Rabbis’ bloody shabbat

AFTER rolling up their own sleeves and donating blood earlier this year, members of the Rabbinical Council of Victoria (RCV) will this week address the importance of giving the vital fluid.

Renamed Shabbat 131495, as per the phone number of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, rabbis will speak about their personal experiences donating or receiving blood through their weekly sermons and also distribute promotional material.

“Saving someone’s life is a mitzvah of unparalleled proportion and donating blood, especially on a regular basis for those who are able to do so, is one very practical and down to earth way of performing this mitzvah,” RCV president Rabbi Yaakov Glasman said. “I warmly encourage as many members of the Jewish community as possible to register at the new blood bank in Caulfield, or at a blood bank close to them, and give someone in need the gift of life.”

With Pesach coming up, many member rabbis will also discuss the law of ma’ot chitin, literally meaning “money for flour to bake matzot”, which is the halachic term for the charity given ahead of Pesach. The donation of blood, rather than money, is also considered a means of fulfilling this mitzvah.

The blood service this year opened a new bank in Hawthorn Road, Caulfield. Spokesperson Alison Melville cited the support of the Jewish community as a key part of this new centre’s success.

“One in three Australians will need blood at some stage during their lifetime, but only one in 30 gives it,” Melville said.
The Caulfield blood bank will collect more than 6000 donations over the next eight months. and can also receive plasma and platelets.

In late January, Rabbi Glasman and a group of member rabbis visited the newly opened Caulfield blood bank to make their own donations in an effort to inspire members of the community to follow suit.

DALIA SABLE

comments