Hatzalah Hosts Maimonides for Annual Melava Malka and Health Symposium
Over 1,000 men and women turned out Motzai Shabbos for Crown Heights Hatzalah’s annual Melava Malka, health symposium and raffle for $18,000.
Opening the evening was Hatzalah coordinator Yossi Friedman who began with an appropriate Dvar Torah about the role of doctors and medicine. The crowd then heard greeting from the president and CEO of Maimonides Medical Center Mrs. Pamela S. Brier, she spoke of the hospitals commitment to ‘do no harm’ and the value they place in care. Mrs. Brier wished that she never see us other than for the births of babies.
The evening featured a special guest speaker, Dr. Greg Ribakove Director of the division of cardiothoracic surgery and the Vice Chair of the department of surgery at Maimonides, he began his speech with an incident where his mother who was shopping in a grocery store when she had fainted. A Hatzalah volunteer immediately rushed to her aide, and thankfully she completely recovered.
In that time, Dr. Ribakove related, how this volunteer had ‘adopted’ his mother, making sure she was ok and following up and checking in. He thanked and praised Hatzalah for the vital work that they do.
Following was Dr. Paul Saunders, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Maimonides who spoke about cardiac health. Dr. Steven Rudolph, the Director of the Jaffe stroke center at Maimonides who spoke about strokes, prevention and treatment.
Also speaking that evening was Dr. Eli Rosen, who run a medical practice in Crown Heights and is also a volunteer in Hatzalah. The evening concluded with a short talk from Rabbi Levi Gorelik.
The Melava Malka featured a delicious spread of dairy and parev food catered by Benny Turk of Turk Cateres, a wine bar by Yudi Eber of Eber’s Wines and Liquors and a sushi bar by Sushi Spot. Live music and a special performance by Benny Friedman rounded off the evening
The lucky winners of the night’s prizes were Dovid Michel who won the $18,000 and Yaakov Simon who won the iPad.
hatzalah wine bottles
the event was fabulous, kol hakavod to CH hatzalah!
those engraved wine bottles with the hatzalah logo look so cool!
i got the guys business card the place that does it is called “royal engraving” right here on carroll st great idea for gifts and stuff.
congratulations to the winners
Yossi A
What a great kidush shem Lubavitch last night.
KUDOS to ALL hatzalah members, helpers & supporters.
A note to Dr Rosen
You were correct in your dvar Torah that all Doctors go to (thru) gehenim.
the best Doctors (and hatzalah members) go that extra mile (and then some) to help another yid. EVEN IF IT MEANS GOING ALL THE WAY TO GEHENOM TO HELP A YID IN NEED.
Unit 10
Chazal say “tov she-bo-rofim le-ge-henom” on the other hand the Torah says that “vrapo ye-rapeh” and Rashi says from here we learn that Doctors have permission to heal. There is a Halacha that says that if someone is sick he must seek out a doctor and if he does not do he is “shofech dam asmo”. So what does it mean “tov she-bo-rofim le-ge-henom?” one explanation given is that in Shmona esrei there are 18 brochos, and if a doctor believes that he is the healer and not Hashem then he only believes in 17 brochos (meaning he doesnt believe in Refo-einu) which is the numerical value of טוב and if that’s the case he deserves gehinom r”l. However those doctors who serve faithfully and see themselves as vessels of healing from Hashem they will have a lichtige gan eden!! like we find gedolei yisroel who were doctors, the Rambam.Ramban, Rashba and more.
a CH resident
Kol Hakavod to CH Hatzalah — may each one of you be blessed with good health, nachas from your families, and success in everything you do! We are so gebentched to have you among us.