By Ann Pava

The entire world has been struggling over the past few months to understand the horror we’ve seen. In Israel, France, San Bernadino. The savage killing of innocent people is beyond comprehension. For many of us in Jewish communal leadership, we begin each day searching for something positive to share. Something that gives us hope for a better future. Something that enables us to save and cherish life.

We are lucky to have so many direct examples of this right in our sacred texts. In direct contrast to all we’ve seen, Judaism teaches us to cherish human life.

Kol ha’mikayem nefesh achat ma’aleim a’lav k’eelu kiyem olam maleh – Whoever saves a single life it is as if s/he has saved an entire world (Jerusalem Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin 4:9).

This most important tenet of our faith is incredibly powerful – and I often feel that we at the Jewish Federation live by this principle; saving lives is what we do every single day…in all parts of the world.

But, a few weeks ago, my understanding of this principle took on new meaning. My 24-year-old son, Harvey, was a stem cell donor match for a 40-year-old woman with cancer. He had signed up – did a swab – a few years ago when he was a student at Yeshiva University. Harvey went through a week of medical preparation that included shots that made him feel a little sick; then, underwent a six-hour blood transfusion procedure to collect his stem cells (which was exhausting and again made him feel a little sick).

The very next day, this young woman had her stem cell transplant. He doesn’t know who she is or where she lives. But when all was said and done – he told me with tears in his eyes that the minimal discomfort he felt for a few days was nothing compared to how he felt saving a life.

I felt so proud that I did a really tacky thing. I posted his picture on Facebook at the hospital during the stem cell procedure. No sooner had I posted it, then I got cold feet and decided to take it down. At the very second I was about to remove the post, I began to get “likes.” In fact, I got hundreds and hundreds of “likes.”

And I got something else totally unexpected.

I got stories and private notes. Someone told me that her mother had passed away waiting for a stem cell transplant and how happy her family would have been to have Harvey. Someone told me that her sister-in-law passed away waiting for a match and asked me to make sure I thanked Harvey on her family’s behalf for being a donor. Someone told me he had been a stem cell donor for the same person twice. It worked, thank God, the second time.

And literally dozens of friends – mostly from the Jewish Federation world, but many others as well – messaged me that they too were signed up to be stem cell transplant donors but were never matched. Many remembered the Jewish-sponsored event they were at when they signed up. More than one person said they were jealous. They’d been waiting years to save a life and never got the call.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that people who devote their lives to making the world a better place would take on this incredible mitzvah as well. I am humbled by the responses. Most importantly, I found inspiration from my son Harvey and all these wonderful people during these past months of terrorism, violence and despair.

So, if there is a light during these dark days, remember how blessed are we to be Jewish – the community that lives by our most treasured principle: Kol ha’mikayem nefesh achat ma’aleim a’lav k’elu kiyem olam maleh – Whoever saves a single life it is as if s/he has saved an entire world.

May we all continue to find meaning and light in the holy work we do. I encourage everyone to think about inviting the Gift of Life organization to your next event. Maybe it could be a part of every Jewish Federation Super Sunday event! It only takes a cheek swab to sign up for the registry and our country desperately needs more donors in the database. Remember, there are many people waiting for a transplant and we miraculously have the power to save their lives.

Ann Pava is the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford campaign chair and immediate past chair of National Women’s Philanthropy, Jewish Federations of North America.

Readers are invited to submit original work on a topic of their choosing to Kolot. Submissions should be sent to judiej@jewishledger.com.

CAP: Harvey Pava prepares to become a stem cell donor, with his wife, Devorah Deutsch Pava, by his side.