Monday, March 26, 2012

Speaking of Chesed…

No one exemplified Chesed more than my Rebbe, Rav Ahron Soloveichik. The apple does not fall far from the tree. His youngest son, R’ Chaim Soloveichik, who lives in Ramat Bet Shemesh just donated one of his kidneys to a woman in need. I don’t usually quote an entire article but I am making an exception here. This is from Ha’artez (...and yes they spelled his name wrong. There is no ‘t’ in his last name):

A U.S.-born rabbi and educator who leads a congregation in Ramat Beit Shemesh has donated a kidney to an unnamed female recipient, according to an e-mail distributed by his synagogue.

Both Rabbi Haym Soloveitchik, spiritual leader of Congregational Ohr-Shalom, and the recipient of the kidney were said to be "doing well" following the March 4 procedure that "was planned well in advance," according to the message, issued the following day.

The e-mail, obtained by Haaretz, included the Hebrew first names of the rabbi and the recipient of the kidney, as well as the Hebrew names of their mothers, as is the custom when traditional Jewish prayers for the ill are uttered.

Soloveitchik, believed to be in his 40s, holds a number of educational and community leadership positions in Israel. He is the son of Rabbi Aaron Soloveitchik, the renowned Russian-born, American Talmudic scholar who died in 2001, and the scion of the dynastic Soloveitchik rabbinic family.

Attempts to reach the rabbi's family and congregation were unsuccessful.

Hat tip: YZS