to accept his opinion. To their surprise, the doctor encouraged Rabbi Shapira to accept the appointment, saying that it would give him more strength and vitality. Indeed, the rabbi ended up serving a full 10 years, and lived many more years after that. Dr. Schussheim was also close to the Belzer Rebbe, for whom he served as personal physician upon the recommendation of a good friend, veteran Hamodia columnist Yisrael Katzover. After meeting Dr. Schussheim, the Rebbe personally thanked Katzover for sending him a doctor who was not only professional, but also “a real mentsch.” Henceforth, Dr. Schussheim would daven every Yom Kippur in the Belzer beis medrash, where he was given the singular honor of hagba’ah . On Sukkos, the doctor also regularly attended the Belz ushpizin tish on Yosef Hatzaddik’s night. The Rebbe would ask the gabbaim to keep shirayim for him on the side, as a token of his appreciation. Son of Survivors Dr. Schussheim was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1941. His parents had fled prewar Europe and subsequently lost all their extended family in the Holocaust. Earning a livelihood in Argentina was not easy for a Jew who refused to work on Shabbat, but the elder Shussheims opted for a life of poverty as long as they were free to observe their religion. When their son Eli told his parents that he wanted to study medicine, they were vehemently opposed, fearful that it would lead him astray. Eli proved them wrong. “While in med school, my Jewish identity actually grew stronger and more defined,” he wrote. By 1964, he’d earned his medical degree with a specialty in general surgery. That year, he married Shoshana, his wife of 57 years, and opened his own clinic. The future in Buenos Aires looked bright, yet he felt a yearning to live in Israel. This was no simple undertaking; he and his wife had no one in Israel and their entire families were in Argentina. Nevertheless, they packed up their belongings and-
could call on Dr. Schussheim in case of emergency at any time, even on Shabbos or Yom Tov. One Shabbos afternoon, Rosh Chodesh Adar 1977, Dr. Schussheim was studying the parshah with his sons when he was urgently summoned to the Gerrer Rebbe, the Beis Yisrael. Dr. Schussheim rushed to Geula to the home of the Rebbe, who was in great pain. A quick exam made it clear that the Rebbe needed to go to the hospital, but he refused, even after Dr. Schussheim, who understood the Rebbe’s hesitation due to chillul Shabbos , tried to convince him otherwise. Dr. Schussheim stayed by his side until Motzaei Shabbos, when the Rebbe agreed to be taken to the hospital. Early the next morning, on
‘His’ Children Since its inception, no matter how far-reaching EFRAT’s activities became or how busy he was, Dr. Schussheim continued to be involved in individual cases. “What stood out most about him was his selflessness,” says Dr. Chana Katan, a highly regarded gynecologist and EFRAT board member. “No matter how busy he was, he would take time to speak to individual women who were still wavering.”
Dana Regev, mother of 20-year-old Ilanit, speaks for countless women when she attributes her
Dr. Schussheim with Maran Harav Ovadia Yosef zt”l
daughter, the “light of her life,” to Dr. Schussheim. “I was one-hundred-percent sure that I had to have an abortion. But Dr. Schussheim took the time to speak to me, giving me confidence in myself and my ability to be a mother. I am eternally grateful!” Throughout the years, Dr. Schussheim worked on a completely voluntary basis, traveling to every corner of the globe to raise awareness for his cause of saving Jewish lives. On his last fundraising trip, when he was already approaching 80 years of age, he still refrained from traveling business class, claiming that it was forbidden to waste charity funds on luxuries. Personal Physician of Gedolei Yisrael Dr. Schussheim had a special relationship with many of Israel’s greatest rabbinic leaders. He served as the personal physician for over 40 Torah luminaries, including Chassidic Rebbes, Litvish Gedolim and Sephardic rabbis and mekubalim. He earned the implicit trust of Chief Rabbis Harav ovadia Yosef and Harav Mordechai Eliyahu, who saw him as a competent physician who was “ yerei v’shaleim ,” truly God-fearing.
2 Adar, the Rebbe passed away, leaving chareidi Jewry in deep mourning. As a token of their appreciation for his dedication, the Rebbe’s family presented Dr. Schussheim with a special gift: the Rebbe’s high yarmulke. The doctor cherished the yarmulke, wearing it every year on Seder night. In 1983, Rabbi Avraham Shapira was offered the position of Israel’s chief rabbi, but his wife felt that he too weak for such a high-pressure job. They sought the advice of Dr. Schussheim, undertaking
All of Dr. Schussheim’s patients knew that they
Dr. Schussheim with Harav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l
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