Juda Engelmayer is fundraising
Give a little of yourself, learn from Rabbi Simon
I want to introduce the world to one of the most outstanding people I know, Rabbi Ephraim Simon of Teaneck New Jersey. To know Rabbi Simon is to know true goodness; a genuine kindness that is rare and compelling, and one that is from his heart and soul. He tirelessly works to offer everyone around him – and those he doesn’t even know, as you will soon find out – peace, support and love, and a spirituality that he radiates. He supports anyone who comes to him, and he never questions their need. He supports his Chabad House and his Synagogue and does it on a shoestring budget. He is the worst fundraiser in the world because he would rather give than get. It is who he is.
In August 2009 , he gave his kidney to a stranger who would have died without him. Now, last month, another stranger named Adam Levitz, a 44-year-old married father of three, has a piece of Rabbi Simon’s liver. The rabbi chose to be a living liver donor, as Levitz was in liver failure and getting worse. Rabbi Ephraim Simon is one of only a handful of individuals to have ever donated both a kidney and a liver, a procedure most hospitals won’t even allow. The Cleveland Clinic did it with remarkable success on December 20th, 2018 . The two men had never met until just days before the lifesaving surgery, but Simon says that’s exactly what he was looking for.
“As a rabbi, I do a lot of talking about love, doing things for others and altruism. A rabbi’s greatest sermon and a parent’s greatest lecture is the way they live their lives,” says Rabbi Simon, who is still in Cleveland. “How often do we have the opportunity to really set ourselves aside for another? This was my opportunity to do that, and I didn’t want to let it go. Adam allowed me to actually give the gift of life, perhaps the greatest kindness, I can imagine.”
The difficulty here is that Rabbi Simon’s absence has set his family’s and his Synagogue’s finances back a bit, and we have an obligation to give what we are able to offer to help him continue his important work.
Let's help a truly giving man, to continue giving to others altruistically without the pain of hardship for his work.
In August 2009 , he gave his kidney to a stranger who would have died without him. Now, last month, another stranger named Adam Levitz, a 44-year-old married father of three, has a piece of Rabbi Simon’s liver. The rabbi chose to be a living liver donor, as Levitz was in liver failure and getting worse. Rabbi Ephraim Simon is one of only a handful of individuals to have ever donated both a kidney and a liver, a procedure most hospitals won’t even allow. The Cleveland Clinic did it with remarkable success on December 20th, 2018 . The two men had never met until just days before the lifesaving surgery, but Simon says that’s exactly what he was looking for.
“As a rabbi, I do a lot of talking about love, doing things for others and altruism. A rabbi’s greatest sermon and a parent’s greatest lecture is the way they live their lives,” says Rabbi Simon, who is still in Cleveland. “How often do we have the opportunity to really set ourselves aside for another? This was my opportunity to do that, and I didn’t want to let it go. Adam allowed me to actually give the gift of life, perhaps the greatest kindness, I can imagine.”
The difficulty here is that Rabbi Simon’s absence has set his family’s and his Synagogue’s finances back a bit, and we have an obligation to give what we are able to offer to help him continue his important work.
Let's help a truly giving man, to continue giving to others altruistically without the pain of hardship for his work.
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