A Rav from the settlements, a wounded IDF veteran and an Arab doctor are all in one room. Sounds like the opening line of a “corny” joke! Not in the least. This scenario actually did take place at Hadassah Hospital in Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, on Lag Ba’Omer, May 14. Rav A, 45, a native of Toronto, who made aliyah as a teenager, lives with his lovely wife and sic children in a settlement in the Binyamin area, where he was recently appointed rav. This past year, while on sabbatical from his teaching position at a nearby yeshiva high school, he was determined to take upon himself a meaningful project. After reading about the incomparable, life-saving work of the Matnat Chaim organization, a nonprofit that facilitates kidney donations, very similar to Renewal in the U.S., Rav A contacted Rav Yeshayahu Haber, himself a kidney recipient, who founded the organization nine years ago. In gratitude and to enable others to reclaim their lives after kidney failure, he established Matnat Chaim with the support and approbation of all.
Over the course of many months, Rav A underwent many comprehensive physical examinations as well as psychological evaluations and was finally approved to be a kidney donor. The search for a suitable recipient as well took many months of comprehensive medical evaluations. Finally, the “shidduch” was arranged and the date was set for Lag Ba’Omer.
The recipient, 50, a veteran of an elite unit of the IDF, was wounded when a mine shattered his leg while serving as a tour guide for the Chevra L’haganat Hateva, an Israeli organization that explores the country’s natural habitats and environments. An accountant by profession, Recipient B resides in an agricultural town in central Israel and is a father of three teenagers. He is chiloni, non-observant, from a family of ardent Zionists who came to Israel on the early aliyot. Recipient B has been undergoing dialysis for the past two years, an excruciating and invasive procedure necessitated by his life-threatening illness.
The physician appointed to perform the “hashtala,” transplant, at Hadassah Ein Kerem, is a noted laproscopic surgeon. Of Arab descent, he resides with his family in an Arab village in East Jerusalem known to be a hotbed of terrorism. He is 45 years old, trained at fine medical institutions and is highly accomplished in his field.
Rav A and Recipient B were fortunate to have been brought together by Rav Yeshayahu Haber through Matnat Chaim, which to date has facilitated over 400 kidney transplants throughout Israel. Rav A and Recipient B are # 426. The majority of kidney donors who come through Matnat Chaim are dati, religious individuals. The recipients come from all levels of religious observance and belief. At any point in time, there are over 800 individuals awaiting kidney transplants in Israel.
Prior to every procedure, Rav Haber and his lovely wife Rachel are in touch with the donor and recipient, providing them with vital information and supportive encouragement. The organization has even produced a sensitive and highly informative children’s book titled “Changing Locations: Pages From the Diary of a Kidney.” Intended for the children of donors, the charming book is a comprehensive overview, from the perspective of a kidney soon to be changing location, of every step of the way prior to and immediately after the procedure, including the feelings of ambivalence experienced by the parties involved.
The warmth and genuine concern of the Habers provide both the donor and recipient and their families with great comfort as well as a sense of great accomplishment. Rav Haber makes it a practice to call the donor prior to the procedure to ask for a personal “bracha,” as he considers the individual donating a vital organ as performing the highest act of chesed. “We treat each of our special donors as no less than a Sefer Torah.” After the procedures, the Habers visit the recuperating participants, showering them and their families with praise and even commemorative gifts and tributes.
To learn more about the inspirational kidney donations that have been facilitated by Matnat Chaim, visit www.kilya.org.il.
By Pearl Markovitz
