What does a 68-year-old Conservative Jewish man from Cranford, New Jersey have in common with a 42 year old Hasidic man originally from London?<\/p>\n
A kidney.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Yosef Leib Bornstein, a Ger Hasid donated his kidney to Dave Salomon through the help of Renewal, a non-profit which facilitates altruistic kidney donations.<\/p>\n
Jew in the City, whose mission is to break down stereotypes about religious Jews and offer a humorous, meaningful look into Orthodox Judaism, filmed this story in the recently released short film:\u00a0A Match Made in Heaven<\/i>. \u201cWe only see Hasidic Jews abusing people and being insular,\u201d explains Allison Josephs, Jew in the City\u2019s founder and director. \u201cThere are so many wonderful acts of kindness being done in the Hasidic world that no one ever hears about. We were excited to share just one of these stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salomon\u2019s parents both died of kidney disease after years of being on dialysis. Salomon had resigned himself to a similar fate. With O blood type, Salomon is a Universal Donor, but can only accept donations from a donor with O blood. With such a narrow donor base, Salomon was pushed to the bottom of the recipient list. They publicized his story in their local Jewish newspaper in hopes of finding a donor to no avail. With his daughter soon to be married, Salomon and his family hoped he\u2019d be able to attend her wedding but they didn\u2019t know how likely that would be.<\/p>\n
For Bornstein, raised as a Hasidic Jew, the chance to give his kidney to someone in need was obvious. He was taught all his life, \u201cIf you\u2019ve save someone\u2019s life, it\u2019s like you\u2019ve saved the whole world.\u201d He didn\u2019t care who his kidney went to, just that it should help someone.<\/p>\n
Neither Salomon nor Bornstein knew the other before the transplant took place. Not only was their emotional meeting captured in\u00a0A Match Made in Heaven,\u00a0<\/i>the two were reunited months later at Salomon\u2019s daughter\u2019s wedding. Both happy, both healthy and thriving.<\/p>\n
But then the story took one more twist. To show her gratitude for her husband\u2019s life being saved, Salomon\u2019s wife, Gail, recently donated one of her kidneys too.<\/p>\n
For more information on Renewal, visit.\u00a0www.renewal.org View A Match Made in Heaven<\/em> here:<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>For more information on Jew in the City, visit,\u00a0www.jewinthecity.com<\/a><\/p>\n