally-ill man he had met earlier, a father of a large family just like theirs.
“By tatte giving him a new kidney, he will live, G-d willing. This is our gift to him and you are all a part of it.”
Waiting for News
Simon’s journey from community leader to organ donor – the operation took place exactly one week ago – began last year when the 41-year-old rabbi opened a mass e-mail from a woman trying to arrange a kidney donation for a potential recipient. A 12-year-old Jewish girl with the same blood type as Simon’s was succumbing to a terrible disease, and desperately needed a new kidney. The rabbi decided to respond.
“I have a 12-year-old daughter, too,” explains Simon from his home, where he’s in the midst of a two-week recovery period. Having never considered donating an organ in the past, “I was moved to consider testing for her.”
“Let’s see what it entails, and then make a decision,” came the reply from his wife, Nechamy Simon, when he brought it up.
After a few days of intense research, and a careful risk-benefit analysis together, the Simons reached out to the sender of the e-mail, a Jewish woman by the name of Chaya Lipschutz, offering one of the rabbi’s kidneys if he matched as a candidate.
“I cannot let a young girl die, and not do anything,” Simon told Lipschutz.
But the woman informed him that “a donor has already been found.”
Many people would have understandably felt relief at the realization that they wouldn’t be called upon to undergo major surgery. Simon, however, saw things differently.
“I felt like I didn’t act fast enough,” he recalls. “I knew right then and there that if somebody else was in need, I was going to be the one to save their life.”
According to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, more than 80,000 people nationwide are waiting for a healthy kidney. But last year, more than 4,500 lost their fight for life while waiting.
Simon told Lipschutz, a former kidney donor herself, to keep his name on file and to contact him if another person was in need.
Two months later, the woman called back with news that a 35-year-old mother of two needed a kidney. Simon immediately agreed to undergo tests at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y., where the woman was being treated. He wasn’t a match.
Then in February, Lipschutz called yet again to ask Simon if he would give his kidney to a single Israeli man in his 30s.
“It wasn’t for a young girl, or for a mother of two,” says Simon, “but one cannot weigh one life over another.”
The rabbi underwent his third series of tests at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. In the weeks that followed, Lipschutz informed him that should he not be a match for the Israeli man, another person on her list was in dire need of a kidney.
As it turned out, Simon was not a match, but he immediately went to another hospital to undergo tests for the other man, a Satmar Chasid from the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and a father of 10.
A Meeting of Two Souls
At the kidney clinic of Cornell University, as the rabbi was on his way to have his blood tested, the critically ill man came down the hallway, heading in the opposite direction.
“Excuse me,” said the man, who had heard that a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary had volunteered to donate his kidney. “Are you the one testing for me?”
The two chatted briefly. The man showed Simon pictures of his family and told him a little about the genetic disease that had killed several of his relatives and was destroying his kidneys. Simon assured him that if he were a match, he would go through with the procedure.
A few hours before Passover, both men received the news they had been waiting for. Simon was busy preparing for the communal Seder at his Chabad House when the hospital called.
“Rabbi,” a voice on the other line began, “you are a match.”
Although he and his wife kept it between themselves, their Seder for more than 100 people took on new meaning for them both.
Immediately following the holiday, Simon called the transplant coordinator at the hospital to set up a series of examinations to assess his fitness physically, emotionally, and mentally as an organ donor.
On May 18, he received the go-ahead. In consultation with the recipient, Simon opted to schedule the surgery immediately following the conclusion of his Camp Gan Israel preschool summer camp.
At Shabbat services that week, he broke the news to his congregation. Seeing his community members as his own family, he wanted to explain to them why he was taking the risk.
Every single person is important, he told them. If an individual is lacking, it is everyone’s job to help him or her. So “in a few weeks, a critically ill Jew in need of a healthy kidney in order to survive will receive one of mine.”
Tears welled up in some of the worshippers’ eyes. One man rushed to the front of the synagogue to embrace his rabbi.
One woman says that because of the rabbi’s sacrifice, she doesn’t feel uneasy anymore when surprise Shabbat guests show up. She now happily prepares extra food.
“I initially had a mother’s natural reaction,” reveals Judy Simon, 61, who at first was very concerned about her son’s long-term health. ”But after doing research, I realized that there is no reason to be.”
After a “heart-warming” meeting with the recipient’s family at the hospital during the procedure, the mother says that it’s “incredible to have a child do this altruistic thing. I feel so honored and blessed to be part of it and to say he is my son!”
Simon went to Cornell University Medical Center the day of the surgery carrying letters and pictures from his nine children. When the anesthesia wore off and he awoke in the recovery room, his wife read the letters to him.
In another room, the recipient was doing so well, that a doctor remarked that if he didn’t know better, he “would have said this kidney came from a brother.”
“I told my children that G-d could have easily made me ill, and I would have been the recipient,” he says. “Thank G-d, I was blessed with a healthy family. What better way to thank Him than to use my own health to help somebody else?”
Simon’s eldest daughter, 14-year-old Chaya, says her father’s deed reminds her of a parable she once learned.
“Saving one life is like saving a starfish,” she says. “Even though you cannot save every single starfish, each one that you pick up from the sand and throw back into the sea is a life saved.”
Looking back at the ordeal, Simon – who is quick to emphasize that his wife had as much a hand in donating “their” kidney as he did – hopes that more people will step up and give the gift of life.
“My sacrifice is just a few days of discomfort,” he says. “The reward of saving a man’s life, giving a father his life back, giving a family their father and husband back, outweighs all the risks.
“Not everyone can donate a kidney,” continues the rabbi. “But everyone can reach out to help another person.”
(Source: Chabad.org)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
23 Responses
The truest form of Noseh B’Ol.
Both patient and donor should be well and live healthy and fulfilling lives.
I have frequently read that the Satmar community and the Lubavitch community do not get along. How different life is when there is the realization that individuals – not just nameless faces and groups – are involved. Sof sof these two are ‘brothers’ – fellow Jews – despite hashkafa and practices.
Wow! A very refreshing piece and kiddush Hashem after all the Chilul Hashem going on this summer!
BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL!
WHAT A GREAT ZECHUS FOR HIM AND FOR KLAL YISROEL, AS WE PREPARE FOR THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT ON ROSH HASHONNAH.
Wow- really amazing…may R’ Simon be Zoche to a healthy long life bizchus saving another. More of these style stories should be posted they are a real chizuk especially in Elul…
This is an amazing Kiddush hashem as well as an amazing act of chesed and rachamim and misiras nefesh. As we all know so very well, Chabad shiluchim dedicate their lives to mesiras nefesh for Klal Yisroel and doing acts of chesed and gemilas chasodim. Although most of us will normally not be called upon to do such mesiras nefesh, we should all take away a lesson from Rabbi Simon and try to do as many acts of chesed with our family, friends, and neighbors. Especially during the next 40 days of Elul and Aseres Yemei Teshuva. The rosh teivos of Elul is well known as Ani Ledodi Vedodi Li. The sof teivos are 4 yud totalling 40 or symbolic of the 40 days of teshuva and tefila from rosh chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur. How much more meaning will Rabbi Simon’s act have if Hashem sees that so many more people have been moved to action by taking an example from him.
wow!! . i was reading this with tears in my eyes…. what a beautiful story. Hashem should see these acts of kindness that his children are doing for each other and have rachmonus on all of klal yisroel and bentch us all with a year of gezunt and iy”h the coming of moshiach bimheira viyomeinu.
chabad is amazing, they always have mesiros nefesh for yidishkeit in general.
To: Yeshiva World News,
The title of this article should be,
BREAKING NEWS; MORE KIDDUSH HASHEM
(something like what you do when the opposite news comes in chas v’shulom)
Chazak Ve’emotz !
I was a donor myself at Montifiore hospital about 10 yrs ago when the procedure was NOT done Laproscopic. I remember when the procedure was over Dr. G. asked me ( while under anesthesia how do you feel and what do you say. Boruch Hashem it’s over. I used the same phrase as Nathan Hale used before he was executed by the British. “I regret that I only have ONE Kidney to donate”. I theres is anything mamushesdig that you could do for another person it is this. This is real example of Veohavto Leracho Komocho.
May Hashem yisborach give health to all of klal Yisroel and a kesiva vachsima tova.
To # 3
That is def. something of the past. As a business man who travels frequently and visits MANY chabad houses around the world, I will tell you that one of the things you can count on seeing at almost every far flung chabad, is satmar chasiddim. Things have changed from when I was a kid and we all heard those stories. I have read, in the last 6 months alone, about 6 different chabad houses and/or mikvaos which were built with “satmar money” in direct hakaros hatoiv of what these business layt get when they travel for business!
This is what Lubavitchers stand for: concern and love for every and any Yid.
comment to #15 this is what a jew stands for,the headline should read one jew helps another jew,didn’t we learn anything from muimbai that jews were killed and they weren’t asked what type of jew you were.
Hats off to two jews helping each other
We’re all proud and grateful that we have a man like this who really is a ba’al chesed. But these angels are not an exclusively Jewish phenomenon. What we need is that there be no Jew who dies for lack of a kidney transplant. NOT ONE!!!! Every single one of them should be besieged with people offering a kidney or bone marrow or whatever others can spare. Now THAT would be a real kiddush Hashem.
I had made Rabbi Simon’s kidney match. Let me tell you, Rabbi Simon is so wonderful. He was so excited to do this. So refreshing. What about his Aishes Chayil? She deserves a lot of credit for allowing her husband to donate a kidney!
Regarding myself:
I had donated a kidney in September 2005 after seeing an ad for someone in need of a kidney. Since my kidney donation I have been wanting to do more – so I now have a project to help others who need a kidney. My brother donated a kidney as well – to someone on my list of people who needs a kidney. I don’t get paid for this and don’t charge a fee.
My project is endorsed by Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser, shlita of Brooklyn, NY
When Rabbi Simon was a back-up for someone on my list of people in need of a kidney, I was posting for other people in the meantime who were in need of a kidney. Rabbi Simon would say to me, “what about me?” He wanted to save the world!
Despite having a large and young family, kain aiyin hora, he had great Bitochon and Emunah in Hashem. I have had such a hard time finding kidney donors for people, but he certainly was one of the easiest donors of the kidney matches I made so far.
I wish others would follow – because in the meantime, people are dying every day waiting for a kidney. People on my list have died as well. Not enough people are coming forward to donate. I have such a hard time getting people to do this mitzvah. Meanwhile, when you speak to other kidney donors like myself – we wish we can do more and some of us have. All of us are doing great, Boruch Hashem, no one has regrets, and some of us wish we can do it again!
Chaya Lipschutz
http://www.KidneyMitzvah.com
P.S. There was a Lubavitcher not long ago got a kidney from a Satmar.
What doctors have to say about kidney donation:
“Just think people have no problem having only one kidney, so we have to ask, why did Hashem give us two kidneys? Perhaps it is so you would have an extra one to donate and save a life!
– Dr. Stuart Greenstein, Shomer Shabbos Kidney Transplant Surgeon, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY
“We are born with approximately 4-5 times the kidney function that we need, to be healthy and stay off of dialyisis- to not have kidney failure. So by donating one of your kidneys,you are still left with with 2-3 times the amount of kidney function that you need to be healthy and lead a normal life”
– Dr. Joseph Del Pizzo. Assistant Professor of Urology, Director, Laproscopic Surgery, New York -Presbytarian Hospital – Weill Corneil Medical Center, New York, NY.
Kidney donation is a relatively safe operation, and many donors will never feel the loss of their second kidney. It’s the most expendable of organs. So giving up a kidney causes no disadvantage to your long-term health. In fact, studies have shown, that kidney donors
actually live longer than the general population – because donors come from a pool of people in good health”
– Dr. Michael Edye, Adjunct Associate Professor of surgery, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY.
Very Safe Operation”
– Dr. Jay Levine, General Surgeon, St., Mary’s Health Care, West Michigan, MI
“There’s a lot of misconceptions about kidney donation and a lot of fear. But if people take the time to get the facts, they find out the
risks are very minimal. People are born with two kidneys. You only need one.” – Michelle Winsor, Kidney Transplant Coordinator, Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego, CA
“Donating a kidney to a woman I had never met was the greatest experience of my life. To give for the pure sake of giving brings the deepest joy imaginable. I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity that changed my life in every way” – Lori P., Maryland – donated a kidney to a stranger.
I think this is the right thing to do. I don’t think anyone should fear it . They wouldn’t allow you to do this if you weren’t healthy enough’ – Larry S., New Jersey – donated a kidney to a stranger
“Giving a kidney was one of the highlights of my life. I learned so much about myself in such a short time. Rarely do we see the fruit of our labor so quickly, yet I helped save another persons life and improved the quality of their life immediately – Rabbi Steve M.,New York – donated a kidney to a stranger
“The reason why G-d gave me two kidneys, was so that I could donate one” – Mordechai H., New York – donated a kidney to his father-in-law.
“As a result of my kidney donation, I feel richer than Donald Trump and Donald Trump combined!” – David K., New York – , donated a kidney to a
stranger.
“Kidney donation was the greatest experience of my life. If I can do it again, I would do it again tomorrow” – Chaya Lipschutz (myself), New York – donated a kidney to a stranger
There is absolutely no animosity between Chabad and Satmar at this time. There was a short lived conflict caused by hotheads during a time of transition for Satmar, and this is long since forgotten by both communities.
In 1991, Satmar volunteers came to Crown Heights to assist during the riots.
—–
“We are born with approximately 4-5 times the kidney function that we need, to be healthy and stay off of dialyisis- to not have kidney failure. So by donating one of your kidneys,you are still left with with 2-3 times the amount of kidney function that you need to be healthy and lead a normal life”
Thanks for this. I now know that I can consider donating myself.
#21 – Happy to hear you are considering! Please contact me if you need more info.
By the way, recently also a Satmar donated a kidney to a Lubavitcher! So, the score is even!
I am in touch with many people who donated a kidney from Boro Park, Williamsburg, Monsey, Monroe and Lakewood, Quite a number of Satmars have donated a kidney.
But, so many people in the frum communities are in need of a kidney.
So – please someone contact me!
Some of the following I need to help:
1. A 37 year old woman with 2 small kids,many years on dialysis
2. A 35 year old Israeli man, also many years on dialysis – wants to get married and have children once he gets a kidney!
3. A very Chosheve woman, whom I think is in her 40’s
4. A Maggid Shiur’s wife
Please contact me, not only if you are in the USA, but if you are in Israel or Canada as well, since I have people who need a kidney there as well.
Tizku L’mitzvos.
Kol tuv,
Chaya Lipschutz
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: KidneyMitzvah.com
I have been contacted by people in need of a kidney not just in the USA, but my list of people in desperate need of a kidney include people in Israel, Canada, Australia and England.
I can’t help most of the people who need a kidney- because there aren’t many people like Rabbi Simon around willing to do this great mitzvah!
Please – I am in touch with many other kidney donors who feel so positive about their kidney donation, like Rabbi Simon.
Please contact me ASAP about testing for someone who desperately needs a kidney. Thanks!
Tizku L’mitzvos.
Kol Tuv,
Chaya Lipschutz
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: KidneyMitzvah.com
#21 – Happy you are considering kidney donation!
Please contact me if you need more info.
By the way – not long ago a Satmar donated a kidney to a Lubavitcher – so now the score is even!
Chaya Lipschutz
KidneyMitzvah.com
This is such a beutiful thing- A true Kidush Hashem that we need so much now- This act of Chesed should inspire all jews to love and help each other- no matter what their background frum and not frum- why just because they are your fellow jew!!!!!
I have already contacted you and you have responded thanks :).