Rabbi Firer

Hi, my name is Elad Yaacovy and I'm from Israel. Today I'm going to talk about what is a hero in my opinion and why The Rabbi Firer is a hero in my opinion. As I see it, a hero in my opinion is someone who does good things efficiently without bragging about it. A hero can be also someone who performed a significant heroic act that changed something or had an impact. For example, the people on the third plane who prevented the terrorists from crashing in Washington, DC in 9/11. I believe that without those heroes, the world have been a worse place and that every one of us can be a hero.

The Biography of The Rabbi Firer: Avraham Elimelech Firer (known as Rabbi Firer) was born on November 3rd, 1954. He was born in ultra-religious city of Bnei Brak, the fifth child in a family of nine children. His father, a teacher, was an immigrant from Galicia, Eastern Europe and with start of World War II escaped to Siberia, Russia and in 1948 he immigrated to Israel. Today, Firer is married to Feige who is a kindergarten teacher and they have 10 children. He started volunteering when a friend of his needed medical help and Firer managed to provide him with what he needed. Afterwards, as more and more people asked him for help he decided to dedicate his life to helping others by establishing the "Ezra LeMarpeh" foundation. Ezra Lmarpeh means "help to cure" in Hebrew. Firer matches sick people to the best hospitals, physicians and treatments available for their conditions, in Israel and abroad. If the sick people need treatment not from Israel, Firer helps them with the flights and sleeping arrangements.

Why Do I Consider the Rabbi Firer as a Hero: I consider him a hero because he helps people in need and he dedicated his life to help and cure sick people. I think that we need more people like him that will make the world a better place. And if this wasn't enough to make him a hero, his character is. He is a man full of positive energy. He greets people with a smile on his face, always glad to be of service. He is available 24 hours/6, taking time off only on Saturday, the Sabbath. He is a Hassidic Jew who never had any formal education yet he is called the nation's doctor due to his availability and expert knowledge on all things medical. And he does all this with kindness and humble attitude.

What Do I Feel: Another reason why I picked him as my hero is personal. A few years ago, I was diagnosed with a non-contagious disease called Ulcerative Colitis (UC). My parents took me to Rabbi Firer and he sent me to a very good doctor in Israel who made me feel better. I think we need more people like him which will make the world a better place. Without a doubt, I consider him a hero because he not only helps people in need but because he dedicated his life to doing so.