Save a Child’s Heart
I want to thank Rabbi Abe, Rabbi Yosef, Terri Soifer, Tovah Rosenthal, and Joel Chew for providing opportunity for me to speak before the kahal today and providing all assistance, as was needed.
It is fitting that as we prepare for Yom Ha’atzma’ut, Israel Independence Day, that we focus attention on an internationally recognized, prize-winning humanitarian organization based in Israel: Save A Child’s Heart or SACH.
Since days of old, the heart, as a symbol, has been featured prominently in the songs and poetry of our culture and cultures around the world.
?מִי יַעֲלֶה בְּהַר יְהוָֹה וּמִי יָקוּם בִּמְקוֹם קָדְשׁוֹ
נְקִי כַפַּיִם וּבַר לֵבָב
With these words of song, the psalmist asks:
Who shall ascend to the mountain of the Lord and who shall stand in his holy place? His answer: He that has clean hands and bar lavav, a pure heart.
King David, 3,000 years ago depicted the heart as a vessel of purity and sang that a pure heart is required for one to get close to God.
לִבִּי בְמִזְרָח וְאָנֹכִי בְּסוֹף מַעֲרָב
“Libi,” my heart is in the east, and I am in the uttermost west.
Y’huda Halevi, our great poet, born in Spain, about 1,000 years ago portrayed the heart as the seat of yearning (in this poem expressing his yearning for Zion).
כָּל עוֹד בַּלֵבָב פְּנִימָה
נֶפֶש יְהוּדִי הוֹמִיָּה
Still in our Levav P’nimah, our inner heart, a Jewish soul is stirring.
Naftali Imber, a Hebrew poet of the late 19th century, penned these words which became the anthem of the early Zionist movement and later the National Anthem of the State of Israel. He portrayed the heart as the home of the soul.
The heart has also been portrayed as the center of spirit, of courage, fervor, and bravery; We talk of doing things heartily.
It has been portrayed as the wellspring of truth, honesty, sincerity, A person might do something “from the bottom of his heart.”
A kind person is described with the words “her heart is in the right place.”
We describe a central issue as “the heart of the matter.”
We encourage others when we say:
“Take heart.”
We encourage compassion, and charity when we implore others to:
“Have a heart.”
We speak of the seriousness of an issue with phrases like:
I take it to heart.
With all my heart.
In my heart of hearts.
Two weeks ago we spoke of the stubborn Pharaoh as:
Hard hearted.
We speak of some, with whom we might prefer to not be acquainted as:
having a heart of stone or, worse yet, as heartless
While we characterize others with whom we might prefer to be acquainted as having:
a warm heart
a heart of gold
an open heart
a tender heart
as having a soft spot in their heart
Given all of the human qualities attributed to the heart it’s clear that the heart has been seen as the home of our true being, of our inner nature, of our essential self. The heart represents the core of our humanness, of our being human.
Some of you might recognize the way these thoughts were nicely summed up by an astute observer of the human condition when he sang: (Please join me if you recognize this.)
“I’d be tender, I’d be gentle and awful sentimental regarding love and art, And it’s true, I’m presumin’, I could be truly human, if I only had a heart!”
But while the heart has been described in poetry and song as the reservoir of the qualities which make us human, it is also a physical entity, a major bodily organ, which must be cared for and maintained in good health so that we might live our lives as fully as possible.
While I love exploring the heart as a symbol of so many important human qualities, it is the heart as a critically important bodily organ, and its care that I wish to focus on.
The sole purpose of Save A Child’s Heart, as its name implies, is to repair and heal the damaged hearts of poor children who are as young as several weeks and as old as their mid-teens; children from Israel, and children brought to Israel from poor countries around the world.
How did this project, now in its 23rd year get started?
In 1992, Dr. Amram Joseph Cohen, an American pediatric heart surgeon and founder of SACH, known to his friends and colleagues as Ami, made Aliyah with his wife and two small children. He found work at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon and began performing surgeries on Israeli children with damaged hearts.
Word of Ami’s work spread and three years later, in 1995, he received a call from a physician in Ethiopia that 2 children with damaged hearts were dying. Could Ami help? The children were brought to Wolfson. Ami performed the needed surgeries and Abdul and Helena were saved.
This was the beginning of the realization of Ami’s vision that in addition to treating Israeli children, sick and indigent children from poor countries where the necessary expertise and facilities did not exist, could be brought to Israel, and the needed surgeries performed. Save A Child’s Heart was born.
The need for an organization like SACH is great. Congenital heart defects are responsible for more deaths in the first year of life than any other birth defect.
SACH is a not for profit, non-religious, non-political, UN recognized NGO. All children are accepted for treatment regardless of nationality, religion, race, gender, or financial situation.
What has developed in the 23 years since 1995?
A core of more than 75 physicians, nurses, technicians, and other medical personnel, employed at The Wolfson Medical Center, now volunteer time for SACH work.
Lives have been saved of more than 4600 children brought to Israel, now from 57 partner countries.
49% are from Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Morocco, and Syria.
Even with staff volunteering their time, about $15,000.00 per child is still needed to pay for travel to and from Israel, for pre- and post-operative care, for the heart surgery, and for accommodations while in Israel. These costs are covered by SACH. There is no cost to the families.
Children are generally accompanied to Israel by a parent or a social worker familiar with the child. They are housed in the SACH Children’s Home in Holon, where there may be 25-30 children at any given time.
SACH has its own paid staff of 11 persons who work in the Children’s Home and who support the children and parents residing there. In addition, volunteers from Israel and from around the world work with the children who are pre and post-surgery patients. I am pleased to say that Doris and I, together with our son and his family, will be among those volunteers this summer.
SACH provides comprehensive training programs in Israel for physicians and nurses from developing partner countries.
Dr. Godwin Godfrey, the first pediatric cardiac surgeon of Tanzania, was trained by SACH personnel at Wolfson.
SACH conducts weekly cardiology clinics to evaluate children from Gaza and The West Bank.
SACH also conducts teaching missions and cardiology clinics abroad. Local medical professionals are trained. This is an important part of SACH’s goal to establish centers of competence in the partnering countries.
SACH is now funding the building of a new Children’s Hospital at Wolfson Medical Center. The Children’s Hospital will house the Middle East’s first international pediatric cardiac care center. The new center will have capacity to perform up to 300 pediatric heart surgeries per year.
For all its good work, SACH has won recognition and many awards.
Two weeks ago, on April 3, The Jerusalem Post reported that the UN Population Fund honored SACH with its 2018 Population Award in recognition of the important humanitarian work being done by SACH around the world.
SACH has also been awarded the National Friendship Medal from The People’s Republic of China.
SACH is described by the Israel Foreign Ministry as “The jewel in the crown of Israel’s international image.”
SACH has been recognized by Charity Navigator and by Independent Charities of America as an outstanding charity and as Best in America.
Before I wrap up today, I would like to bring to your attention to one more mention of the word “heart” found in our literature. This one from the Torah and the siddur is undoubtedly the one most familiar to you.
וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֵיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.”
What does it mean to love God with all your heart?
Our weekly Torah readings are now found in the Book of Leviticus where we might find an answer to the question, “What does it mean to love God with all your heart?”
The opening sections of Leviticus provide detailed descriptions of the different sacrifices (Olah; Mincha; Shlamim; Chatat; Asham) offered to God and of the mitzvot to be observed in performing the rituals associated with the sacrifices. The Hebrew word for sacrifice is “Karban” which means “a way to get close to”, from the word “Karov.”
So through sacrificing and practicing the rituals associated with the sacrifices, the Children of Israel got closer to God. Also in these sections of Leviticus are the laws of the ritual practices to be observed regarding kashrut, of the ritual practices regarding purification and defilement, ritual practices associated with Shabbat and our other holidays and laws regarding additional ritual practices.
The observing of these laws of ritual practice, is accepted as “ben adam lamakom,” between a person and God. Observing the mitzvot of ritual practices is an important part of getting close to God; but not the totality of loving God with all your heart.
Two weeks from today still in Leviticus, we will read in Parashat K’doshim.
קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ, כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם
“You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.”
And what does God require of us so that we can achieve a divine holiness? As written in Parashat K’doshim..
Workers are to be paid on time.
Strangers are to be accorded the same respect, understanding and compassion that we afford to our fellow citizens.
We are to proclaim liberty throughout the land to all of its inhabitants.
We are to leave the crops in the comers of our fields for the poor and the stranger.
We are to not insult the deaf.
We are to not put a stumbling block before the blind.
We are to judge all equally.
These all add up to being compassionate toward all.
Unlike the laws of ritual practice which underlie the relationship “ben adam lamakom,” between a person and God, the behaviors required by these laws of ethical social practice underlie the relationship “ben adam l’chavero,” the relationship of one person to another. These laws are not addressed to any select group such as the priests; but to the entire community of Israel, to all of us sitting together in this shul right now. What is required of us if we are to achieve a life of holiness, if we are to love God with all of our heart?
In addition to our observance of the ritual laws, we are to be ethical in our behavior. We are to relate to one another in a respectful, just, humane, sensitive, and compassionate manner. With special considerations for the aged, the disabled, the sick, the poor; not only on special occasions, but in our normal, everyday life.
Parashat K’doshim inspires us to achieve the height of relating in this manner when it proclaims:
וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרַעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ
“You are to love your neighbor as yourself.”
Sefer Vayikra answers the question of how to love God, b’chol l’vavecha, with all your heart. We are to love God with all our heart, not through our ritual practice, ben adam lamakom, alone, but together with the ethical, caring, and compassionate behaviors, ben adam l’chavero, in our relationships with others.
Just a few minutes ago, right here in this shul, we repeated a ritual which we practice every week, the Mi Sheh Berach Lacholim, the prayer for those who are ill. Some of us stood and recited the names of those about whom we care who are in need of healing. The rabbi then beseeched God to intervene and restore to health those who are not well. This is the ben adam lamakom requirement, between a person and God.
But what about the ben adam l’chavero requirement, the caring and compassionate behaviors that we are required to exhibit in our person to person relationships?
We have engaged in the required ritual practice ben adam lamakom, for bringing about healing. To love God with all our heart, we must now also exhibit the required behaviors of caring and compassion for bringing about healing, ben adam l’chavero, from person to person. I hope this presentation helps you to find a way to exhibit those behaviors of compassion in the very near future.
After our services today, you will be able to find more information about Save A Child’s Heart in brochures that I will make available on the table in the chapel. When you leave the Kiddush, SACH brochures will also be available on a table just outside the Kahaner auditorium. On your way out, please take a brochure with you.
For those of you who may want to engage in discussion or ask questions about SACH at the Kiddush, I will be sitting at a table clearly marked for that purpose.
I want very much to increase awareness of SACH in the greater Philadelphia region. If you are connected to other groups which might have an interest in SACH or in programming featuring SACH, please contact me.
Thank you and Shabbat shalom.
Find additional information about SACH and view videos here.
