On Motzoei Shabbos Shlach, dedicated Misaskim volunteers were again called upon to play a key role in community service. A medical team and their sensitive equipment needed to get through airport security. These doctors are scheduled to perform emergency heart surgery on the posek hador, Maran haGaon Rav Yosef Shalom Eliyashiv shlit’a, at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.
About seven years ago, Harav Eliyashiv underwent emergency surgery for a bleeding artery near the heart. Leading vascular surgeon Dr. Daniel Clair, of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, was flown in to perform the risky procedure. Just recently, after Rav Eliyashiv had felt some weakness, Dr. Clair was consulted and determined that the same artery had now weakened and a second surgery was needed. Now, as then, Gedolei Torah in Eretz Yisrael turned to Misaskim to assist in expediting the doctors’ journey along with their sensitive equipment through airport security. Using its various contacts in the TSA and the Port Authority Police, Misaskim was able to facilitate the passage of two doctors and complex medical equipment from Newark Liberty International to Eretz Yisrael in cooperation with the directors of airport security, PAPD, the TSA, and El Al management.
A time-sensitive mission such as this often includes many logistical hurdles. For example, the plane is scheduled to land at 5:30 PM and surgery was slated for 8:00 Sunday evening (Israeli time), leaving little time for the equipment to be checked in through mandatory security procedures.
Volunteers, who have been tirelessly working on the details of the operation since Thursday, can finally breathe a sigh of relief: “Baruch Hashem, the doctors are off. We are grateful to have been able to assist in this situation and to ensure that Rabbi Eliyashiv, who is from the Shiyorei Knesses Hagdolah, gets the proper care he needs. We ask that the community continue to pray for his refuah. Please daven for Yosef Shalom ben Chaya Musha.”
Misaskim’s role in Rav Eliyashiv’s previous heart surgery was no less pivotal, making special arrangements in an extreme time crunch that involved escorting the same doctors straight from one surgery in Manhattan to the airport where they caught a flight to Shaare Zedek, 5,700 miles distant, for the operation.
YWN PHOTO LINK: Click HERE for photos.
(YWN Desk – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
3 Responses
Beautiful story.
יישר כחכם to all those who helped and are helping.
It reminds me of the gemara that tells us that after the churban R. Yochanan Ben Zakai asked the emperor for a few things for Klal Yisroel, among them Tein li Yavneh vachachomeha, and a doctor for the great Rav Zadok, who was in ill health.
This case is like a combination of both, since Rav Elyashiv represents Torah and there is also the element of refuah, as with Rav Zadok.
I’m don’t know what the zechus of the medical team is to merit being involved, but we sure are grateful to them for their help!
any updates so far?
misaskim im HA’CHAIM…. says:
June 19, 2011 at 11:26 pm
unfortunately misaskim is spoken about amongst our people and media only after tragic instances, those heartrending tasks are only a fraction of their services. As their mission statement verifies “understanding tragedy with compassion. COORDINATING CRISIS WITH EXPERTISE”, the latter is where 24/7 of their time is occupied and as Rabbis Meyer and Weill’s personal mission is to stay out of the limelight more than possible, we and the media will NEVER know the quiet crisis situations that are constantly occuring in communities and by individuals across the globe, yes across the globe that come directly to misaskim’s hands.
R’ Yanky and R’ Meyer forgive me but this is where i disagree with your mission of staying out of the limelight, and feel the people should know and APPRECIATE ALL your efforts that go unrealized by the masses.(just realize you’ll rarely find their name and pics out there, they honestly pass the credit onto their volunteeers fully as if it is ran by a board of 25 members, while in truth every breath of these 2 individuals is misaskim)
to list a few: When a flight was delayed and being held over shabbos in Rome with plenty of yidden it was misaskim that got all shabbos arrangements and food taken care of.
When 3 families were involved in an accident coming back from Toronto the night of motzei pesach last year misaskim was the helpline that was called and coordinated it all.
When a brooklyn family’s member was injured in yerushalayim in a shooting it was misaskim that handled the crisis upto driving family until the plane yes literally skipping the checkin process and directly onto plane.
When officials have issues with individuals from frum communities it is the misaskim expertise that they learned to trust and confide in, and therefore misaskim wil get the call from all governmental agencies that someone from a jewish community has gotten himself into trouble. and unfortunately these are occurences that happen around the clock at different points of the world. ranging from correctional facilities to local police departments across the US, from border contol to custom officials, “you name them, they name misaskim”.
When they couldn’t bare watching a family in a time of simcha where a member would’nt attend due to illness, misaskim opened their gemach and did live hookups to hospitals and homes(then correctional facilities as well), over time they gave the job to mekimi to run, for the obvious reason of no time in their hands unfortunately due to greater impacting crisis that come to their door, not because more fatal accidents.
Then there are the unfortunate tragic stories.
The reason for this lengthy comment is not because I’m involved, but simply have tuned into their efforts and have tuned into the ignorance that dominates amongst my fellow friends about misaskim’s services as well, the only reason these 2 selfless individuals allowed their name to get out was for fundraising purposes and people that have been serviced by them have spread their name as well, that said, I’m a simple citizen b”h never needed them and only afforded a $36 raffle ticket which is currently during campaign, may this post help raise some more for them and we should not need them throughout klal yisroel