“You are never given an obstacle you cannot overcome.”
reb nachman
ukraine was home to reb nachman. he was the founder of the breslov chasidic movement. the reb’s words about obstacles were relevant to mr. ben-harush’s daunting task. for two babies born in the middle of the ukranian -russian conflict, perhaps the reb’s words will give meaning to their lives past, present and future.
humans can earn the label superhero. in a half-moses, half-batman moment, mr. aharon ben-harush’s phone rang. it wasn’t the famous bat phone. it was his normal phone. it wasn’t commissioner gordon on the line, it was his father-in-law who is the president of united hatzalah.
united hatzalah of israel, per their website “is the largest independent, non-profit, fully volunteer emergency medical service organization that provides the fastest and free emergency medical first response throughout israel. united hatzalah’s service is available to all people regardless of race, religion, or national origin. united hatzalah has more than 6,200 volunteers around the country, available around the clock – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. with the help of our unique gps technology and our iconic ambucycles, our average response time is less than 3 minutes across the country and 90 seconds in metropolitan areas. our mission is to arrive at the scene of medical emergencies as soon as possible and provide the patient with professional and appropriate medical aid until an ambulance arrives, resulting in many more lives saved.” united
in a message reminiscent of moses’ encounter with god on mt. sinai in which he instructed to go to egypt and free the children of israel, mr. ben-harush heard “you must drop everything and assist in this matter.” he was going to ukraine and he was going to get a baby. jns.org
his father in law advised that there “was a two-day-old child that needed to be rescued from kyiv.” jns.org
according to the report, “in this case, a girl whose biological mother was in israel had been born to a surrogate in ukraine. after the birth, the surrogate had abandoned the infant in the hospital and fled the country due to the war. the nurse in charge informed us that if we didn’t take the baby by 9 a.m. on saturday morning, she would be placed in an orphanage. staying in the hospital was simply unsafe.” jns.org
mr. ben-harush left from israel and went on his mission. he was able to extract the baby. in addition, he assisted with an additional baby’s transport to israel as well.
he reported “saving two newborn infants stuck in the middle of a war is something that will stay with me forever. i cannot explain the feeling i have when i look back on the events from this past weekend, but the work put in, and the humanity shown by all involved, was simply mind-boggling.”click here to read the full details of his mission this story documents the obstacles and complications that took place to save the littlest of lives as well as others that assisted.
in sum, at times, the ordinary are called upon to do the extraordinary. as the hell of war rages on with suffering and death, this story offers one small bit of good news. his act is testament as to the willingness of an individual to move heaven and earth to make a difference in the world.
be well!!
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