ONE YEAR AFTER HIS PASSING
HADASSAH BAY
IT IS DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE THAT A YEAR HAS GONE BY SINCE THE PASSING OF DR. ELI SCHUSSHEIM. FOR THOSE WHO WERE CLOSE TO HIM, THE FACT THAT THIS DYNAMIC, DRIVEN ISH ESHKOLOT (RENAISSANCE MAN) IS NO LONGER WITH US CONTINUES TO BE A SOURCE OF GRIEF AND BEWILDERMENT. HE WAS SO FULL OF LIFE—AND IN FACT, “LIFE” WAS HIS ENTIRE MISSION.
This is the man whom Maran Harav Ovadia Yosef zt’l affectionately called Borei Nefashot Rabot for his all-consuming work to save Jewish babies—a task that he excelled in tremendously. Incredibly, close to 81,000 Jews are alive today thanks to his intervention, and as EFRAT Executive Director Nir Salomon pointed out, “Those are the ones we know about. Not a day goes by without a phone call to our offices from a woman who tells us that she refrained from terminating her pregnancy due to a lecture or video of Dr. Schussheim that she saw in the past. Without a doubt, Dr. Schussheim’s influence extended far beyond the parameters that we’re aware of.”
Dr. Schussheim maximized every minute during his time in This World. He was a doctor with a private practice; he served as physician at the Jewish Institute for the Blind and was a board member; he supervised mohelim for the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs, he established the Neve Simcha home for seniors in Jerusalem, he authored medical reports for the State Comptroller, and he served as a medical consultant for numerous organizations. His crowning achievement, however, was his work as the founder and director of EFRAT.
The initial version of the organization was the brainchild of Hershel Feigenbaum, a Holocaust survivor who lost almost his entire family in the death camps. After settling in Israel, he established The Right to Live organization to encourage childbirth and fill the void left by the 1.5 million Jewish children murdered in the Holocaust. In the late 70s, Dr. Schussheim took over the organization, drawing on his medical experience and tremendous energy to move it forward and save more and more lives.
Over the years, as the social climate became increasingly permissive, Dr. Schussheim never focused on an anti-abortion platform, but on one of saving lives, and by extrapolation, rehabilitating families.
Statistics show that financial distress is the cause of the majority of cases in which women feel compelled to have an abortion. This is the source of Dr. Schussheim’s rallying cry: “You don’t end a life for lack of funds!”
Dr. Schussheim lectured all over the world. “My mission is to show women that they have a choice,” was a constant refrain. From his experience dealing with pregnant women in distress, he learned that the vast majority truly believed that they were trapped in a tragic situation where no choice existed. Moreover, most were pitifully unaware of the ramifications of abortion—medical, physical, and emotional.
The rationale at EFRAT is that pregnant women have the right to receive information relating to all aspects of their physical and emotional health.
Whenever women who were considering abortion came to his office, Dr. Schussheim put all the facts on the table. “Most of the physical complications are treatable,” he said. “However, the emotional fallout, in the form of regret, can be life-long and devastating.”
Ruthy Tidhar, Efrat’s head social worker, shared the organization’s fundamental policy. “We will never try to sway women one way or another with arguments based on ideological, moral, or religious grounds. Rather, our goal is to empower them through information and assistance, so that they can make the best decision for themselves. Women who come to us feel trapped. We show them that other options exist.”
Dr. Schussheim was a well-loved figure in Jerusalem, and enjoyed a close relationship with over 40 Gedolei Yisrael, past and present, for whom he served as their personal physician, including the Belzer Rebbe, shlita, and lbc”l, Maran Harav Ovadia Yosef, Rav Yitzchak Kadouri, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, successive Rebbes of Gur, the Slonimer Rebbe, the Lelover Rebbe, Rav Eliezer Waldenberg, Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, Rav Moshe Halberstam, Rav Mordechai Eliyahu, and the Gaavad of the Eidah Hachareidit, Zecher tzaddikim livrachah., and more.
Since Dr. Shussheim’s passing, EFRAT has been continuing his legacy, stepping up activities and reaching out to supporters across the globe. Before Pesach, EFRAT representatives visited the Syrian community in Brooklyn and spoke in many of the local shuls to raise awareness and seek their ongoing support. One of the keynote speakers was head of EFRAT in Mexico, Ariel Cohen, a close friend of Dr. Schussheim, and also, a long-standing donor and volunteer at EFRAT in his own right. Cohen was accompanied by Hatzalah Chairman Moshe Teitelbaum, a board member of EFRAT, as well as by Nir Salomon. Joey and Lucy Aini, Joe Nakash, and Joey Levy were instrumental in recruiting the community, which responded enthusiastically.
Community rabbanim who had been in close contact with Dr. Schussheim for many years, spoke highly of the activities of EFRAT and of Dr. Schussheim’s mission, committing to continue providing encouragement and tangible support. Rabbi Mansour said about the Dr. “He was a man with a mission. The only thing greater than his accomplishments was his humility. To save a soul is to save a world. He has saved tens of thousands of worlds.”
Hadassah Bay is a freelance writer. Her articles have been published in many Jewish media outlets.
