Rabbi Vered Harris, formerly the education rabbi at Congregation Beth Torah and now the spiritual leader of Temple B’nai Israel in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has long been committed to social justice. Her latest project is two-fold and it involves her long, blond hair.
At the URJ Biennial Convention in Orlando on Nov. 5, Rabbi Harris will first have her long locks cut so they can be donated to a charity that makes real-hair wigs for women who are fighting cancer to feel more like themselves again. Then she will join other Reform rabbis who are shaving their heads to show solidarity with pediatric cancer patients who have lost their hair to chemotherapy, while at the same time raising awareness of the problem and soliciting donations for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
Every participant in St. Baldrick’s shave-a-thons sets a fundraising goal before the event. Rabbi Harris’ was $3,600. One of many twists in this story is the Muslim community of Oklahoma City raised the entire $3,600 in support of the rabbi. That lump sum added to the funds Rabbi Harris already had raised makes a fundraising grand total for St. Baldrick’s of $8,525 as of Tuesday morning, Oct. 27.
Why did the Muslim community raise so much money for a rabbi’s project? Rabbi Harris explained that she has worked closely with Imam Imad Enchassi, the senior imam (leader) serving the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City. It was their friendship and commitment to interfaith relations that led him to spearhead the fundraising effort in the Muslim community.
“He and I are involved in a lot of interfaith work together. He was born and raised in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. His parents were from Jaffa,” Rabbi Harris said.
“Under the auspices of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches, we are currently putting together a Dual Narratives trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories in January 2017. The primary travelers will be Muslim, Christian and Jewish religious leaders from around the state of Oklahoma,” she added.
Rabbi Harris learned of the Muslim community’s large donation on Oct. 21 and posted this on her Facebook page:
“8:00 this morning I cried. Here is the text I received: ‘Salam. Shalom, Rabbi. Good morning. I just wanted you to know that I have raised from the Muslim community the full $3,600 you needed. I will present it to you on Thursday. And as the imam and mufti of OKC, I hereby request that you don’t shave your hair. (smile emoticon) Blessings.’ ”
Her post continued, “And a huge AMEN to his concluding words: ‘Also we can raise awareness for cancer and ultimately peace.’”
She concluded her post by making a fundraising pitch.
“If you believe interfaith dialogue can help heal the world, and you have hope children of all religions, no religion, and all backgrounds one day can beat cancer, then please donate. Maybe with this donation we can get to $7,200!?!?”
On Tuesday, the rabbi said she was now hoping to raise $9,000 for the cause.
Rabbi Harris’ motivation
Everyone who raises funds through St. Baldrick’s puts a personal message on the Web page explaining why the cause is important. Rabbi Harris started her message with, “Cancer is the No. 1 disease killer of children in the U.S. and Canada. That’s scary, and it’s sad, and it makes me feel powerless.”
Since she’s not a medical professional, Rabbi Harris decided to join those who can raise money to help fund research to treat the children who are sick.
This is not the first time Rabbi Harris has donated her hair to help others. The first was after the healthy birth of one of her three children.
“I grew my hair out for the first time to donate to Zichron Menachem in Jerusalem. It was a type of thanksgiving offering,” she said in her message.
She made the decision to grow out and donate her hair to make a human wig once again a few years ago, when her hair started to gray. A year into that growth, Sam Sommer died of cancer.
The Jewish community knew Sam, the 8-year-old son of Rabbis Phyllis and Michael Sommers, by his nickname “Superman Sam.” He died in December 2013 from refractory acute myeloid leukemia. His mother had started a blog to document her son’s struggle called “Superman Sam,” and she came up with the idea for the shaving campaign along with a fellow rabbi shortly before Sam’s death.
The first event, “36 Rabbis Shave for the Brave,” took place in April 2014 at the Central Conference of American Rabbis convention. In all, 73 North American rabbis took part, either at the convention or at their home congregations, and raised more than $744,000 for St. Baldrick’s.
Rabbi Harris knew Sam’s parents and had followed his story through his mother’s blog.
“We weren’t close friends, but we were certainly friendly, and their family’s story gripped my heart. Along with thousands of people around the world, I prayed for Sam and I prayed for the people who loved him. Like so many others, I was at the 2013 URJ Biennial when I found out Sam died,” Rabbi Harris said.
Rabbi Harris didn’t participate in the first shave-a-thon because she was already committed to growing out her hair to be made into a human-hair wig. But as another URJ Biennial approached, Rabbi Harris decided all the pieces were falling into place and she was ready for the challenge as she truly believed “my hair is worth a lot more to others than it is to me.”
While Rabbi Harris has met her goal, donations to the cause are still wanted and needed. To make a donation, go to st.baldricks.org and search Vered Harris in participants.
