Rabbi Moshe Spalter praying before his kidney donation surgery this past July. (Photo courtesy of the Chabad of Lake Forest)
In June 2025, when someone close to Rabbi Moshe Spalter needed a kidney, he didn’t hesitate to test and see if he could be a potential donor.
“I thought it would make sense to do it,” said Spalter, who leads the Chabad of Lake Forest alongside his wife Sarah.
He did a cheek swab through Renewal, a nonprofit organization that helps kidney donors and recipients navigate all aspects of the transplant process. Unfortunately, he was not a match. The person close to Spalter received a kidney from a different donor, thankfully, and is now doing well.
“In my mind, I tested for one person,” Spalter said. “It wasn’t on my mind anymore.”
So he was surprised, eight months later, when Renewal called to say that he was a potential match for a different recipient. Spalter then passed further tests, too, and was confirmed to be a healthy and good match for kidney donation.
“I just felt like it was a sign from G-d—that [donating a kidney] was something I had considered in the past, and now it’s actually here in front of me,” Spalter said.
It was a couple of weeks before Passover, and he and his wife took that time to think about it, with plans to get back to Renewal after the holiday. They have three young children—now 4, 3, and 1year old—and the recovery from the surgery would take some time.
“We gave it a few weeks,” Spalter explained. “[And then,] with my wife’s blessing, I went ahead and said I would be willing to do it.”
This past July, the surgeries were a success, and both Spalter and the recipient did well. While in the hospital, Spalter and the recipient met briefly, and even put on tefillin together.
“We’re both recovering, and then I’m sure we’ll connect again,” Spalter said.
When Spalter spoke with Jewish Chicago in early August, he and his wife were gearing up for new events at the Chabad of Lake Forest. Sarah Spalter is originally from West Rogers Park, and Rabbi Spalter was born and raised in San Jose, Calif., and Costa Rica, where his parents founded and run the Chabad Jewish center. The Spalters established the Chabad of Lake Forest three and a half years ago.
After a short pause for Spalter’s surgery and recovery, they are “ready to get back into it,” he shared.
Spalter’s recent kidney donation continues to model for his own young children one way chesed (lovingkindness) can take shape.
“[My wife and I] said that there’s someone who is not feeling well, and I have something that Hashem gave me—something extra that I don’t need—and it’s a big mitzvah; it’s going to make the other person feel good.” Spalter said. “They’re still talking about it.”
