28 Mar THE SIMCHA OF PESACH & CHAI LIFELINE AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CEO OF CHAI LIFELINE RABBI SIMCHA SCHOLAR

Rabbi Simcha Scholar founded and has led one of the most impactful and inspiring organizations in the Jewish world. Chai Lifeline, with its renowned Camp Simcha and many other related initiatives, has been servicing children struggling with illness, and their families, for over 30 years. Chai Lifeline’s mission is to alleviate the emotional, social, and financial challenges facing families living with pediatric illness and to help patients, parents, and siblings to live full lives as they fight the devastating impact of pediatric illness. Under his direction and guidance, Chai Lifeline has grown from a single program to a year-round organization with offices throughout the United States and Israel, as well as affiliates in Europe and Canada. Today, Chai Lifeline touches the lives of more than 5,500 families who have children suffering with life-threatening or lifelong illnesses. Last Sunday, Rabbi Scholar sat down with Ari Hirsch from The Jewish Vues to discuss how Chai Lifeline has evolved over the years.

Going into the Yom Tov of Pesach-what does the word freedom mean to you?

Freedom is when someone can absolutely concentrate on the goodness that Hashem has granted them without getting stuck on the trials and tribulations of life. I just experienced a weekend we had up in Camp Simcha for many families that came from all over the country. Their children have active cancer diagnoses, so I spoke to them about the enslavement that can be felt in the moment of the illness and as a consequence of the illness. In Mitzrayim, the enslavement didn’t just enslave the body and the physical capabilities of the human, but it also enslaved the mind and the attitude. The power of the yid, as it says in Parshas Hachodesh, is the koach of chiddush; we’re able to take the most difficult situation in the world and somehow become creative and resilient with new ways to cope and make the situation better. The Jewish people always went from Mitzrayim to Eretz Yisroel. That’s the nature of our history. We go from Galus to Geulah. We take a Churban and we lament over it, we’re sad, we’re mourning, we’re in Aveilus. But we keep on building. That’s the koach of the Levana; we always keep on changing. We always keep on finding new ideas and new mehalchim. That’s the beauty of Yiddishkeit. Look at the positive things American Jewry has done. Look at all the incredible organizations that have opened up and popped up. The gemilus chasadim and things that people are doing is unbelievable. Every week in the Jewish Vues you see so many amazing chesed organizations. Mi Kemacha Yisrael!!!

How did Chai Lifeline/Camp Simcha begin?

Rabbi Pinchos Horowitz, The Chuster Rav, zt”l, had the initial concept of Camp Simcha. We were partners. The concept of Chai Lifeline was basically the concept that I was privileged to come up with, it was a novel idea. The initiation of Camp Simcha/ Chai Lifeline can be attributed to Rabbi Pinchos Horowitz, The Chuster Rav. We were together for a few years and then then we each went our own way. It has grown into what is the largest Jewish organization in the world. Definitely, in our community, the frum community, it is the largest pediatric illness and trauma organization in Jewish communities throughout the world. We are privileged that we are one of the few organizations left that Bshita, in principle, service all Jews no matter their affiliation, from Chasidishe to non-affiliated. We’re the place where ponytails and payos meet. We don’t do it because it is, we do it because that’s our shita. That’s how the initial rabbanim of Chai Lifeline poskened: Rav Herschel Spinka, the Spinka Rav, and Reb Shlomo Zalman Auerbach. When they were niftar, both in the same year, Reb Dovid became the mentor of Chai Lifeline. Rav Dovid was very adamant about this, as well, that “Every yid is equal.” That’s Chai Lifeline.

We just recently had Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach’s zt”l 28th yahrzeit. I believe I read that when Chai Lifeline began you received a lot of guidance from Rav Shlomo Zalman. What did he say to you?

I flew there every month and it was Bsof Yamav of Reb Shlomo Zalman. This was during the very early stages of Chai Lifeline, and we didn’t know exactly where we should go with our ideas. We knew we had a great idea. We knew this was a much needed service in the community. What we didn’t have was a direction. I used to fly every month, once a month, to Eretz Yisroel. Rabbi Shlomo Zalman graciously gave me an hour of his post kabalas hakahal to give us a direction. From his little corner in Sharei Chesed, he had incredible clarity about the Jews in America and other places in the world. He set the mindset for Chai Lifeline about what our attitude should be toward a sick person. After that, Reb Dovid was intimately involved in every major decision. I had the privilege of receiving Reb Dovid Feinstein’s advice and he granted me a lot of time. Many people did not have that privilege. Reb Dovid was the biggest posek in the world. He had a humility that every Jew was equal and that was what was important to him. He gave me a lot of time because he placed a lot of chashivus in the work of Chai Lifeline. He molded us. He directed us. He guided us. The very last time I met with Rav Shlomo Zalman was in the days before Shaarei Chesed became an upscale neighborhood. He lived in an old house, and the very last words I heard from him were, ‘It’s kedai to create a worldwide organization for just one person.’ I walked down the steps of his house as if I was in a dream, wondering what he was referring to. I realized later what he meant — each family has to feel like they’re the ones we exist for.

What would you say is the secret to Chai Lifeline’s success?

First and foremost, Chai Lifeline’s success is all Siata Deshmaya. It’s not Rabbi Simcha Scholar or anybody else’s success; it all comes from Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The first secret is in the uniqueness of Chai Lifeline, in that we don’t direct, we don’t tell the choleh what to do. We meet the choleh at the point where they are, and we try to make it the best possible situation so they can get to the next step. There are people that will say “I want you to do this, I want you to do that.” We don’t do that; we take a situation and we make the best of it. Number 2: Chai Lifeline is responsible for professionalizing bikur cholim and a lot of elements of chesed. We didn’t create bikur cholim, it’s been around since Avraham Avinu, but we took it and we professionalized it. We walk into the front door of the hospital and not the back door. We don’t sneak in; we have permission and ID. We took the position that we are advocating for the patient, for the client, and we’re doing it within the context of the professional world. Number 3: We understand, and Baruch Hashem other people are following us, that when a child is ill and when an adult is ill, it doesn’t only affect the choleh. It impacts the siblings, the grandparents, and the parents. Everyone is suffering from this traumatic experience and I think that is really what defines Chai Lifeline. That is the message that we gave the world, and everyone, Baruch Hashem has followed it. I think we took physical and mental illness out of the closet especially with our Crisis teams throughout the world and we made it more palatable for everybody. We haven’t only serviced patients, but tens of thousands of volunteers have a whole new attitude toward chesed. In every major Jewish community in the world that I have been in, and I travel extensively, you will see that many of the people that are involved, the Oskim Btzarchei Tzibor, are former Chai Lifeline volunteers and former Camp Simcha counselors. We’ve changed many parts of the world. I think it’s one of the most important situations that we were privileged to do. And there’s another very important part. We are not a bikur cholim, we are a community-based service organization. Chai Lifeline is a very focused organization that helps adults and children in a traumatic experience cope and deal with the trauma. We have trauma related illnesses, support Wife: Michele, the famous Morah Michele from Lev Beis YaakovFamily:We have Keneine Hora 6 children and I don’t like to say the number of grandchildren. Baruch Hashem, we have a group of grandchildren living all over the world, in Eretz Yisroel, in Texas, in Lakewood, and in Brooklyn. We are very very blessed, Baruch Hashem.Parents:Rabbi Machel, a”h, and my mother’s name is Harriet Scholar. My father was in Rabbonis and chinuch and other things for many, many years. They were outstanding people. My mother today is an older woman, but in her lifetime, she supported my father and raised us kids.Yeshivas Growing Up:Went to Yeshiva Tiferes Moshe in Queens for Elementary school. Went to Chofetz Chaim for High School in Queens. I studied in Eretz Yisroel for a while and then I spent most of my post high school years in Mir Yeshiva in Brooklyn, where I had the privilege of learning under the Gedolei Torah of Mir Yeshiva, Rabbi Shmuel Brudny, zt”l and Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum, zt”l. They molded me and many other talmidim.Received smicha from:Mir YeshivaGrew up in:Westbury, Long Island. My father was a Rabbi in Westbury, Long Island and we went to a yeshiva in Queens. After I got married, we moved to Brooklyn.Currently lives in:Flatbush.Year Chai Lifeline Began:Chai Lifeline began in 1986.Year Camp Simcha began:Camp Simcha was the first project and it began in 1986. Chai Lifeline started right after that.Year Bike 4 Chai began:2009Number of patients Chai Lifeline has helped over the years:I would say approximately 150,000.Chai Lifeline’s Yearly Budget:In the United States, 42 million dollars a year. The global budget is an additional 15 million.People Chai Lifeline currently employs: 200 full time employees and many part-time employees.Chai Lifeline volunteers in the United States:Approximately 5,000.The Rav Chai Lifeline asks their shailos to:Reb Dovid Feinstein zt”l. Reb Dovid appointed Rabbi Elimelech Bluth to be the day-to-day posek. Today, the official Rav of Chai Lifeline is Rav Doniel Neustadt from Lakewood.RABBI SIMCHA SCHOLAR FAST FACTS:services, Camp Simcha, and many other things. We don’t say we can do everything, we only say we can do these things for these types of people. We’re not a supermarket of chesed. We are a gourmet store. We also strongly believe that everything needs to be family centered and the family has to be treated as one unit. Chai lifeline is culturally sensitive to the community. Achim Byachad is Chai Lifeline for the chasidishe community. It’s done in a chasiddishe language, a chasiddishe environment, it’s with the same high-quality services of any Chai Lifeline service. We have 14 regional offices around the world and every region has the same agenda and the same type of services. They execute it differently because every community is different. Just like when you buy Coca Cola in Europe it tastes different because there are certain ingredients that are local, the same is true with Chai Lifeline.

How does someone like yourself keep your emunah & bitachon in Hakadosh Baruch Hu when you see such sickness, pain, and suffering?

That’s a very important question. First of all, a person has to learn and connect with Hakadosh Baruch Hu in many different ways. You cannot perform a chesed without having spiritual growth. Secondly, and this is very important, is that you always have to have a Rebbe or a mentor, someone who you go to for chizzuk and to give you direction. Thirdly you can’t focus on the end result because Hakodosh Baruch Hu is the rofeh cholim and is in control of the situations that we sometimes don’t understand. I can tell you lists of things that happened in the past week: There was an accident in Antwerp, two kids died in Providence, a young man died in Los Angeles, two kids were killed in a fire in Phoenix. I can go on and on and on, but we don’t control that stuff. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the rofeh cholim; He’s the one that calls the shots. We can only focus on the positive things that we’re able to do. If we are able to help a choleh today, or wipe away a tear from someone in trauma, then we’ve accomplished a lot.

What do you tell a Chai Lifeline family when they have a loss? How do you deal with a loss in a family?

You don’t say anything other than “I’m here.” Unless you have experienced a mega loss like this, which most people have not Baruch Hashem, you really don’t know how they feel. So all you can say is, “I’m here.” When they begin talking, I never give reasons or compare other types of situations. We of course have professionals who are equipped with better skills than our average volunteer and myself; what we tell them is that you never forget. When people say you forget, they’re being very cruel. A mother never forgets her child that died. A husband never forgets a spouse that died. You don’t forget. Hakadosh Baruch Hu gives you the koach to carry the burden and every day you get stronger. You don’t forget, you just have more strength to carry it. As I tell people sometimes, the word “Shikcha” has the word “Koach” in it. You need strength. You don’t move on from it, you move on with it. And as you get more and more koach, you’re able to take the steps in much stronger strides.

What’s your favorite part about your job?

My favorite part about my job is waking up in the morning and knowing that we’re making a difference in a Jew’s life.

What’s the most challenging part about your job?

How to make more of a difference and how to fulfill the needs of all of those that perhaps the resources don’t allow us to cover. How do I deal with all the situations that I know we have, but we don’t have the resources to do it? How do we keep on building? That’s a challenge every day. I know there are going to be many children this year who should go to Camp Simcha, but won’t be able to go because we do not have the space. I know there are many other cities that really need our help, but we do not have enough resources to go there. have a crisis team that does tens of things all over the world. This morning alone I have teams in Silver Spring, Antwerp, Phoenix, LA, Providence, and Monsey. And then there are situations that I don’t even know about. It’s really overwhelming. Baruch Hashem we’re able to do it. Again, we don’t create the agenda, Hakadosh Baruch Hu does. The only thing we can do is do the best we can in the moments that we have them. Hakadosh Baruch Hu will change the world; we need to inspire people to work with Him to change it.

What would you say is the secret to making someone happy?

The ultimate secret to making someone happy is to just love them for who they are and where they are. Respect them, don’t try to change them, just be with them. And the more you love somebody, the more you see positive things and that’s what happiness is. “Hasamaech Bechelko”- it doesn’t just mean when I have simcha, it’s for me. If you can mirror that to a person, I think it’s an incredible thing. You know a hot dog, which I happen to love, gives you enjoyment for the few seconds that you eat it, but true Ahavas Yisroel is an eternal bond.

Was Camp Simcha named after you?

No, it wasn’t. It was actually named after Dr. Samuel Abraham, who was Danny Abraham’s father. Danny Abraham was the founder of Slim-Fast foods; he was one of the first major donors to Chai Lifeline many, many moons ago. Camp Simcha Special is named after Shlomo Obstfeld’s parents of blessed memory. Chai Lifeline is very, very thankful to every single yid that has supported us over the years, whether they gave us a million dollars or ten dollars. A million dollars can change things in a moment, but ten dollars lets us live forever.It seems that Chai Lifeline is constantly upgrading and adding new programs.

What are you working on now?

I’m not ready to announce it yet, but we are working on a program that I think is going to be a game changer to the Jewish community. Right now, we’re refurbishing a lot of the things that we do. We are changing our direction and our whole case management department; we’re making it much more community oriented. We’re trying to pick up more resources from the community, and involve people on many different levels. We’ve expanded our crisis intervention department over the last year and half. We’ve trained teams for crisis interventions all over the world- Miami, London, Los Angeles, New York, New Jersey, Antwerp and Chicago. We have a lot of resources for that. During Covid we created a program called “Camp Simcha Without Borders.” We weren’t sure whether or not we would open up Camp Simcha because of Covid. We ended up opening up one part of Camp Simcha, Camp Simcha Special, but we were not able to open the oncology part. We brought Camp Simcha to the communities instead. We created little Camp Simcha’s throughout the world and when we saw the result of that, we kept doing it. This year we’re going to affect over a thousand children. It’s been a game changer for us because we’re able to incorporate a lot of local volunteers and local communities to give children a more extensive stay than just the two weeks of Camp Simcha. It also gives opportunities for all the boys and girls that want to become counselors another option to participate. Baruch Hashem, the amount of people that apply to become counselors in Camp Simcha is really overwhelming and it says something about the quality of our chinuch and the quality of our parents who infuse this dedication and this importance to do such incredible chesed, so kol hakavod. I know that the educational system sometimes gets criticized and perhaps some criticism is constructive, but overall the product that they’re producing that we see in Camp Simcha is five stars.

For many years I have been backstage with you at the Camp HASC concert. The relationship you have with Mr. Abe Eisner, Mr. Shmiel Kahn, and all of HASC is beautiful; the achdus between you and HASC is very special. I’m sure you’re like that way with many different great Jewish organizations.

100% and we’ve helped each other. I know Abe Eisner has been a very good friend to us when we had one or two issues. They came to Camp Simcha to see our new medical center, they saw the cottages that we’ve built and now they are doing a major campaign of their own. I speak to Abe frequently, we speak as friends. The Kahns are wonderful people and they do great work at HASC. The HASC client is not a Camp Simcha/Camp Simcha Special client and a Camp Simcha kid is not a HASC kid; they’re both two different needs, two very important needs, two independent skills. The skill set that you need for a client in Camp Simcha/Camp Simcha Special is different from that of HASC. Not many staff members could actually cross between the two because it’s a whole different type of skill set. They’re equally very important and very important institutions for Klal Yisroel. It’s our privilege to work together with other important organizations hand-in-hand; we work with a lot of different organizations to be able to do the optimal amount of work for our community.

Is there anything that you would like to mention to Jewish Vues readers that you did not mention?

I believe that everyone should get involved. It’s important to give money, if you can, to different organizations. We all need resources, and without resources we can’t do it, but it’s also very very important to encourage hands-on involvement. You have no idea how important it is to feel it, to get that satisfaction. You have no idea how important it is to encourage your children to do it. Not just for a summer experience, but to get to do chesed, to make a difference in another Jew’s life. No matter what you do, do it! It has to be part of the daily schedule; we have to feel for our fellow Jew, any which way we can. Some people can do this, some people can do that, some can do something else, but you have to do something. There’s no excuse not to do anything.

RABBI SIMCHA SCHOLAR FAST FACTS:

Wife: Michele, the famous Morah Michele from Lev Beis Yaakov

Family:We have Keneine Hora 6 children and I don’t like to say the number of grandchildren. Baruch Hashem, we have a group of grandchildren living all over the world, in Eretz Yisroel, in Texas, in Lakewood, and in Brooklyn. We are very very blessed, Baruch Hashem.

Parents:Rabbi Machel, a”h, and my mother’s name is Harriet Scholar. My father was in Rabbonis and chinuch and other things for many, many years. They were outstanding people. My mother today is an older woman, but in her lifetime, she supported my father and raised us kids.

Yeshivas Growing Up:Went to Yeshiva Tiferes Moshe in Queens for Elementary school. Went to Chofetz Chaim for High School in Queens. I studied in Eretz Yisroel for a while and then I spent most of my post high school years in Mir Yeshiva in Brooklyn, where I had the privilege of learning under the Gedolei Torah of Mir Yeshiva, Rabbi Shmuel Brudny, zt”l and Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum, zt”l. They molded me and many other talmidim.

Received smicha from:Mir Yeshiva

Grew up in:Westbury, Long Island. My father was a Rabbi in Westbury, Long Island and we went to a yeshiva in Queens. After I got married, we moved to Brooklyn.

Currently lives in:Flatbush.

Year Chai Lifeline Began:Chai Lifeline began in 1986.

Year Camp Simcha began:Camp Simcha was the first project and it began in 1986. Chai Lifeline started right after that.

Year Bike 4 Chai began:2009

Number of patients Chai Lifeline has helped over the years:I would say approximately 150,000.

Chai Lifeline’s Yearly Budget:In the United States, 42 million dollars a year. The global budget is an additional 15 million.

People Chai Lifeline currently employs: 200 full time employees and many part-time employees.

Chai Lifeline volunteers in the United States:Approximately 5,000.

The Rav Chai Lifeline asks their shailos to:Reb Dovid Feinstein zt”l. Reb Dovid appointed Rabbi Elimelech Bluth to be the day-to-day posek. Today, the official Rav of Chai Lifeline is Rav Doniel Neustadt from Lakewood.

FUN QUESTIONS WITH RABBI SIMCHA SCHOLAR:

What’s your favorite part of the seder?

Maggid

Haggadah you plan on using this year for the seder:

I use the Haggadah of Rabbi Avraham Schorr

Arbah kosos: what wine do you use for your arbah kosos?

The lightest wine possible

Cups of coffee you drink a day:Two

Who’s your maggid Daf Yomi?

Rav Sruly Bornstein

Biggest nachas a child can give a parent:

Is seeing how they’re living the life of torah and mitzvos and helping other Jews.

Fill in the blank: When Moshiach comes___________

He will wipe away all of our tears.

Best segulah to have shalom bayis:

Keep quiet.

Who is the first person you think of when you hear the word KIRUV?

The Lubavitcher rebbe.

Which matzevah that when you go to it, you feel most connected to?

The Rosh Yeshiva, Reb Dovid Feinstein Zatzal

Favorite Yom Tov:

Sukkos

Favorite song to sing at the Shabbos table:

Menucha V’Simcha

What Jewish song gets you in a good mood?

Joey Newcomb’s Mi K’amcha

What’s your favorite bracha to make?

Hatov Vehametiv

Favorite Mesechta:Whatever I’m learning

What is your most prized sefer?

My grandfather’s Tehillim

If you could have a chavrusah with anybody for a half hour after Tanach, who would you want to have a chavrusah with?

Reb Meir Shapiro

If you could have 3 dinner guests to your Pesach seder, anybody from the beginning of time, who are the three people that you would want to have as guests for your Pesach seder?

Three people that need a seder. I loved it when Reb Dovid answered you this question with three Aniyim. Reb Dovid Feinstein zt”l to us, besides being a mentor for Chai Lifeline, he was like a father to me and we did not breathe without him. The book that Artscroll wrote on him, described Reb Dovid in a different stratosphere. He was the posek hador with an incredible knowledge but always put aside time for the simple Jew. Every gadol b’yisroel walked into his office, he didn’t stop learning, but he made incredible amounts of time for the simple Jew. Every Jew was special to him. It was unbelievable! That’s why that book is so important because it humanizes a gadol.