[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 14 (Wednesday, January 23, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E79]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING RABBI EPHRAIM SIMON OF TEANECK

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BILL PASCRELL, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 23, 2019

  Mr. PASCRELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the 
outstanding and selfless achievements of Rabbi Ephraim Simon.
  Rabbi Simon is the director of Chabad of Teaneck, New Jersey. As a 
rabbi, he has focused his studies on the three intellectual divisions 
of wisdom, comprehension, and knowledge but also a great focus on 
responsibility and love. For some, these may just seem like religious 
principles, but to Rabbi Simon they are more than that: they are 
guiding outlines for how to live one's life that he emphasizes every 
day in service to his community.
  Rabbi Simon's commitment to community and charity was evident in 2009 
when the rabbi selflessly donated one of his kidneys to a total 
stranger. This noble act saved the life of a father of 10. Because of 
Rabbi Simon's generosity, he inspired others in the Teaneck community 
to follow in his footsteps and register as organ donors.
  Rabbi Simon could have stopped there, but he did not. Nearly a decade 
later he saved yet another stranger's life. Enduring a difficult 
surgery, on December 20, 2018 Rabbi Simon donated a third of his liver 
to Adam Levitz, a father of three suffering from critical liver 
failure. This act of goodness has given Mr. Levitz a new chance at 
life.
  To give a kidney or a liver is an act very few can say they have 
done, to have given both to complete strangers is an act of generosity 
unknown to nearly all of us. The rarity of these procedures is not only 
due to a requirement of great courage and selflessness, but also due to 
the great physical risks they carry for the health of the donor. 
Donating part of one's liver, when one also only has one kidney, has 
such risks of complications that Rabbi Simon and Mr. Levitz could only 
find one clinic in the country who would perform the procedure.
  Rabbi Simon's inspiring acts are done not for publicity, but out of a 
desire to inspire others to have a positive impact on those around 
them. In the words of Rabbi Simon, ``a rabbi's greatest lesson is how 
he lives his life.''
  Madam Speaker, Rabbi Simon's selfless acts serve as an inspiration 
not just to his wife and nine children, but also to the community in 
Northern New Jersey and across our country. Rabbi Simon deserves great 
respect for his deeds.
  To honor Rabbi Simon and his acts, I wish to recognize his 
commitments to saving lives and improving the world around him.

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