In an unprecedented surge of life-saving altruism, nine kidney donations have taken place this past week—six on Tuesday, May 20th alone—with approximately 20 total donations facilitated by Renewal in the last month. This extraordinary momentum—with donations from 15 members of the Jewish communities in Teaneck, Bergenfield, Passaic, Edison and Riverdale in 2025 alone—reflects a powerful communal movement grounded in chesed, courage and spiritual purpose.

Since its founding in 2006, Renewal has facilitated close to 1,300 kidney donations, and this year alone, an astonishing one in five of those donations have come from residents of greater Teaneck.

Each kidney donor brings a deeply personal story, but all are united in their willingness to undergo surgery to save the life of a complete stranger—often with quiet humility combined with extraordinary emotional strength and physical endurance.

The ‘Zechus’ to Donate

Rebbetzin Chaviva Rothwachs of Teaneck first swabbed years ago at a Renewal event. When she was later contacted as a match, she faced the complex donor evaluation process with spiritual determination.

“What inspired me to keep going was the example of my husband—along with many others—who had gone through this journey before,” she shared. “I kept returning to the same realization: This was a small price to pay for the incredible zechus [honor] of potentially saving someone’s life.”

Her husband, Rabbi Larry Rothwachs, the longtime rabbi of Congregation Beth Aaron in Teaneck, donated a kidney 10 years ago to Donny Hain, a”h, whose urgent need for a transplant was widely publicized within the community. Theirs was featured as a cover story in The Jewish Link and became a foundational inspiration for many of the recent donations in the region. Another similar groundswell of donations came when Rabbi Yosef Adler, rabbi emeritus of Teaneck’s Congregation Rinat Yisrael, held a seuda hoda’ah in thanks for his recovery after his son Zvi donated a kidney to him. Many people swabbed to be donors after witnessing that familial generosity.

Though she has not yet met her recipient, Rebbetzin Rothwachs was told he had been seriously ill and is now recovering well at home. She hopes to meet him in the future—if and when he’s ready.

Reflecting on the days and weeks following her surgery, she added: “It’s been deeply humbling. I’m usually very active, always moving from one thing to the next, so being forced to slow down for even a short time was an adjustment. But throughout, I’ve felt surrounded by kindness—from thoughtful messages to generous offers of help.”

Rothwachs also noted her deeper emotional insight after accompanying her husband during his donation: “One aspect that added great meaning was something my husband once said: that his one regret about donating a kidney was that he couldn’t do it again. In some way, I felt motivated to allow him to relive that experience through me, which made it especially fulfilling for both of us.

“Returning to daily life has been a powerful and emotional transition,” she said, “framed by a sense of gratitude and purpose.”

Just a Person in Your Community

Yaakov Pultman, a longtime Teaneck resident and member of the Young Israel of Teaneck, swabbed originally last year for his friend Howie Sterman but was not a match. (Howie ended up receiving a kidney from his son Koby earlier this year.) However, Pultman ended up donating a year later, about five weeks ago, to a 79-year-old man from Florida.

“I used to think people who donated kidneys were tzadikim on a whole different level,” Pultman said. “But it’s just a person in your community. It has to be the right time and the right mindset.”

A retired attorney and active gym-goer, Pultman emphasized the rigorous evaluation process and the strong support system provided by Renewal and the medical teams at Mount Sinai Medical Center. He added that it was beneficial that both the donor and the recipient had their own medical team, both tasked with advocating individually for each patient.

One deeply personal moment stood out: He only told his mother about the donation the day before his surgery. “We had a difficult few hours,” he said. “It was a lot for her to process.” But her feelings soon transformed into pride. “She now proudly displays the bumper sticker that she is a family member of a Renewal live kidney donor.

“There’s no hoopla needed—just a quiet sense of knowing you’ve done something meaningful,” Pultman added. “I would absolutely do it again.”

Pultman also added that he had a sense of awe for the staff of Renewal in appreciation of the important life-saving work they do. “On Tuesday this week there were six transplants! The Renewal folks have been all over the country this week coordinating the procedures, running swabbing events, raising funds, all while supporting the donors and helping saving the lives of multiple recipients. The organization and its people are quiet heroes who help people in need,” he said.

Kidney Donation: The Ultimate Workout?

Moshe Moskowitz, a fitness coach and founder of Jump Into Shape, chronicled his kidney donation as both a physical and spiritual transformation.

“In the gym, we train to strengthen our muscles. With this kidney donation, I trained to strengthen my soul,” Moskowitz wrote. “Giving the gift of life is the ultimate workout.”

Reflecting after surgery, Moskowitz shared: “Exactly one week ago today, I was in surgery donating a kidney to someone in desperate need. As I sit and reflect, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. I thank Hashem every day for giving me the strength and opportunity to help save a life.”

He also emphasized the spiritual aspect of his experience: “Hashem sent me on this mission, and I said ‘yes.’ I used my free will to step up, and I qualified. Maybe the 3,000-plus exercise classes I taught in my life were all to prepare my body for this moment.

“I donated a kidney, but what I gained is immeasurable,” Moskowitz said. “It’s not just about the person receiving the kidney—it’s about what we can all give, if we’re willing.”

An Opportunity to ‘Say Yes’

Chana Adatto-Shefa of Teaneck was struck by the idea of saving a life. “Last June, a woman in our neighborhood needed a kidney transplant, and all the shuls were encouraging people to get swabbed. My husband and I planned to go, but I asked him—why us? He just shrugged and said, ‘How cool would it be to save someone’s life?’

“That line stayed with me. It is cool. It’s powerful. The chance to save someone’s life—and impact an entire family—is extraordinary.”

While Adatto-Shefa was not a match for the woman in her community, she got a call from Renewal last January. “You’re a match for a man in his 60s,” said Binyomin, the donor coordinator who reached out. “He began to tell me about him, but I stopped him. ‘I don’t need the details,’ I said. ‘He’s a Jew, he’s dying and he needs a kidney. I’m in.’”

“When people ask me why I did it, I share this: For years, my tefillot to Hashem have included a request to be able to say ‘yes’ to the mitzvot that come my way. There have been times in my life—emotionally, spiritually, physically—when I simply couldn’t show up for others the way I wanted to. And then, when I needed help, my community showed up for me. People said yes—when it was inconvenient, uncomfortable, even costly. That changed me.

“Since then, I’ve been on a quiet mission to say yes. Someone needs a ride? Yes. Needs to borrow something? Yes. And when someone needed a kidney—yes.

“Renewal made it super easy to say yes. They made each step clear and manageable, they took care of all of my needs, for myself and my family and made sure the process was as easy as could be,” said Adatto-Shefa.

A Decade in the Making: Shabbos Kestenbaum Becomes Donor No. 9

The most recent donor, Shabbos Kestenbaum, 26, became the ninth altruistic donor the week of May 22, marking a powerful crescendo in this ever-expanding movement of chesed.

A native of Teaneck whose family now lives in Riverdale, Kestenbaum told The Jewish Link on the morning of his donation that he first emailed Renewal’s director of outreach, Rabbi Josh Sturm, a decade ago—at just 16 years old—expressing his desire to donate his kidney.

“He told me to come back and swab when I was 21,” Kestenbaum recalled. He did exactly that.

This week, his years-long journey culminated in surgery and a successful kidney donation to a stranger, a father of two sets of twins, the youngest of whom are 7 years old.

Outside of his medical selflessness, Kestenbaum is also a noted Jewish advocate against campus antisemitism. Last year, he sued Harvard University in one of several high-profile legal actions brought against academic institutions that enabled or failed to prevent antisemitic activity during pro-Palestine protests and encampments.

“Very often I travel across the country to talk about the need to protect Jewish students on campus, and this is an extension, kind of the next step of that. If I can do it, other people can do it too; this is something anyone can do … It’s nice to be part of a community where we don’t just learn our values, but live our values,” Kestenbaum told The Jewish Link.

His kidney donation—occurring in the same week as eight others nationwide—reflects both personal conviction and a powerful communal ripple effect.

In an interesting twist, Kestenbaum’s donation was canceled several weeks ago, due to him being asked to report for a new job as a show host at PragerU in June, several weeks earlier than expected. However, a Renewal kidney donor, who had never previously met Kestenbaum, offered to take off work for two weeks to accompany him to Los Angeles, assisting him with the physically taxing aspect of his move and making sure he has everything he needs. With just that altruistic offer from a fellow donor, Kestenbaum’s donation was put back on the schedule.

A Broader Movement Of Chesed

Renewal’s Rabbi Sturm confirmed that this surge is part of a broader trend.

“In addition to the nine donations this week, we’ve had approximately 20 total donations since Pesach,” said Sturm. “This includes five donors from Teaneck and Bergenfield, two from Passaic, one from Edison, and now another from Riverdale.”

These acts are not isolated events. They are part of a wave—an energized and growing movement of people willing to give of themselves for others in the most literal, life-saving way possible.

Awareness Is Just the Beginning

While live kidney donation isn’t for everyone, these recent stories serve as a profound reminder that it is possible—and transformative.

Renewal’s donor coordinator, Rabbi Moshe Gewirtz, said the fact that there have been so many donations recently has contributed to the normalization of the idea of kidney donation within the Jewish community, so there is less trepidation about it generally since friends or acquaintances see how well donors recover.

As Rebbetzin Rothwachs wisely said: “Awareness alone can open the door to a life-changing decision.”

To learn more about becoming a kidney donor, visit https://www.renewal.org/.