Yerach Toker was very close to Rabbi Yeshayahu Heber, who passed away last night from coronavirus. This morning he spoke with Reshet Bet, reminiscing about Rabbi Heber, who founded the "Gift of Life" foundation to promote kidney donation.
"Eleven years ago, Rabbi Heber was in the dialysis ward, waiting for a kidney transplant. There he noticed a young boy of eight who had been admitted to the same ward. After Rabbi Heber was discharged, he sought a kidney donor for this boy, but he was unsuccessful. From then onward, he resolved to dedicate his life to promoting kidney donation. His dream was that there should no longer be a waiting list for people needing a kidney transplant," Toker said.
"Anyone who was in Rabbi Heber's vicinity for as little as ten minutes ended up deciding to donate a kidney," he related further. "It was infectious. He had the patience to hear everyone out, and people phoned him all the time. Once, I tried to convince him to let a secretary field all the calls, but he insisted that he had to answer them all himself, because a caller might be persuaded to donate a kidney and he couldn't allow that possibility to be lost."