Children's Hospital in Boston: One

of the scores of hospitals through

which ROFEH is able to help
thousands of patients

Joseph and Rae Gann ROFEH Residence building

at 1730 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA

The
Bostoner
Rebbe,
Grand
Rabbi
Levi Y.
Horowitz
ztz"l

Bostoner Rebbe, Rav

Naftali Y. Horowitz, shlita

Dr. John Mullikan,

Children's Hospital Dr. Kenneth
Dr. Sumner Boston, Plastic Anderson, Dana
Slavin, Plastic and Oral Surgery Farber, Oncology
Rabbi Nachum Leib Surgeon at Beth
Sacks, Executive Israel Deaconess
Director of Rofeh Medical Center
with Dr. Fred Mandell, Dr. Arnold Freedman, Dana Farber
and President Boston, Hematology Oncology
from children's of New England
hospital Boston Chassidic Center

Introduces ...
This section contains promotional material
W
hen Rivky’s parents heard that there was nothing else the doctors
could do to help their daughter, they thought the entire world was
caving in upon them. Rivky was born with a serious congenital
heart problem. Since her birth, Rivky had frequent episodes where she
was deprived of oxygen and was hospitalized. Despite countless medical
consultations and numerous surgeries, the doctors in Israel concluded that
her situation was too severe for successful medical intervention. According to
their prognosis, she likely had less than six months to live.
In one last desperate attempt to save their daughter’s life, Rivky’s family
chose to contact ROFEH International — a comprehensive medical referral

A Community
and bikur cholim service in Boston, Massachusetts, that was founded by
the late Bostoner Rebbe, Rav Levi Yitzchak Horowitz, ztz”l. ROFEH asked for
Rivky’s medical records and connected the family to one of the top pediatric
surgeons in Boston, who had agreed to look over her case. Decades of
experience notwithstanding, the surgeon had never seen a case as severe as
Rivky’s in his entire career. The doctor informed the family that there was little
he could do to help her, but was willing to try.

Upon receiving this new hope, Rivky and her family immediately flew to
Boston, while ROFEH arranged hospitality, transportation, and care for Rivky
and her family. After a grueling seven hours in the operating room, the doctor
announced that the operation had been successful — Rivky’s life was saved!
Thanks to ROFEH’s assistance and a lot of siyata d’Shamaya, Rivky can now
look forward to a healthy and happy childhood.
If her story were unique, that alone would be impressive. But in
truth, thousands of families have received a new lease on life, due
largely to the caring hands and support of ROFEH International.
Founded as an outgrowth of the Bostoner Rebbe’s love for every Jew
and his sincere desire to help all people, ROFEH International at its
founding was at the forefront of medical referral organizations. In
addition to providing medical referrals, the organization stands ready
to meet other needs, as well.
Boston is an international hub for travelers seeking medical attention, as
the city is home to some of the top medical centers in America; Boston boasts
some of the most renowned doctors in the world. Among the thousands
of travelers from all walks of life needing medical care who come through
Boston each year, many are Torah-observant Jews unfamiliar with the Boston
area. ROFEH offers fully equipped apartments for patients and their families,
provides home-cooked kosher meals during the duration of their stay,
translation services, transportation, and more, for the several thousands of
patients and their families who come through the doors of ROFEH each year.
What distinguishes ROFEH from other chesed organizations, however,
is not its impressive numbers, its devoted and knowledgeable staff, or its
flawless service. ROFEH is unique in that a community exists within the
organization. A community founded on the Bostoner Rebbe’s vision of
chesed and compassion for every single Jew.
The Hub of the Universe
The story of Boston Chassidus begins in Jerusalem. The great Lelover
Rebbe, Rav Dovid Biderman, summoned his nephew, Rav Pinchas Dovid
Horowitz, ztz”l . The young man was not only a descendant of many great
chassidic rebbes — including the Baal Shem Tov himself — but was also an
accomplished talmid chacham in his own right. “Your place is in America,”
of Chesed
by Gavriel Horan
the Lelover Rebbe told him. “You can build there.” The young Reb Pinchas
Dovid was incredulous. While he would do anything for his uncle, going to
America — the treifeh medineh — was too much to ask, and the Rebbe’s
words were soon forgotten. Years later, while traveling to Europe on behalf
of the old yishuv in Jerusalem, World War I broke out, and Reb Pinchas Dovid
was unable to return to Eretz Yisrael. Eventually, the only exit visa he could
obtain was to … America! After a short time in New York, he acquiesced to
requests to come serve as a chassidic rebbe in Boston, in direct fulfillment of
the Lelover Rebbe’s vision years before.
The Chassidus flourished in Boston. Although Reb Pinchas Dovid relocated
to New York at the end of his life, his second son, Reb Levi Yitzchak Horowitz,
soon returned to Boston to lead the flock in 1944, thus becoming the first
American-born chassidic rebbe. Boston, known to its denizens as the “Hub
of the Universe,” is a hotspot for students and intellectuals, who flock to the
area’s prestigious colleges and universities.
In 1961, the Rebbe established the New England Chassidic Center in the
Boston neighborhood of Brookline. There, he and his devoted Rebbetzin
opened their home and their hearts to students and travelers, offering
them warmth, support — and most importantly, food! Hundreds, if not
thousands, of Jewish souls became frum through their tireless efforts.
Under the Rebbe’s leadership, Kehillas Bais Pinchas became a shul focused
on warmth and chesed. His chassidim had the best teacher of all. the Rebbe
was the very first one to give “shalom aleichem” to a new face in shul, and
of course, his chassidim followed suit. The Rebbe was quick to point out that
Chassidus comes from the word chesed, kindness — “That’s what chassidim
do,” he would say. He once defined chesed for one of his closest chassidim:
“Knowing what a person needs and taking care of it before they even know
they need it.” The theme of the Rebbe’s life was chesed, and for him it was
the greatest avodah.
In 1984, the Rebbe fulfilled a lifelong dream to establish a Bostoner
community in Israel by founding Boston Har Nof, a flourishing Chassidic
community based upon the principles of the American-born Chassidus.
Unlike those retirees who leave Boston during the cold winter months for the
warmth of Eretz Yisrael, the Rebbe did just the opposite. Despite the blazing
Middle Eastern summers, he only left for Israel after the academic year was
over, in order to spend every precious moment with his beloved students.
The Rebbe’s Medical Eye
Due to constant interaction with medical students and doctors, the Rebbe
developed an intimate knowledge of Boston’s numerous medical centers. He
was often asked to refer members of the growing community to doctors in
the area. Over time, he became an expert in the field of medical referrals, and
people from out of town or abroad began to call him for medical advice.
In the early 1950s, the Chazon Ish sent an Israeli patient to Boston for
open-heart surgery. At the time, the procedure was still new and Boston
was one of few places where the procedure was performed. Following
that experience, the Chazon Ish and others started sending patients to the
At a tour of the newly renovated Rofeh Building
Rebbe for referrals and accommodations. Together with the Rebbetzin, the

Rebbe, ztz"l in Har Nof
Virtually every US President
in front of the shul
since Harry Truman has
expressed his appreciation
to Rofeh in writing
Rebbe housed dozens of visiting patients in his own home, providing for
their physical and spiritual needs while offering them sound advice and
emotional support.
The Rebbe not only tried to help each and every person who walked
through his door, but he also deeply felt their pain and struggle as if it were
his own. He was once seen sobbing during a phone call with someone who
had been diagnosed with a serious illness. When asked if the person was a
close friend, the Rebbe responded that it was a total stranger.
“A Jew is in trouble; a Jew is pain — I can’t not cry!” The Rebbe’s son-
in-law Rabbi Yosef Frankel found him lying down in bed one day when they
were supposed to be learning. He asked the Rebbe what was wrong. Noticing
that the elderly Rebbe was evading his question, Rabbi Frankel asked him if he
was fasting. The Rebbe reluctantly admitted that he was indeed fasting, and
didn’t have energy to come downstairs. When pressed, the Rebbe explained
that he had instructed someone to go ahead with a dangerous surgery that
day. He was fasting to give them additional zchuyos.
There were numerous cases where the Rebbe’s vast experience allowed
him to detect a medical issue before the doctors had any idea something
was wrong. He once instructed a young woman to get a blood test after
experiencing unusual symptoms. The doctors reluctantly went ahead with it,
even though they thought it was unnecessary. To their surprise it revealed a
fast-growing form of cancer. Thanks to the Rebbe’s advice, they were able to
detect it early enough to make a complete recovery possible.
In another case, a four-year-old girl with a hole between the chambers
of her heart once came for surgery to Boston Children’s Hospital with
her mother. The two of them stayed in the Rebbe’s house during the
process. Unfortunately the surgery was unsuccessful. Although her
doctors wanted to operate again, the Rebbe contacted a specialist who
informed them that she faced a 50-percent chance of mortality during
the second operation. The Rebbe convinced the mother to wait until the
doctors developed a better treatment.
Nine years later, Boston Children’s Hospital contacted the girl again and
invited her to come back for the operation: the hospital had updated its
equipment. This time the operation was successful, and today the “little girl”
has children and grandchildren!
The Rebbe pays a bikur
cholim visit to Yaakov
Steinberg who turned to
Rofeh when he needed an
urgent kidney transplant
The Rebbe didn’t merely do chesed
with the patients and their families;
he turned the members of his
kehillah into baalei chesed as well!
He created a community made
up of givers, where members feel
responsible for one another
The Birth of ROFEH International
As their bikur cholim services grew in popularity, the Rebbe and
Rebbetzin soon realized that it was no longer possible to serve the needs
of all the patients from their own home. Their humble house was often
full of medical equipment, and since patients were coming and going
at all hours, it was necessary for the Rebbetzin to prepare meals around
the clock to feed everyone.
For more than half a century, they spent almost every single Shabbos
seudah with people suffering from serious medical conditions. It was in 1987
that the Rebbe acquired the Striar building, just a few doors down from his
shul, which was then renovated into a lodging house in 2002 with the help
of the Joseph and Rae Gann Family Foundation. This new building is able to
host several different families at a time. Thus ROFEH International was born,
an acronym for Reaching Out, Furnishing Emergency Health care — which is
what ROFEH is all about.
The Rebbe once remarked, “It’s the only place in the world where you
have facilities to accommodate over a dozen families at one time. They’re
not only given a bedroom, but a community support system, including the
shul, the davening, the Shabbos and the singing. It gives them a new life!”
The Steipler Gaon, ztz”l, once told the Rebbe that what he was doing to
help families of the sick was even more important than what he was doing
for the patients themselves. “The doctor is just a shaliach from Hashem.
Whether or not he will be successful is completely out of our hands. But when
you help the family, you are always successful!” After they finished speaking,
the aged gadol insisted on walking the Rebbe out, despite great difficulty.
When the Rebbe protested, the Steipler replied, “I have to accompany a
person who does such chesed!”
The Rebbe didn’t merely do chesed with the patients and their families;
he turned the members of his kehillah into baalei chesed as well! He created
a community made up of givers, where members feel responsible for one
another. In Boston one can hear secular — even non-Jewish — doctors
instructing their secretaries where to reach them “if the Rebbe calls.” One
prominent non-Jewish pediatric eye surgeon often visits patients on ROFEH
premises if post-surgery checkups fall out on Shabbos, since he knows they
can’t travel. He once even stayed for over an hour trying to coax a fussy
convalescent baby to eat.
Carrying the Torch
Today, the Rebbe’s son, Rav Naftali Y. Horowitz, shlita, has taken over
the Boston kehillah in Boston, following in his father’s footsteps. The Rebbe,
shlita, is a renowned talmid chacham, while remaining down to earth and
full of love and compassion for every Jew, very much like his father. Although
only recently crowned Rebbe, he managed the day to day workings of
ROFEH, together with Bais Pinchas and the New England Chassidic Center,
for over three decades. The Rebbe, shlita, together with his Rebbetzin, work
together as a team managing the operations of the organizations. The
Rebbetzin spends hours in the office making sure that the needs of all, both
clients and employees, are properly managed.
The Rebbe is known in the community to be reachable by phone, and
his chassidim and patients can reach him for emergencies at all times. While
in Israel after his father’s levayah, the Rebbe, shlita, received a call from services for homebound elderly people in the area, including transportation,
someone staying at ROFEH and answered the call immediately.
“Call me and let me know whenever you hear any news,” he told
them, neglecting to mention the time difference in Israel, even though the
call might come in the middle of the night. He wanted to make himself
available to the patient — on their time!“Bostoner Chassidus’s philosophy
is intimately connected to chesed,” the Rebbe, shlita, explains. “What
could be more spiritual than helping your fellow Jew — refuas hanefesh
u’refuas haguf! The Rebbe, ztz”l, always felt that he was a shaliach of
HaKadosh Baruch Hu, who placed him in Boston for a very good reason
— in order to help his fellow Jews. He viewed his work at ROFEH as one of
his main missions in life. With the help and support of those who are here
today, ROFEH will hopefully continue the good work that my father was able
to start and which he would want to continue.”
Beyond helping patients find the right doctor for their needs, ROFEH
also aids patients in the process of booking appointments and minimizing
long wait time. Some doctors are so popular they can be booked as much
as ten months in advance.
Before arriving, families are contacted by
the chesed coordinator, to find out if they have Home away from home: Rofeh's guest facilities
any dietary restrictions. From the moment are comfortable and well appointed
they arrive, they receive full home-cooked
meals twice a day, which are often prepared
by volunteers and Mrs. Minaker. They make
between five and nine such meals every
single day, on a completely volunteer basis.
Arrangements are also made for interpreters
to accompany nonfluent English speakers
to the hospital to help communicate with
doctors and hospital staff.
One week, there were five ROFEH families
staying at Boston Children’s Hospital for
Shabbos. Instead of providing each family
with their own individual cholent, everyone
agreed to have a huge Crock-Pot in the room
of one of the patients for everyone to share
during the day seudah. It happened to be
that the Crock-Pot was placed in the room of
a two-year-old girl who was being observed
after abdominal surgery.
Although she had fully recovered, the
doctor wouldn’t release her until she started
eating normally, but she adamantly refused to
eat a thing. That Shabbos she spent the entire
night sleeping beside the boiling cholent pot with its tantalizing aroma
filling the air. Shabbos morning, the first thing she said when she opened
her eyes was, “Cholent!” She proceeded to eat almost half the pot of the
steaming Shabbos delicacy — the first solid food she had eaten in weeks.
Needless to say, everyone was happy to share their portions with her. As
soon as the doctor heard the news, he promptly discharged her!
Under the capable direction of the Rebbe, shlita, ROFEH is looking to
expand its operations to include greater services for patients and families.
ROFEH has recruited a talented new executive director, Rabbi Nachum Leib
Sacks, expressly for this purpose. “Although we have relied on the good will
of many notable members of the Boston community until this point, we now
have the infrastructure to do so much more for our patients by organizing a
steady team of community-wide volunteers,” Rabbi Sacks explained.
In the near future, ROFEH plans to offer regular transportation to and
from hospitals. Taxis can cost families more than $40 a day, and are the only
way to get around the city efficiently.
Additionally, ROFEH is currently designing a comprehensive program
to provide opportunities for relaxation and entertainment for their clients’
families, who often need to spend long amounts of time away from their
homes. The program will offer daily organized trips to parks, museums, and
historical sites for patients and their families, in order to make the recovery
period more pleasurable and stimulating. Future plans also include offering
— This article was made possible with the assistance of Rabbi Herschel Leiner, president of H. Leiner & Co., Corporate and Nonprofit Solutions
H.LEINER & CO. FUNDRAISNG AND MARKETING CONSULTING HL@HLEINER.COM 845-362-8545
meals, holiday-related events, and home visits.
A Home Away From Home
“Our mission is to provide our patients and their families with a
home away from home in the most dignified and respectful manner
possible while they are in Boston,” Rabbi Sacks said. “They don’t feel
like they are in a foreign place, and that gives them the strength to go
on during these trying times. It benefits the patients when they have
their family’s support. At ROFEH, we are supplying the families with
physical and emotional support to, in turn, help the patients.”
ROFEH works hand in hand with many renowned medical referral
organizations, such as Rabbi Weitz’s Echo, Rabbi Shuki Berman’s Refuah
Resource, and Rabbi Fuerer’s Ezrah Lamarpeh, to name a few. When
a well-known Yerushalayim rabbi was faced with the trauma of a sick
infant, his Rebbe told him to go to Boston to see a specialist. Rabbi
Shuki Berman directed him to ROFEH. Within a few hours of speaking
with the Rebbe, shlita, by phone, the father received a fax confirming their
apartment in ROFEH.
“The apartment had everything we needed.
It was like a five-star hotel — all totally free!”
he said. Shortly after arriving, a volunteer came
to the door with a complete meal for supper
and breakfast the next day. “Our daughter was
hospitalized for eight long months, but knowing
that we had someone there to rely on whenever
we needed something was a major, major help.
They offered us both physical and emotional
encouragement and support to make us feel as
much at home as possible while we were away
from home.”
Fifteen-year-old Yaakov Steinberg of Brooklyn
recently suffered kidney failure and desperately
needed an immediate transplant. His mother
was chosen as the most suitable donor. When
Rabbi Binyamin Steinberg — a maggid shiur at
the Young Israel of Queens Valley — came to
Boston to consult with specialists, the hospital
social worker suggested that they contact
ROFEH. Several doctors present seconded that
notion, speaking highly of the present Rebbe.
ROFEH helped them take care of all their
accommodations before and after the surgery.
“They made it clear to us that they were
willing to do anything to help us, so that we could be free to focus exclusively
on our medical issue without worrying about anything else,” Rabbi Steinberg
explained. “They weren’t looking for kavod, but rather to help us feel
comfortable. We really feel like we now have a second community in Boston,
and it really helped us get through our situation. I don’t know how we would
have been able to do it without them! ROFEH is the epitome of what chesed
is all about — people who just want to help another Yid in any way they can.
I can’t see a higher form of chesed than what ROFEH practices.”
ROFEH International continues to work tirelessly to support any patient in
need. While many referrals are made by phone, their apartments are always
full, and arrangements are made so that no one in need is turned away. Visitors
to ROFEH are constantly amazed at the compassion and dedication of the staff
at ROFEH and their willingness to help out in any way possible. ROFEH provides
medical referrals, accommodations, food, translators, and transportation, etc.,
to their patients at no cost, and relies exclusively on the generosity of their
local and international donors. Those staying in Boston know that they always
have a place to turn to and an address to call home. n
ROFEH International:
address: 1710 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA 02445-2124
Telephone: 617-566-1900
E-mail: rofeh@rofehint.org
website: www.rofehinternational.org