Eleven years ago, when Richard and Terri Davgin were looking for something more in their Judaism, they connected with Rabbi Leibel and Goldie Baumgarten, co-directors of Chabad of the Hamptons on the east end of Long Island. The couple never imagined just how far their relationship would go.
They soon became close friends with the Baumgarten family and were among the happy guests at the wedding of Aizik and Musia Baumgarten, today program directors at Chabad of East Hampton and co-directors of Chabad of Montauk, which operates during the summer.
Looking back, Richard comments that “when you select a rabbi, you look for spiritual healing. You don’t realize how much more you will get.”
That realization came at a powerful moment, when Terri was in urgent need of a kidney, and Rabbi Aizik Baumgarten stepped in to donate his own.
“It’s been a life-changing experience,” Terri Davgin told Chabad.org after the successful surgery. "Not just to live, but also to go through something like this that is just so amazing and wonderful. I don’t hope anybody else needs to go through it, but if they do, I hope it’s as wonderful an experience for them as for me, especially with such good friends like I have—from Chabad, my family, and my husband.”
Less than a year earlier, the Davgins had confided in Rabbi Aizik Baumgarten that Terri was in urgent need of a new kidney. The rabbi connected Terri with Renewal, a Jewish-run kidney donor organization. All four Baumgartens, as well as several community members, then got tested, in hopes that one of them would match.
Urgent Surgery Just Before Shavuot
It turned out that one of them was a match—the young rabbi. Rabbi Aizik rushed through the secondary testing process knowing that Terri couldn’t wait very long.
“One day, on a Monday, I got the phone call,” recalls Terri. “On Tuesday, I had the first meeting at the dialysis center, and I was floating because I just couldn’t believe that the timing was so amazing. I said to the lady, “You’re not going to believe this, I just got a phone call that told me I have a kidney!” It really made things so wonderful for me.”
The operation was scheduled for seven weeks later, on May 23—just three days before Shavuot, and right in time to save Terri’s life.
The holiday of Shavuot, and the summer vacation which follows shortly after, is the busiest time of year for Hampton rabbis, but Baumgarten didn’t think much of it. “This is about saving a life, it takes precedence over being physically ready for any busy season. There’s no question about what we needed to do, and when. It’s when Hashem wanted, it’s what is meant to be!”
He told the Davgins that he felt it was an opportunity given to him from G‑d. “That I’m able to help in this way, and the fact that it’s such close friends makes it so much better and enjoyable.” He added, “The fact that I can help with spiritual needs is so much deeper now that I can do it also with my kidney.”
Terri Davgin woke up from the operation elated, immediately feeling better. “I absolutely feel great. I can’t believe how good I’m doing. I took a long walk today, and I really feel a difference in my body to have a working kidney to live. I had trouble walking two steps before, and now I’m doing great!”
Her rabbi was also in cheerful spirits, claiming he simply did what was the right thing—an incredible duty that he was given. “I feel very satisfied and happy that she now has a much better quality of life, hopefully for many years to come—and that I was the one who was able to facilitate that, it humbles me and I feel great.”
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